Long-Term Lateral Cyclic Response of Suction Caisson Foundations in Sand

Skirted gravity base foundations and suction caisson foundations are considered as viable alternatives to monopile foundations for offshore wind turbines. While recent work has focused on the monotonic moment-rotation response for shallow foundations, the cyclic response and the accumulation of rotation over the life of the turbine must also be addressed. This paper presents cyclic loading tests where approximately 10,000 cycles, with different loading characteristics, were applied to a model shallow foundation (a caisson) in loose sand. On the basis of these tests, a framework for assessing the accumulated angular rotation because of cycling was developed. The settlement and cyclic stiffness response of the caisson were also assessed. It was found, not unexpectedly, that the accumulated settlement of the caisson increased with the number of cycles and cyclic amplitude. It was also found that a cyclic loading regime intermediate between one-way and full two-way cycling produced the largest rotations. The cyclic stiffness was relatively unaffected by the number of cycles. Using an appropriate scaling technique, the proposed framework was used to predict the long-term accumulated angular rotation, for an example, the field-scale monocaisson structure.