Submarine mass movements
and their interaction with critical offshore infrastructure

"The UK's energy security targets hinge on expanding the current domestic wind power capacity, offering a notable reduction in reliance on fossil fuels and aligning with the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. However, the infrastructure supporting wind power, including offshore foundations, pipelines, and power cables, faces potential hazards from ground instabilities, particularly submarine landslides. Such events could disrupt services, leading to operational issues and costly repairs.

To ensure engineers provide reliable power transmission systems, there is a need to develop predictive models for landslide-infrastructure interaction. Current geotechnical approaches utilize scaled laboratory models within a geotechnical centrifuge, but uncertainties in scaling laws pose challenges in applying test data to broader engineering practices.

This project aims to address these challenges by combining the development of a numerical model with experimental work at the Delft Institute of Technology in the Netherlands, leveraging its world-leading facility. The experiments will include direct measurements of velocity, pore water pressure, and structural deformation, allowing for a comparison with simulation results at different scales to isolate scaling effects.

The project seeks to extend the geotechnical centrifuge's application to address interaction challenges between submerged landslides and flexible power cables. This expansion is anticipated to contribute to the evolution of hazard assessment strategies, providing engineers with better insights into the resilience of their designs and enabling the development of more suitable and effective mitigation systems."