TY - CONF A1 - Dutto, Paola A1 - Baeßler, Matthias A1 - Geißler, Peter T1 - Suction buckets behaviour under tensile loads: A numerical study with FEM T2 - ISOPE 2017 N2 - Suction Bucket Jackets (SBJ) are found as a suitable alternative to driven piles for the support of foundations for offshore wind energy converters. In the case of jackets or multipods, a predominant vertical load is to be expected. The effect of such a tensile loading is the generation of suction in the soil inside the bucket which leads to an increment of tensile capacity. This paper aims to study the bearing behaviour of a suction foundation by taking into account how the soil permeability and the loading rate influence the foundation behaviour. Moreover, after submitting the structure to a storm load, the bearing capacity is studied again, in order to see the effect of such a load on the bucket's bearing behaviour. This study is carried out by means of Finite Element numerical simulations based on the formulation of Biot's equations combined with a constitutive model that reproduces the key aspects of cyclic soil behaviour in the frame of Generalized Plasticity. T2 - International Ocean and Polar Engineering Conference CY - San Francisco, USA DA - 25/06/2017 KW - Finite element method KW - Offshore wind energy converter KW - Suction bucket KW - Generalized plasticity KW - Sand KW - Numerical simulation KW - Tensile capacity PY - 2017 SN - 978-1-880653-97-5 SP - 485 AN - OPUS4-41051 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Dutto, Paola A1 - Baeßler, Matthias A1 - Geißler, Peter T1 - Suction bucket foundations for wind energy turbines: a numerical study with FEM T2 - Conference on ocean, offshore and arctic engineering N2 - Suction Bucket Jackets (SBJ) are found as a suitable alternative to driven piles for the support of jacket or tripod foundations for offshore wind energy converters. Offshore wind energy turbines are characterized by a small self weight and they can be subjected to different load combinations. The work presented here aims to show the numerical investigation on the behavior of suction bucket foundations under different kind of loads as well as load combinations. In order to do so, a suitable numerical model is much needed. The theoretical basis of the model lies on the Swansea formulation of Biots equations of dynamic poroelasticity combined with a constitutive model that reproduces key aspects of cyclic soil behavior in the frame of the theory of generalized plasticity. An adequate FE formulation, the representation of appropriate soil-structure interfaces and the computational efficiency are key aspects in order to successfully model such complex systems. The 3D numerical simulation allows a special insight into the fundamental behavior of the founding of Suction Bucket Jackets such as the evolution of the pore water pressure or the occurrence of the so called soil liquefaction. T2 - OMAE 2016 - 35th ASME International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering CY - Busan, South Korea DA - 20.06.2016 KW - Suction bucket jacket KW - Finite Element KW - Offshore geotechnics PY - 2016 SN - 978-0-7918-4992-7 VL - 1 SP - Article UNSP V001T10A004, 1 EP - 8 PB - ASME AN - OPUS4-36688 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -