Influence of a jack-up installation near a wind turbine foundation: a numerical study

Carlos Molina Mesa*, Tim Pucker, Julian Bubel

*Corresponding author for this work

Abstract

Jack-up vessels are often used for the installation of wind turbines or their foundations. During the operational phase, restrictions on the vessel layout may cause delays during installation. Ideally, the jack-up is placed as close as possible to the foundation to facilitate the transport of the different wind turbine components. However, placing a jack-up too close to a foundation may cause problems on the foundation stiffness, which originally is not designed to support either the additional loading caused by a spud- can, or the footprint left after installation. This article describes how to apply the finite element method to define when the distance between jack-up and structure and foundation do not affect the foundation stiffness. If the available distance is not sufficient, the finite element method can also be used to estimate the influence of the spudcan extraction on possible soil stiffness degradation. The paper confirms the recommended clearance according to ABS (2018) and SNAME (2008) and presents an example of soil degradation due jack-up installation of less distance.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings 10th NUMGE 2023
Subtitle of host publication10th European Conference on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering
Number of pages6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023
Event10th European Conference on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (NUMGE 2023) - Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Duration: 26 Jun 202328 Jun 2023

Conference

Conference10th European Conference on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (NUMGE 2023)
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityLondon
Period26/06/2328/06/23

Keywords

  • FEM
  • jack-up
  • foundation stiffness
  • footprint

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