Cathie strengthens finite element modelling capabilities

Offshore geoscience and geotechnical engineering consultancy, Cathie, is pleased to welcome Raihan Sharif to its advanced numerical analyses team based in Brussels.

Prior to joining Cathie, Mr. Sharif spent the past 2.5 years in a research assistant role as chair of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering at Brandenburg University of Technology, Germany. Raihan holds a master’s degree in structural engineering and has prior experience in numerical modeling of geotechnical structures, liquefaction, slope stability analysis under earthquake loading and geotechnical laboratory testing.

A previous research project he worked on was published in “Computer and Geotechnics” international journal, where CEL methodology is applied to demonstrate the impact of pile installation on subsequent lateral behavior subjected to cyclic loading, typical in offshore conditions.

Cathie has a strong expertise in Abaqus and Plaxis 2D and 3D finite element (FE) modelling. This expertise has been recognised in the industry and the demand for highly advanced FE analyses continues to grow within the offshore wind market. Cathie is currently involved in a variety of studies such as:

• Large deformation finite element analyses including the following: assessment of jack-up leg penetration and spudcan punch-through risk, assessment of pipe-soil interaction springs for a buckled pipeline and iceberg scouring simulation.
• Geotechnical support for enhanced site-specific assessment (SSA) for the soil-spudcan interaction under cyclic loading.
• Monopile design based on PISA methodology with use of advanced soil models.
• Fully coupled soil-structure analysis for several kind of foundation structures such as suction caissons, anchor piles and spudcans.
• 2D and 3D FE based seismic site response analyses.

Raihan Sharif said, “I am delighted to join the highly-motivated and competent team here at Cathie. I’m really looking forward to working on some upcoming exciting projects and having the opportunity to apply state-of-the-art knowledge in offshore geotechnics.”