Master’s thesis proposal: Wind turbine gravity foundations

Company Description
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AFRY with the Buildings business area is, with over 1,400 employees, one of the largest players in Sweden in the real estate sector. Here you get the opportunity to be involved in influencing and creating buildings and accommodation where people can stay and enjoy themselves. For us, safety, sustainability and a prosperous society are important factors where we successfully participate and contribute with creative and innovative solutions - both now and for the future. Making Future, as we say.
Job Description
Background
Wind turbine gravity foundations are essential in wind energy structures, playing a crucial role in the global shift to clean energy. As wind power becomes a leading source of sustainable energy, the reliability of these foundations is critical. While they may seem simple—a large concrete base supporting the turbine tower—their design is vital to the success of wind energy projects.
Optimizing the design of gravity foundations, especially for larger turbines, is key to reducing costs, lowering environmental impact, and ensuring long-term stability. This includes using advanced materials, improving soil-structure interaction, and fine-tuning foundation geometry to handle wind-induced loads effectively.
The repetitive nature of wind turbine gravity foundations allows for design and construction automation, leading to significant cost and time savings. Additionally, optimizing reinforcement using methods like Markov Matrix for fatigue design can further reduce costs and carbon emissions by minimizing material usage without compromising safety.
Gravity foundations are typically large, shallow structures that distribute loads over a wide area, counteracting wind forces on the turbine. Their design must consider site-specific factors like soil type and water table levels to ensure durability, supporting the expansion of clean energy infrastructure.

Aim
Create a general calculation program using phyton and jupiter which does the following tasks (note that we already have a script that performs a few of the following tasks):
Recieves the load input, calculation of basic geometry for stability, and finds static and dynamic bedding modulus
Use the basic geometry and bedding modulus to create a FEM model using API to analyze the foundation and extract internal forces.
Designing the reinforcements based on extracted internal forces.
Crack control of the foundation.
Optimizing the reinforcements using Markov Matrix for fatigue.
Creates the calculation report.
Importing the calculation results into Tekla structures/Revit using API to create the geometry and reinforcements and make drawings.

Method
Review requirements regarding concrete wind turbine foundations, and punching and shear design, detailing of reinforcements, local effects and fatigue design (Eurocodes and FIB, wind turbine codes and literature)
Making automization of the process
Optimize reinforcements using Markov Matrix for fatigue verification

Expected outcome
A calculation software that automize the design
Fully automated calculation report
Link to BIM software to automize the modeling process
Automizing the drawing creation

What you gain
Learning a commercial FE software and Tekla/Revit
Familiarizing with wind turbine foundations and detailing of reinforced concrete and Eurocode
Opportunity for recruitment

Qualifications
Good knowledge about concrete structures and eurocode 2
Knowledge about fatigue
Experience in programming (python and grasshopper)
Merit to have Experience with FE software (ex SAP2000 or other commercial software)
Experience with Tekla structures

Additional Information
Welcome to submit your application, the deadline is 2024-10-31, selection of applicants takes place continuously. Please attach a cover letter and an academic transcript.


Workplace location preferably Stockholm, Västerås or Uppsala. But other cities may also be relevant.
Contact persons for questions:
Mattias Carlsson, mattias.d.carlsson@afry.com
Hossein Zonouzi, hossein.zonouzi@afry.com
Mikeal Holmisto, mikael.holmisto@afry.com
We kindly ask not to be contacted by staffing and recruitment agencies or salespeople offering additional job advertisements.


At AFRY, we engineer change in everything we do. Change happens when brave ideas come together. When we collaborate, innovate technology, and embrace challenging points of view. That’s how we're making future. We are actively looking for qualified candidates to join our inclusive and diverse teams across the globe. Join us in accelerating the transition towards a sustainable future.