Bearing Capacities of Buried Bucket Foundations in Marine Tidal Flat Subjected to Combined Loading

Abstract

A buried bucket foundation combined with a vertical truss is a new foundation system for photovoltaic farms in marine tidal flat (MTF) areas with deep soft soil. This paper employs numerical methods to study the response of the new buried bucket foundations in MTF clay under combined loading conditions. The ultimate limit states under combined static loads in the operation phase are presented as failure envelopes expressed in terms of geometric variations of foundation length and overburden soil depth, soil properties of MTF clay, and applied loads. A parametric study was carried out, and a soil failure mechanism was found from numerical studies for the newly proposed bucket foundations in MTF clay under general loading. A design method was established, which can be used for preliminary assessment of the bearing capacities of buried bucket foundations under combined loading conditions.