System disruptions
There are recurring service disruptions on some of the search portals due to high traffic. We are working to resolve the issue, you may temporarily encounter an error message.
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Dynamic analysis of granular anchor pile foundation
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering.
2025 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

This thesis presents a dynamic finite element investigation of an innovative hybrid foundation for onshore wind turbines, integrating granular anchor piles (GAPs) with conventional concrete piles and an anchor-cage connection. A K₀ geostatic initialization establishes in-situ stress and porepressure conditions, after which the foundation system is introduced and subjected to three loading scenarios in PLAXIS 3D: extreme static loads, pseudostatic seismic loading, and two-way cyclic wind loading. Soil material’s behavior is described by the Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model, linear-elastic behavior for concrete and steel, with node-to-node anchors inside the GAPs.Under extreme static condition, the maximum vertical settlement of -20.8 mm remains well within the 50 mm serviceability limit, and differential settlement produces a total moderate tilt of 8 mm, demonstrating adequate stiffness and load distribution. Pseudostatic analysis (applying a 0.3 g horizontal inertia force) yields total displacements up to 212 mm, a 53 % increase over static, indicating that further reinforcement or layout adjustments would be required. Under 10 cycles of harmonic wind-induced loading, the foundation exhibits an initial compactiondominated settlement followed by stable sinusoidal oscillations with amplitudes on the order of 10⁻⁵ m, confirming strong fatigue resilience under operational wind reversals.Concrete piles carry most bending moments (up to 5.9 MN·m) and axial forces (from -973 kN to +122 kN), with peak stresses concentrated in the upper third of piles aligned with the moment couple. GAPs mobilize primarily axial resistance, reaching full plastic yielding under extreme loads. The bending moments are 60-70% smaller than in concrete piles, similarly the axial forces are 50-60 times smaller than in the concrete piles. Gapping criteria analyses based on DNV/Risøhandbooks reveal effective contact ratios dropping below 50 % when overturning moments exceed ~57 800 kN·m, with corresponding contact pressures rising by over 100 % relative to zeroeccentricity, highlighting the existence of local gapping and the risk of different failure modes under large eccentric loads.In summary, the hybrid GAP–concrete foundation system meets static serviceability and demonstrates robust cyclic behavior under wind loads but requires design refinement for seismic and high-eccentricity scenarios. These findings inform Vattenfall’s next R&D phase and offer a pathway to more sustainable, low carbon foundation solutions for future wind turbine deployments. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. , p. 64
Keywords [en]
Wind turbine foundation, Geotechnical engineering, Foundation systems, Finite element modelling (FEM), Dynamic loading, Granular anchor pile
National Category
Civil Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-115064OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-115064DiVA, id: diva2:2005359
External cooperation
Vattenfall R&D
Educational program
Civil Engineering, master's level
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2025-10-10 Created: 2025-10-09 Last updated: 2025-10-21Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

fulltext(3214 kB)153 downloads
File information
File name FULLTEXT02.pdfFile size 3214 kBChecksum SHA-512
6d7d1f9be2e5740f21a79bbc98ea3d965fb5b3ebff2c30e4517fb08988ddd4545b70b51e9b5f8c2c89a4b4f81ae67ed89462b0d7ef9c5096da6b276eb271d122
Type fulltextMimetype application/pdf

By organisation
Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering
Civil Engineering

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar
Total: 155 downloads
The number of downloads is the sum of all downloads of full texts. It may include eg previous versions that are now no longer available

urn-nbn

Altmetric score

urn-nbn
Total: 159 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf