Axial bearing capacity of driven Piles in accordance with API and DNV

Piles are a fundamental part of most offshore structures, thus assessment of pile capacity is critical for the design and installation of offshore structures. Currently, there are various codes that provide guidance on the pile capacity assessment. The most common ones are from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and Det Norske Veritas (DNV). As each code provides a slightly different design approach and utilises different safety factors, it is often not easy to compare the pile designs of different code directly. Furthermore, the most appropriate design methodology is often chosen based on the available input parameters, such as geotechnical properties or cone penetration test (CPT) results. For a single design case, adapting the different codes can result in different pile length requirements, which are purely due to different methodology and associated safety factors used in codes. This paper aims to provide an overview of all common pile design methodologies and present a comparison of design pile lengths resulting from the use of these codes.