The composite bucket foundation (CBF) for offshore wind turbines is the basis for a one-step integrated transportation and installation technique, which can be adapted to the construction and development needs of offshore wind farms due to its special structural form. To transport and install bucket foundations together with the upper portion of offshore wind turbines, a non-self-propelled integrated transportation and installation vessel was designed. In this paper, as the first stage of applying the proposed one-step integrated construction technique, the floating behavior during the transportation of CBF with a wind turbine tower for the Xiangshui wind farm in the Jiangsu province was monitored. The influences of speed, wave height, and wind on the floating behavior of the structure were studied. The results show that the roll and pitch angles remain close to level during the process of lifting and towing the wind turbine structure. In addition, the safety of the aircushion structure of the CBF was verified by analyzing the measurement results for the interaction force and the depth of the liquid within the bucket. The results of the three-DOF (degree of freedom) acceleration monitoring on the top of the test tower indicate that the wind turbine could meet the specified acceleration value limits during towing.

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The onshore pre-fabrication technology for composite bucket foundations takes “prefabrication-assembly-lifting” as the core concept. The practice of pre-fabrication of upper and lower structures is prefabricated respectively. In the research of hoisting engineering technology, combined with the structural form and construction requirements of composite bucket foundation, the assembly scheme of the upper prestressed concrete transition section and the lower steel bucket and the hoisting scheme of integral foundation with compartments were designed. The finite element model in the lifting process of composite bucket foundation was established by the large-scale general finite element analysis software ABAQUS. For the optimization analysis of the lifting point arrangement during hoisting process, the number, position and arrangement form of lifting points are simulated and analyzed. The results show that the maximum value of the principal stress of the concrete transition section structure appears in the assembly stage with the lower steel bucket, and the structure checking calculation should be carried out as the most unfavorable lifting condition in construction; the peak point of structural stress is at the junction of girder and secondary beams and inner ring beams of concrete roof, which belongs to the weak position of force transmission. In construction, it should be paid attention to as the key part of monitoring to ensure composite bucket foundation is under reasonable stress and the stability in the lifting process. The research results can provide guidance and reference for the future batch production and standardization production construction for composite bucket foundations.