Study on the loess soil improved by soil-cement columns for wind turbine foundation

Abstract

The paper presents the foundation solution for wind turbine in the extreme geotechnical condition. With the features of loose and foam loess and easier to settle when wet condition, it needs improving before construction. In the scope of the paper, the deep mixing soil-cement column combined of soil-cement load transfer layer for loess improvement is proposed. Additionally, the sequence of settlement prediction is described, and the two cases of column distance are 2 m and 1,5 m, the diameters of column range from 0,5 to 0,8 m are analysed. Moreover, the cement mixing ratio in loess is considered. The analytical results indicate that the settlement of wind turbine foundation is lower the the limited settlement (78,51 mm less than 80 mm) when the load transfer layer equals 1,5 m and the improvement ratio (Ac/A) of 0,145 and the cement/soil mixture ratio of 6%.