Seepage Induced Soil Failure and its Mitigation During Suction Caisson Installation in Silt

2013 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizhong Wang ◽  
Luqing Yu ◽  
Zhen Guo ◽  
Zhenyu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Effects ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Soil Resistance ◽  
Clayey Soils ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Filtration Method ◽  
Suction Caisson ◽  
Soil Failure ◽  
Tip Resistance ◽  
Internal Side

Suction caisson is an advantaged foundation option for offshore wind turbines in sandy and clayey soils. In this work, a series of model tests were conducted to investigate the installation behavior of a suction caisson in silty soils. The test results showed that the total soil resistance to the caisson increased steadily with penetration depth in the beginning of the suction-assisted penetration (SP) process, but rose slowly or remained constant after reaching a certain depth with excessive soil heave. This failure mechanism, which was quite different from that identified in sandy or clayey soils, was caused by the seepage induced silt soil failure in the caisson, such as erosion, liquefaction or piping, with reducing internal side friction and tip resistance. To suppress this type of failure, a special filtration method was introduced to help caisson penetration. The test results showed that such filtration technique had the advantage of reducing the height of soil heave and prevent seepage induced soil failure in the silt, but also suppress the under pressure effects on reducing the soil resistance. Numerical simulations were also performed to aid in understanding the observed test results and mitigation mechanisms.

Studies on Soil Resistance to Pipelines Buried in Sand

2011 ◽  
Vol 243-249 ◽  
pp. 3151-3156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Run Liu ◽  
Lin Ping Guo ◽  
Shu Wang Yan ◽  
Yu Xu
Keyword(s):  
Failure Modes ◽  
Model Tests ◽  
Soil Resistance ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Buried Pipe ◽  
Pull Out ◽  
Soil Failure ◽  
Pipe Segment ◽  
Force Displacement ◽  
Peak Value

A series of model tests were carried out to investigate the soil resistance when the buried pipe segment moved in the sand. In the tests, the pipe segments were pulled out in vertical, lateral and axial directions and the pipe segments movement and soil resistance were recorded. Observed data show that the soil resistance depends on the pipe diameters and the depth of cover. According to the uplift test results, the force-displacement relationships with smaller depth of cover are greatly different from those with larger depth of cover. The results of the lateral sliding and axial pull out tests show that the soil resistance initially increases before a peak value is reached and then keeps the same level. For the same covered depth, the lateral soil resistance is more than twice that for uplift. According to the uplift test results, the soil failure modes with smaller depth of cover are greatly different from those with larger covered depth.

scholarly journals Impact of the moisture content in medium sands on CPTU test results

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Łukasz Zawadzki ◽  
Marek Bajda
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Unsaturated Soils ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Degree Of Saturation ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Time Dynamic ◽  
Tip Resistance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Resistance Value

Abstract Soils occurring in the soil “active zone” are in contact with the surface and are directly influenced by external factors (mainly climatic changes) that cause variation in their parameters over time. Dynamic and uncontrolled changes of soil properties e.g. due to rainfall and evapotranspiration processes may affect field test results leading to the misinterpretation of the obtained data. This paper presents investigations on the influence of moisture content changes in sandy soils on CPTU results. For this purpose, a field ground model has been constructed and five CPTU tests with a different moisture content of soil were carried out. During the investigations, the tip resistance (qc), friction on sleeve (fs), and pore water pressure (u2) were measured. Moreover, a TDR probe was applied to determine the distribution of the moisture content in the studied soil columns. Differences between CPT results obtained in saturated and unsaturated soils have been shown. Furthermore, a simple equation to correct the tip resistance value due to the impact of the degree of saturation has been proposed.

scholarly journals Study on the Interaction between Soil and the Five-Claw Combination of a Mole Using the Discrete Element Method

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuwan Yang ◽  
Mo Li ◽  
Jin Tong ◽  
Yunhai Ma
Keyword(s):  
Discrete Element Method ◽  
Discrete Element ◽  
Rake Angle ◽  
Soil Resistance ◽  
Distance Ratio ◽  
Soil Failure ◽  
Soil Cutting ◽  
Soil Bin ◽  
Rupture Distance ◽  
Element Method

A mole is a born digger spending its entire existence digging tunnels. The five claws of a mole’s hand are combinative to cut soil powerfully and efficiently. However, little was known in detail about the interaction between the soil and the five-claw combination. In this study, we simulated the soil cutting process of the five-claw combination using the discrete element method (DEM) as an attempt for the potential design of soil-engaging tools to reduce soil resistance. The five-claw combination moved horizontally in the soil bin. Soil forces (draught and vertical forces) and soil failure (soil rupture distance ratio) were measured at different rake angles and speeds. Results showed that the draught and vertical forces varied nonlinearly as the rake angle increased from 10 to 90°, and both changed linearly with the speed increasing from 1 to 5 m/s. The curve of the soil rupture distance ratio with rake angles could be better described using a quadric function, but the speed had little effect on the soil rupture distance ratio. Notably, the soil rupture distance ratio of the five-claw combination in simulation was on average 19.6% lower than the predicted ratio of simple blades at different rake angles indicating that the five-claw combination could make less soil failure and thereby produce lower soil resistance. Given the draught and vertical forces, the performance of the five-claw combination was optimized at the rake angle of 30°.

A Destructive Field Study on the Behavior of Pile under Ten

2010 ◽  
Vol 163-167 ◽  
pp. 4524-4528
Author(s):  
Shi Min Zhang ◽  
Gang Wei
Keyword(s):  
Skin Friction ◽  
Load Test ◽  
Silty Sand ◽  
Silty Clay ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Bored Pile ◽  
Tip Resistance ◽  
Stress States ◽  
Sand And Gravel ◽  
Different Soils

This paper involves a destructive full-scale load test on long bored pile instrumented with strain gauges along the shaft. The load-displacement response, the distribution of axial force, and the thresholds of displacement for fully mobilizing the skin resistances in different soils in tension case were discussed in this paper. The field test results show that the measured tip resistance in the pile under tension is near zero during the whole loading, and the softening is accompanied with a reduction in skin friction when the skin friction is fully developed. It also can be investigated that the threshold of displacement for fully mobilizing skin friction is different even if in the same soil type due to different soil stress states. Generally speaking, the thresholds of relative pile-soil displacement for fully mobilizing skin frictions in the sandy silt, silty sand mixed silt, silty clay, silty clay mixed sand and gravel are about 4 mm, 11 mm, 7 mm, 6 mm, and 5.5 mm, respectively.

Model Tests on the Long-Term Dynamic Performance of Offshore Wind Turbines Founded on Monopiles in Sand

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Guo ◽  
Luqing Yu ◽  
Lizhong Wang ◽  
S. Bhattacharya ◽  
G. Nikitas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Response ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Model Tests ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Frequency Change ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Scaled Model ◽  
Structural Dynamic ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbines

The dynamic response of the supporting structure is critical for the in-service stability and safety of offshore wind turbines (OWTs). The aim of this paper is to first illustrate the complexity of environmental loads acting on an OWT and reveal the significance of its structural dynamic response for the OWT safety. Second, it is aimed to investigate the long-term performance of the OWT founded on a monopile in dense sand. Therefore, a series of well-scaled model tests have been carried out, in which an innovative balance gear system was proposed and used to apply different types of dynamic loadings on a model OWT. Test results indicated that the natural frequency of the OWT in sand would increase as the number of applied cyclic loading went up, but the increasing rate of the frequency gradually decreases with the strain accumulation of soil around the monopile. This kind of the frequency change of OWT is thought to be dependent on the way how the OWT is cyclically loaded and the shear strain level of soil in the area adjacent to the pile foundation. In this paper, all test results were plotted in a nondimensional manner in order to be scaled up to predict the consequences for prototype OWT in sandy seabed.

Variation of Initial Soil Suction with Compaction Conditions for Clayey Soils

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.-R. Yang ◽  
H.-D. Lin ◽  
W.-H. Huang
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Clay Fraction ◽  
Degree Of Saturation ◽  
Soil Suction ◽  
Clayey Soils ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Initial Soil ◽  
Compaction Energy ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractIn this study, the initial soil suction of as-compacted clayey soils was evaluated for various compaction conditions, covering a wide range of compaction energy and molding water content. The soil specimens were prepared by impact compaction under three levels of compaction energy. The filter paper method was used to measure the initial soil suction of as-compacted specimens. Test results indicate that the relationship between the soil suction and the molding water content is bilinear under three different compaction energies. However, the effect of compaction energy on soil suction is different for the soils with different amounts of clay fraction and is elucidated by the macro soil properties. The change of soil suction due to different compaction energies can be predicted by the void ratio and the degree of saturation.

scholarly journals X-Ray Microtomography (μCT) as a Useful Tool for Visualization and Interpretation of Shear Strength Test Results

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 47-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damian Stefaniuk ◽  
Matylda Tankiewicz ◽  
Joanna Stróżyk
Keyword(s):  
Shear Strength ◽  
Shear Failure ◽  
Triaxial Compression ◽  
Soil Testing ◽  
Geometrical Parameters ◽  
Clayey Soils ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Strength Parameters ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Method Of Evaluation

Abstract The paper demonstrates the applicability of X-ray microtomography (ìCT) to analysis of the results of shear strength examinations of clayey soils. The method of X-ray three-dimensional imaging offers new possibilities in soil testing. The work focuses on a non-destructive method of evaluation of specimen quality used in shear tests and mechanical behavior of soil. The paper presents the results of examination of 4 selected clayey soils. Specimens prepared for the triaxial test have been scanned using ìCT before and after the triaxial compression tests. The shear strength parameters of the soils have been estimated. Changes in soil structure caused by compression and shear failure have been presented as visualizations of the samples tested. This allowed for improved interpretation and evaluation of soil strength parameters and recognition of pre-existing fissures and the exact mode of failure. Basic geometrical parameters have been determined for selected cross-sections of specimens after failure. The test results indicate the utility of the method applied in soil testing.

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