Wind Turbine Foundation Design

by Tony SlatonBarker, MS, PE, LEED AP Coffman Engineers and Travis Ross, PE Golder Associates International Wind-Diesel Workshop March 2011, Girdwood, AK

Many of AVECs villages are in Western Alaska have Class 4 or better wind regimes.

Toksook Bay
Foundation Design Overview

Wind Turbine Locations

Toksook Bay Foundation Design Criteria

Turbine: NorthWind 100 (100 kW Turbine) Tower: Danwin Tower (108 Feet, 32 meter) Design Parameters:
Class 6 Wind Regime Maximum Wind Speed = 130 mph, 58 m/s (50 year) Overturning Moment = 1,830,000 ft lb (2,481 kNm) Total Tower/Turbine Weight = 42,000 lb (187 kN) Maximum Rotor Frequency = 60 rpm (1.00 Hz) System Frequency >= 1.05 Hz (Includes 5% Safety Factor) 4th tower installed in 2010

Geotechnical Conditions & Design

Tundra Mat / Organics, Ice-Rich Silty Permafrost Frozen Siltstone below ~18 ft average depth
Future Thawed Active Layer

Toksook Bay

Six 20 Pipe Piles, driven into Rock Drilled 20 ft Concrete Socket into Rock Rock Socket needed to develop Uplift (in addition to Adfreeze in Permafrost) Pile Point of Fixity at Future Thawed Active Layer Special Consideration for Concrete Curing in 31 F Frozen Siltstone.

Ice-Rich Permafrost

Frozen Siltstone

Toksook Bay Foundation Analysis

Coffman completed static analysis of foundation to determine number/depth of piles for foundation Determining the system natural frequency required finite element analysis RISA was originally chosen as the modeling software, but was deemed inadequate to resolve the long slender elements and differences in material stiffness SAP software has been used to conduct analysis since

The Toksook Bay wind turbine foundations were based on a steel frame embedded within a 2.5 foot (762 mm) thick concrete foundation supported by piles.

Winter construction Holes pre-drilled Piles driven to refusal Piles later cut

Toksook Bay, Alaska

Drilling out center of piles 20ft (6.1m) below end of pile to install reinforced concrete.

Toksook Bay, Alaska

Rebar Cage to be Installed in Drilled-out Pile

Toksook Bay, Alaska

Installing Rebar Cage Inside 20 (510mm) Pile in Preparation for Concrete

Toksook Bay, Alaska

 Six piles for a single tower foundation Piles shown here with rebar cage installed and
concrete poured

Toksook Bay, Alaska

Pile Verification Testing

Pile design uplift
load 63 Kips (280kN) Tested up to 2 times load (560 kN) with 0.019 (0.48mm) movement Tested up to 210 Kips (934kN) with less than 0.25 (6.3mm) movement

Toksook Bay, Alaska

Steel Foundation Star

Conduit Bolt s

Drain

Toksook Bay, Alaska

Wind Turbine Foundation

Turbine/Tower/Foundation System Frequency Response: Calculated Freq. 1.051 Hz * Measured Freq. 1.07 Hz **
* Calculated frequency determined through dynamic modeling of turbine, tower, and foundation system. ** Measured frequencies determined through accelerometer measurements performed during the August service by Northern Power.

Toksook Bay

Nacelle at NPS production facility in Barre, Vermont

Kasigluk
Foundation Design Overview

Kasigluk

Wind Turbine Locations

Kasigluk Foundation Design Criteria

Turbine: NorthWind 100 (100 kW Turbine) Tower: Danwin Tower (108 Feet, 32 meter) Design Parameters:
Class 6 Wind Regime Maximum Wind Speed = 130 mph, 58 m/s (50 year) Overturning Moment = 1,830,000 ft lb (2,481 kNm) Total Tower/Turbine Weight = 42,000 lb (187 kN) Maximum Rotor Frequency = 60 rpm (1.00 Hz) System Frequency >= 1.05 Hz (Includes 5% Safety Factor)

Geotechnical Conditions
Ice-Rich, Over-Saturated Silty Sand Marginally Frozen and Discontinuous Permafrost (close to 32F) Located in a Region of Degrading Permafrost (Y-K Delta). Unique Foundation Conditions

Kasigluk

Remote Alaska Wind Towers Require Unique Foundations

Wind Towers are uniquely subjected to dynamic wind and vibration loading Manufactures require that foundation systems meet certain stiffness requirements, which ensures longevity of the turbines and prevents resonance Special Soil considerations related to cyclic weakening or degradation in strength as a result of dynamic loading Concrete is commonly used in wind tower foundationsproviding mass and dampening However, the ground in most of Western Alaska (where most of the installations are) is often not suitable for shallow bearing foundations Remote locations, lack of local aggregate, and cold-climate make concrete challenging & expensive.

Pile Design in Permafrost

Adfreeze Strength as function of temp
- Most of Y-K Delta is Warm Permafrost
29 psi 52 psi

Adfreeze Stength also a function of Load Duration

- Favorable for transient short term wind loads - Creep settlement in ice much less of a concern
25 F

14 psi

Passive Refrigeration sometimes needed to:

- Preserve & Aggrade Permafrost (in a changing world) - Increase Adfreeze Strength by Chilling Permafrost

28 F

32 F

Thermosyphons: Thermo-Piles vs. Thermo-Probes Passive Refrigeration not only increases axial resistance it Provides Lateral Stiffness by limiting thawed active layer Installation: Driven (not always practical), Thermal Modification, Drill & Slurry, Pre-Drill, Battered if possible
Thermo-Probes Thermo-Piles
Photo Credit: STG, Incorporated

Geotechnical Design
Foundation Caps were identical to Toksook Bay (steel frame / concrete cap supported by piles). Six Helical Piles were screwed into the Ground about 40 ft (design by HDL, DMA, & Almita). Passive Refrigeration needed to Preserve Permafrost (which Pile Capacities relies upon), AND To Provide Lateral Stiffness (by Restricting Thawed Active Layer). First Large Diameter Screw Piles Installed in Permafrost in AK (by STG, Inc. & Almita)

Kasigluk

Typical Section

Kasigluk

The foundations were identical to Toksook Bay (steel frame embedded within a thick concrete foundation supported by piles).

Kasigluk
Turbine/Tower/Foundation System Frequency Response: Calculated Freq. 1.045 Hz * Measured Freq. 1.07 Hz **
* Calculated frequency determined through dynamic modeling of turbine, tower, and foundation system. ** Measured frequencies determined through accelerometer measurements performed during the August service by Northern Power.

Hooper Bay
Foundation Design Overview

Hooper Bay

Hooper Bay Foundation Design

Same turbine and tower configuration as Toksook Bay and Kasigluk Prior to beginning design, a thorough review of Toksook Bay and Kasigluk models was conducted by Coffmans modeling experts based in Los Angeles Minor modeling errors/inconsistencies were noted and corrected Based on construction managers recommendation, AVEC requested that the concrete encasement be eliminated to reduce construction cost Steel beams were increased in size to maintain foundation stiffness Steel Helical Piles anchored into Permafrost

Old Model

Revised Model

Gambell
Foundation Design Overview

Gambell

Gambell Foundation Design

Turbine: NorthWind 100 (100 kW Turbine) Tower: Nordtank Tower (98 Feet, 30 meter) Design Parameters:
Class 7 Wind Regime Maximum Wind Speed = 134 mph, 60 m/s (50 year) Maximum Rotor Frequency = 60 rpm (1.00 Hz) System Frequency >= 1.10 Hz Concrete foundation (avoided piles as could hit seawater permeated soil) Size foundation to have acceptable vibrational frequency

Gambell, AK

Geotechnical Conditions
Well Rounded Beach Gravel Permafrost below about 9 ft depth, - but found to be discontinuous Sporadic Un-Frozen Zones - Complex mix of Bering Sea Influence (salt water lowers the freezing temp) - High flow of GW from Lake to the Sea Frozen gravel considered thaw-stable Long-term Preservation of Permafrost is uncertain

Gambell

Geotechnical Design
Concrete Mat Foundation was chosen as best option - Good bearing capacity in the gravel, with no degradation in strength under cyclic / dynamic loads - Piles not practical in frozen gravel - Concrete Mat Foundation can better accommodate settlement resulting from thawing Dynamic Soil properties provided as part of dynamic modeling STG, Incorporated utilized on-island concrete aggregate source.

Gambell

Kokhanok
Foundation Design Overview

Kokhanok

Foundation Design
Turbine: Vestas V17 (90 kW Turbine) Tower: 80 foot lattice (24 meter) Design Parameters:
Class 6 Wind Regime Maximum Wind Speed = 90 mph, 40 m/s (measured 2004) Maximum Rotor Frequency = 51 rpm (0.85 Hz) Concrete foundation (gravel available on site, wide tower base, lower turbine freq) No uplift test required as based on gravity load that can be calculated Weight turbine??
Photo Credit: John Lyons, March Creek, LLC

Kokhanok

Turbine location s

Aerial Photo Credit: Aerometric, Inc.

Photo Credit: John Lyons, March Creek, LLC

Geotechnical Conditions
Beach Gravel (Qb) prevalent throughout Limited Area of Shallow Bedrock (Bx), w/ Small Pocket of Glacial Drift (Ggd) Groundwater at 5 ft depth (i.e. Lake Iliamna) Turbine location s

Kokhanok

Turbine location s
Aerial Photo Credit: Aerometric, Inc.

Geotechnical Conditions (cont.)

One Tower Site Selected On a Bedrock Shelf, underlying Beach Gravel

Kokhanok

Qb Beach Gravel

Second Tower Site Selected Bearing on Glacial Drift

Qgd Glacial Drift

Geotechnical Design
Clean Sand & Gravel Borrow Pit made Shallow Concrete Foundations Feasible Great Bearing Materials for Shallow Foundations Base of the Concrete was Raised to avoid having to pump down Lake Iliamna during pour Bearing Material NOT susceptible to cyclic weakening or dynamic strength loss

Kokhanok

Photo Credit: John Lyons, March Creek, LLC

Typical Small Turbine Foundations

Foundation Design Summary

Foundation Summary Toksook Bay - Driven 25 steel piles with reinforced concrete socket to 40. Steel/concrete pile cap Kasigluk - Screwed Helical piles to 40 . Steel/concrete pile cap system Hooper Bay - Screwed Helical piles to 40 . Steel pile cap system Gambell - Concrete mat 4 foot thick x 24 square (7 below grade). 4 foot tall concrete pier. Kokhanok - Concrete mat 2 foot thick x 20 square (6 below grade). 6 foot tall concrete piers for 4 leg lattice tower Quinhagak - Thermopiles with helicies to 25. Pre-cast reinforced concrete cap. Smaller systems: mat foundations, single concrete piers poured into CMP, steel piles, etc Arctic Design Considerations Thermosyphons may be required in warm permafrost: 1) to aggrade or preserve permafrost, 2) to enhance adfreeze bond by lowering the temperature, and 3) to increase lateral rigidity Insulation may be required to: 1) reduce frost jacking around foundation, 2) offset heat gained by fill pad, and 3) reduce thawed active layer. Seasonal Frost depth greater in Alaska, requiring deeper foundations Rock sockets or anchors in frozen rock require cold-climate concrete or grout (i.e. Fondu grout) Cold temp steel and anchor bolts may be required where applicable Installation can only occur in winter in some cases (tundra areas susceptible to damage in summer) Remote access mobilization issues and availability of concrete aggregate

Questions???

Photo Credit: STG, Incorporated