About
Dr. Kai Wen is a Research Fellow in Offshore Geotechnics at the University of Southampton's Department of Civil, Maritime, and Environmental Engineering. He is currently the lead researcher in the Southampton part of ROBOCONE project funded by EPSRC-SFI, aiming to develop the new site investigation tool (ROBOCONE) by adding three separate robotic modular sections on the conventional CPT. He is also a part of the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) Chair Centre of Excellence for Intelligent & Resilient Ocean Engineering (IROE).
Kai was awarded his Ph.D. degree in Offshore Geotechnics (2023) from Imperial College London and received his MSc degree (2019) from Zhejiang University, China. His research is dedicated to providing additional insights into the dynamic and monotonic axial loading responses of driven piles in the problematic geomaterials (e.g. sands, chalk), taking advantage of various analytical techniques, including dynamic signal matching method, machine learning method, Winkler load transfer approach, and finite element approach. The research outcomes are expected to provide geotechnical solutions for the design of safer, cost-effective, and resilient jacket foundations and tension leg platforms for supporting offshore wind turbines. His previous research added value to the recent EPSRC-funded ALPACA joint industry project (JIP) and partly contributed to the PAGE (Pile AGEing in sands) JIP led by Cathie Group.
He is serving as the corresponding member of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering TC209 committee (Offshore Geotechnics) and an active member of British Geotechnical Association (BGA). He has published a range of papers for peer-reviewed international journals, and academic conferences (the publication list can be found here). He has served as a reviewer for more than ten international journals, including Computers & Geotechnics, Ocean Engineering etc.