Industry-academia partnership to tackle offshore geotechnics challenges

The offshore geotechnical solutions provider Geoquip Marine (GQM) and University of Bristol (UOB) launched a strategic academia-industry partnership in July. The organisations will collaborate on multiple programmes aimed at achieving strategic goals in research, talent development and growth, with particular focuses on advanced experimental geotechnics research and innovations in offshore site characterisation.

Since 2018, GQM has expanded in the offshore renewables market, completing major projects across Europe, Asia and the USA, with a large fleet of integrated geotechnical site investigation vessels. To date, GQM has contributed to an estimated capacity of 44.5GW of power output across 45 wind farm projects in11 countries, involving around 11,884 wind turbines. By the end of 2028, two new geotechnical vessels will be added to GQM’s fleet.

In 2021, GQM launched its onshore laboratory in Bristol to enhance its geotechnical engineering services. The laboratory performs an array of soil and rock testing services, including classification, consolidation, shear and triaxial testing, which were accredited by UKAS in 2022.

This year, GQM has invested £1.9M in geotechnical testing equipment, significantly increasing the capacity of the services. The laboratory now offers a comprehensive range of geotechnical testing services for offshore renewable projects, including small strain measurements, as well as cyclic and dynamic testing.

GQM head of engineering Chris Brandish-Lowe said: ‘‘We are no longer a business that is focused on gathering data and then sub-contracting out an essential part of the operation. We are now able to provide a comprehensive, controlled end-to-end service, with a single point of contact, which means clients not only get the precision they require, they also have access to this quicker and more reliably, and now is the moment to develop new advanced soil testing technologies for offshore materials.”

He also added: ‘‘As a growing team of experts in geotechnical, laboratory, environmental and data services, GQM is constantly evolving to meet the demands of the industry. With a diverse range of projects and innovative solutions, we foster an environment where talented individuals can thrive, pursue their passions and make a lasting impact.’’

The UOB’s Earthquake and Geotechnical Engineering Research Group at its School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering (CADE) excels in advanced experimental geomechanics, geotechnical and structural dynamics, and wind engineering. Head of the school, professor Ian Craddock, commented on the positive value of strategic relationships with industry, which inform the university’s own teaching and research decisions.

Offshore structures such as wind turbines are often large and operate under complex loading conditions caused by wind, waves, currents, marine animals and complicated by highly variable seabed geology. As a result, the demand for advanced soil testing is rising.

To meet this demand, UOB and GQM will establish co-funded PhD programmes to address emerging research and practice challenges. The first PhD project will focus on advanced laboratory and field characterisation of “problematic” geomaterials encountered in world’s offshore renewable developments. It will utilise a GDS Dynamic Triaxial Testing System (DYNTTS). As part of the collaboration, a GQM-ordered brand new GDS DYNTTS will be operated at UOB from mid of October, and GDS Instruments (GDS) will supply additional local instrumentation and bender element accessories for the DYNTTS, ensuring it will be fully instrumented and capable of testing 50-100mm samples.

GDS Instruments commercial director Clayton Dodd said: ‘‘We are looking forward to working with UOB and GQM.  The feedback we receive from both research and commercial customers is vitally important to GDS; this drives our future product and software development, ensuring we remain at the forefront of the industry.”

GQM research and development engineer Mingnan Li added: “We very much appreciate the support from GDS; we would like to see a UOB-GQM-GDS collaboration in the development of novel laboratory apparatus, which would benefit the wider offshore geotechnical community.”

UOB will provide tailored training and professional development programmes to GQM’s engineers and technicians, building on its geotechnical and offshore engineering teaching units, as well as its training schemes and networks for technical staff. The university runs MSc programmes in Sustainable Engineering, Structural Engineering, and Earthquake Engineering and Infrastructure Resilience, as well as undergraduate units on Soil-Structure Interaction including the offshore environment and on Wind Energy Systems. These programmes address the critical societal need for skilled professionals to achieve sustainable engineering and net zero goals. UOB is also renowned for research-led teaching, building upon a strong track record of research and innovation in the offshore sector, including large research projects such as ROBOCONE.

UOB geotechnical engineering professor Andrea Diambra commented: “This is an excellent initiative to leverage our research and teaching to benefit the offshore geotechnical community, fostering stronger collaboration between industry and academia to drive innovation and advancements in this field”.

GQM’s Bristol-based principal geotechnical engineer Toby Masters said: “Delivery of reliable geo-data for offshore developments faces a critical bottleneck in both high quality advanced laboratory testing availability and the human resource capability to perform the testing.  By developing our own laboratory and collaborating with academia to help broaden awareness and develop talent, GQM is investing heavily in solving this challenge.”

In association with