Settlement of Wind Turbine Resting on Different Foundations Systems in Zafarana, Egypt

Wind turbines are a key part of meeting the ever-growing demand for electricity because they produce clean, renewable energy. When the tower rises higher, more weight and wind pressure must be supported by the base; hence, the foundation must grow in size. So, geotechnical engineers have to choose a foundation system that is strong enough to hold up the huge loads that created by the turbines. In this paper four types of wind turbine foundations systems were studied raft, connected piled raft (CPR), disconnected piled raft (DCPR) and inclined piled raft (ICPR). Finite element analysis was carried out to investigate the effect of many parameters on settlement and differential settlement of raft and piled raft foundations resting on soil layers that exist in Zafarana Egypt. The results concluded that soil-foundation relative stiffness has a significant effect to reduce the settlement and differential settlement. When using (DCPR) system the cushion stiffness and thickness have majority effect to reduce both settlement and differential settlement, Moreover, the settlement and differential settlement are significantly reduced by the inclination of the edge piles with angles (α).