A Fluid-Solid Coupled Micromechanical Simulation for the Analysis of Piping Erosion During the Seabed Installation of a Suction Bucket Foundation

Abstract Suction buckets are a promising concept for the foundations of offshore wind turbines. During the installation process of a suction bucket, localized fluidization of the granular soil, so-called piping erosion, may lead to installation failure. A 3D fluid-solid coupled micromechanical simulation is presented to study the occurrence of piping. An Euler-Lagrangian coupling employs momentum exchange between the fluid phase and the geometrically resolved particles. We investigate the behavior of the soil for three cases with varying prescribed suction velocities. We observe piping in the case with the highest suction velocity by analyzing the deformation of the granular fabric and monitoring the differential pressure. The grains under the bucket wall-tip show the highest hydraulic gradients and forces at the onset of piping. This approach permits a detailed analysis of piping phenomena and brings novel insights on the triggering conditions for piping failure of suction-aided foundations.