• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.33-47
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• 2024

Offshore wind structures are subject to long-term repeated horizontal loads from wind, waves, and currents, making it essential to consider these loads in the design of offshore foundations. In this respect, monopiles are large-diameter hollow steel pipes that are relatively simple to construct compared with piles used on onshore sites. They can provide stable support for wind structures and have well-established design codes, leading to their widespread use globally. The behavior of monopiles under lateral static loads is typically assessed using the p-y method proposed by the American Petroleum Institute (API). However, the applicability of p-y curves to large-diameter monopiles exposed to repeated cyclic horizontal loads, such as those experienced in offshore wind applications, must yet be evaluated. Thus, this study evaluated the behavior of monopiles under two-way cyclic horizontal loads in loose silty sand, a representative soil type of the southwestern coast of Korea, using centrifuge model tests. The results demostrated that the behavior of monopiles varied depending on the loading level, number of cycles, and direction of the cyclic loads. Furthermore, the p-y curve method proposed by the API overestimated the behavior of a large-diameter monopile installed in silty sand under two-way cyclic loads.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.2 no.6
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• pp.441-460
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• 2002

In the design of bridges, it is important to consider the thermal stresses induced by the non-linear temperature distribution as well as the variation of effective temperature in the bridge deck. To cope with this, design temperature profiles are provided by design codes, which are normally based on extensive research work. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive investigation on the thermal behaviour of bridges in Hong Kong with special emphasis on composite bridges. The temperature distribution in bridges depends primarily on the solar radiation, ambient air temperature and wind speed in the vicinity. Apart from data of the meteorological factors, good estimates of the thermal properties of material and the film coefficients are necessary for the prediction of temperature distribution. The design temperature profiles for various types of composite bridge deck with bituminous surfacing and concrete slab of different thicknesses are proposed. The factors affecting the design effective temperature are also reviewed and suitable values for Hong Kong are proposed. Results are compared with recommendations of the current local code. The method facilitates the development of site-specific temperature profiles for code documents, and it can also be applied to create zoning maps for temperature loading for large countries where there are great climatic differences.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.29-42
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• 2020

In this study, centrifuge tests were performed to investigate the effect of the lateral load-moment combination on the p-y curves for 7 m-diameter monopiles installed in sand for offshore wind turbine. For the objectives, a centrifuge testing system was developed and tests were conducted at an acceleration of 68.83 g using well-instrumented model monopiles under two different lateral load-moment combinations simulated by different loading heights: 1 and 5 times monopile diameter from the ground surface. The sand was prepared as medium loose sand. Based on the centrifuge test results, the experimental p-y curves were evaluated and compared with previous literatures including API codes. The experimental results reveal that the p-y curves were little influenced by the combination of lateral load and moment. It was also found that the embedded length affects p-y curves.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.681-695
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• 2021

Many existing transmission or communication towers designed several decades ago have undergone nonreversible performance degradation, making it hardly meet the additional requirements from upgrades in wind load design codes and extra services of electricity and communication. Therefore, a new-type non-destructive reinforcement method was proposed to reduce the on-site operation of drilling and welding for improving the quality and efficiency of reinforcement. Six built-up steel angle members were tested under compression to examine the reinforcement performance. Subsequently, the cyclic loading test was conducted on a pair of steel angle tower sub-structures to investigate the reinforcement effect, and a simplified prediction method was finally established for calculating the buckling bearing capacity of those new-type retrofitted built-up steel angles. The results indicates that: no apparent difference exists in the initial stiffness for the built-up specimens compared to the unreinforced steel angles; retrofitting the steel angles by single-bolt clamps can guarantee a relatively reasonable reinforcement effect and is suggested for the reduced additional weight and higher construction efficiency; for the substructure test, the latticed substructure retrofitted by the proposed reinforcement method significantly improves the lateral stiffness, the non-deformability and energy dissipation capacity; moreover, an apparent pinching behavior exists in the hysteretic loops, and there is no obvious yield plateau in the skeleton curves; finally, the accuracy validation result indicates that the proposed theoretical model achieves a reasonable agreement with the test results. Accordingly, this study can provide valuable references for the design and application of the non-destructive upgrading project of steel angle towers.