Grouted connections

Grout connections are used in the offshore wind energy sector as well as in the oil and gas industry for the frictional connection of two steel pipes. Here the steel pipes of different diameters and with a defined overlap length are inserted into each other. The arrangement of welding beads on the steel pipe surfaces facing each other enables toothing and concentrated load transfer. A common area of application is truss structures which have to be connected under water with the foundation piles in a force-locking manner. With the aid of numerical simulations (stationary, transient, fluid-structure interaction or overall simulation) and experiments, fatigue behaviour and degradation as well as the influence of early motion on the load-bearing capacity and material segregation in grout joints are investigated.