- Docente: Laura Govoni
- Credits: 6
- SSD: ICAR/07
- Language: English
- Teaching Mode: In-person learning (entirely or partially)
- Campus: Ravenna
- Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Offshore Engineering for Energy Transition (cod. 6056)
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from Feb 19, 2026 to Jun 04, 2026
Learning outcomes
The course provides students with the ability to apply the concepts of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering to the modelling and design of the foundations of bottom-fixed and floating offshore structures. Particular emphasis is given to the foundations and anchors that support and moor offshore wind turbines.
Course contents
The course builds on student's previous knowledge of soil mechanics and addresses the geotechnical engineering aspects of the design of offshore structures with application which spans from oil and gas to wind turbine developments. The course is organised as follows.
General concepts. Drained and undrained conditions. Earth pressure. Load paths. Bearing capacity analyses.
Shallow foundations. Overview. Shallow foundations types. Features of installation methods. Classical bearing capacity theory: uniaxial and general loading conditions. Interaction diagrams. Shallow foundations load-displacement response under general loading conditions.
Piles. Overview. Essential features of driven steel piles: plugging, friction fatigue. Resistance to driving. Axial and lateral capacity of driven piles in clay and sand. Axial and lateral response of driven piles: load-transfer curves in clay and sand.
Anchor foundations. Overview. Anchor and mooring types. Installation features. Estimate of anchors capacity under combined loading.
Design principles according to American Petroleum Institute (API), International Standard Organisation (ISO) and Det Norske Veritas (DNV).
Readings/Bibliography
Mark Randolph and Susan Gourvenec, Offshore geotechnical engineering, Spon, 2011
Subhamoy Bhattacharya, Design of foundations for offshore wind turbines, Wiley, 2017
Teaching methods
Lectures are organised as follows.
Theory: through slides, videos and at the board;
Worked examples: direct application of theory, typically at the board, with students active involvment.
Assessment methods
The assessment is a written exam, open books and concerns solving some worked examples.
Teaching tools
The course makes mostly use of slides.
Office hours
See the website of Laura Govoni