STUDY ON HORIZONTAL BEARING CAPACITY OF NEW INSTALLATION PLATFORM FOR BUCKET FOUNDATIONS OF OFFSHORE WIND TURBINES

Lian Jijian; Gao Qing; Yang Xu; Shi Zhibang; Wang Jie; Wu Yuhang

doi:10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2024-1574

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Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (1) : 542-549. DOI: 10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2024-1574

STUDY ON HORIZONTAL BEARING CAPACITY OF NEW INSTALLATION PLATFORM FOR BUCKET FOUNDATIONS OF OFFSHORE WIND TURBINES

Lian Jijian^1~3, Gao Qing¹, Yang Xu^1~3, Shi Zhibang^2,3, Wang Jie¹, Wu Yuhang¹

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Abstract

A novel bottom-supported offshore wind turbine bucket foundation platform employs a U-shaped mudmat as its foundation. This study designs three different foundation types for the platform： single mudmat, mudmat with four buckets, and skirted mudmat. A series of model tests and finite element simulations were conducted to investigate the effects of foundation type, loading height, and direction on the horizontal bearing behaviors of the foundations in sand. The results show that, under the same loading conditions, the horizontal bearing capacity increases by 66% for the mudmat with four buckets and 165% for the skirted mudmat compared to the single mudmat. The finite element results closely match the model tests, validating the reliability of the finite element analysis method. The single mudmat primarily exhibits translational motion, whereas the mudmat with four buckets and the skirted mudmat exhibit combined rotational and translational motion, and the skirted mudmat shows the highest rotational displacement, making its horizontal bearing capacity more sensitive to loading direction and height. Finite element analysis reveals that the failure modes for all three foundations involve plastic strain in the soil near the structures on the compressing side. During horizontal displacement loading, the mudmat and the compressed bucket provide approximately 80% of the resistance in the mudmat-buckets system, and the skirt contributes approximately 90% of the resistance in the mudmat-skirt system.

Key words

offshore wind power / U-shaped mudmat foundation / horizontal bearing capacity / model test / finite element simulation

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Lian Jijian, Gao Qing, Yang Xu, Shi Zhibang, Wang Jie, Wu Yuhang. STUDY ON HORIZONTAL BEARING CAPACITY OF NEW INSTALLATION PLATFORM FOR BUCKET FOUNDATIONS OF OFFSHORE WIND TURBINES[J]. Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica. 2026, 47(1): 542-549 https://doi.org/10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2024-1574

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