Study on Horizontal Bearing Characteristics of Pile-Wheel Hybrid Foundations of Offshore Wind Turbines

Abstract

In order to study the influence of friction wheel parameters and loading eccentricities on the horizontal bearing characteristics of pile-wheel hybrid foundations, the numerical calculation models of pile-wheel hybrid foundations of offshore wind turbines in heterogeneous soil were established by using ABAQUS finite-element software. The results show that with the increase of the diameter, height, density of the friction wheel and the decrease of the loading eccentricity, the horizontal bearing capacity of hybrid foundations increases. With the increase of the diameter and height of the friction wheel, the change amplitude of load gradually weakens, indicating that there is an optimal friction wheel size that could give full play to the bearing performance of the hybrid foundation. Compared with other influencing factors, the friction wheel density has less influence on the horizontal bearing capacity, pile shear force, and bending moment of hybrid foundations. The closer the position of the horizontal load is to the mud surface, the better the friction wheel can improve the bearing capacity of the pile foundation.