Limit equilibrium solutions to anti-overturning bearing capacity of suction caissons in uniform and linearly increasing strength clays

Abstract

Suction caissons supporting offshore wind turbines are exposed to great horizontal loading above the soil surface, which may lead to overturning failure of the caisson. This paper presents a modified three-dimensional failure mechanism to analyze the anti-overturning bearing capacity of suction caissons. The modified failure mechanism is composed of a meniscus-conical wedge with a meniscus shape at the soil surface and a scooped shape. The analytical solution to the anti-overturning bearing capacity of the suction caisson is deduced in terms of the limit equilibrium method, followed by a parametric study of the wedge depth ratio (c) to optimize the critical failure mechanism that satisfies both the force and moment equilibriums. Thus, the methodologies are relatively easy to implement in traditional spreadsheets, and the analyses tend to perform very quickly. The effects of gap formation at the rear side of the caisson, loading eccentricity, and adhesion factor at the caisson–soil interface on the anti-overturning bearing capacity are also investigated. Compared with the finite element limit analysis results, experimental data, and existing theoretical solutions, it is proved that the presented limit equilibrium analysis can satisfactorily predict the anti-overturning bearing capacity of suction caissons with low aspect ratios for offshore wind turbines in uniform and linearly increasing strength clays.