• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.257-282
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• 2015

In this study, the authors present a coupled fluid-structures-seabed interaction analysis of a monopile type of wind turbine foundations in liquefiable soils. A two dimensional analysis is performed with a nonlinear stiffness degradation model incorporated in the finite difference program Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC), which captured the fundamental mechanisms of the monopiles in saturated granular soil. The effects of inertia and the kinematic flow of soil are investigated separately, to highlight the importance of considering the combined effect of these phenomena on the seismic design of offshore monopiles. Different seismic loads, such as those experienced in the Kobe, Santa Cruz, Loma Prieta, Kocaeli, and Morgan Hill earthquakes, are analyzed. The pore water pressure development, relative displacements, soil skeleton deformation and monopile bending moment are obtained for different predominant frequencies and peak accelerations. The findings are verified with results in the liter.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.193-209
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• 2016

In this study, wave force tests were carried out for the four types of offshore support structures with scale factor 1:25 and wave forces to the support structure shapes were investigated. As the results of this study, it was found that, as the wave period increased at the normal wave condition, wave force decreased for the most cases. Extreme wave force was affected by the impact wave force. Impact wave force of this study significantly effect on Monopile and slightly on GBS and Hybrid type. Accordingly, Hybrid type indicated even lower wave force at the extreme and irregular wave conditions than the Monopile although Hybrid type indicated higher wave force at the normal wave condition of the regular wave because of the larger wave area of wave body. In respects of the structural design, since critical loading is extreme wave force, it should be contributed to improve structural safety of offshore support structure. However, since the impact wave force has nonlinearity and complication dependent on the support structure shape, wave height, wave period, and etc., more research is needed to access the impact wave force for other support structure shapes and wave conditions.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.625-639
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• 2015

Monopiles have been most widely used for supporting offshore wind turbines (OWTs) in shallow water areas. However, multi-member lattice-type structures such as jackets and tripods are also considered good alternatives to monopile foundations for relatively deep water areas with depth ranging from 25-50 m owing to their technical and economic feasibility. Moreover, jacket structures have been popular in the oil and gas industry for a long time. However, several unsolved technical issues still persist in the utilization of multi-member lattice-type supporting structures for OWTs; these problems include pile-soil-interaction (PSI) effects, realization of dynamically stable designs to avoid resonances, and quick and safe installation in remote areas. In this study, the effects of PSI on the dynamic properties of bottom-fixed OWTs, including monopile-, tripod- and jacket-supported OWTs, were investigated intensively. The tower and substructure were modeled using conventional beam elements with added mass, and pile foundations were modeled with beam and nonlinear spring elements. The effects of PSI on the dynamic properties of the structure were evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation considering the load amplitude, scouring depth, and the uncertainties in soil properties.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.222-231
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• 2016

Multi-member lattice-type structures including jackets and tripods are being considered as good alternatives to monopile foundations for relatively deep water of 25-50 m of water depth owing to their technical and economic feasibility. In this study, the reliability analysis of bottom-fixed offshore wind turbines with monopile and/or multi-member lattice-type foundations is carried out and the sensitivities of random variables such as material properties, external wind loadings and scouring depth are compared with respect to different types of foundations. Numerical analysis of the NREL 5 MW wind turbine supported by monopile, tripod and jacket substructures shows that the uncertainties of soil properties affect the reliability index more significantly for the monopile-supported OWTs while the reliability index is not so sensitive to the material properties in the cases of tripod- and jacket-supported OWTs. In conclusion, the reliability analysis can be preliminarily carried out without considering soil-pile-interaction in the cases of tripod- and jacket-supported OWTs while it is very important to use the well-measured soil properties for reliable design of monopile-supported OWTs.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.261-267
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• 2014

Because a change in the natural frequencies of a structure indicates structural health problems, monitoring the natural frequencies crucial. Long-term measurement for the Uldolmok tidal current power plant structure has shown that its natural frequencies fluctuate with a constant cycle twice a day. In this study, lab-scale tests to investigate the causes of these natural frequency fluctuations were carried out in a circulating water channel. Three independent variables in the tests that could affect the fluctuation of the natural frequencies were the water level, current velocity, and boundary condition between the specimen and the bottom of the circulating water channel. The experimental results were verified with numerical ones using ABAQUS. It was found that the fluctuation of the natural frequencies was governed by a decrease in stiffness due to the boundary condition much more than the effect of added mass. In addition, it was found that the natural frequency would decrease with an increase in the tidal current velocity because of its nonlinearity when the boundary condition was severely deteriorated due to damage.