Developing a Model for Axial Pile Capacity in an Offshore Field

Note: This is study is part of a boarder project “Suction Caissons: Seafloor Characterization for Deepwater Foundation Systems’ (MMS Project 362).

The objective of this study is to analyze the variation of unit side friction and end bearing for steel pipe piles in an offshore field and to develop a model for the prediction of total axial pile capacity for steel pipe piles in this field. The major parts of this study are: 1) storing the available geotechnical investigation data into a database for easing data retrieval and manipulation; 2) developing a geologic model for the field using the geotechnical site investigation data, the geophysical survey reports and the geologic studies of the field; 3) understanding and analyze the undrained shear strength of the soil using measured undrained shear strengths, design strength profiles and the in-situ properties of the soil; 4) analyzing and describing the horizontal and vertical distribution of the average unit side friction in the field and analyzing the factors affecting the calculated values of the average unit side friction including data type and geology; 5) analyzing and describing the vertical and horizontal distribution of the end bearing in the field and understanding the factors affecting the calculated values of the end bearings and assessing their contribution to the total axial pile capacity; and 6) developing a model for the prediction of axial pile capacity and calibrating this model with the geotechnical data from the study area.