Estimation of Uplift Capacity and Installation Power of Helical Piles in Sand for Offshore Structures
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 6
Abstract
In the offshore field, helical piles are being considered as a novel offshore pile system because of their flexibility regarding ease of installation and the large uplift capacity they can generate. This paper analyzes 120 cases in sand for different friction angle values, from 30 to 45°, considering five uplift forces, i.e., 5 to 25 MN, and three different wing ratio values (i.e., helix-to-shaft ratio). By using two different uplift capacity equations, the resulting embedment depths, depending on soil conditions and uplift axial force, are obtained. Torque was assessed with a model considering the relationship with the uplift capacity for deep helical piles in sand. Installation power was also initially assessed taking into account the torque and the crowd force. Calculations show that torque increases with the increasing helix diameter for the same geotechnical properties of the sand. Also, during installation, induced shear stress in the pile may be too high if the standard yield strength of steel is assumed.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
AB Chance. 2010. Guide to model specification CHANCE civil construction: Helical piles for structural support. Bulletin 01-0303. Shelton, CT: Hubbell.
AISC. 1986. Steel construction manual. Chicago: AISC.
Al-Baghdadi, T. A., M. J. Brown, J. A. Knappett, and R. Ishikura. 2015. “Modelling of laterally loaded screw piles with large helical plates in sand.” Frontiers in offshore geotechnics III, edited by V. Meyer, 503–508. London: Taylor & Francis Group.
Aydin, M., T. Bradka, and D. Kort. 2011. “Osterberg cell load testing on helical piles.” In Geo-Frontiers: Advances in geotechnical engineering, Geotechnical Special Publication 211, 66–74. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Byrne, B. W., and G. T. Houlsby. 2003. “Foundations for offshore wind turbines.” Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 361 (1813): 2909–2930. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2003.1286.
Byrne, B. W., and G. T. Houlsby. 2015. “Helical piles: An innovative foundation design option for offshore wind turbines.” Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 373 (2035): 20140081. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0081.
Canadian Geotechnical Society. 2006. Canadian foundation engineering manual. 4th ed. Vancouver, BC, Canada: Canadian Geotechnical Society.
Chattopadhyay, B., and P. Pise. 1986. “Uplift capacity of piles in sand.” J. Geotech. Eng. 112 (9): 888–904. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1986)112:9(888).
Colombo, P., and F. Colleselli. 1996. Elementi di geotecnica. Bologna, Italy: Zanichelli.
Costa de Mello, J. R., S. R. Beim, and P. S. D. Coelho. 1983. “The foundation design of Campos Basin platforms.” In Proc., 4th Int. Symp. on Offshore Engineering, edited by F. L. L. B. Carneiro, A. J. Ferrante, and R. C. Batista, 112–136. London: Pentech Press.
Das, B. J. 1989. “Uplift capacity of metal piles in clay.” In Proc., 8th Int. Conf. on Offshore Mechanics, 519–524. New York: American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Das, B. M., and S. K. Shukla. 2013. Earth anchors. Ft. Lauderdale, FL: J. Ross Publishing.
Fateh, A. M. A., A. Eslami, and A. Fahimifar. 2017. “Direct CPT and CPTu methods for determining bearing capacity of helical piles.” Mar. Georesour. Geotechnol. 35 (2): 193–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/1064119X.2015.1133741.
Gavin, K., D. Igoe, and P. Doherty. 2011. “Piles for offshore wind turbines: A state-of-the-art review.” Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng. Geotech. Eng. 164 (4): 245–256. https://doi.org/10.1680/geng.2011.164.4.245.
Ghaly, A., A. Hanna, and M. Hanna. 1991. “Installation torque of screw anchors in dry sand.” Soils Found. 31 (2): 77–92. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf1972.31.2_77.
Ghaly, A. M., and A. Hanna. 1991. “Experimental and theoretical studies on installation torque of screw anchors.” Can. Geotech. J. 28 (3): 353–364. https://doi.org/10.1139/t91-046.
Hoyt, R. M., and S. P. Clemence. 1989. “Uplift capacity of helical anchors in soil.” In Vol. 2 of Proc., 12th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, 1019–1022. Rotterdam, Netherlands: A.A. Balkema.
Japan Road Association. 2007. Pile foundation design handbook. Tokyo: Japan Road Association.
Jardine, R. J., B. M. Lehane, and S. J. Everton. 1993. “Friction coefficients for piles in sands and silts.” Vol. 28 of Offshore site investigation and foundation behaviour, advances in underwater technology, ocean science and offshore engineering, edited by D. A. Ardus, D. Clare, A. Hill, R. Hobbs, R. J. Jardine, and J. M. Squire, 661–677. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2473-9_31.
Jardine, R. J., N. V. Thomsen, M. Mygind, M. A. Liingaard, and C. L. Thilstead. 2015. “Axial capacity design practice for North European wind-turbine projects.” Frontiers in offshore geotechnics III, edited by V. Meyer, 581–586. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Kraft, L., and C. Lyons. 1974. “State of the art: Ultimate axial capacity of grouted piles.” In Proc., Offshore Technology Conf., 485–503. Houston, Texas: Offshore Technology Conference.
Lehane, B. M., J. A. Schneider, and X. Xu. 2005. “The UWA-05 method for prediction of axial capacity of driven piles in sand.” In Frontiers in offshore geotechnics, edited by S. Gourvenec and M. Cassidy, 683–688. London: Taylor & Francis Group.
Lutenegger, A. J., and C. H. C. Tsuha. 2015. “Evaluating installation disturbance from helical piles and anchors using compression and tension tests.” In Proc., XV Panamerican Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Fundamentals to Applications in Geotechnics, edited by D. Manzanal and A. O. Sfriso, 373–381. Netherlands: IOS Press.
Mitsch, M., and S. Clemence. 1985. “The uplift capacity of helix anchors in sand.” In Uplift behavior of anchor foundations in soil, 26–47. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Mori, G. 2003. “Development of the screw steel pipe pile with toe wing, ‘Tsubasa Pile.’” In Deep foundations on bored and auger piles, edited by W. F. Van Impe, 171–176. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Millpress.
Nagata, M., and H. Hirata. 2005. Study on the uplift resistance of screwed steel pile. Nippon Steel Technical Rep. No. 92. 73–78. Tokyo: Nippon Steel and Sumimoto Metal.
Peck, R., W. Hanson, and T. Thornburn. 1974. Foundation engineering handbook. London: Wiley.
Pérez, Z. A., J. A. Schiavon, C. H. C. Tsuha, D. Dias, and L. Thorel. 2017. “Numerical and experimental study on the influence of installation effects on behaviour of helical anchors in very dense sand.” Can. Geotech. J. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2017-0137.
Perko, H. A. 2009. Helical piles. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Poulos, H. G. 1988. Marine geotechnics. London: Unwin Hyman.
Randolph, M., M. Cassidy, S. Gourvenec, and C. Erbrich. 2005. “Challenges of offshore geotechnical engineering.” In Proc., 16th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 123–176. Amsterdam, Netherlands: IOS Press.
Randolph, M., and S. Gourvenec. 2011. Offshore geotechnical engineering. Oxon, UK: Spon Press.
Saeki, E., and H. Ohki. 2003. “A study of the screwed pile—The results of installation and loading tests and analysis of penetration mechanism.” In Deep foundations on bored and auger piles, edited by W. F. Van Impe, 259–266. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Millpress.
Sakr, M. 2009. “Performance of helical piles in oil sand.” Can. Geotech. J. 46 (9): 1046–1061. https://doi.org/10.1139/T09-044.
Sakr, M. 2015. “Retraction: Relationship between installation torque and axial capacities of helical piles in cohesionless soils.” J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 29 (6): 04014173. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000621.
Son, L. M. 2002. “Compiling geotechnical data to determine the distribution and properties of top sand deposits in quadrant K & L of the Dutch sector—North Sea.” M.Sc. thesis, International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation.
Spagnoli, G. 2013. “Some considerations regarding the use of helical piles as foundation for offshore structures.” Soil Mech. Found. Eng. 50 (3): 102–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11204-013-9219-7.
Spagnoli, G. 2017. “A CPT-based model to predict the installation torque of helical piles in sand.” Mar. Georesour. Geotechnol. 35 (4): 578–585. https://doi.org/10.1080/1064119X.2016.1213337.
Spagnoli, G., and K. Gavin. 2015. “Helical piles as a novel foundation system for offshore piled facilities.” In Proc., Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conf. Richardson, TX: Society of Petroleum Engineers. https://doi.org/10.2118/177604-MS.
Spagnoli, G., K. Gavin, C. Brangan, and S. Bauer. 2015. “In situ and laboratory tests in dense sand investigating the helix-to-shaft ratio of helical piles as a novel offshore foundation system.” In Frontiers in offshore geotechnics III, edited by V. Meyer, 643–648. London: Taylor & Francis.
Spagnoli, G., C. M. Mendez Solarte, C. H. C. Tsuha, and P. Oreste. 2018. “Parametric analysis for the estimation of the installation power for large helical piles in dry cohesionless soils.” Int. J. Geotech. Eng. https://doi.org/10.1080/19386362.2018.1452362.
Tadashi, M., and F. Mikio. 2009. “A study on end-bearing capacity mechanism of steel spiral pile.” In Deep foundations on bored and auger piles, edited by W. F. Van Impe, 161–166. London: Taylor and Francis Group.
Trofimenkov, J. G., and L. G. Mariupolskii. 1965. “Screw piles used for mast and tower foundations.” In Vol. 2 of Proc., 6th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, 328–351. Montreal, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
Tsuha, C. H. C., and N. Aoki. 2010. “Relationship between installation torque and uplift capacity of deep helical piles in sand.” Can. Geotech. J. 47 (6): 635–647. https://doi.org/10.1139/T09-128.
Vesic, A. S. 1971. “Breakout resistance of objects embedded in ocean bottom.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. 97 (9): 1183–1205.
Wada, M., K. Tokimatsu, S. Maruyama, and M. Sawaishi. 2017. “Effects of cyclic vertical loading on bearing and pullout capacities of piles with continuous helix wing.” Soils Found. 57 (1): 141–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2017.01.010.
Wu, T., I. Lee, J. Potter, and O. Kjekstad. 1987. “Uncertainties in evaluation of strength of marine sand.” J. Geotech. Eng. 113 (7): 719–738. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1987)113:7(719).
Young, A. G., and R. A. Sullivan. 1978. “Pile design and installation features of the thistle platform.” In Proc., European Offshore Petroleum Conf. and Exhibition, 101–110. Richardson, TX: Society of Petroleum Engineers. https://doi.org/10.2118/8050-MS.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 12, 2018
Accepted: May 4, 2018
Published online: Aug 21, 2018
Published in print: Nov 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jan 21, 2019
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.