Experimental investigation on the effect of skirt chamfer on the soil plug heave inside the bucket foundation

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4. Experimental investigation on the effect of skirt chamfer on the soil plug heave inside the bucket foundation

Bucket foundations are widely used in offshore engineering. As foundations, the bucket foundation is used to support fix platforms such as offshore wind turbines (OWT) and tidal energy converters (TEC). As anchors, the bucket foundation can be used to secure tension leg platforms. The bucket foundation is jacked or suction-assisted installed, during which the soil displaced by the skirt may flow inside the skirt compartment to form a soil plug heave. This study conducted model tests to investigate the effect of the chamfer set on the skirt tip on the soil plug heave. Test results indicate that all the soil displaced by the skirt flows inside the skirt compartment if the skirt tip is equipped with an internal chamfer. However, 80% volume of soil displaced by the skirt flows outside the skirt compartment for the bucket with an external chamfer. Moreover, a half-model was adopted to investigate the effect of installation methods (jacked and suction-assisted installation) on the soil plug heave. It is found that a majority of soil flows outside the skirt for the bucket with an external chamfer even the bucket is suction installed. Overall, the external chamfer set on the skirt can reduce the soil plug heave, which is beneficial for increasing the uplift resistance and restraining the potential scour.

5th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics (ISFOG2025)

11 - Suction installed foundations and anchors