Soil – Anchor Interaction of a Floating Offshore Wind Turbine under Cyclic Load
G. Christopoulos (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
L. Flessati – Mentor (TU Delft - Geo-engineering)
E. Kementzetzidis – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Offshore Engineering)
G. Lavidas – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Offshore Engineering)
Apostolos Bougioukos – Graduation committee member (Witteveen+Bos)
Feike Savenije – Graduation committee member (TNO)
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Abstract
The rapid growth of Floating Offshore Wind (FOW) has spurred intensive research across various aspects of the floating system. A standard practice in mooring system design within the industry is that anchors remain fixed on the seabed. In contrast, plate-type anchors exhibit mobility under loading, a crucial factor considering the thousands of loading cycles experienced by FOW turbines during operation. Understanding the strain accumulation mechanism during cyclic loading has substantial implications for design. This thesis delves into the behavior of Drag Embedded Anchors (DEAs) subjected to static monotonic and cyclic loading, utilizing 3-dimensional Finite Element simulations. The installation trajectory of DEAs is initially defined through established analytical methodologies. Subsequently, the movement of the anchor and soil response under monotonic and cyclic loads is elucidated. Analytical expressions for monotonic force-displacement curves are examined, identifying optimal models and offering relevant parameter values for different anchor trajectory points. Under cyclic loading, the influence of average load and cyclic load amplitude is studied, along with exploring the feasibility of applying an existing 1-dimensional model for predicting anchor response.