Experimental investigations of response of suction caissons to transient vertical loading

Suction caissons are a relatively new design being considered for use as foundations in a wide variety of offshore applications. They are unusual in that, in contrast with the development of offshore piling, there is no onshore experience that can be used as the basis for the development of designs....

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Main Authors: Byrne, B, Houlsby, G
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2002
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author Byrne, B
Houlsby, G
author_facet Byrne, B
Houlsby, G
author_sort Byrne, B
collection OXFORD
description Suction caissons are a relatively new design being considered for use as foundations in a wide variety of offshore applications. They are unusual in that, in contrast with the development of offshore piling, there is no onshore experience that can be used as the basis for the development of designs. It is therefore essential to identify key behavioral patterns and mechanisms that govern capacity under a wide variety of loading regimes, particularly those derived from the cyclic wave loading. The object here is to establish a broad framework of response. More detailed work specific to a site or project would be required for detailed design. This paper describes experimental investigations into the vertical loading response of a suction caisson foundation. The experiments are carried out on the laboratory floor using a sophisticated three-degree-of-freedom loading rig. The caissons are embedded in sand saturated with viscous silicon oil so that modeled drainage times are representative of typical offshore conditions. The experiments involve cyclic loading about different mean loads, including cycling into tension and monotonic loading at different rates. The relationship between the cyclic loading and monotonic loading is explored. One of the key conclusions from the results is that serviceability requirements will dictate design rather than capacity. Perhaps surprisingly, for the experiments undertaken, the rate of loading had little effect on the response.
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spelling oxford-uuid:776a63d5-cd33-4cfa-a203-87c712513fd22022-03-26T20:23:55ZExperimental investigations of response of suction caissons to transient vertical loadingJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:776a63d5-cd33-4cfa-a203-87c712513fd2EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2002Byrne, BHoulsby, GSuction caissons are a relatively new design being considered for use as foundations in a wide variety of offshore applications. They are unusual in that, in contrast with the development of offshore piling, there is no onshore experience that can be used as the basis for the development of designs. It is therefore essential to identify key behavioral patterns and mechanisms that govern capacity under a wide variety of loading regimes, particularly those derived from the cyclic wave loading. The object here is to establish a broad framework of response. More detailed work specific to a site or project would be required for detailed design. This paper describes experimental investigations into the vertical loading response of a suction caisson foundation. The experiments are carried out on the laboratory floor using a sophisticated three-degree-of-freedom loading rig. The caissons are embedded in sand saturated with viscous silicon oil so that modeled drainage times are representative of typical offshore conditions. The experiments involve cyclic loading about different mean loads, including cycling into tension and monotonic loading at different rates. The relationship between the cyclic loading and monotonic loading is explored. One of the key conclusions from the results is that serviceability requirements will dictate design rather than capacity. Perhaps surprisingly, for the experiments undertaken, the rate of loading had little effect on the response.
spellingShingle Byrne, B
Houlsby, G
Experimental investigations of response of suction caissons to transient vertical loading
title Experimental investigations of response of suction caissons to transient vertical loading
title_full Experimental investigations of response of suction caissons to transient vertical loading
title_fullStr Experimental investigations of response of suction caissons to transient vertical loading
title_full_unstemmed Experimental investigations of response of suction caissons to transient vertical loading
title_short Experimental investigations of response of suction caissons to transient vertical loading
title_sort experimental investigations of response of suction caissons to transient vertical loading
work_keys_str_mv AT byrneb experimentalinvestigationsofresponseofsuctioncaissonstotransientverticalloading
AT houlsbyg experimentalinvestigationsofresponseofsuctioncaissonstotransientverticalloading