• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.3C
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• pp.105-111
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• 2012

Bucket foundations, which are used in the foundations of offshore wind turbines, should be able to withstand large amounts of horizontal and moment loads. Tripod bucket foundation, which combines three single buckets, has been used to increase horizontal and moment capacities. This study performed numerical analysis using ABAQUS (2010), to analyze the group effect and the bearing capacity of a tripod bucket in clay. Parametric studies were performed varying the bucket spacing ratio S/D (S=spacing between the centers of the bucket and the tower; D=diameter of the bucket) and depth ratio L/D (L=embedded length of skirt). The applied constitutive models were a linear elastic perfectly plastic model with Tresca yield criteria for normally consolidated clay and an elastic model for buckets. Loading in the vertical, horizontal, and moment directions was simulated with an increase in each movement at a reference point. The bearing behavior and the capacities of a single and a tripod bucket were compared. Capacity evaluation method of the tripod bucket was suggested using the capacity of a single bucket.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.61-73
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• 2023

Suction buckets are feasible options for offshore foundations to support subsea structures in deep water, enabling suction-induced installation by pumps. Recently, hybrid suction bucket foundations that combine single or multiple suction buckets with a mat foundation have been considered. The foundations effectively increase the load capacity while reducing construction costs. However, there is still insufficient experimental validation of hybrid suction bucket foundations regarding their bearing capacity. Furthermore, research on the horizontal load capacity under low vertical and moment loads is inadequate. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of using a hybrid suction bucket foundation for subsea installations in clay. We considered two types of hybrid suction bucket foundations: a circular mat with a single suction bucket and a square mat with multiple buckets. Centrifuge tests were performed to understand the hybrid suction bucket foundation characteristics under horizontal loads and their corresponding bearing capacity. Particularly, we verified the effect of the mat foundation and bucket embedment depth on the horizontal bearing mechanism and capacities. Results confirmed that the hybrid suction bucket foundation outperforms the single suction bucket.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.21-31
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• 2018

Bucket foundations are widely used in offshore areas due to their various benefits such as easy and fast installations. A bucket is installed using self-weight and the hydraulic pressure difference across the lid generated by pumping out water from inside the bucket. When buckets are installed in high permeable soil such as sands, upward seepage flow occurs around the bucket tip and interior, leading to a decrease in the effective stress in the soil inside the buckets. This process reduces the penetration resistance of buckets. However, the soil inside and outside the bucket can be disturbed due to the upward seepage flow and this can change the soil properties around the bucket. Moreover, upward seepage flow can create significant soil plug heave, thereby hindering the penetration of the bucket to the target depth. Despite of these problems, soil disturbance and soil plug heave created by suction installation are not well understood. This study aims to investigate the behavior of soil during suction installation. To comprehend the phenomena of soil plug heave during installation, a series of small-scale model tests were conducted with different testing conditions. From a series of tests, the effects of tip thickness of bucket, penetration rate, and self-weight were identified. Finally, soil properties inside the bucket after installation were approximated from the measured soil plug heave.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.244-252
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• 2014

In this study, seismic responses of the offshore wind tower supported by bucket foundation are analyzed in consideration of soil-structure interaction. The program SASSI is used as analyzing tool and an artificial seismic input for soft soil is used as input motion. The H/R ratio of bucket, the stiffness of bucket foundation and the soil stiffness are considered as parameters and its effects are estimated. The responses of structure are obtained at the base and the nacell. As results, the effects of H/R ratio, the stiffness of bucket and the stiffness of site are generally denoted different response tendency at the base and the nacell. However, these whole responses of the base and the nacell are much lager than that of rock site. Therefore, the consideration of this phemomia affect to the response of offshore wind tower with bucket foundation largely.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.69-78
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• 2016

A suction bucket foundation has been considered to be a potential foundation type for offshore wind turbines. A suction bucket foundation is usually installed in soft soil, so the accumulated displacement of the foundation may occur under long-term cyclic loads. In this study, a series of 1-g model tests were performed to analyze the accumulated rotation of suction bucket foundations under long-term cyclic horizontal loads. The dry model ground was prepared to have two different soil densities by air-pluviation method. The model tests were performed varying the embedment depth of the suction bucket, the soil density, and the amplitude of cyclic load. A one-way horizontal cyclic load was applied over $10^4$ cycles. Test results showed that the accumulated rotation of the suction bucket foundation increased with the increase in the number of cycles and load magnitudes. Based on the model test results, a new equation was proposed to evaluate the accumulated rotation of the suction bucket foundations in dry sandy ground under long-term cyclic horizontal loads.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.25-33
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• 2011

Suction buckets have been widely used for offshore structures such as anchors for floating facilities, and the foundations of offshore wind energy turbines. However, the design guidelines for suction buckets have not been clearly suggested. Therefore, this study performed the numerical analysis by using ABAQUS (2010) to evaluate bearing capacities and load-movement behaviors of the suction bucket in NC clay. For the numerical analysis, the depth ratio L/D (L=embedded length of skirt; D=diameter of a bucket) was varied from 0.25 to 1.0. The analysis results showed that the L/D ratio has a significant effect on the bearing capacity, and the vertical and horizontal capacities respectively increased by about 40% and 90%, when L/D ratio increased from 0.25 to 1.0. At the vertical loading, the bucket showed the similar failure mode with a deep foundation, so the shaft and toe resistances can be separately evaluated. At the horizontal loading, the bucket with L/D=O.25 showed the sliding failure mode and the bucket with $L/D{\geq}0.5$ showed the rotational failure mode.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.138-147
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• 2012

In this paper, the various parametric study of collisions between a offshore wind tower and vessels were performed to estimate the ultimate behaviors of the bucket foundation and the tower. Additionally, the stability of the foundation and the energy dissipation capacities of the tower were analyzed. The results shows that the collision energy of the vessel was mainly dissipated by the plastic deformation energy of the tower and the foundation system shown enough bearing capacity against to this severe loading condition.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 2021

Owing to economically efficient and easy installation, bucket foundation is a promising solution for offshore wind turbines. This paper aims at finding the behavior of suction caissons and soil surrounding the foundation by using three-dimensional finite element analysis. Under various loading conditions, a wide range of foundation geometries installed in dense and medium dense sandy soil was considered to evaluate ultimate horizontal load and overturning moment capacity. The results show that the rotation and displacement of the bucket due to monotonic loading are largely dependent on the foundation geometry, soil density and load eccentricity. Normalized diagrams and equations for the ultimate horizontal load and overturning moment capacities are presented that are useful tool for the preliminary design of such foundation type.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.101-109
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• 2019

The bucket platform is a new structure suitable for construction of offshore bridge foundations and providing the temporary support for equipments and labour. The platform can be subjected to moment loading due to the eccentric loading or the horizontal load by wave and wind. Therefore, a three dimensional finite element analysis was performed to evaluate the moment bearing capacity of the bucket platform, varying soil density, the diameter and embedment depth of the bucket. The numerical modeling was verified and compared with the moment-rotation curve from a field loading test. The uniform sandy ground was assumed and the moment load was applied at the top plate of the platform, increasing bucket rotation. The moment-rotation relations were analyzed to determine the moment capacity, which was influenced by the embedment depth and diameter of the bucket. Finally, a preliminary design equation was suggested to estimate the moment bearing capacity.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1908-1914
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• 2012

As the turbine capacity and the water depth of wind farms are increasing, the construction cost of substructures and foundations for offshore wind turbines is expected to increase. Since the installation of suction bucket foundation is achieved by both self-weight and applied suction, the construction generally does not require heavy equipment for penetration. This study provides an economic analysis on the tripod which have the bucket foundations and compares that the jacket foundation at 50m water depth on sand layer or soft layer. As the strength of the soil and the number of the foundation is increasing, the construction cost of the tripod with the bucket foundations is more economically feasible than the jacket foundation.