This study explores methods for modeling the foundation-seabed interaction needed for the load analysis of an offshore wind energy system. It comprises the comparison study of foundation design load analyses for NREL 5 MW turbine according to various soil-foundation interaction models by conducting the load analysis with GH-Bladed, analysis software for offshore wind energy systems. Furthermore, the results of the aforementioned load analysis were applied to foundation analysis software called L-Pile to conduct a safety review of the foundation cross-section design. Differences in the cross-section of a monopile foundation were observed based on the results of the fixed model, winkler spring and coupled spring models, and the analysis of design load cases, including DLC 1.3, DLC 6.1a, and DLC 6.2a. Consequently, under all design load conditions, the diameter and thickness of the monopile foundation cross-section were found to be 7 m and 80 mm, respectively, using the fixed and coupled spring models; the results of the analysis conducted using the winkler spring model showed that the diameter and thickness of the monopile foundation cross-section were 5 m and 60 mm, respectively. The study found that the soil-foundation interaction modeling method had a significant impact on the load analysis results, which determined the cross-section of a foundation. Based on this study, it is anticipated that designing an offshore wind energy system foundation taking the above impact into account would reduce the possibility of a conservative or unconservative design of the foundation.
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