Effect of embedment on the vertical capacity of bucket foundation in loose saturated sand: Physical modeling

Bucket foundations have been widely used for a variety of offshore applications. The effects of skirt length on ultimate bearing capacity of bucket foundation have been studied and reported in published scientific papers. However, few studies have addressed the behavior of bucket foundations in loose saturated sand. In this paper, a series of experimental investigations were performed to determine the bearing capacity of bucket foundation under uniaxial loading. The experiments were conducted on small-scale foundations under vertical loading in loose saturated sand. It was found that increasing the skirt length would enhance the bearing capacity of bucket foundation. As reflected in the present study, bearing strength might be enhanced more than 5 times in loose saturated sand in comparison to surface footing with equivalent diameter. Based on the experimental investigation, a depth factor was proposed to approximate bearing capacity of bucket foundations in terms of those for surface footing and embedment ratio. Moreover, the corresponding settlement of foundation at the failure load was found to increase with skirt length.