Combined Load Capacity of a Preloaded Skirted Circular Foundation in Clay
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 11
Abstract
Preloaded foundation capacity has recently been a topic of major interest in offshore foundation engineering. The increase in undrained shear strength due to preloading and consolidation enables the foundation to resist a larger environmental load, thereby reducing the size of the footprint. This paper investigates the shape and size of the VHM (i.e., vertical, horizontal, and moment) capacity surface of a skirted circular foundation by comparing both the no-preload and the post-preload responses using coupled small strain finite-element analyses. The influence of the distribution of in situ undrained shear strength, the magnitude of vertical preload, and the duration of consolidation on the foundation’s combined capacity are considered. An approach to estimating the post-preload VHM capacity surface of the skirted circular foundation is provided using a new set of formulations that are compared with available solutions for other foundation geometries and soil conditions.
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Acknowledgments
This work forms part of the activities of the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS), which is supported by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation as a Centre of Excellence and now forms one of the primary nodes of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Geotechnical Science and Engineering. Lloyd’s Register Foundation invests in science, engineering, and technology for public benefit, worldwide.
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©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 27, 2017
Accepted: May 9, 2018
Published online: Sep 4, 2018
Published in print: Nov 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Feb 4, 2019
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