News

1^st International Symposium on Screw Piles for Energy Applications (ISSPEA 2019)

27-28th May 2019

Over 40 academic and industrial leaders were hosted by the University of Dundee at the West Park Conference Centre in Dundee for the 1^st International Symposium on Screw Piles for Energy Applications (ISSPEA 2019). With delegates from 12 countries, representing 15 universities and 16 companies, the symposium showcased the latest research and applications of screw piles in energy applications.

Supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the symposium provided a platform for the partners of the Supergen Grand Challenge Screw Piles for Offshore Wind Energy Foundation Systems project (EP/N006054/1) to disseminate their results and recommendations. This included presentations by the University of Dundee on the results of centrifuge based physical modelling of model screw piles designed for jacket supported offshore wind turbines, while Durham University summarised their development of advanced Material Point Method numerical analysis for large deformation problems such as the installation of screw piles. Finally, the University of Southampton provided an overview of the initial phase of their field testing campaign investigating the installation and axial capacity of screw piles in sand.

Furthermore, a Keynote presentation by A J Lutenegger from the University of Massachusetts, USA, provided an academic perspective on the current state of knowledge regarding screw piles and suggestions of areas for further research and development. The highly specialised programme also included speakers showcasing their numerical and physical research into a range of topics concerning such aspects as the installation effects, cyclic behaviour and lateral loading response of screw piles. A final set of speakers showcased their industrial applications and development of screw piles to offshore energy and aquaculture projects.

Discussions sessions highlighted were held to highlight existing gaps in the knowledge of the installation and performance of screw piles and to identify areas where new research should be focussed. The conversations continued over an evening dinner and visit to the University of Dundee geotechnical research facilities.

The proceedings of the symposium are available via the University of Dundee Discovery Research Portal (https://doi.org/10.20933/100001123)

Project researcher Craig Davidson wins runner-up prize in the student poster competitionn at SUT OSIG 2017

14/09/2017

University of Dundee PhD candidate and project researcher Craig Davidson won the £500 runner-up prize in the student poster competition at the Society for Underwater Technology's 8th International Conference on Offshore Site Investigation & Geotechnics, which took place in London during September 2017. His poster "Development of screw piles for offshore wind energy foundations" provided the conference attendees with a technical overview of the project. 

Project represented at SUPERGEN Wind Hub Genereal Assembly 2016 23/11/2016

Dr Mike Brown (project coordinator) and postdoctoral research associates Lei Wang, Craig Davidson and Anthony Blake (pictured left to right) attended the 2016 SUPERGEN Wind Hub General Assembly at Cranfield University.