Abstract
The bearing capacity of suction caissons is the key to the design of offshore structures. A new type of cross-shaped low-skirted suction caisson is invented to effectively improve the bearing capacity, considering inevitable “soil plug” phenomenon. The behaviors of penetration and pullout for new low-skirted suction caisson are investigated by performing model tests. A new formula for calculating the penetration resistance is suggested based on the limit equilibrium theory and the test data, which can consider the change of the lateral area of the suction caisson during penetration. The behaviors of low-skirted suction caisson under inclined loading are analyzed by carrying out finite element simulation. The effects of loading angles and loading positions on the ultimate bearing capacity and failure mechanism of low-skirted suction caissons are discussed. The research results can provide a reference for the design of suction bucket foundation for offshore structures.
Highlights
A new type of crossshaped low-skirted suction caisson is invented by the authors to effectively improve the bearing capacity considering inevitable “soil plug” phenomenon. e behaviors of penetration and pullout for new low-skirted suction caissons are investigated by performing model tests, and the failure mechanisms of low-skirted suction caisson under inclined loading are discussed by carrying out finite element analysis
For a specific loading position, the ultimate bearing capacity decreases with the increase of loading angle, which is mainly due to the fact that the horizontal bearing capacity of the suction caisson is significantly greater than the vertical bearing capacity. e horizontal bearing capacity is mainly provided by the passive Earth pressure, while the vertical bearing capacity is mainly provided by the side friction between the caisson wall and soil. e horizontal component becomes smaller and smaller as the loading angle increases, and the uplift bearing capacity is almost equal to the side friction when the loading angle is 90°
Penetration and pullout capacity of low-skirted suction caissons was investigated by performing model tests and finite element analysis. e key conclusions can be summarized as follows: (1) A new type of cross-shaped skirted suction caisson, named as the low-skirted suction caisson, is invented
Summary
Offshore oil production platforms and wind turbines need to anchor the superstructure to the seabed by some anchor foundations to resist the marine environmental loads. e bearing capacity of anchor foundations is the key to the design of offshore structures [1]. ese anchor foundations include suction caissons, plate anchors, and large diameter monopiles. e suction caisson as one type of important offshore foundations has been widely used in practical engineering projects because of its many advantages including low construction cost, fast and low-noisy installation, and reusability [2, 3]. Many researches including model tests and numerical simulations have been carried out to study the pullout capacity of suction bucket caissons under vertical loads, horizontal loads, bending moment loads, and the combination of these loads [7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. A new type of umbrella suction caisson was developed by Liu and Li [27] and Li et al [28], and its bearing capacity and dynamic characteristics were investigated by performing model tests and numerical simulation. A new type of crossshaped low-skirted suction caisson is invented by the authors to effectively improve the bearing capacity considering inevitable “soil plug” phenomenon. e behaviors of penetration and pullout for new low-skirted suction caissons are investigated by performing model tests, and the failure mechanisms of low-skirted suction caisson under inclined loading are discussed by carrying out finite element analysis
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