Numerical Analysis of the Effect of Multidirectional Load on the Bearing Capacity of Suction Bucket Foundation

Abstract

Abstract With the development of clean energy, the development of offshore wind and tidal energy is being emphasized. In deeper waters, shared anchored foundations are becoming the preferred form of foundation for future energy development. Multiple floating structures are simultaneously anchored by a single anchor foundation, thereby reducing the number of anchor foundations used and saving construction costs. The anchor and the seabed form a coupled system that needs to withstand various loads, including wind, waves, currents and their combined effects. Under wind and wave loads, a foundation can be loaded in one direction and unloaded in another due to the phase difference of multi-directional loads or failure of one anchor system, which can have a great impact on the normal operation of the foundation. In this paper, a suction bucket foundation is investigated as an anchor of shared anchor foundations. The effect of the magnitude of the loads in two different directions and the angle between them on the load carrying capacity was investigated. The finite element software named DBLEAVES-X with an advanced constitutive model was used in the research. According to the results, when the suction bucket foundation is subjected to multidirectional loading, its bearing capacity decreases, and the decrease is influenced by the angle between two different directional loads, the load level, and the relative density of the soil.