Experimental and numerical studies on lateral bearing capacity of bucket foundation in saturated sand

The lateral bearing capacity of bucket foundation was studied by tests and FEM. The characteristics of bearing capacity under horizontal loading were obtained experimentally. In this paper the results of the numerical and tests study on the bearing capacity and failure mode of bucket foundations that support wind turbine structures in homogeneous medium sand were presented, considering the frictional contact behavior of interface between skirt and subsoil. The height to diameter ratios (L/D) were taken from 0.3 to 1.0. The results of test and FEM showed that the rotation is the main failure mode of bucket foundation, and the center of rotation changes with the height to diameter ratios. The inclination angle for the ultimate lateral bearing capacity of the wide-shallow bucket foundation is about 3.0°, which is different from small diameter foundations, such as suction anchors and piles. The comparison of results from FEM, tests and simplified calculation method proves the accuracy of the research results.