Scour around an offshore windturbine

During the construction of the first Dutch offshore wind farm prototype measurements were performed. These measurements were aimed to monitor the behaviour of the granular filter layer of the scour protection around the mono-piles upon which the wind turbines are founded. These measurements were compared to scale model test results and theoretical analysis. The measurements show an overall lowering of the filter bed surface during the period that the filter beds were exposed to hydraulic loading of waves and tidal flow.