A comparative study on the lateral displacement response of short monopiles with different plug materials

Abstract

Today wind energy is regarded as a major source in the energy market and power generation. An offshore wind turbine is supported by a stable platform located above the ocean surface, together with a combination of rotor-nacelle-tower structure and the foundation. In the most often used system, the tower is fixed onto the monopile foundation by a transition piece. Monopiles are large-scale steel pipes that are often driven into the seabed by impact; their typical dimensions range from 8 m to 10 m in diameter, 30 m to 40 m in length, and weigh as much as 1000 tons. In this study, a small-scale monopile foundation with different plug materials is modeled using the Plaxis 3D finite element software.