Deformation Analysis of Laterally Loaded Bucket Foundation of Offshore Wind Turbines Using HSS Model

Offshore wind energy developed very fast in the past decades in China, and the bucket foundation is a typical foundation type in the area with shallow bedrocks. The deformation of the bucket foundation is analyzed using the finite element method with an advanced constitutive model of the hardening soil model with small strain (HSS model). The HSS model parameters are inversely derived based on the pile test data of an offshore wind power project in the South China Sea. Then, the calibrated parameters are applied to analyze the deformation of the bucket foundation of offshore wind turbines using finite element model. Meanwhile, the influence of the main HSS parameters on the deformation of the bucket foundation is studied and analyzed. Finally, a simplified method to determine the HSS parameters is proposed for the design of bucket foundation when geological exploration parameters are insufficient.