Numerical Analysis of Horizontal Bearing Characteristics of Steel Pipe Piles With Restraint Plates

Abstract:

The single pile foundation with restraint plates （single hole， four holes） installed inside the traditional steel pipe piles is a new type of foundation for offshore wind turbines. In order to study the lateral bearing mechanism of the innovative pile foundation with restraint plates， a lateral loading system is specially designed in the centrifuge. A series of centrifuge tests are conducted with the traditional piles and the piles with restraint plates under ultimate conditions. The finite element model is developed in ABAQUS and validated against the test results to study the failure modes of the piles. The evolution of the rotation center on the piles are revealed in the numerical analysis. The results show that the innovative piles with restraint plates demonstrate a better stability in terms of stiffness and strength. The lateral capacities are significantly enhanced by adding the restriction plates.

Key words:offshore wind turbine;centrifuge test;pipe piles with restraint plates;lateral bearing capacity;ABAQUS