Remote Intelligent Geotechnical Seabed Surveys - A Joint Industry Project

The Remote Intelligent Geotechnical Seabed Surveys (RIGSS) project is a Joint Industry Project (JIP) led by the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS) at the University of Western Australia (UWA). The aim of the JIP is to advance geotechnical site investigation technology through improved control and instrumentation, new types of sensors – penetrometer and other tools – and new engineering design methods that apply the SI data more directly to geotechnical design. The remote and intelligent sensors will be deployed from a seabed frame or ROV-based platform, or be deployable into box core samples on deck. These arrangements will allow SIs to be more effective, gathering better geotechnical data and making more efficient use of survey time.

The deliverables will include recommended practices for planning, executing and interpreting tests using the new sensors, and new methodologies to perform engineering design based on the gathered data. Also, COFS will deliver electronic engineering drawings of the optimised designs of the new sensors, allowing Contractors to fabricate their own devices, to suit their proprietary equipment.

The COFS researchers are building prototype versions of the new tools that will be proven in the field during the JIP, and we are also delivering detailed designs and interpretation routines to allow rapid deployment in offshore practice.

The research will be underpinned by experimental and numerical modelling at COFS, including a major program of centrifuge testing, as well as field-scale trials at Australia’s national soft clay test site, located at Ballina in NSW.