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The undrained bearing capacity of a spudcan foundation under combined loading in soft clay

The undrained bearing capacity of a spudcan foundation under combined loading in soft clay
The undrained bearing capacity of a spudcan foundation under combined loading in soft clay

Mobile jack-up drilling rigs are typically supported by individual, large diameter spudcan foundations. Before deployment, the suitability of a jack-up to a location must be shown in a site-specific assessment under loads associated with a 50-year return period storm, which ultimately need to be resisted by the foundations. The capacity of the spudcans under combined vertical, horizontal and moment loading is therefore integral to the overall site-specific assessment of the jack-up.In soft clays, spudcans can penetrate deeply into the seabed, sometimes up to several footing diameters, with soil flowing around the downward penetrating footing, sealing the cavity. Although this is generally believed to provide some additional bearing capacity to the footing, no detailed study or formal guidance is available to date. This study, therefore, investigates the influence of soil back-flow on the failure mechanisms and quantifies the effect on the capacity of a spudcan under general loading through finite element analyses. A closed-form analytical expression is developed that describes the capacity envelope under combined loading, applicable to embedment depths ranging from shallow to deep.

Bearing capacity, Combined loading, Failure envelope, Jack-up, Numerical modelling, Spudcan foundation
0951-8339
459-477
Zhang, Youhu
681ca98b-2df8-4d9c-bc8d-f91cb30a6805
Bienen, Britta
1bc987aa-3d7f-4b0f-a6b4-9e4970f21d15
Cassidy, Mark J.
ceac9349-348a-468b-8663-6d78bd1b24f7
Gourvenec, Susan
6ff91ad8-1a91-42fe-a3f4-1b5d6f5ce0b8
Zhang, Youhu
681ca98b-2df8-4d9c-bc8d-f91cb30a6805
Bienen, Britta
1bc987aa-3d7f-4b0f-a6b4-9e4970f21d15
Cassidy, Mark J.
ceac9349-348a-468b-8663-6d78bd1b24f7
Gourvenec, Susan
6ff91ad8-1a91-42fe-a3f4-1b5d6f5ce0b8

Zhang, Youhu, Bienen, Britta, Cassidy, Mark J. and Gourvenec, Susan (2011) The undrained bearing capacity of a spudcan foundation under combined loading in soft clay. Marine Structures, 24 (4), 459-477. (doi:10.1016/j.marstruc.2011.06.002).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Mobile jack-up drilling rigs are typically supported by individual, large diameter spudcan foundations. Before deployment, the suitability of a jack-up to a location must be shown in a site-specific assessment under loads associated with a 50-year return period storm, which ultimately need to be resisted by the foundations. The capacity of the spudcans under combined vertical, horizontal and moment loading is therefore integral to the overall site-specific assessment of the jack-up.In soft clays, spudcans can penetrate deeply into the seabed, sometimes up to several footing diameters, with soil flowing around the downward penetrating footing, sealing the cavity. Although this is generally believed to provide some additional bearing capacity to the footing, no detailed study or formal guidance is available to date. This study, therefore, investigates the influence of soil back-flow on the failure mechanisms and quantifies the effect on the capacity of a spudcan under general loading through finite element analyses. A closed-form analytical expression is developed that describes the capacity envelope under combined loading, applicable to embedment depths ranging from shallow to deep.

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More information

Published date: October 2011
Keywords: Bearing capacity, Combined loading, Failure envelope, Jack-up, Numerical modelling, Spudcan foundation

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 414661
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/414661
ISSN: 0951-8339
PURE UUID: 3c78c3d2-e446-4af0-b375-cb12d754176a
ORCID for Susan Gourvenec: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2628-7914

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 05 Oct 2017 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:31

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Contributors

Author: Youhu Zhang
Author: Britta Bienen
Author: Mark J. Cassidy
Author: Susan Gourvenec ORCID iD

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