Abstract
Suction bucket foundation is named by many experts in offshore geotechnics as an alternative to pile foundations for offshore wind turbines as it is often more cost-effective. The suction installation process is noise-free and requires less operational time. A simple design of suction bucket is a steel cylindrical thin structure. A significant increase in size of foundation requires a higher pressure for installation and, at the same time, increases the probability of buckling failure. The proposed modular bucket consists of trapezoidal wall sections that are convenient for industrialization. The structure is significantly thinner than a circular bucket, resulting in a weight saving of 28% for full scale model with diameter equal 8 m (EUDP, 2018). This design has been analyzed for buckling resistance and results in much better performance. The paper includes also the installation tests on a medium-scale bucket models, both the round and modular. Results prove that the initially large penetration resistance in sand is highly reduced by the seepage flow induced by applied suction. Moreover, the comparison of results shows that the extra increase in jacking required load for modular bucket due to larger area is minimized almost to no difference in the required suction between circular and modular bucket model. These findings can contribute to a significant decrease in energy production costs for offshore wind turbines allowing installation of bigger turbines with reduced cost of the foundations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings : 4th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics |
| Editors | Zack Westgate |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Publisher | Deep Foundations Institute |
| Publication date | 2020 |
| Edition | 1069 (IC-ISFOG21) |
| Article number | 3493 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-0-9763229-4-8 |
| Publication status | Published - 2020 |
| Event | 4th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics - Austin, United States Duration: 16 Aug 2020 → 19 Aug 2020 https://www.isfog2020.org/ |
Conference
| Conference | 4th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Austin |
| Period | 16/08/2020 → 19/08/2020 |
| Internet address |
Bibliographical note
Conference has been postponed from August 2020 to November 2021 to August, 2022. While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to delay the in-person conference, originally scheduled for August 2020, we wanted to honor our commitment to the authors of the general papers and keynote lectures that their work would be published in 2020. We, therefore, have worked determinedly to issue these proceedings so that the papers can be shared and referenced as per the original schedule.(https://www.isfog2020.org/proceedings)
Keywords
- Modular bucket
- Offshore wind turbines
- Penetration resistance reduction