Modeling of Load Bearing Characteristics of Jacket Foundation Piles for Offshore Wind Turbines in Taiwan

Abstract

This paper presents a pioneering study on numerical modeling of load bearing characteristics of the jacket foundation pile for offshore wind turbines on the west coast of Taiwan. Because Taiwan is located in an earthquake prone area, there is significant interest in improving the prediction of the behavior of wind turbine jacket foundations subjected to seismic loading. Investigation of the bearing capacity of the jacket foundation pile for the offshore wind farm using effective stress analysis, with consideration of pore pressure generation and soil/liquid coupled analysis, was conducted. A new procedure to evaluate the design of offshore wind turbine foundation piles in the sand and clay inter-layered soil was also proposed. Static and dynamic analyses of bearing capacity of the jacket foundation pile were conducted. Results obtained demonstrate that the design process for the jacket foundation pile proposed in this study can properly reflect the interaction behavior of the foundation and the soil. In addition, the pore pressure generation model can be used to simulate soil liquefaction. The proposed method is also very useful in the evaluation of the design capabilities of offshore wind turbine jacket foundations.

Seismic Fragility Analysis of Monopile Offshore Wind Turbines under Different Operational Conditions

“…Many attempts to study the seismic dynamic responses [6][7][8][9], structural safety [4,5,[10][11][12] and analytical methods [4,13] of wind turbines have been conducted. Most studies focused on onshore wind turbines, which are shorter in the cantilever length than their offshore counterparts.…”

The (R)evolution of China: Offshore Wind Diffusion

“…Also, academia has provided useful answers regarding alternative types of foundations for deeper waters such as modified jacket foundations suitable for local conditions and seabed structures in Taiwan [65]. In addition, simulations including earthquake impact on the jacket foundation piling structure have been performed, duly considering the special soil conditions [66]. The windy South China Sea has also been studied from the other coast line across the Strait, in China.…”

Laboratory Study of Integrated Wet-Towing of a Triple-Bucket Jacket Foundation for Far-Offshore Applications

“…The applications of gravity and pile foundations are not economical for far-offshore conditions [19,20]. The jacket foundation structure, however, has a large overall stiffness and is less affected by wave and current loads, making it more suitable for far-offshore areas [21][22][23]. Furthermore, the bucket foundation enables a convenient construction and yields excellent bearing capability [24,25].…”