This Report presents our final account of the development and validation of a computational procedure for finite-element analysis of suction-caisson behavior, highlighting its unique features and capabilities. The procedure is based on a description of soil as a two-phase medium: a water-filled porous solid. Nonlinear behavior of the solid phase is represented by means of a bounding-surface plasticity model while a frictional-contact algorithm is used in handling soil-caisson interaction. Furthermore, specially devised remeshing schemes help track the caisson penetration path and avoid numerical complications with heavily distorted finite elements in the vicinity of the caisson-soil interfaces. The procedure has been applied to simulations of several tests involving caisson installation, set-up and pullout. Computational results and experimental data are in good agreement.
