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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
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Evaluering af Kraft-Flytnings Relationer for Pæle med Stor Diameter

Translated title

Evaluation of Load-Displacement Relationships for Large-Diameter Piles

Authors

; ;

Term

4. term

Publication year

2009

Pages

239

Abstract

Store monopæle i sand bruges til fundamenter for havvindmøller, men der findes ikke en anerkendt designprocedure for pæle, der belastes horisontalt. Nyligt installerede monopæle har typisk diametre på 4-6 m og rammedybder på 18-30 m. I dag dimensioneres de efter p-y kurve metoden, som er udviklet for lange, slanke pæle og derfor er dårligt verificeret for pæle med stor diameter og lavt slankhedsforhold (L/D). Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan pælediameteren påvirker samspillet mellem jord og pæl, og har til formål at udvide p-y metoden, så den kan anvendes på store monopæle. Fokus er på kurvernes initialstivhed (den første hældning), som i standarderne styres af parameteren k og dybden. I praksis vælges k ud fra jordens relative densitet eller friktionsvinkel, hvilket indebærer, at initialstivheden ikke antages at afhænge af pælediameteren. Arbejdet kombinerer et litteraturstudie, laboratorieforsøg og tredimensionelle numeriske analyser (FLAC 3D og Plaxis 3D Foundation) med en Mohr-Coulomb materialemodel. De numeriske modeller valideres mod seks forsøg på instrumenterede pæle med diametre 60 og 80 mm og længder 300 og 400 mm (L/D=5). Forsøgene udføres i en tryktank for at øge de effektive spændinger i jorden og reducere usikkerheder, der optræder ved 1-g forsøg. Litteraturen viser modstridende konklusioner om, hvorvidt diameteren påvirker initialstivheden; de fleste finder en lille effekt, men baserer sig på pæle langt mindre end moderne offshore monopæle. Desuden deformerer pæle med lavt L/D næsten som stive legemer, hvilket udfordrer den brudfigur, p-y metoden antager. Efter validering udvides modellerne til fuldskala monopæle (D = 2, 3, 5 og 7 m), og resultaterne sammenlignes med en traditionel Winkler-model for horisontalt belastede pæle.

Large-diameter monopiles in sand support offshore wind turbines, yet there is no widely accepted design procedure for piles under horizontal loads. Recently installed monopiles typically have diameters of 4-6 m and embedment depths of 18-30 m. Current practice uses the p-y curve method, developed for long, slender piles, and it has not been well verified for piles with large diameters and low slenderness ratios (L/D). This thesis examines how pile diameter influences soil-pile interaction and aims to extend the p-y method so it can be applied to large monopiles. The focus is on the initial stiffness of the p-y curves (their first slope), which standards define through the parameter k and depth. In practice, k is chosen from the soil’s relative density or friction angle, implying that initial stiffness is assumed independent of pile diameter. We combine a literature review, laboratory tests, and three-dimensional numerical analyses (FLAC 3D and Plaxis 3D Foundation) using a Mohr-Coulomb material model. The numerical models are validated against six tests on instrumented piles with diameters of 60 and 80 mm and lengths of 300 and 400 mm (L/D = 5). The experiments are performed in a pressure tank to increase effective stresses in the sand and reduce uncertainties seen in 1-g tests. The literature shows conflicting conclusions about whether diameter affects initial stiffness; most report a negligible effect but study piles far smaller than modern offshore monopiles. In addition, piles with low L/D deform almost like rigid bodies, which challenges the failure mechanism assumed in the p-y method. After validation, the models are extended to full-scale wind turbine foundations with diameters D = 2, 3, 5, and 7 m, and the results are compared with a traditional Winkler model for horizontally loaded piles.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]