Vertical Monotonic and Cyclic Responses of a Bucket in Over-Consolidated Clay

Abstract

Bucket foundations, especially multi-bucket foundations, have become an alternative for large offshore wind turbines. Vertical responses of a single bucket are critical for the serviceability design of tripod or tetrapod bucket foundations. Centrifuge tests are conducted to investigate the responses of a single bucket under monotonic and symmetric cyclic loading in over-consolidated clay. The strength of clay is obtained by cone penetration tests. The monotonic vertical capacity measured in the centrifuge tests are compared with the finite element results, with errors less than 6%. The effects of the ratio of cyclic loading amplitude to vertical capacity (ranging between 0.37 and 0.64) and the number of cycles on the accumulation of vertical displacement and evolution of stiffness are explored. Simplified functions are proposed to predict the evolutions of dimensional and dimensionless stiffness.