3D Numerical Modeling of Foundation Solutions for Wind Turbines

Abstract

With the current tendency to gradually increase the contribution of renewable energy to achieve significant proportions of the entire production, the wind farm construction rate is actually high. Because the location of the wind turbines (WTs) is dictated by factors usually independent of the foundation soil conditions, which are mostly based on energy production and consumption efficiency (e.g., average wind speeds, possibility of connecting to existing electrical networks, approval of authorities and local population, etc.), it is not uncommon for the construction sites to be unfavorable in terms of geotechnical demands. In these circumstances, the choice of the optimal foundation system is an important aspect in the design phase of a WT. The aim of this paper is to analyze, using three-dimensional (3D) numerical models and the suitability of currently available foundation solutions (based on a shallow foundation on the natural or improved ground), and compare the overall behavior with solutions based on rigid inclusions (RIs). The parametric study developed was based on a real soil profile, and all the foundation solutions are analyzed for realistic static WT loads. The assessment of the efficiency of each foundation system, as well as the subsequent comparative analysis, was performed in terms of the surface settlement on the foundation soil and the axial force and bending moment on the vertical reinforcements.