• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.245-253
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• 2020

In this study, natural frequencies are compared using several pile-soil interaction (PSI) models to evaluate the effects of each model on resonance safety checks for a monopile type of wind turbine structure. Base spring, distributed spring, and three-dimensional brick-shell models represented the PSIs in the finite element model. To analyze the effects of the PSI models on a natural frequency, after a stiffness matrix calculation and Winkler-based beam model for base spring and distributed spring models were presented, respectively; natural frequencies from these models were investigated for monopiles with different geometries and soil properties. These results were compared with those from the brick-shell model. The results show that differences in the first natural frequency of the monopiles from each model are small when the small diameter of monopile penetrates hard soil and rock, while the distributed spring model can over-estimate the natural frequency for large monopiles installed in weak soil. Thus, an appropriate PSI model for natural frequency analyses should be adopted by considering soil conditions and structure scale.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.421-430
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• 2013

To predict behaviors of offshore wind turbines which are highly laterally loaded structures and to design them rationally, evaluating the soil-foundation interaction is important. Nowadays, there are many soil modeling methods for structural analysis of general structures subjected to vertical loads, but using the methods without any consideration for design of a monopile foundation is eschewed because it might cause wrong structural design due to the deferent loading state. In this paper, we identify the differences of the member forces and displacements by design methods. The results show that fixed end method is barely suitable for monopile design in terms of checking the serviceability because it underestimate the lateral displacement. Fixed end method and stiffness matrix method underestimate the member forces, whereas virtual fixed end method overestimates them. The results of p-y curve method and coefficient of subgrade reaction method are similar to the results of 3D soil modeling method, and 2D soil modeling method overestimates the displacement and member forces as compared with other methods.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.79-91
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• 2019

Renewed interest in the long-term pile foundations has been driven by the increase in offshore wind turbine installation to generate renewable energy. A monopile subjected to repetitive loads experiences an evolution of displacements, pile rotation, and stress redistribution along the embedded portion of the pile. However, it is not fully understood how the embedded pile interacts with the surrounding soil elements based on different pile geometries. This study investigates the long-term soil response around offshore monopiles using finite element method. The semi-empirical numerical approach is adopted to account for the fundamental features of volumetric strain (terminal void ratio) and shear strain (shakedown and ratcheting), the strain accumulation rate, and stress obliquity. The model is tested with different strain boundary conditions and stress obliquity by relaxing four model parameters. The parametric study includes pile diameter, embedded length, and moment arm distance from the surface. Numerical results indicate that different pile geometries produce a distinct evolution of lateral displacement and stress. In particular, the repetitive lateral load increases the global lateral load resistance. Further analysis provides insight into the propagation of the shear localization from the pile tip to the ground surface.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.655-662
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• 2013

Recently, by the problems owing to utilization of fossil fuel, various green energies receive attention. Wind, the impetus for the wind power generation as one of the green energies, is observed higher quality value in the offshore than onshore. Also, the development of offshore wind turbines is in the spotlight as alternative to solve the problems of onshore wind farm such as securing sites, noise, and electromagnetic waves, and to get efficient wind energy. Therefore, the many researches on offshore wind energy have been carried out. As wind towers are advanced to ocean, offshore wind towers have been enlarged. Thus, stability is required to endure wind force and wave force. In this study, the external forces act on the foundation in multi-layered are calculated by p-y relation.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.789-798
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• 2013

The procedures and relevant programs developed for analyzing mechanical load data of wind turbine generator systems, which are obtained through type certification tests, are verified. The following issues according to IEC 61400-13 are covered in the developed programs: data validation, time series analysis, summary load statistics, generation of fatigue load spectra, and estimation of equivalent loads. A capture matrix for normal power production is generated to determine whether the collected data sets are sufficient to carry out fatigue analysis. Fatigue load spectra are obtained through the rainflow counting method using 50 load ranges; finally, equivalent loads are calculated using different S-N curve slopes, m, according to the relevant materials. Case studies are performed using aero-elastic simulation data of the NREL 5 MW baseline wind turbine with a monopile foundation.