Suction Caisson Foundations for Offshore Wind Turbines

TLDR

Suction caissons are skirted, suction‑installed shallow foundations used for offshore wind turbines. The study aims to develop a design framework for shallow foundations of offshore wind turbines. A £1.5 million, three‑year project funded by the DTI, Industrial Partners and EPSRC investigates eight themes covering all aspects of the geotechnical performance of suction caissons. The results will be incorporated into the offshore wind turbine design process almost immediately.

Abstract

This paper outlines a £ 1.5m, three year, research project that commenced during the middle of 2002 to determine a design framework for shallow foundations for offshore wind turbines. The shallow foundations in focus are suction-installed skirted foundations otherwise known as suction caissons (Houlsby and Byrne, 2000). There are eight distinct themes to the research covering all aspects of the geotechnical performance of these foundations. The funding for the project has been obtained from the Department of Trade and Industry (£ 917k), Industrial Partners (£ 373k) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (£ 221k). The results will feed into the design process for offshore wind turbines almost immediately.