Patrick & Henderson Tensionless Pier

By Shelton L. Stringer, PE, GE, PG, EG Hongbin Huo, PhD, PE

Earth Systems Southwest

The Patrick and Henderson Tensionless Pier (P&H Pier)

The P&H Pier consists of a large, cast-in-place pier foundation to support wind turbines on a monopole tower.

Design Team

Patrick and Henderson, Inc. (P&H)

Bakersfield, California Allan Henderson, PE, GE proprietor of patented design, US Patent No. 5,586,417

Earth Systems Southwest (ESSW)

Bermuda Dunes, California Shelton L. Stringer, PE, GE, PG, EG Hongbin Huo, PhD, PE engineering design and analysis

Construction of the P&H Pier

Construction of the pier begins by digging a hole with an excavator or drill rig. Rock sites require controlled pre-blasting. Typical depth 25 to 32 feet Cranes set an outer corrugated metal can (CMP) in the hole.

Construction of the P&H Pier

Sand-cement slurry is placed as backfill between the outer CMP and the excavation sides. Threaded steel rods (encased in PVC sleeves) are arranged with a template that matches the base flange of the tower. These rods are set and bolted to an embedment ring within the annular space between CMP cans.

Construction of the P&H Pier

A smaller, inner CMP is set concentric within the hole. A lower plug of concrete and the excavated spoils are placed within the inner can. Foundation concrete is placed between the two CMP cans, forming a hollow cylinder. A concrete floor slab and top collar is cast.

Construction of the P&H Pier

The tower is bolted to the threaded rods extending above the concrete. The grout trough beneath the base flange is filled. The rods are post-tensioned to keep the concrete in compression (hence tensionless) during loading.

Advantages of the P&H Pier for Wind Turbine Foundations

Most Economical Foundation Available

Less Concrete (50-90 cy versus 300 to 500 cy for spread footing) Uses less materials Tailored to fit most geologic site conditions.

Proven Track Record for over 4500 Wind Turbines including:

Nordex 1000 kW, 1300 kW Vestas 660kW, 1.65MW, 1.8MW, 3 MW Mitsubishi 600 kW, 1 MW GE Wind 1.5 MW NEG Micon 750 kW, 950 kW, 1.5 MW Siemens (Bonus) 1300 kW, 2.3 MW Suzlon 1.2 MW Gamesa 2.0 MW

Project Experience
Select Wind Energy Projects Built with Patrick & Henderson Foundations
Year Built 2006 2001 2001 2006 2003 2000 2000 2001 2005 2003 2003 2006 2005 2001 2005 2005 2006 2006 2002 2006 2004 2003 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2001 Project Horse Hollow II King Mountain Stateline Wildhorse Taiban Mesa Indian Mesa I & II Woodward Ranch Trent Mesa Hopkins Ridge High Winds I Evanston Forest Creek Buffalo Gap Gray County Weatherford Bison Wind Power Project Sand Bluff JD4 McBride Lake-Fort Macleod Soderglen Summerview Waymart Whitewater Hill (WECS 3) Edgeley Kulm Oasis Cresent Ridge Blue Grass Ridge Rock River I Location Abilene, TX McCamey, TX Walla/Umatilla Co., WA/OR Kittitas Co., Vantage,WA Taiban, NM McCamey, TX McCamey, TX Sweetwater, Texas Dayton, WA Rio Vista, Solano Co., CA Evanston, WY Big Spring, TX Buffalo Gap, TX Montezuma, KS Weatherford, OK St. Leon, Manitoba Big Spring, TX Bernstein, TX Pincher Creek, Alberta Fort MacLeod, Alberta Summerview, Alberta Waymart, PA Riverside County, CA Edgley-Kulm, ND Mojave, CA Tiskilwa, IL Gentry Co., MO Arlington, WY State Prov TX TX WA/OR WA NM TX TX TX WA CA WY TX TX KS OK MB TX TX AB AB AB PA CA ND CA IL MO WY Turbine Type Siemens 2.3MW Bonus 1,300KW Vestas V-47 660kW Vestas V-80 GE Wind 1.5 MW Enron Z70.5, 1.5MW Vestas V-47 660kW Enron Z70.5, 1.5MW Vestas V-80 1.8 MW Vestas V-80 1.8 MW Vestas V-80 1.8 MW Siemens 2.3MW Vestas 1.8MW Vestas V-47 660kW GE Wind 1.5 MW NEG-Micon 72C 1650kW Gamesa G87 2.0MW Suzlon S-88 2.1MW Vestas V-47 660kW GE 1.5MW Vestas V-80 1.8 MW GE Wind 1.5 MW Enron Z70.5, 1.5MW GE Wind 1.5 MW Mitsubishi MH1 1MW NEG-Micon 1.65MW Suzlon S88 2.1MW Mitsubishi MH1 1MW No of Turbines 128 214 399 127 136 107 242 100 83 81 80 54 67 170 71 63 45 38 114 47 38 43 41 41 60 33 24 50 Total MW 294.4 278.2 263.3 228.6 204.0 160.5 159.7 150.0 149.4 145.8 144.0 124.2 120.6 112.2 106.5 104.0 90.0 79.8 75.2 70.5 68.4 64.5 61.5 61.5 60.0 54.5 50.4 50.0

Geotechnical Analyses

Analysis of the stability and external forces acting on the pier (soil-structure interaction). Required to demonstrate overturning moment stability and deflections are within acceptable limits for design loads.

How the P&H Pier works

The lateral and moment capacity is developed by side bearing as the rigid pier is free to rotate within the earth. The ultimate passive resistance is dependent on the shear strength of the surrounding soil or rock (friction angle, and cohesion, c). Pier rotation and deflection are dependent on compressibility of the soil or rock, expressed as a non-linear, load-deformation (p-y) curve.

Key Geotechnical Issues

The geotechnical report for the project is the basis for the properties of the soil or rock in analyses. Geotechnical engineer required to verify condition of excavations. The analysis to indicate overturning stability with a global safety factor of at least 2. Pier rotations and deflections should remain within a tolerable range
typically, 3 to 6 mm operational, 10 to 25 mm extreme 1 mm/m rotation operational

Proper drainage is key to maintain performance Foundation rotational stiffness to avoid resonance and excessive vibrations

Design Loads

Loads come from the wind turbine manufacturer based on IEC. Typical Extreme Wind Loads: Axial 140 575 kips (700 - 2550 kN) Lateral 70 190 kips (300 800 kN) Moment 10,000 to 52,000 ft-kips (14 - 70 MN-m) Seismic loads, even in moderate seismic regions, are generally less than design wind loads
Exception: 2001 CBC, Type A faults, <15km, non-building structure, minimum design force - San Andreas & Garlock faults.

Post-tensioning Requirement

Set to prevent liftoff and tension in concrete to extreme load Check by elongation of rod, = PL/AE Requires maintenance program to check and retension if > 10% loss P = 4M/nD 0.9W/n
Where P = post tension, M = unfactored extreme overturning moment n = number of anchors in circle D = anchor circle diameter W = weight of foundation

Geotechnical Data

The project geotechnical report is the basis for the properties of the soil or rock selected for the analysis. Sand: The shear strength is expressed as a friction angle, Clay: The undrained shear strength (cohesion) is used.

Rotational (Rocking) Stiffness

Important factor for performance of wind turbine foundations Rotational Stiffness, K = M/, where M = moment, = rotation Normal requirement: K = 20 to 60 GN-m/radian

Greatly exaggerated rotation from FEM

3D FEM using COSMOS

Half Model Loading at Top of Tower
Tower

P&H Pier

Ground

FEM Results Lateral Deformation of Pier

Tower Frequency Verification Testing

We use Dr. Kevin Jackson to conduct testing of tower frequency and rotational stiffness to verify FEM results Tower frequency changes when considering SoilStructure Interaction The wind turbine natural frequency including foundation response should be a margin away from the rotor rotation frequency to avoid dynamic amplification.

Testing Setup

Sensors consists of:

Accelerometers LVDT Strain gages mounted on tower wall

Shutdown

Strongest response comes during shutdown of turbine

Tower Frequency Response

Rotational Stiffness, K = M/

M calculated from strain in gages = /D, D = diameter of foundation between sensors

Frequency response of tower recorded by accelerometer Verification testing confirms FEM analysis of foundation stiffness

Contacts

Contact Allan Henderson to discuss using the P&H Piers @ (661) 391-9854 phinc001@aol.com Contact Shelton Stringer or Hongbin Huo to discuss analyses for the P&H Pier or other Earth Systems @ (760) 345-1588 or 1-800-924-7015 sstringer@earthsys.com hhuo@earthsys.com