Abstract
Abstract Some problems of the foundations of offshore wind turbines are considered in this paper. A short review is presented on the two basic types of foundations, i.e. monopiles and gravity foundations, including their basic features and applications as well as general design considerations. Also, some issues regarding analysis are discussed, including geotechnical problems and modelling techniques. A numerical model of offshores turbine and some preliminary computations are presented. Finite element analysis was carried out for wind turbines supported on both gravity and monopile foundations. The wind turbine tower, blades (simplified model), gravity foundation and part of the surrounding soil are included in the model. The turbine was loaded by wind and loads induced by waves, inertia and gravity. Both non-linear static and dynamic analysis of the wind turbine was performed. The displacements and stresses under the tower foundations were calculated and a comparison analysis carried out.
Highlights
Wind energy is one of the most widely used types of renewable energy
In the numerical model of a tower set on a gravity foundation, 21756 four-node doubly curved thin or thick S4R shell elements with reduced integration were used to simulate the wind turbine tower, and 21492 eight-node hexahedral finite C3D8R elements with reduced integration were used for the fundament slab, concrete column and soil
Wind turbine tower on a gravity foundation In the case of the tower on a gravity foundation, the load was applied in two steps: in the first, the tower dead weight was applied; in the second, the remaining load as for example wind or wave loads
Summary
Wind energy is one of the most widely used types of renewable energy. Recently, there has been a significant development of offshore wind farms. 3-D FEM computations were carried out for wind turbines supported on monopile and gravity foundations. A short review of the basic supporting structures of OWTs, i.e. gravity foundations and monopiles, is presented.
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