Straining Actions of Piles in Different Systems of Piled Raft Foundations for Tall Wind Turbines in Zafarana, Egypt

The concept of piled raft foundation became popular in practical applications as an economical solution to situations when the raft alone could not meet design requirements. Piled rafts have been employed as a foundation system for tall wind turbines around the world in various soil conditions. Piled raft is currently utilized to manage foundation settling and reduce the thickness of the raft to get the best possible foundation design. Finite element analysis was performed to get the mobilized straining action in piles for all studied systems. In addition, a parametric study was carried out to investigate the effect of many governing factors on the values of pile-straining actions. Pile length, raft thickness, cushion stiffness, and the presence or absence of inclined edges are all significant factors. The research shows that the greatest axial force is proportional to the pile length, but it is inversely related to the raft thickness for the connected piled raft (CPR), the disconnected piled raft (DCPR), and the inclined piled raft (ICPR) at an angle of 15 degrees. The maximal axial force in piles applied by the disconnected piled raft (DCPR) system grew in proportion to the cushion’s stiffness. Moreover, the maximum shearing force and bending moment in piles were achieved for all the studied cases.