Vertical Bearing Behavior of Monopod Caisson Foundation in Sandy Soils
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 4
Abstract
This paper presents the results of numerical investigation on the vertical bearing behavior of monopod caisson foundations embedded in sandy soils and supporting offshore wind turbines. The effects of embedment depth and internal soil plug were investigated. The magnitude of lateral soil deformation at the foundation tip is noted to increase with skirt length and it remains greater in comparison with that of an embedded solid foundation. The internal soil plug is found to have a cushioning effect during the transfer of superstructure load to the soil mass underneath the foundation tip. This leads to a reduction in the end-bearing component of vertical capacity when compared with that of an embedded solid foundation. The failure of the soil at the tip resembles the shape of an inverted parabola in the case of caisson foundation and that of an upright parabola for the embedded solid foundation. Based on the results, predictive expressions have been proposed to determine the ultimate vertical bearing capacity of the caisson foundation and its settlement for the range of geometry and superstructure load considered in the study.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Subroutine code
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Numerical simulation files
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All the data obtained from numerical simulations relevant to this study
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to the reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions, which have helped in improving the manuscript.
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 14, 2019
Accepted: Dec 15, 2020
Published online: May 13, 2021
Published in print: Jul 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Oct 13, 2021
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