Numerical evaluation of a new hybrid bucket-group pile foundation for offshore wind turbines

An innovative foundation combining a bucket foundation and group piles (BGP) is proposed and investigated in this paper. Sleeve structures are added on the skirt of the mono-bucket, and piles can be inserted through the sleeves and connected with the bucket by grouting. With the same amount of steel, four finite element models of BGPs with different pile diameter and length combinations are established by ABAQUS, as well as a mono-bucket to study the unidirectional bearing capacity and failure mechanism. The results show that the bearing capacity of the BGP with suitable pile length and pile diameter is considerably higher than that of the mono-bucket foundation. Finally, static analysis and natural frequency analysis of the BGP are carried out based on the loading and geotechnical conditions at Yangjiang area of China. The results show that the BGP meet the design requirements, and the new BGP has engineering practicability.