Geotechnical Engineering
OWC’s geotechnical engineering team combines excellent design and analytical skills with direct experience working offshore to manage geotechnical risks and develop optimised foundation solutions for the project.
We support offshore wind developments globally, with broad experience and team members located across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and emerging markets. Our team is engaged throughout the project lifecycle — from early site characterisation to detailed foundation design and installation support. This end-to-end involvement ensures that ground conditions are thoroughly understood and appropriately accounted for in engineering decisions, reducing risk and improving project outcomes.
Our value lies in our ability to integrate seamlessly with multidisciplinary project teams, apply deep technical knowledge, and deliver practical, cost-effective solutions tailored to each site’s unique geotechnical challenges.
Market Challenges
Geotechnical engineering for offshore wind presents a unique set of technical challenges and commercial risks driven by the complexity and variability of seabed conditions. Without a clear understanding of the ground, foundation design and installation can face costly delays and safety concerns during construction.
Key market challenges are:
Optimising laboratory testing campaigns to make the best use of acquired data, minimise gaps in geotechnical information and characterise soil behaviour for various engineering applications.
Accurate and reliable interpretation of geotechnical data to reduce uncertainty.
Efficient foundation design to reduce CAPEX and improve a project’s business case.
Installation in challenging ground conditions including risk of early pile refusal and uncontrolled, rapid penetration in softer soils (pile run).
Our Solutions
To address these challenges, OWC offers a comprehensive suite of geotechnical engineering services tailored to the needs of offshore wind projects. Our solutions are designed to reduce risk, optimise design, and support successful project delivery.
The geotechnical engineering service covers:
Site investigation operational technical support
OWC’s geotechnical engineers are closely integrated with the Geoscience Package Management service and usually get involved in a project during the execution of site surveys, providing technical support to ensure the acquired data is suitable for interpretation and analysis.
Geotechnical Interpretive Report (GIR)
- Interpretation of geotechnical data, including offshore in-situ measurements and laboratory testing, to characterise the ground conditions at a site.
- The GIR is fully integrated with the ground model.
- Statistical evaluation of data to derive lower bound, best estimate and upper bound geotechnical parameters for each soil unit.
- Correlate in-situ (CPT) measurements with lab results.
- Define geotechnical design profiles suitable for further engineering studies (design and installation).
Laboratory management
- Define laboratory testing strategy based on project constraints (budget, time, sample availability, foundation concept).
- Develop bespoke testing schedule based on defined strategy OR review contractor supplied testing schedule to confirm alignment with defined strategy.
- Define test boundary conditions.
- Cyclic testing support.
- Day-to-day liaison with the laboratory contractor to manage progress and resolve technical issues.
Foundation capacity analysis and design
Evaluation of foundation capacity and concept design using industry best practice for:
- Jacket piles
- Monopiles
- Suction buckets
- Drill and grouted piles
- Floating offshore wind anchors
Geotechnical analysis and support for pre-FEED, FEED and detailed design led by Longitude.
Foundation installation analysis
- Evaluation of installation risk and develop strategy for mitigation
- Driveability and quantitative pile run assessment for all locations at a site.
- Suction installation assessment
The value we bring
Deep technical knowledge
Innovative and efficient solutions using in-house software developed to process large amounts of data
Global experience with unique regional challenges and local ground conditions
Holistic approach to managing geotechnical risks
Integrated team with close communication between data acquisition, ground modelling, structural foundation design and cable disciplines.
Questions? Get in touch
Related Services
Technical Studies
Geoscience
Fixed & Floating Foundation Engineering & Design
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