Mechanisms, assessments, countermeasures, and prospects for offshore wind turbine foundation scour research

A key component of renewable energy, offshore wind energy, is becoming increasingly important in the trans-formation of the global energy system and heading in the direction of deep sea and huge capacity. The stability and safety of support structures during the in-situ period are crucial to the normal operation of generators, and the accurate prediction of the scour pattern of the seabed around different types of foundation, assessment of the bearing capacity of foundations after scouring, and selection of scour protection methods are particularly important to the OWTF. In this paper, over 270 papers on scouring of various types of OWTF are reviewed, and the latest research progress and development trends in this research field are summarized from three perspec-tives, i.e., mechanism, assessment, and countermeasures. The technical challenges and possible solutions for the mechanism, assessment, and countermeasures of OWTF scour are discussed. This review provides a valuable reference for the calculation, evaluation, selection of protective structures, and novel research directions for the scour of OWTF.