Assessing the performance of winged caisson foundations for offshore wind turbines

Faizi, Koohyar; Faramarzi, Asaad; Dirar, Samir; Chapman, David; Cui, Ge; Heron, Charles M.; Marshall, Alec M.

Abstract

The foundation of an offshore wind turbine (OWT) accounts for up to 20% of the total cost; therefore, investigations into reliable and efficient foundations are important for the offshore wind energy industry. This article describes an innovative winged caisson foundation for OWTs, which adapts the conventional caisson foundation to produce higher overturning capacities. The behaviour of this proposed novel foundation in the sand was investigated through experimental and numerical modelling using a series of 1g tests (1/70th scale), centrifuge model tests (70g), and finite element (FE) simulations. Models with various wing sizes installed in different sand densities were tested in the laboratory by applying an overturning load. In this article, the moment–rotation performance of the foundation under monotonic loading is compared against that of conventional caissons to assess the potential benefits of adding wings to caisson foundations. Results show that there is a significant increase in overturning capacity provided by the novel foundation. FE models were first validated against experimental results, then, used to conduct a parametric study to better understand the behaviour of the winged caissons beyond the scaled model tests. In addition, the FE models were used to evaluate the drained response of the proposed foundation under combined loading.

Citation

Faizi, K., Faramarzi, A., Dirar, S., Chapman, D., Cui, G., Heron, C. M., & Marshall, A. M. (2023). Assessing the performance of winged caisson foundations for offshore wind turbines. Marine Georesources and Geotechnology, https://doi.org/10.1080/1064119x.2023.2179445

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 2, 2023
• Online Publication Date: May 18, 2023
• Publication Date: May 18, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jun 28, 2023
• Journal: Marine Georesources and Geotechnology
• Print ISSN: 1064-119X
• Electronic ISSN: 1521-0618
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1064119x.2023.2179445
• Keywords: Offshore wind turbines; geotechnical centrifuge modelling; caisson foundations; finite element analysis
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/21363522
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1064119X.2023.2179445
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=umgt20; Received: 2022-06-26; Revised: 2023-02-02; Accepted: 2023-02-02; Published: 2023-05-18