Wave force on composite bucket foundation of an offshore wind turbine

A new analytical expression for calculating the wave force on a composite bucket foundation is obtained. Based on the diffraction theory, the analytical solution of the wave pressure and the wave force on the composite bucket foundation is accurately derived by assigning reasonable boundary conditions. Experiments for the wave pressure on the bucket foundation with a scale of 1:60 under different wave conditions in the wave flume are designed and conducted. The analytical results agree well with the experimental data, and the theoretical approach can accurately predict the wave force on the large-scale structures. The wave pressure distribution on the composite bucket foundation is presented and the influence of the wave height, the water depth and the wave period on the wave force on the composite bucket foundation is investigated. This study provides a quite accurate method to calculate the wave force on a composite bucket foundation, which gives a good framework for future studies of the wave force on other large-scale structures with complex boundaries.