A series of model experiments of bucket foundations concerning suction installation and negative pressureconsolidation in saturated silt were carried out in a cube steel bin at Tianjin University. The experimental resultsshow that the silt inside the bucket has been strengthened by negative pressure, and the strengthening effectdecreases with the increase of the distance from the bucket. A three-dimensional numerical model of the experimentswas built by means of finite element software ABAQUS with fluid-solid coupling method. The results showthat the bearing capacity of the silt inside the bucket foundation increases significantly at the former stage of negativepressure consolidation, while the increasing trend slows down over time. The rotation centers of the bucketfoundation and the inner soil region tend to be closer to each other based on the consolidation. The bearing capacityof the bucket foundation is improved effectively with the increase of soil strength. The effects of negative pressureconsolidation on the bearing capacity of bucket foundation were also illustrated by an actual offshore wind powerproject case.