A Fluid-Solid Coupled Micromechanical Simulation for the Analysis of Piping Erosion During the Seabed Installation of a Suction Bucket Foundation

Although suction buckets are believed to be a promising alternative for multipod foundations of offshore wind turbines, the economic and ecological advantages are still limited because of a lack of knowledge regarding the tensile bearing behavior. Major uncertainties exist in terms of the response under cyclic loading and the assessment of the partially drained loading condition, where negative differential pressure beneath the suction bucket’s lid contributes to the total tensile resistance. This article presents findings from 1-g model tests of suction buckets in sand subjected to various cyclic tensile loads. The suction bucket was installed via negative differential pressure (suction). The results show a strong effect of the applied load magnitude on the evolution of displacement, plug heave, and suction induced. Greater displacement accumulation is observed for the smaller considered frequency. Monotonic tests with varying displacement rates supplement the cyclic tests and serve for the verification of a hydraulic-mechanic coupled finite element model, which is afterward utilized for the back-calculation of cyclic model tests. Although a rather simple elasto-plastic material law was used for the sand, good agreement was found, indicating that the bearing behavior is mainly governed by the hydraulic conditions and only subordinately by the soil mechanics.

Seismic responses analysis of suction bucket foundation for offshore wind turbine in clays

Global development of the offshore wind energy is devoted to applying. As one of the important foundation types of offshore wind turbine, the suction bucket foundation has been widely used in recent years. However, the suction bucket foundation can not be transported by the common barge like other foundation types due to its large opening at the foundation bottom. Additionally, little research work has been done by now with respect to the transportation device of the suction bucket wind turbine foundation. Thus, this paper presents a floating transportation equipment (FTE) for the negative pressure suction bucket foundation (NPSBF) of offshore wind turbines, and the basic design and main transportation means are introduced. The hydrodynamic characteristics of integrated FTE-NPSBF structure are comprehensively studied from the metacentric height, static stability and RAO performances. The ability of FTE as a transportation aid to provide stability for the NPSBF is verified, and the vibration reduction measures under the condition of wave resonance during the floating transportation process are given.

As an important renewable engineering structure, offshore wind turbine foundation is threatened by tsunami bore. A three-dimensional numerical model of dam-break wave tsunami is established and validated based on computational fluid dynamics to study the impacting effects of gravity-based foundation (GBF) of offshore wind turbines under tsunamis. The impacting process of the small, middle, and large tsunami on the GBF is numerically simulated, and the load effects characteristics of the GBF of the wind turbine at different stages of the tsunami impact process are analyzed. The research results show that the GBF is subjected to two peak impact forces under tsunami-impacting action. The tsunami bore has a frontal impact on the GBF, and the force peak of the flow direction is the largest, which has the greatest impact on the foundation of the wind turbine. Specifically, the middle tsunami exerts a maximum frontal impact force of 16.8[Formula: see text]N, with a peak dynamic pressure of 678.2 Pa, and a maximum base moment of 1.24[Formula: see text]N[Formula: see text]⋅[Formula: see text]m. Besides, the variation on the base moment in the incident flow direction of the incoming is larger than that in the transverse direction. The research provides valuable insights into the tsunami-resistant GBF, offering recommendations and guidelines for ensuring the long-term stability of offshore wind turbines in tsunami-prone regions.

Suction buckets represent a viable solution as foundations for offshore wind turbines. Installation in sand is relatively straightforward, albeit with limited understanding of the resulting changes in soil state. This paper describes an experimental methodology that allows for visualisation and quantification of changes in soil state during suction bucket installation, validated in sand. Insights obtained from particle image velocimetry analyses, performed on images of a half-bucket installing against a Perspex window taken in a geotechnical centrifuge are discussed. Compared with the initial self-weight penetration, the deformation mechanism governing the suction-assisted phase shows a preference for the soil below the skirt tips to move inwards and upwards inside the bucket. The installation process is responsible for changes in relative density and permeability within the bucket. In these experiments, the majority of the soil plug heave can be attributed to the soil displaced inwards by the advancing skirts, with a minor contribution caused by dilation. The confidence in the experimental methodology provided through the results of suction bucket installation in sand discussed herein now enables suction bucket installation in more complex seabeds to be investigated.

Tripod suction buckets offer many advantages as foundations for offshore wind turbines including fast and economic installation and high overturning resistance. In this application, tripod suction buckets are subjected to dynamic loads such as wind and waves as well as earthquakes.

This study proposed a new suction bucket (SB) foundation model for offshore wind turbines (OWT) suitable for a shallow muddy seabed, using more than three single buckets through kinetic derivation. The performance of new optimal foundation was evaluated by its horizontal displacement capacity and compared with a conventional SB composed of three buckets. Under external loads such as earthquakes, wind, and the combination of the both, the stability of this novel SB foundation was verified. The seismic fragility curve was also evaluated at some scour depths. These results were compared with the response of a tripod suction bucket (TSB) foundation, which was also designed for a shallow muddy seabed. The results indicated that scour significantly changed the dynamic response of this novel SB foundation but it had a better bearing capacity than the TSB foundation, despite its smaller size and weight. The fragility of TSB is always higher than the developed foundation in the same environmental condition. With reasonable volume and size, this novel SB foundation has great potential for future industrialization and commercialization.

Simplified estimation of rotational stiffness of tripod foundation for offshore wind turbine under cyclic loadings

Monitoring of suction bucket jackets for offshore wind turbines: Dynamic load bearing behaviour and modelling

Seismic centrifuge modelling of suction bucket foundation for offshore wind turbine

Vertical performance of suction bucket foundation for offshore wind turbines in sand

Sandy ocean soil is vulnerable to liquefaction under seismic action. This paper describes the structural design of a new large-scale prestressed concrete bucket foundation (LSPCBF) for offshore wind turbines that take the seismic response of the foundation into consideration. Using an integrated finite element model of the soil, bucket foundation, and upper structure that incorporates infinite elements for the soil boundary, the dynamic responses of the upper structure, the bucket foundation, and the soil surrounding the bucket foundation to three types of seismic wave acceleration time histories were determined using time history analysis. The Shanghai artificial seismic wave was used as an example. This wave causes the most intense seismic response of the seismic waves considered, based on the anti-liquefaction shear stress approach to estimating the area of soil liquefaction. The results showed that 88% of the soil outside the bucket in the range of the bucket depth is liquefied. In contrast, only 9% of the soil inside the bucket is liquefied. As the soil depth increases, the liquefaction range decreases substantially. The simulation results show that the LSPCBF can improve the liquefaction resistance of soil inside and directly below the bucket under seismic loading. Finally, the foundation stabilities under an ultimate load before and after an earthquake were compared. The horizontal displacement of the liquefied foundation increased by 41.1% and the vertical differential settlement increased by 6.2% after the earthquake. A large plastic zone was not formed, which means that an LSPCBF subjected to seismic action is still able to support the ultimate load.

Local scour around suction caisson foundations has emerged as a significant geotechnical hazard for offshore wind turbines as developments extend into deeper waters. This study quantitatively evaluates the scour-induced degradation of the bearing capacity of suction buckets in sand using a three-dimensional finite element model incorporating the Hardening Soil (HS) constitutive model. The HS framework enables realistic representation of stress-dependent stiffness, dilatancy, and plastic hardening, which are essential for simulating stress redistribution caused by scour. Parametric analyses covering a broad range of relative scour depths show that scour depth is the primary factor governing capacity loss. Increasing scour leads to systematic reductions in horizontal and moment capacities, evident stiffness softening, and a downward migration of plastic zones. A critical threshold is identified at Sd/L = 0.3, beyond which the rate of capacity deterioration increases significantly. The H–M failure envelopes contract progressively and exhibit increasing flattening with scour depth while maintaining nearly constant eccentricity. Empirical relationships between scour depth and key envelope parameters are further proposed to support engineering prediction. The results highlight the necessity of integrating scour effects into design and assessment procedures for suction bucket foundations to ensure the long-term performance and safety of offshore wind turbines.

This paper presents a new type of composite bucket foundation (CBF) for offshore wind turbines, which can be adapted to the loading characteristics and development needs of offshore wind farms due to its special structural form. There are seven rooms divided inside the CBF by steel bulkheads, which are arranged in a honeycomb structure. The six peripheral rooms with the skirt have the same proportions while the middle orthohexagonal one is a little larger. With the seven-room structure, the CBF has reasonable motion characteristics and towing reliability during the wet-tow construction process. Through extensive research into the force transfer characteristics of composite structure systems, a composite bucket foundation structure system with a curved transition part has been developed. The large bending moment and horizontal force of the wind turbine tower are transferred to and dispersed into the sea floor soil through a prestressed curved concrete transition section, the top cover of the bucket foundation, the bucket skirts, and the internal steel compartment plates. Particularly, this proposed CBF structure can effectively convert the extremely large bending moment of the turbine tower to limited tensile and compressive stresses within the foundation structure via a transition section.

Seismic responses of two bucket foundations for offshore wind turbines based on shaking table tests