Suction Caissons: Finite Element Modeling

This Report presents an overview of efforts at the Offshore Technology Research Center toward development and validation of a computational procedure suitable for simulations of suction caisson behavior under axial and lateral loads considering the effects of installation into clayey soil by self-weight and suction. The soil is a treated as a two-phase medium: a water-filled porous solid. Nonlinear behavior of the solid phase (soil skeleton) is described by means of a bounding-surface plasticity model. A frictional contact algorithm based on a slide-line formulation is used to analyze interaction between the caisson and the surrounding soil. The contact formulation allows large relative displacement between the caisson and the soil. In addition, a remeshing tool eliminates the need for a priori specification of the caisson penetration path: as installation of the caisson progresses, the finite-element mesh is adjusted so that the line of nodes below the caisson tip remains straight in the axial direction.

[1]  M. Randolph,et al.  Performance of Suction Anchors in Fine-Grained Calcareous Soils , 1998 .

[2]  Magued Iskander,et al.  Application of suction caisson foundations in the Gulf of Mexico , 1998 .

[3]  M. Biot.  THEORY OF ELASTICITY AND CONSOLIDATION FOR A POROUS ANISOTROPIC SOLID , 1955 .

[4]  David J. Benson,et al.  Sliding interfaces with contact-impact in large-scale Lagrangian computations , 1985 .

[5]  C. T. Erbrich,et al.  Installation of Bucket Foundations and Suction Caissons in Sand - Geotechnical Performance , 1999 .

[6]  Beena Sukumaran,et al.  Efficient finite element techniques for limit analysis of suction caissons under lateral loads , 1999 .

[7]  Dilip Rugnathbhai Maniar.  A computational procedure for simulation of suction caisson behavior under axial and inclined loads , 2004 .

[8]  Jean H. Prevost.  Consolidation of Anelastic Porous Media , 1981 .

[9]  Byron W. Byrne,et al.  Experimental Investigations of Response of Suction Caissons to Transient Vertical Loading , 2002 .

[10]  J. Hogervorst,et al.  Field Trails With Large Diameter Suction Piles , 1980 .

[11]  C. Ganapathy,et al.  Pullout behavior of model suction anchors in soft marine clays , 1997 .

[12]  Andrew J. Whittle,et al.  Behavior of Miniature Suction Casissons in Clay , 1998 .

[13]  J. D. Steensen-Bach.  Recent Model Tests With Suction Piles in Clay and Sand , 1992 .

[14]  Yannis F. Dafalias,et al.  BOUNDING SURFACE PLASTICITY, I: MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATION AND HYPOPLASTICITY , 1986 .

[15]  M. Biot.  General Theory of Three‐Dimensional Consolidation , 1941 .

[16]  J. Prévost.  Mechanics of continuous porous media , 1980 .

[17]  E. C. Clukey,et al.  The response of suction caissons in normally consolidated clays to cyclic TLP loading conditions , 1995 .

[18]  V. A. Nacci,et al.  Applications of Suction Anchors in Offshore Technology , 1978 .

[19]  P. Sparrevik,et al.  Suction Pile Technology and Installation in Deep Waters , 2002 .

[20]  John P. Carter,et al.  A Theoretical Study of the Vertical Uplift Capacity of Suction Caissons , 2002 .

[21]  T. I. Tjelta.  Geotechnical Experience from the Installation of the Europipe Jacket with Bucket Foundations , 1995 .

[22]  T. I. Tjelta,et al.  Large-Scale Penetration Test At A Deepwater Site , 1986 .

[23]  Roy E. Olson,et al.  Measured Horizontal Capacity of Suction Caissons , 2004 .

[24]  Roy E. Olson,et al.  Suction Anchor Installations for Deep Gulf of Mexico Applications , 1999 .

[25]  Leonard R. Herrmann,et al.  Bounding surface plasticity. II: application to isotropic cohesive soils , 1986 .

[26]  John S. Campbell,et al.  Local and global smoothing of discontinuous finite element functions using a least squares method , 1974 .

[27]  Roy E. Olson,et al.  Modeling of Suction Caisson Foundations , 2000 .

[28]  R. E. Craine,et al.  CONTINUUM THEORIES OF MIXTURES: BASIC THEORY AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT , 1976 .

[29]  R. M. Bowen.  Part I – Theory of Mixtures , 1976 .