NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF ONSHORE

FOUNDATION OF DIFFERENT SHAPES OF

WIND TURBINE

Presented by Guided by
Arunkumar R Yadav Dr. Vijay Kumar &
(2019GE15) Dr. Anupam Rawat

Civil Engineering Department

Motilal Nehru National Institute Of Technology Allahabad,
Prayagraj-211 0 0 4
OBJECTIVE
⚫To analyse the behaviour of circular shaped
foundation of wind turbine under the given loading
condition.
⚫Estimation of settlements and vertical stresses under
the slab throughout the width of the slab
⚫Comparison of the results of the model with the
numerical method
LITERATURE REVIEW
⚫ Brasil ABEF-- This work involves an initial assessment of the
foundations by standard plasticity theory method, followed by
Plaxis 3D analysis using the Hardening soil small strain model
(HS-small). This paper has analysed only the rectangular shape
of the foundation on a soil which consists of Sediments resulting
from the decomposition of quartzites and meta-siltites.
⚫ http://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses-- In this research, the
economic advantages of using raft foundations, pile group
foundations and piled-raft foundations are discussed based on
the geotechnical design results and parametric studies using both
analytical calculations and numerical simulations using GROUP
and PLAXIS 2D software.
Literature Gap
⚫In the previous papers both of them have analysed the
foudation for circular shape analytically and no
specific results were prepared using numerical
analysis.
⚫Here the analysis will be done on indian type soil.
METHODOLOGY
⚫Foundation will be analysed by using numerical analysis.
⚫Terzaghi’s classical theory will be used for determining
bearing capacity.
⚫Mohr coulomb failure criteria will be considered.
⚫Plaxis 3d model will be prepared for showing the
distribution of settlement and vertical stresses, also other
distributions between different geotechnical parameters.
 ASSESSMENT OF DESIGN PARAMENTERS AND
PROBLEM DEFINITION
⚫In this study, a 130 m tall tower located in Jaisalmer
(Rajasthan) wind farm was considered as a sample
problem for the design and analysis of circular
foundation.
Soil properties
⚫The necessary geotechnical properties were obtained
from a geotechnical report produced by the CEG TEST
HOUSE and Research Center Pvt Ltd.
⚫Generalized soil properties
Layer Depth (m) Soil Soil Unit weight Poissons
Characteristi (kN/M^3) Ratio
cs

1 0.00-1.50 Silty Sand Loose 17.28 0.49

2 1.50-3.00 Silty Sand Medium 16.50 0.50

Dense

3 3.00-6.00 Silty Sand Very Dense 19.64 0.50

with Gravels
Design load calculation
Dead Load
⚫ The wind turbine tower considered in this study is a hybrid
hollow cylindrical tower with the lower 93 m made of
concrete with a unit weight of 23.58 kN/m3 and the upper
37 m made of steel with a unit weight of 78.5 kN/m3. The
dead load of the tower was calculated to be 47.00 MN. The
combined weight of the nacelle and rotor was considered to
be 4.71 MN (480 tons) which was found from the literature
for wind turbines taller than 100 m.
⚫ The final dead load was calculated to be 51.71 MN acting
at the base of the tower
Wind Load
⚫The mean value of the design shear force and the bending
moment at the base of the tower were calculated to be
3.71 MN and 237.37 MNm, respectively.
⚫The design loads at the base of the tower for the design of
foundations are shown in Figure 2
Analysis
⚫ The first analysis step consisted of assessment of the
geometry of the foundations, by means of simple
analytical methods. Safety checks were performed for
three different base diameters (18.4 m, 17.9 m and
17.4 m).
⚫ Factor of safety checks were performed with respect
to 1. Rocking 2. Sliding 3. Bearing Capacity
4. Rotational Stiffness
Results
Results

Fig.2-model of foundation Fig.3-cross section A-A

References

fi

fig.4- Plaxis Analysis- Total displacements

Results

Fig.5- Distribution of settlements and vertical stresses under

Conclusion
⚫ Analysis of these results yielded the optimum
diameter of 17.9 m, which is the smallest diameter
that meets all safety checks.
⚫ Differential settlement is below 3 mm/m under the
unweighted extreme loads.
⚫ It is important to emphasize that Plaxis considers the
foundation as an element of infinite stiffness (rigid
body).
REFERENCES
⚫ Geotecnia SEFE 9 (2019), São Paulo, Brasil ABEF-
“Foundation Design of Wind Turbines With 3D FEM
Modelling”.
⚫ Conference Paper September 2016
DOI:10.3846/13bsgc.2016.029- Design of Foundations for
Wind Turbine with Analysis by Finite Element Method
⚫ http://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses- "Design And Analysis
Of Foundation For Onshore Tall Wind Turbines" (2015). All
Theises Paper 2291.
⚫ E3S Web of Conferences 184, 01094 (2020)- Foundation
Types for Land and Offshore Sustainable Wind Energy Turbine
Towers
References
⚫ DNV (2002), Guidelines for Design of Wind Turbines
2nd edition, Det Norske Veritas, Wind Energy
Depatment, Riso National Laboratory, Norway, 2002.
⚫ Terzaghi K., Peck, R. (1967) Soil Mechanics in
Engineering Practice. 2nd Edition, John Wiley, New
York 1967.
⚫ Santos J.A., Correia A. G. (2001) Reference threshold
shear strain of soil. Its application to obtain a unique
strain-dependent shear modulus curve for soil, 15th
International Conference on Soil Mechanics and
Geotechnical Engineering, 2001.
References
⚫ CEG test house and research center pvt ltd.
Geotechnical report Jaipur, No.SR_05_12-13.
⚫ Lang, P.J. (2012). “Sensitivity of shallow wind turbine
foundation design and soil response to geotechnical
variance with construction cost implications.” M.S.
thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison.