Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8059371 | Applied Ocean Research | 2016 | 12 Pages |
Abstract
Offshore wind power is a rapidly growing area of electricity in China. In the present paper, interaction mechanisms between the caisson for wind turbines and saturated silt sand are investigated with laboratory tests based on two different installation methods, jacking installation and suction installation. For the jacking installation process, the results indicate that the soil pressures inner and outer the skirt of the caisson vary with a similar feature and the magnitudes of the two are nearly balanced. The tip resistance plays a key role in the total jacking installation resistance. This paper examines the predictive performance of qc method and API approach for jacking installation resistance. It is demonstrated that the qc method provides better predictions. The resistance coefficients are recommended. For the case of suction installation, however, the changes of soil pressures inner and outer the skirt are contrasting. Specifically, the inner pressure and tip resistance fall dramatically, but the outer pressure increases when suction is applied. Seepage effect is found to be an important mechanism for the installation of suction caisson. The reduction ratios of the inner friction and tip resistance follow a power-function with the normalized suction. Based on the test results, a prediction method for the required suction has been developed and evaluated.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Engineering
Ocean Engineering
Authors
Fei Chen, Jijian Lian, Haijun Wang, Fang Liu, Hongzhen Wang, Yue Zhao,