Model tests on leveling process of four bucket foundation for offshore wind turbines

Abstract

In the installation process of offshore wind turbines, the control of dip angle is very strict, so the leveling in the sinking process of bucket foundation is a key construction technology. Aiming at the installation process of four bucket foundation, the leveling experimental study was carried out in sand. During the test, the changes of pressure, installation depth in each bucket and the inclination angle of foundation were monitored, so as to compare the advantages and disadvantages of different leveling methods. The experimental results show that using single bucket pressure leveling method can make the foundation leveling more accurate, but the leveling efficiency is low; Using the method of multiple buckets pressure leveling can make the leveling efficiency higher, but the fluctuation of the foundation will be larger in the leveling process; Combined leveling has high practicability, which can integrate the advantages of single bucket pressure leveling and multiple buckets pressure leveling.

Keywords:

• Four bucket foundation
• penetration
• leveling
• dip angle
• installation depth；pressure change

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52171274).