Suction buckets are a relatively new design concept being considered for use as foundations in a wide variety of offshore applications. Recently this new innovative foundation concept has been suggested for offshore wind turbines. One of the critical aspects of the design is the ability to resist tension, which may occur under extreme conditions. The governing parameters are peak tensile load duration, soil strength, soil permeability and compressibility, and geometry. Before the installation phase it is necessary to check if it is possible to place a given bucket at its future location by means of suction. Consequently it is required to perform a penetrability study on the bucket during the installation phase. Initially the bucket is penetrated by dead weight, and subsequent suction is applied to reach the desired depth. When applying suction it is essential not to exceed the critical suction. The driving and resisting forces acting on a bucket during penetration are determined, and an analytical expression is proposed. The different items constituting the design procedure for a bucket foundation are put forward and discussed; furthermore a design chart is put forward.
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