Investigation on the installation and monotonic uplift performance of bucket foundation in clay

Bucket foundations are usually used as foundations to support offshore wind turbines or anchors to secure floating platforms. Although many researchers have investigated the performance of the bucket foundation in sand and clay, there still exist uncertainties associated with the installation and monotonic uplift of the bucket foundation in clay. First, the effect of chamfer on the bearing capacity of the skirt and the soil plug heave during installation is unclear. Second, there is a lack of study on the effect of overloading during installation on the mobilisation of the suction during monotonic uplift. The present study conducts physical model tests and finite element analyses to simulate the installation and vertical uplift of the bucket foundation, aiming at quantitatively addressing the above uncertainties. Results from model tests and numerical simulations indicate that the skirt with external chamfer increases the bearing capacity factor during installation while significantly reducing the soil plug heave. The overloading during installation facilitates the full mobilisation of the suction, ensuring the suction to maintain for a large uplift displacement.