Numerical analysis of seepage field of bucket foundations for offshore wind turbines

As an alternative supporting structure for wind turbines, bucket foundations (BF) have been widely applied to offshore wind farm projects. Considering the importance of installation phase which is supposed to be stable in design, detailed analysis should be conducted for each new site. The penetration (installation) process is closely related to the seepage flow forming around the bucket foundation and the seepage problems of the composite bucket foundation with multiple subdivisions (CMBF) is seldomly studied including the seepage differences between BF and CMBF. In this paper, based on the three-dimensional heat conduction law, numerical simulations are conducted for BF and CMBF from the dimensional effect and various working conditions perspectives. The results indicate that the seepage distribution patterns are different for the multiple subdivisions; higher tilt angle and smaller length-diameter-ratio lead to bigger hydraulic gradient; and the diameter of mid-compartment has a slight impact on the BFs compared with the length-diameter-ratios.