Location: Netherlands, Mammoet Yard
Project Name: SIMPLE III Project
Water Depth: 30 meters
Type: Monopile
Date: March 2025
At the beginning of 2024, Geodrive was awarded a contract by GBM Works to serve as their pile monitoring expert and sensor supplier. GBM Works has developed an innovative and silent method for installing monopiles. This technique, called Vibrojet®, combines jetting close to the toe of the monopile with vibrations at the top. By simultaneously fluidizing the soil and applying vibration, monopiles can be installed significantly more quietly than with conventional impact driving.
For this project, we fabricated, supplied, and installed sensors, marking the first large-scale offshore applications of GBM Works’ technology. In total, we produced and installed 47 sensors on the test monopile, including pore pressure sensors, total stress sensors, 3D acceleration sensors, and strain gauges. Since some of these sensors needed to be placed 16 meters deep into the soil, they required protective cover plates—an uncommon feature on monopiles. Other sensors had to be flush with the monopile wall, necessitating precision drilling to ensure accurate internal measurements. Additionally, one sensor had to be mounted at an angle inside the jet ring (see the attached images for reference).
Throughout the project, we worked closely with GBM Works to tackle complex engineering challenges. Shaun, Geotechnical Engineer at GBM Works, highlighted the importance of this collaboration:
“Working with GeoDrive on the SIMPLE III project on a very unique and complex pile sensor package was a great experience.
GeoDrive adapted to numerous challenging requests and provided innovative solutions to enable us to capture high-quality data during Vibrojet® pile installations in the North Sea. They were always accessible on very short notice to assist us and to ensure that we collected valuable and reliable information at all times.”
A few weeks ago, we completed the installation of the final sensors. The offshore campaign is set to commence in the coming days, and we are eager to see how our sensors perform throughout the extensive testing process. The monopile will undergo multiple installation cycles as part of the test program, which will be performed by Van Oord’s installation vessel MPI Adventure.
GBM Works carried out these tests in collaboration with leading industry partners who have joined the SIMPLE III Project, including Van Oord, RWE, Ecowende, and others within the GROW Offshore Wind Consortium. With our extensive experience in offshore pile monitoring, we are proud to contribute to the advancement of new installation techniques for offshore foundations. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for these groundbreaking innovations.
#OffshoreInnovation #PileMonitoring #Geodrive #SIMPLEIII #Vibrojet
