Suction bucket foundations show “an effective temporary increase in tensile capacity during storms”, according to researchers at Fraunhofer IWES in Germany.
The findings came from a research project started earlier this year testing the tensile behaviour of a one:five scale suction bucket foundation at the Leibniz Universitat Hannover’s Test Centre for Support Structures.
IWES project manager Tulio Quiroz said: “We were able to observe that the tensile capacity of the foundation increases temporarily by a percentage in the two-digit range during a typical storm.
“The increase can be even higher in the case of extreme storm events. For manufacturers, this means the possibility of material savings for the entire construction without compromising stability.”
The researchers studied the behaviour of the bucket foundations during the suction-assisted installation and when subjected to extreme wave loads.
“The test results confirmed the enormous potential of this foundation concept for reliable and cost-effective deployment in offshore wind farms,” they said.
Image: Fraunhofer IWES
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By EBS