INFLUENCE OF FOUNDATION NONLINEARITY ON OFFSHORE TOWERS RESPONSE

The nonlinear behavior of supporting piles greatly affect the response of fixed, offshore towers. An analysis of the foundation piles response to transient dynamic loading that considers soil nonlinearity, discontinuity conditions at the pile-soil interface, and group effect is used to assemble the stiffness matrix of the foundation piles. A foundation stiffness matrix is added to the global structural stiffness matrix at the pertinent degrees of freedom. A model for the assessment of wave forces on the tower members that coniders the spatial incoherence effect on wave forces is employed in the analysis. Hydrodynamic damping is evaluated, and the effect of the tower foundation behavior on it is assessed. In addition, the tower response to random wave forces is conducted, and the effect of foundation parameters on the tower response is studied. Investigators found that both the hydrodynamic damping and tower reposnse to wave forces are greatly influenced by the foundation nonlinearity and by pile-soil-pile interaction.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Features: Appendices; Figures; References;
  • Pagination: p. 717-724
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00726139
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Sep 29 1996 12:00AM