Finite element modelling of the uplift behaviour of screw piles in sand

Cerfontaine, Benjamin, Brown, Michael, Knappett, Jonathan and Davidson, Craig (2019) Finite element modelling of the uplift behaviour of screw piles in sand. In 1st International Symposium on Screw Piles for Energy Applications. 7 pp .

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

In this paper a simplified procedure to incorporate some installations effects into the numerical finite element modelling of screw pile uplift is presented. The procedure consists of the approximation of the installation phase through 1) the application of a compression loading corresponding to successive embedment depths, 2) the use of modified soil properties over a disturbed zone. Pre-defined failure mechanisms are added to introduce some weakened zones due to either soil disturbance or strain-localisation. The results of numerical simulations are compared to a centrifuge test undertaken at the University of Dundee. The simulation considering an inclined failure mechanism and the simulated installation better captures the uplift capacity and initial stiffness.

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Published date: 27 May 2019

Additional Information: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 753156. The authors would also like to acknowledge the support of EPSRC (Grant no. EP/N006054/1: Supergen Wind Hub: Grand Challenges Project: Screw piles for wind energy foundations)

Keywords: Screw piles, finite element analysis, UPLIFT, Sand