Soft rock sits in the transition zone between soil and hard rock and can vary significantly over short distances. This makes it difficult to investigate, test and model with confidence. For offshore wind, these uncertainties can affect everything from installation and structural response to long-term performance under environmental loading.
SP16 Rock Off is an NGI strategic research project that addresses this challenge across the full design chain. The project develops a streamlined approach for soft rock characterization, laboratory testing, numerical modelling and foundation design. The ambition is to give the industry better tools for making robust engineering decisions in offshore areas where shallow soft rock is present.
Why it matters
Better understanding of soft rock can reduce uncertainty, improve foundation reliability and support more cost-effective offshore wind development. By linking ground investigation data more directly to engineering models and design methods, the project aims to help the industry expand into challenging lease areas more quickly and safely.
Work package overview
The project is organised into five connected work packages:
- WP1 – Project management and project definition: Defines the project scope, research scenario, communication plan and overall coordination, ensuring the work stays relevant and focused.
- WP2 – Site investigation methods: Studies how existing and emerging in-situ investigation methods can be used more effectively in soft rock, including links between field measurements and laboratory results.
- WP3 – Laboratory testing and interpretation: Improves how soft rock is tested in the laboratory, including cyclic loading behaviour, sample handling and the use of advanced logging data.
- WP4 – Modelling: Evaluates and develops numerical approaches for understanding soft rock behaviour, installation effects and foundation response under offshore loading.
- WP5 – Design framework: Builds practical design guidance for offshore foundations in soft rock, including simplified modelling concepts and a more streamlined path from investigation data to design decisions.
Expected outputs
- Publications and technical papers on site investigation, testing, interpretation, modelling and design in soft rock.
- Methods and tools that improve investigation, laboratory testing, constitutive modelling and streamlined design workflows.
- Knowledge sharing via conference and journal publications and special themed workshops.
