Assessing the performance of winged caisson foundations for offshore wind turbines

• Published in: Marine georesources & geotechnology Vol. 42; no. 3; pp. 289 - 304
• Main Authors: Faizi, Koohyar, Faramarzi, Asaad, Dirar, Samir, Chapman, David, Cui, Ge, Heron, Charles M., Marshall, Alec M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Taylor & Francis 03.03.2024; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: caisson foundations; Caissons; Centrifuge model; Centrifuges; Combined loading; finite element analysis; Finite element method; Foundations; geotechnical centrifuge modelling; Mathematical models; Model testing; Numerical models; Offshore; Offshore energy sources; Offshore wind turbines; Performance assessment; Sand; Turbines; Wind power; Wind turbines; Wings
• ISSN: 1064-119X; 1521-0618
• DOI: 10.1080/1064119X.2023.2179445

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 1 g tests (1/70th scale), centrifuge model tests (70 g ), 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.