Comparison of Laboratory Bench Scale, Centrifuge, and Numerical Models of Suction Caissons in Soft Clay for Tidal Current Turbine Applications

摘要

The drive to reduce dependence on oil has driven the research and use of renewable energy sources available offshore. The tidal current is a promising and consistent source of renewable offshore energy that can be extracted through the use of a tidal current turbine. Since tidal current turbines are currently a young and developing technology with a unique loading mechanism, it is critical to thoroughly understand each component including the foundation to allow for the deployment of a complete system with optimum efficiency and reliability. Suction caissons provide a foundation system for tidal current turbines that provides key advantages during installation and operation while promoting the "green" concept by allowing for removal of the foundation after the end of the design life of the structure. Due to the high cost of testing full-scale suction caissons, physical and or numerical models are typically used to predict the behavior of full-scale foundations under various loading conditions until field observations are available. The response of suction caissons in the multi-pod configuration from three types of modeling (laboratory bench scale, centrifuge scale, and numerical) were analyzed and compared.