This Page Intentionally Left Blank

Author Index

A
G
Aas, Per Magne 125
Abraham, Benny M. 151 Ghanekar, R.K. 125, 179, 191, 461
Azaraiah, I. 371 Ghosh, A. 421
Gujar, A.R. 359
B Gulhati, Shashi K. 239
Babu, K.P. 191 Gupta ,Ashok K. 257
Babu, Sivakumar G.L. 383 Gupta ,B.K. 119
Badawe, B.R. 387 Gupta , R.P. 371
Bagli, S.P. 345 Gupta, S.S. 221
Balasubramanian, Shanti 455 H
Basack, S. 227
Be&, S. 325 Hariharan, M. 67
Bhat, Devadas, S. 331 Hashimi, N.H. 359
Bhatt, M.N. 141 Hauge, A. 411
Bhowal, S. 81 Hazarika, P.J. 75
Bruno, D. 207 Hemalatha, R. 365
C I
Chandra,S. 443 Igor, Ivanov A. 113
Chhatre, M.V. 371 Ishihara, Kenji 23
Choudhary, R.K. 119
Chummar, Verghese A. 393 J
Cubrinovski, Misko 23 Johnson, A.S. 87
D Jose,Babu T. 151
Joshi, N.H. 433
Dalal, De S.?. 167
Datta, Manoj 221, 239, 245 K
Dave, Purvi 433 Kalra, K.L. 147
Dave, Y.C. 141 Kalsnes, B.G. 191
DeGroot, Don 133, 173 Khitoliya, R.K. 147
Deshmdch, A.M. 455 Knudsen,Siren 173
Dewaikar, D.M. 289,315, 321 Kotnala, K.L. 359
Dhat, N.R. 371 Krishnamoorthy 331
E Krishnaswamy, N.R. 449
Kumar, Digvijay 119
Eek, E. 411 Kumar, Pradeep 427
F Kumar, Ravi 179, 191
Kumar,Sanjeev 185
Fahey, Martin 35, 207

469
L Rao,MaUikaqunaK. 283
Rao, Narasimha S. 301
Lacasse, Suzanne 3
Rao, Ranga A.V. 277
Latha, G. Madhavi 449
Lavande, S.R. 321 Rao, Santosh N. 245
Levacher, D. 325
Rao, Babu D. 383
Rawat, P.C. 93
Long, Michael 157, 337
Rsdsand, T. 411
Lunne, Tom 157, 173, 461
Roopsekhar, K.A. 377
M Roy, T.K. 101
Madhav, M.R. 265, 443 S
Mandal, J.N. 439 Sankar, N. 163
Massarsch, Rainer K. 399 Sant, Niteen 351
Meller, Stephen 201 Sawant, V.A. 289, 321
Mokkelbost, Karl Henrik 107 schjetne, h u t 461
Mytluly, M. 383 Schroder, Knut 125
N Shahu, Punam P. 345
Sharma, V.M. 201
Nair, M.D. 201 Sharma, J.K. 443
Nanda, A. 81 Shin E m , C. 185
Narain, Jagdish 351 Sivakumar, N. 147
Narayana, Laxmi G. 377 Shroff,A.V. 433
Navale, A.V. 289 Shubha, R. 417
Ness, M. 411 Singh, A.K. 119, 179
Nigam, R. 359 Singh, Baleshwar 239
P Singh, D.N. 257,417
Singh, S.K. 461
Pathak, M.C. 359 Sinha, B.K. 119
Pad, M.A. 315 Sitharam, T.G. 309
Paul, Vincent K. 163 Sparrevik, Per 125
Prakasha, K.S. 119 Sridharan, A. 49, 151
Pranesh, M.R. 87, 377 Strandvik, Stein 107
Prasad, Nagendra K. 283 Subramanyam, V. 359
Prasad, S.K. 251 Sundar, V. 377
Pullaiah, M. 283 Sundaravadivelu, R. 277, 295, 365
Puri, Vikay K. 185
Purkayastha, R.D. 227 T
R Towhata, I. 251

Rajagopal, K. 449 V
Rajashree, S.S. 295, 309 Varghese, S.P. 125, 233
Ramakrishna, V.G.S.T. 301 Venkatachalam, K. 147
Ramana, E.V. 125 Venugopal, C. 455
Ramasamy, G. 75 Vidyarthi, U.S. 147
Randolph, Mark 35
W
Ranjan, Gopal 427
Rao, Bhavanishankar N. 331 Watson, P.G. 35

470
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 Preface

The Institute of Engineering & Ocean Technology (IEOT), of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited
(ONGC) is happy to present the proceedings of GEOSHORE International Conference on Offshore and
Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, organized jointly with Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI),
Norway under the aegis of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and InternationalSociety for
Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE).The conference is organized as part of an ongoing
Institutional Co-operation Programme between IEOT and NGI.
The conference is aimed at disseminahg state-of-the-art information and knowledge acquired by
Geotechnicalengineers towards solving Geotechnicalproblems related to offshore and nearshore structures
including those related to deepwater exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons. This conference has
provided the opportunity to meet and share ideas, experiences and achievements through participation in
keynote and theme lecture, technical paper presentations and discussions. The Conference has been
attended by delegates from overseas (about 10 countries) in addition to the distinguished national scientists
and engineers from oil industry, port trusts, construction industry, consultants, Geotechnical equipment
manufactures, researchers and academicians.
The proceedings constitute 66 technical papers presented during the conference including keynote
lectures and theme lectures by renowned personalitieslike Prof. Kenji Ishihara, President of ISSMGE, Japan,
Ms. Suzanne Lacasse of NGI, Norway Prof. Mark Randolph of University of Western Australia and
Prof. A. Sridharan, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
The papers presented are mostly covering the following six themes :
Offshore Geotechnical engineering including deepwater problems
Laboratory, In-situ and Field testing and behaviour of soils
Model testing applied to various Geotechnical problems
Soil structure interaction and foundation design
Nearshore Geotechnical engineering
Marine environmental geotechnics and soil improvement
On behalf of Organising Committee of the Conference and also on our own behalf, I take this opportunity
to thank the authors of all papers constituting this proceedings which contain a wealth of information on
recent as well as emerging developmental areas of offshore and nearshore geotechnicalengineering. We also
compliment the Publication Committee of the conference for the excellent job done by them in bringing out
this conference proceedings.

(Suzanne Lacasse) (S.K. Singh)

Managing Director, NGI Group General Manager & Head-IEOT
Advisor, Steering Committee Chairman, Organising Committee

iii
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 Acknowledgement

The organisers of the "GEOSHORE" Conference and the editors of this volume thankfully acknowledge the
assistance rendered by the members of the Technical Committee. We are very grateful to the authors who
have timely sent their papers in camera ready format and floppies to facilitate printing of the proceedings
on time. GEOSHORE organisers are indebted to the keynote, theme and invited speakers who have
contributed their valuable time and efforts to make the conference a very useful platform for the Geotechnical
Engineering Community in India and abroad. Organisers are thankful to sponsors and cosponsors of the
Conference who have contributed immensely to bring about a broad understanding about geotechnical
problems in offshore and onshore areas, as also the latest developments/new technologies in geotechnical
engineering and ensuing interaction among all participants including Special Interactive Group (SIG)
session, by encouraging this GEOSHORE Conference. Organisers also convey their deep regards and thanks
for Director (T), ONGC for his valuable guidance and support.

Panvel, Navi Mumbai Organising Committee

December 2,1999

V
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 Geoshore Organogram

Patron-in-Chief : B.C. Bora, CMD, ONGC

Patron : R.C. Gourh, Director (Technical), ONGC
Steering Committee
Chairman : VK. Sharma, Executive Director, MRBC, ONGC
Convenor : S.K. Singh, GGM & Head-IEOT, ONGC
Members : M.A. Warsi, GGM(F), ON&
Gyan Singh, GGM(0) & Head-OBG, ONGC
A.B. Bahuguna, GGM (P&A), ONGC
E. Mukundan, GGM & Head (E & C), ONGC
M.K. Bhatta, GM & Head-IOGPT, ONGC
O.P. Pacholi, GM(Mech.) & Head-MSG to Director(T), ONGC
B.M. Khar, DGM & Head-CMSG, ONGC
A.K. Gupta, Manager (Res.) & PSO to CMD, ONGC
Advisors : Suzanne Lacasse, Managing Director, NGI
Kuldeep Chandra, ED(R&D), ONGC
P.L. Narayana, Chief, Monitoring Unit, INPIC, New Delhi
Organising Committee
Chairman : S.K. Singh, GGM & Head-IEOT
Co-chairman A.K. Sonawane, GM(M)
:
Organising Secretary : K.S. Prakasha, SE (Civil)
Members : Digvijay Kumar, SE (Civil), Head-Geotech.
P.K. Johri, GM(Engg.), ONGC
D.P. Thakral, GM(Civil), ONGC
P.M. Aher, GM(Civil), ONGC
P.F. Anto, GM(C&M), ONGC
V.K. Mittal, DGM(E&T), ONGC
Anil Garg, SC, ONGC
R.K. Choudhary, Dy. SE(Civil), IEOT
h a n d Gupta, SE(P), IOGPT
V.S. Chandrasekaran, IIT Bombay
K. Venkatachalam, CSMRS, New Delhi
R.R. Jeyaseelan, CWPRS, Pune
P.C. Srivastava, GSI, Calcutta
S.M. Singh Gandhi, Oil Asia
Norwegian Co-ordination Committee
Chairman : TomLunne, NGI
Members : Rune Dyvik, NGI
Knut Schjetne, NGI

vii
Core Committee
Chairman : S. Anantharayanan, GM (I)
Co-chairman : Digvijay Kumar, SE (Civil), Head-Geotech.
Co-ordinator : V.S. Rao, SE (Civil)
Convenor ; K.S. Prakasha, SE (Civil)
Members : Sunder Lal, DGM (P&A)
H.S. Dholey, SE (Civil)
B.K. Gupta, SE (Civil)
R.K. Ghanekar, SE (Civil)
Ch. Ravi Kumar, SE (Civil)
Rajesh Agarwal, SE (Civil)
T.S. Rengarajan, SE (Civil)
Anil Bharadwaj, SC
A.K. Samant, SC
P. Kumar, SC
Tulsi Das, CE (P), IOGPT
Anand Gupta, SE(P), IOGPT
B.P. Patel, Mgr(F&A), Panvel
Devender Singh, Mgr (P&A)
Amlan Chakraborty, EE(M)
Prem Kumar, Mgr (MM)
Dinesh Kumar, SE (Civil)
P.K. Nigam, CE(C&M)
R.S.P. Sinha, SE(E)
V.L.N. Sharma, SE(E&T), IOGPT
M. Mukhopadhyay, SE(E)
Cultural : M. Mukhopadhyay, SE(E)
Ashish Isor, AE(E)
A. Chakraborty EE(M)
Exhibition : Rajesh Agarwal, SE(Civi1)
A.K. Singh, SE(Civi1)
Anil Bharadwaj, SC
Tulsi Das, CE(P), IOGPT
Souvenir : B.K. Gupta, SE(Civi1)
J.P. Singh, Sr. Chemist
E.V. Ramana, SE(Civi1)
Tech. Programme : R.K. Ghanekar, SE(Civi1)
B.K. Gupta, SE(Civi1)
K.P. Babu, Dy. SE(Civi1)
S.P. Varghese, EE(Civi1)
D.M. Dewaikar, IITB, Mumbai
K.S. Subbarao, IISc, Bangalore
Gopal Ranjan , Univ. of Roorkee
Manoj Datta, IIT, Delhi
Publication : P.P. Yadav, SE(Civi1)
V.S. Rao, SE(Civi1)
K.V. Ramachandran, SE(Civi1)

viii
 S.P. Varghese, EE(Civi1)
K.S. Rao, IIT, Delhi
Auditorium : A.K. Samant, SC
M. Mukhopadhyay, SE(E)
T.S. Rengarajan, SE(Civil)
V.K. Sharnia, Dy. SC
S.V.N.S.S. Rao, SE(E&T)
V.L.N. Sharma, SE(E&T)
R.S.P. Sinha, SE(E)
A.B. Jadhav, SE(Civil), ONGC
Publicity : P. Kumar, SC
N.C. Shah, SE(Civi1)
S.K. Srivastava, SC
E. Mohan Reddy, Mgr(PR), ONGC
Accommodation &
Transportation : Devender Singh, Mgr (P&A)
S.K. Chugh, Dy. SE(M)
A. Surya Narayana, SE(Civi1)
B.K. Sinha, SE(Civi1)
Vinod Kumar, Manager (P&A), IOGPT
Shyam Kandpile
Finance : B.P. Patel, Mgr(F&A)
N.C. Shah, SE(Civil)
Digvijay Kumar, SE(Civi1)
R.K. Ghanekar, SE(Civi1)
K.S. Prakasha, SE(Civi1)
Ramesh Raut, SE(Civi1)
Laboratory : Ch. Ravi Kumar, SE(Civi1)
K.P. Babu, Dy. SE(Civi1)
T.K. Roy, Dy. SE(Civi1)
Samuel John, Dy. SE(1nstt)
S.H. Kamble, AE(E)
A.T. Jadhav, Librarian
Photography &
Videography : Kishor Kumar, EE(D)
H.S. Dholey, SE(Civi1)
Ashish Isor, AE(E)
Decoration : Arpita Sarkar, EE(M)
Kishor Kumar, EE (D)
J. Nair, EE(E)
Bindu Nair
Amar Singh, AE(E)
Ram Raj Dwivedi (Hort)
Sabita Mahapatra
Mementoes : A.K. Singh, SE(Civil)
Rajesh Agarwal, SE(Civi1)
Kits : V.S. Rao, SE(Civil)
N.C. Shah, SE(Civi1)
M. Sahay, SE(E)
ix
Catering Anil Bharadwaj, SC
Devender Singh, Mgr(P&A)
Ajit A., Dy. SE(Civi1)
S.P. Nainwal, IOGPT
Registration Digvijay Kumar, SE(Civi1)
P.K. Nigam, CE(C&M)
K.N. Balakrishnan, SE(P)
A.K. Samant, SC
A.K. Mathur, Dy. SE(P), IOGPT
Reception A.K. Shukla, SC
S.K. Chugh, Dy. SE(M)
Arpita Sarkar, EE(M)
Sangita Rani Prasad, Chemist
v

A.H. Pawaskar
Medical K.C. Gour, ACMO
Anil Kumar, DCMO
Sumitra A., DCMO
A.K. Shukla, SC
Communication A.P. Datta, SE(E&T)
Pashupati Prasad, Sr. Programmer
S.V.N.S.S. Rao, SE(E&T)
D.V. Koli, Dy. SE(E&T)
Deepak Raghav, SE(E&T)
Staff Secretariat P.F. Kolin
D

Inderjit Singh
T.D. Chikhalekar
D.K. Kandpile
Bindu Nair
Sabita Mahapatra
Suresh Garse, IOGPT
D.V. Patil, IOGPT
Security and Protocol : M. Biswas, Security I/C, Phase I1
S.R. Pal, SE(Civi1)
Aditya Johari, Dy. SE (P), IOGPT
Special Interactive
Group Session V.S. Rao, SE(Civi1)
P.P. Yadav, SE(Civi1)
Civil & Electrical
~ ~~~~

Maintenance A.B. Jadhav, SE(C)

R.S.P. Sinha, SE(E)
B.K. Gupta, SE(C)
Ramesh Raut, SE(C)
M.L. Bajaj, SE(E&T)
Devender Singh, Mgr(P&A)
K.P. Keshawan, SE (C)
M. Biswas, Security Incharge, Phase-I1
~~

Affiliation of persons not indicated belong to IEOT,ONGC

A
 Contents

Preface iii
Acknow1edgement V
Geoshore Organogram vii
Editors xv
Keynote Speakers xvii
Theme Lectures and Keynote Lectures
1. Theme Lecture: Recent Developments in Offshore and
Near Shore Geotechnical Engineering 3
Suzanne Lacasse
2. Keynote Lecture 1: Performance of Quay Wall Structure During the 1995 Kobe Earthquake 23
Kenji Ishihara and Misko Cubrinovski
3. Keynote Lecture 2: Site Characterisation and Foundation Design in Soft Sediments 35
M.F. Randolph, P.G. Watson and M . Fahey
4. Keynote Lecture 3: Engineering Behaviour of Marine Clays 49
A. Sridharan
SESSION I: Offshore Geotechnical Engineering Including Deepwater Problems
5. Geotechnical Challenges in Offshore Facilities Design and Construction 67
M . Hariharan
6. Response of Offshore Pile Foundations 75
P.J. Hazarika and G. Ramasamy
7. Rundown of Offshore Piles 81
S. Bhowal and A. Nanda
8. Submarine Pipeline Buckling on the Seabed 87
M.R. Pranesh and Arvee Sujil Johnson
9. Geotechnical Aspects of Design and Installation of Deepwater Pipelines 93
P.C. Rawat
10. Application of Hydraulic Fracture Mechanism to Assess Conductor Setting 101
Depth in Normally Consolidated Clay
Tushar Kanti Roy
11. Development of NGI's Deepwater Gas Probe, DGP 107
Karl Henrik Mokkelbost and Stein Strandvik
12. The Break-out Behaviour of Objects Embedded in Ocean Bottom 113
A. Ivanov &or
13. Locating Areas Susceptible to Mudslides and Instability on the Map of Indian Offshore 119
K.S. Prakasha, Digvijay Kumar, B.K. Sinha, R.K. Choudhary, B.K. Gupta and A.K. Singh
14. Design of Suction and Pile Anchors for an Indian Offshore Site 125
E.V Ramana, R.K. Ghanekar, Sabu l? Varghese, Knut Schroder, Per Magne Aas and
Per Sparrevik
xi
 SESSION 11: Laboratory, In-situ and Field Testing and Behaviour of Soils
15. Laboratory Measurement of Undrained Shear Behaviour of Clays 133
Don J. DeGroot
16. Geotechnical Investigation in the Gulf of Khambhat-Gujarat 141
M.N. Bhatt and Y.C. Dave
17. Marine Geotechnical Investigations for Lakhigam, Project 147
K.Venkatachalam, R.K. Khitoliya, N. Sivakumar, U.S.Vidyarthi and K.L. Kalra
1s: Variability of Properties of Marine Clays due to Sample Conditions 151
Babu T.Jose, A. Sridharan and Benny Mathews Abraham
19. Estimating Preconsolidation Stress of Clays Using Block Samples 157
Michael Long and Tom Lunne
20. A Cost Effective Cyclic Triaxial Testing Unit 163
N.Sankar and K.Vincent Paul
21. Use of Cone Penetrometer in Exploring Alluvial Bengal 167
Som Shankar De Dalal
22. Correlations Among pIc, suand Index Properties for Offshore Clays 173
Don J. DeGroot, Siren Knudsen and Tom Lunne
23. Correlation Study for Godavari Delta 179
Ravi Kumar, R.K. Ghanekar and A.K. Singh
24. Properties of Oil Contaminated Sands 185
Vijay K. Puri, Sanjeev Kumar and Eun C. Shin
25. Cyclic Laboratory Tests on Clay from Tapti Field of Western Indian Offshore 191
R.K. Ghanekar, Ravi Kumar, K.P. Babu and B.G. Kalsnes
26. The Use of Vibrating Wire Strain Gauges in Geotechnics 201
V M . Sharma, M.D. Nair and Stephen Meller
SESSION 111: Model Testing Related to Various Geotechnical Problems
27. Model Testing Applied to Various Geotechnical Problems 207
M . Fahey and D. Bruno
28. Behaviour of Metal Piles in Soft Clay under Static and Cyclic Loading 221
S.S.Gupta and Manoj Datta
29. Response of Model Piles under Lateral Cyclic Loading 227
R.D. Purkayastha and S. Basack
30. Model Tests on Suction Pile in Clay 233
Sabu P. Varghese
31. Pore Pressures During Cyclic Loading of Superpile Anchors 239
Baleshwar Singh, Manoj Datta and Shashi K. Gulhati
32. Effect of Anchor Shape on Pull-out Resistance in Soft Clay 245
N. Santosh Rao and Manoj Datta
33. Liquefaction Studies on Model Ground in a Laminar Box 251
S.K. Prasad and I, Towhata
34. Accelerated Modelling of Hydraulic Conductivity of a Compacted Soil 257
Ashok K. Gupta and Dmendra N. Singh
SESSION IV: Soil-Structure Interaction and Foundation Design
35. Foundations in Calcareous Soils and on Soft Ground 265
Madhira R. Madhav

Xii
36. Nonlinear Soil-Structure-Interaction Analysis of Diaphragm Wall 277
A.V Ranga Rao and R. Sundaravadivelu
37. Influence of Shape of Pile on Lateral Response of Pile Foundations 283
K. Malikarjuna Rao, K. Nagendra Prasad and M. Pullaiah
38. Analysis of a Pile for Cyclic Loading 289
A.V Navale, D.M.Dewaikar and VA. Sawant
39. Gap Model for One-way Cyclic Lateral Load on Vertical Piles in Soft Clay 295
S.S. Rajashree and R. Sundaravadivelu
40. Critical Cyclic Load Levels for Laterally Loaded Piles in Soft Clays 301
VG.S.T. Ramakrishna and S. Narasimha Rao
41. Nonlinear Cyclic Load Analysis for Lateral Response of Batter Piles in Soft Clay 309
with a Rigorous Degradation Model
S.S. Rajashree and T.G. Sitharam
42. Three Dimensional Finite Element Analysis of Laterally Loaded Pile Group 315
M.A. Patil and D.M.Dewaikar
43. Analysis of Laterally Loaded Pile Group 321
S.R. Lavande, D.M.Dewaikar and VA. Sawant
44. Behavior of Anchored Piles: Physical and Numerical Simulation 325
D.Levacher and S. Belkhir
45. Nonlinear Analysis of Rectangular Footing Resting on Soil 331
Krishnamoorthy, N.Bhavanishankar Rao aqd S. Devadas Bhat
46. Case History on the Design of Foundations for a 337
Concrete Gravity Structure in Shallow Water
Michael Long
SESSION V: Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering
47. Problems Encountered in Near Shore Projects 345
Punam P. Shahu and Shahrokh P. Bagli
48. Offshore Stockyard and Berth (OSB) An Innovative Concept for Bulk Handling 351
Niteen Sant and Jagdish Narain
49. An Assessment of Seabed Conditions for Port Development : 359
A Case Study of Nagore-East Coast of India
M.C. Pathak, V Subrahmanyam, N.H. Hashimi, A.R. Guiar, R. Nigam and K.L. Kotnala
50. Computer Aided Analysis of Approach Jetty 365
R. Hernalatha and R. Sundaravadivelu
51. Foundation Problems in Soft Marine Clays for Breakwaters 371
I. Azaraiah, N.R. Dhat, R.P. Gupta and M.V Chhatre
52. Stability of Concrete Cubes in Restoring Horizontal Composite Breakwater 377
at Mormugao Port, India
K.A. Roopsekhar, G. Laxmi Narayana, V. Sundar and M.R. Pranesh
53. Probabilistic Design of R e t a m g Walls 383
G.L. Sivakumar Babu, M. Mythily and D.Babu Rao
54. Deterioration of Concrete in Waterfront Structures- 387
Experimental Studies and Remedies
B.R. Badawe
55. Problems Encountered in Foundation Constructions on Shore in Coastal Areas 393
with Thick Marine Clay Deposits
A. Verghese Chummar

Xiii
 SESSION VI: Marine Environmental Geotechnics and Soil Improvement
56. Soil Compaction for Improvement of Reclaimed Land 399
K. Rainer Massarsch
57. Near Shore and Deep Water Disposal of Contaminated Sediments 411
E. Eek, M. Ness, T. RBdsand and A. Hauge
58. Permeation of Contaminants through Water Saturated Soils 417
R. Shubha and D.N. Singh
59. Behaviour of Oil Storage Tanks Resting on Marine Clay Deposit 421
A. Ghosh
60. Granular Pile System for Uplifting Loads-A Case Study 427
Pradeep Kumr and Gopal Ranjan
61. Electrochemical Hardening of Clay by Sacrificial Electrode 433
A.V Shrof, N.H. Joshi and Purvi Dave
62. Design of Geosynthetic Reinforced1 Retaining Walls 439
J.N. Mandal
63. Consideration of Non-Homogeneity of a Granular Pile on Settlement 443
J.K. Sharma, M.R. Madhav and S. Chandra
64. Geocells for the Construction of Embankments Over Soft Marine Clays 449
G. Madhavi Latha, K. Rajagopal and N.R. Krishnaswamy
65. Computerised Analysis of Sulphate Action on Model Concrete Piles 455
A.M. Deshmukh, Shanti Balasubramanian and C. Vmugopal
Institutional Co-operation-A Success Story
66. IEOT and NGI: A Case History of Successful Institutional Co-operation 461
Knut Schjetne, Tom Lunne, S.K. Singh and R.K. Ghanelcur

Author lndex 469

xiv
 Editors

Shri Sushi1 Kumar Singh, was born on 6th June 1941. He did his B.Sc. from
Lucknow University and B.E.(Mechanical)from Roorkee University with dis-
tinction. He is a fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India). He joined ONGC
in 1964. At present Shri. S.K. Singh is heading the prestigious Institute of
Engineering & Ocean Technology (IEOT) an R&D arm of ONGC as Group
General Manager, providing technical support to tackle field problems in off-
shore engineering and other areas, besides giving a much needed commercial
thrust to provide consultancy services to outside customers as per ISO-9001
Certification which the Institute has been awarded w.e.f. May, 1999.
During his long tenure in ONGC, he headed and successfully managed
practically all facets of Technical Business Group functions in different regions.
He contributed significantly for supervision and management of technical serv-
ices for onshore drilling and production installations as well as offshore installations and allied activities.
He headed various technical committees and presented many technical papers in national and international
seminars /conferences.
His special interest include computer based management information systems, organisation redesign
and development, inventory control, stores accounting and financial control systems, project appraisal
system, economics and control parameters of life cycle equipment management systems, substitution of
liquid fuel by CNG in automobile and stationary engines and technology management.

Dr. Suzanne Lacasse, is the Managing Director of the Norwegian Geotechnical

Institute, Oslo, Norway. Dr. Lacasse has a wide engineering background with
prior research and consulting assignments in different countries and prior
teaching positions at several universities.

XV
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 Keynote Speakers

Prof. Kenji Ishihara was born in Japan in 1934. He obtained his BS degree in
Civil Engineering in 1957, MS degree in 1959 and Ph.D. in 1963 from the
University of Tokyo. He became Professor in Geotechnical Engineering at the
University of Tokyo from 1977. He was the secretary of the Japanese National
Committee of International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering (ISSMFE) during 1970-76 and Vice-President of Asian region of
ISSMFE during 1989-93. He was Chairman of the Technical committee on
Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering in ISSMFE during 1985-93. His major
research areas include soil dynamics, earthquake engineering, liquefaction of
sandy deposits and seismic stability of slopes and earth structures. He has over
200 publications on the above subjects. He delivered the theme lecture in the
11th ICSMFE in San Francisco and 33rd Rankine lecture of the British
Geotechnical Society. He was awarded the H.B. Seed Gold medal from the
American Society of Civil Engineers in 1998. He received the Honorary Doctorate from Technical University
of Bucharest, Romania in 1995 and from Istanbul University, Turkey in 1999.

Prof. Mark Felton Randolph was born in England. He graduated in

Engineering Science from Oxford University in 1973 and obtained his Ph.D.
from Cambridge University working under late Prof. Peter Wroth. He worked
as a Research Fellow at the St. Johns College and later as lecturer in the
Engineering department. He moved to the University of Western Australia in
1986 where he is currently Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the
Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS). Prof. Randolph is a Fellow of
the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Fellow of
Institution of Engineers Australia, Vice-President of the Australasian region of
the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. He
is the founding Director of the specialist Geotechnical consultancy, Advanced
Geomechanics.

Prof. Asuri Sridharan was born on 1/1/1937 in India. He graduated in Civil

Engineering from the Sri Venkateswara University with First Class (Hons.) in
1959, completed M.E. from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in 1960 and Ph.D.
from Purdue in 1968 followed by D.Sc. from IISc. in 1992. He is Fellow of the
Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences and Indian
National Academy of Engineering. His areas of interest include Physio-
Chemical Mechanisms controlling engineering properties, Environmental
Geotechnique, Machine Foundations, Reinforced Soil Structures, Flyash Engi-
neering. He has over 260 publications to his credit. He was the president of the
Indian Geotechnical Society during the period 1996-98. Presently he is Adviser
to I.I.Sc. Bangalore and Hon. Professor of Civil Engineering.

xvii
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 ,Intemathd Conferem on Ofishorn and Nearshore Geotechnical E n g i i i n g , r 24,1989

THEMELECTURE
RECENT DEVEL,QPMENTS IN OFFSHORE AND NEAR SHORE GEOZlBClHMCAt
ENGINEERING
Suzanne Lacasse
Nonwgirm Geatechnical I-, F.0.Box 3930, ullearal Stsdia, N-0806 OSLO, N~naay

-
SYNOPSIS The paper makes a review of important contributionsfrom the geotechnidprofesdonto offshoie and near-
shore development. Geomhnid breakthnnrghs have enabled new and daring umstructiOns offshore and opened the way
to cost-effective solutions. The paper presents a brief review of the geotechnical solutions developed to respond to offshare
and near shore needs. Examples are given of the calculation methods developed and the achievements made. The recent
offshore concepts with skirted foundations, the challenges posed by exploitation in d-water and the problems related to
pipelines and risers are given particular attention. The paper also outlines the challenges facing the profession when
entering the new miIlennium.

INTRODUCMON the local geology, in situ a?f&g and labora6wy desting,

Georechnicalbreakthm& have opened the way to safer
and more cost-effective solutions far both offshore and
D e a r ~ ~ ~ .
e n v i r o m imposed offshore have greatly contributed to
an improved understanding of the behaviour of soils under
new conditions and lead to important techrtical develop
ment of the geotechnical field. These achievements have
been made possible because knowledge has gradually been
applied, extended and completed with observations of the
environment and the performance of the strwtures and
foundation.
Offshore and near-shore s m m are subjected to cyclic
loading. Xmwledge on the cyclic loading of soils and be-
haviour under vacuum as for skirted foundations has many
applications in geotechnical engineering, including wave.
loading on breakwaters and offshore platforms, wind
loading on tall buildings,towers and chimneys, eaabqnake
loading on structures and slopes, vibrations from machine
foundations and tmfllc, vacuum consolidation to improved
soil stiffness and strength,etc. Seven aspects axe examined
in the paper:
- Steinvstigatitms
- Modeltesting
- Exploitation in deepwatt%and geohamda
- Skirted,piled andjack-upstructures
- Pipelines and risers
- Eaahquakeanalysis
- Riskanalysis
SltTE E"MGATI0NS
For adequate design of foandatons, soil panmetem need to
be determhed h u g h a combination of inwpmtation of
Equipment, testhg xnethods, methods of inteq)retation and
parameter determination ;are some of the aspects that have
greatly benefited from increased ZlRsearch and focus trig-
gered
~ ~ needs.
by~ offshore ~ In p ~ ~athe developments
~
n d, ~
around the piemcone penetration test and new sampling
devices to be used at inamsingly greater depths have been
noteworthy (Kolk and Campbell, 1997; h e d al, 1997)..
Without these methods and the reliability they have gained,
the design today would be much more conservative, as the
uncertainties surrounding soil profile and soil parameters
would have been significantly larger.
Laboratory testing techniques have also greatly improve&
and the way of setting up testing programs has become 8
rationaL cost-benefit oriented process. The llecessity of
reproducing as closely as possible the in situ conditions and
the stress path under extreme loading is common practice
today. In the characterisation of soilss eqnipment handliig
to retrieve soil samples, sample disturbance* stress relief
and the presence of gas represent challenges that need to be
solved. For 1OOOm water depths, retrieval of a sample
100m below seabed requires advanced and carehl control.
It is not possible today to obtain an ideat undistuibed
sample for such depths.
As samplesneed tobe recovemlfrom greaterwaterdepths,
the effects of sampling & s e a n c e gained renewed interest.
The profession's understanding of the representativeness of
the paramem measured in the laboratory needs to im-
prove. To quantify and correct for the effect of sample dis-
turbance, samples of different sizes and with different
samplimg parameters, such as inside d m area ratios
and pushing method were compares, Large diameter block
samples (Lefebvre and poulin, 1979; Lacasse et d,1985;
h e eta& 1998) were Wen, as they represent the most
perfect samples that can be obtained. Test results on

3
samples obtained with the offshore methods were calibra- are stable under given temperature and pressure conditions.
ted with the results of tests on "perfect" samples. Figures 1 Gas hydrates are found in polar regions and water depths
to 4 compare the results of oedumeter and strength tests on greater than 300-500 m. In deep water, the so&and brittle
the low plasticity Lierstrmda clay, and i l l ~ s ~the
~ timpor-
e soils called oozes are co cult to ch~acterise.They are
tance of the effect of sample disturbance (Lame etat, composed of skeletal remains of marine plants and animals,
1997; 1998). If not taken into account, sample disturbance and have high porosity, high water content and low unit
can significantly affect the economy of the foundation. weight. The sediments can be very thick. More research
need to be done on these materials,
E ~ ~ e ~ ini adl el e~~ w ~ tc~hr ,~ ~ e are
n ~also
~ met
s with gas in
solution in the in sitzt samples. Upon retrieval at atmos- MODEL TESTING
pheric pressure, the gas comes out of solution and the soil
tested in the laboratory cannot represent thein sitzt behav- Model testing is an excellent tool to document a geotechni-
iour. The effect of gas coming out of solution is similar to cal calculation procedure, the mechanism of failure and the
the effect of m e c h ~ d~i sl ~ b ~ cwith e , r ~ u c t i o nin the ~ o n For offshore design, where prototype
d ~ f o ~ a t pattern.
shear strength and less brittle stress strain curves. It is now testing is rare, model tests have proven to be an excellent
possible to recover in situ samples of pore water with gas tool to verify and calibrate calculation procedures. Model
and to measure the gas sat~rationwith a special deepwater tests can be 1-g models in the laboratory or in situ, multi-g
gas probe, the NGI Deepwater Gas Probe (Mokkelbost and centrifuge tests or full scale model tests.
~ ~ n d v i 1999).
k, Gas hydrates represent a "new" feature.
They are ice-like mixtures of water and methane gas, that

Effective Axial Stress (kPa) Effective AxiaI Stress (kPa)

10 I00 Ioo[l 1 ~ 0 0 100 200 300 400 500
t-TT177- 10 k I I I
1
ble
75mm sample

54mm sample

Jt 54mmsampfe

1 stloading
4 Reloading
I

4 W
0 100 200 300 400 500

Figure 1, P ~ ~ o n s u ~ ~ dStress n Oedometer Test

~ t i ofrom Figure 2. Constrained~ o d and ~ ~~ o ue ~~ cofi ~ n ~
for Different Sample Disturbances Consolidation for Different Sample Disturbances
(Lunne et al, 1998) (Lunne et al, 1998)

4
 Axial strain (%)
40 I I
tions and anchors. Examples include 1-g laboratory tests of
I
a skirted foundation on soft clay (Andersen et al, 1988;
1989) and two series of $rge scale field tests of anchorsQin
soft clay with loading 10 to the vertical for TLP's and 10to

--
the horizontal for floaters (Andersen et al, 1993; Keaveny
et al, 1994). Table 1 presents an example of the results of
successful 1-g model tests run to in the laboratory and in the
30 field to evaluate the calculation models for the analysis of
A Block sample gravity foundations (Andersen et aJ 1988).

cd
pc
Table 1. ~ e r i ~ c a t i oofnbearing capacity
54mm sample
24 of a skirted foundation (Andersen et al, 1988)
m
2 20
c,
m
' -- ..c
--- z -c
- Type of Loading Ratio between Calculated and
: 7
&
v3
I

75mm sample
-
4,
Static failure, test 1
Measured Failure Load
0.98- 1.O 1
Cyclic failure, test 2 0.99-1.15
Cyclic failure, test 3 1.16-1.17
Cyclic failure, test 4 1.06-1.23
10

Results from a few large scale field tests are presented in

Figures 5 and 6. The results in the figures show that both
capacity and displacements are very well predicted.

0 For these model tests, the calculation of failure loads was

0 4 8 12 16
done before the model tests were run, thus providing an
Figure 3. Stress-Strain Curves from CAUC Triaxial unbiased calibration of the calculated values to the meas-
Test for Different Sample Disturbances ured values in the model test. Model tests should not be
(Lunne et af, 1998) used to extrapolate the results fkom a small model to a proto-
type, but to verify the calculations made of the model with
the same calculation model used for design of the prototype.
Effective mean stress (kPa)
Model tests are expensive, and need to be carefully planned
40 I I I I and run. They enable however to reduce considerably the

30
Block sample , uncertainty in a calculation model. It is essential to use
geometry and loads relevant for the offshore conditions. In
cd a design si~ation,the engineer should use the type of
&
model tests that gives the highest return for the costs
rn incurred. The operator needs to ask a specialist to evaluate
3rn 20 available model testing methods and make a recommen-
3 dation on the best "return value for money" approach.
3
10 One of the important needs in geotechnical engineering is
relevant model tests of high quality on which to calibrate
design procedures. Gravity structures and skirted founda-
0 tions and anchors in clays are so fw well documented with
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
model tests. Tests also exist for such foundations in sand,
Figure 4. Effective Stress Paths from CAUC Triaxial a l t h o u ~not to the same extent as for clays. For piled
Tests for Different Sample Disturbances structures, load tests with dimensions and loads relevant
(Lunne et al, 1998) offshore should be given priority. The extrapolation done
today from small pile load tests to loads and dimensions 10
A number of field and model tests have been used to ,ierify to 100 times greater (Lacasse and Nadim, 1996a) is an
the calculation models and procedures for skirted founda- appro~mationthat so far has not been verified.

5
 EXPLOITATION IN DEEP WATER

Geohazards represent a world-wide concern in deep water.

The nature, extent and impact of geohazards are not well
known. Geohazards include submarine slides, gas hydrates
and free gas, over-pressured sand zones, and very soft,
brittle soils such as oozes. Geohazards need to be carefully
evaluated before field development can start, as they pre-
sent threat to human life, the environment, seabed installa-
tions and the drilling operation. Run-out distances and
impact forces on structures need to be quantified. Another
issue is the detrimental effect geohazards can have on the
capacity of a foundation or anchoring system. Integrated
assessments by geologists, mass flow dynamicists, geo-
physicists and geotechnical engineer is essential.

Figure '7 illustrates schematically different geohazards

(Kvalstad, 1999a). ~ ~ o h a z are ~ drelated
s to either (1) soil
mass transport, for examples, slides, debris flows, turbidity
currents disturbing the sediment or hitting installations, (2)
tsunamis generated by large sliding masses, or (3) seabed
instability, borehole stability, channelling, surface erosion
caused by shallow water flow, shallow gas, collapsible
soils. Geohazard evaluation is best done via mapping of
hazard sources and understanding the possible triggering
mechanisms, describing and analysing events that may
have occurred or may occur, and evaluating the conse-
quences. Geohazards can be found e v e ~ h e r efor , exam-
ple offshore the UK, N o ~ a yCanada,
, Brazil, Africa, Aus-
tralia, on the sea floors of all oceans, in the Gulf of Mexico,
the Gulf of Guinea, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.

Figure 5. Predicted and measured loads in large scale

skirted anchor test (Andersen and Jostad, 1999)
- top: models used
- bottom: result of TLP model

Figure 7. Illustration of geohazards at deepwater site

Figure 6. Predi~tedand ~ ~ a s u r ~isp~acements
ed (Kvalstad, 1999a)
in Large Scale Skirted Anchor Test
(Andersen and Jostad, 1999)

6
Mapping should include observations or records of slope
inclination, local scarps, previous sliding activity, excess
pore water andlor gas pressure zones, !instable soils such as
quick clays, loose sands, oozes, seabed features such as free
gas, gas chimneys, pockmarks, mud diapirs and volcanoes,
fault planes, gas hydrates, and erosion. Mapping methods
include high resolution geophysical data, multi-beam echo-
sounders, side scan sonars, remotely operated surveys, and
soil investigations done for foundation and well design
(borings, sampling, in situ tests, gas detection, measure-
ments of temperature and pressure gradients, laboratory
testing of salinity, water content, density, strength and
deformation properties).
Geophysical, geological and geotechnical site investiga-
tions will reveal areas with earlier and on-going sliding
activities, features like mud volcanoes, fluid vents, pock-
marks and gas hydrates. These can be triggering mecha-
nisms of major mass flows. Triggering factors are often
earthquakes, currents, scour/erosion, fluid gas escapes,
shallow gas, gas hydrates, or wave pressures.
as a function of the sliding volume. Most of the slides were
detected by geophysical surveys of remnants of old slides.
Edgers and Karlsrud (1982) summarised the following ob-
servations:
Submarines slides may occur on very flat slopes. Based
on 40 cases, only one had slope as steep as 10". Most
had slopes flatter than 6', some had slopes of only 1'.
The sliding volumes involved in submarine slides are by
far greater than the volumes of terrestrial slides.
There is a trend of increasing relative run-out distance
with increasing slide volume.
There may be an upper limit for the relative run-out
distance for submarine slides, given a volume. A one-
million m3 mass sliding underwater would have a
maximum run-out distance of 30 times the height drop.
To have run-out distances as large as for the quick clay
slides in Scandinavia, submarine slides would need to
involve volumes greater by 2 orders of magnitude.
1000 , : -- I

Evidence exists of large submarine slides. The largest

known event is in the Storegga slide area in the hkre and
Vming basin areas offshore Norway. Bryn ef at, (1998)
~~

rF;.
.__._.____.l.. ........~............:
___..__.l..____...._

i
~ ..*:.....
.....

. .
~ -4.. ..... .
.. . . .

identified a number of features at the site: slide scars and

slide sediments, diapirism, gas hydrates and free gas, sea-
bed grooves, gas leakage and slide areas, fracture zones and
; 0
.
.i
o;
:.
i
:
.:
: . ;
.:
i : i !

earthquakes.

Shallow water flow caused by over-pressurised sand zones 14 I

and borehole activity is also a major concern. Three major I€-4 lE*OS 1E-6 1E+07 1E+OB 1E-8 lE+lO IE+ll 1E+l2

needs are: (1) geophysical techniques to detect over-pres- Sliding volume (m3)
sured zones while drilling; (2) methods to assess the risk of [ABeach sMe m Submarina slde OQIliCk clay slie 1
migration of excess pore pressures to shallower depths. and
the possible detrimental effect on the seabed and founda- Figure 8. Run-out Distance vs Slide Volume for
tion masses; (3)methods to estimate flow rates and sedi- Submarine Slides
ment transport, again with attention on the potential detri- (Edgers and Karlsrud, 1982;
mental effect on the installations below and above the sea- Lacasse and Boisard, 1996)
bed (Kvalstad, 1999a).

Procedures should be developed to estimate the risk associ-
ated with slope instability. A slope instability study would
include the following components:
- Mapping and dating of observations in area
- Correlation of seismic, g e o t e c ~ i and
~ a ~geological data
- Mapping of possible triggering mechanism(s)
- Influence of other geohazards on slope stability
- Slope stability calculations and evaluation of risk
Figure 8 illustrates the results of a compilation of data on
large submarine slides and quick clay slides on land
(Karlsrud and By, 1981; Lacasse and Boisard, 1996). The
graph gives run-out distance normalised to the height drop
Exploration in deep water represents one of the "last fron-
tiers" for the geotechnical engineer. The on-going world-
wide developments in deepwater and on continental slopes
require however improved knowledge and technologies to
evaluate the risk associated with geohazards and to develop
preventive measures. In this harsh, often remote,
environment, the interplay of geology, geophysics, mass
flow dynamics and geotechnics becomes even more neces-
sary than before. This interplay cannot be overemphasised.
Improved c o ~ ~ i c a t i oisnrequired (Fig. 9). The exper-
tise, gained after long university studies and years of expe-
rience, is highly specialised, making dialogue more diffi-
cult. The offshore industry and the geotechnical profession
would greatly benefit fiom an improved dialogue. An

7
improved integration will lead to safer and more cost- Skirted foundations and anchors may be subjected to per-
effective designs. manent loads, high and low frequency cyclic loads (waves,
wind, current, tide and storm surge). The loads include ver-
tical, horizontal and moment components.

Different options are feasible, like fmed or retrievable top

cap, or different load attachment point, An optimum load
attachment point can be calculated on the basis that the
capacity is generally greater if the anchor is prevented from
rotating. A translational failure mode without rotation can
be achieved by lowering the load attachment point from the
top of the anchor to an optimal depth below the seabed. The
location of the optimal point depends on the soil profile, the
adhesion between the skirt and the soil, the load ~ c ~ n a ~ o n ,
the submerged anchor weight, and the depWdiameter ratio
of the anchor. Both theoretical analyses (Andersen and
Jostad, 1998) and model tests (Keaveny etal, 1994) indi-
cate that the capacity may be increased by a factor of about
2 by using an optimal load attachment point instead of
loading at the top.
Figure 9. Integrated Geosciences (Kvalstad, 1999a)

SKIRTED FOUNDATIONSAND ANCHORS

Skirted foundations and anchors represent competitive
alternatives to other foundation solutions. Cost savings can
be made relative to fabrication, offshore installation
(equipment and time), ease of accurate positioning, simple
geotechnical and structural designs, and re-usability of the
structure. Skirted foundations can be used in most soil
types and for both fixed and floating platforms, including
floaters, TLP’s, steel jackets, jack-up rigs, subsea systems
and other protection structures. The following is based on
Andersen and Jostad (1998).

Principles of Skirted Foundations and Anchors

Skirted foundations and anchors are normally cylindrical
units made by steel or concrete. The cylinders are open at
the bottom and closed by a cap at the top (Fig. 10).

Installation of skirted foundations and anchors is based on

the principle that they penetrate partly into the soil under
weight. Further penetration is achieved by pumping water
out from the top of the cylinder, creating an underpressure
inside the cylinder. The difference between the hydrostatic
water pressure outside the cylinder and the reduced inside
t t Tip resistance

Figure 10. Skirted Structure during Penetration

water pressure gives a differential pressure that acts as a
by Under-pressure
penetration force in addition to the weight. After penetra-
(Andersen and Jostad, 1999)
tion, the water outlet is normally closed, and the foundation
may achieve substantial capacity, both for vertical down-
ward loads, horizontal loads, vertical uplift loads, moments,
The costs depend on the market, especially with respect to
and combinations of these loads.
marine operations. Based on a several projects and feasi-

8
bility studies, the costs of skirted foundations and anchors giving either large soil heave inside the skirts or cavitation
are less than for piles and drag anchors, with respect to both in the water), and soil heave inside the caisson. Figures 11
fabrication and marine operations. In some cases, the dif- and 12 present four examples of prediction and perform-
ference was marginal. In many cases, the costs of skirted ance of skirt penetration. These results are typical.
foundations and anchors were significantly lower than for
piles and drag anchors. The differences were in some cases
as large as 50%, corresponding to about 10-15 million Penetration resistance, MN
US$. These costs include fabrication and marine operations 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
0
(Colliat et al, 1995; Offshore Engineer, 1994; Nowacki
et al, 1996; Andersen and Jostad, 1998).
A
Measured
Skirted foundations have actually been successfully used
for gravity platforms in the North Sea for about 25 years
€ 4
(Eide and Andersen, 1984). Many examples of anchors
exist. Twelve 4.5 m diameter, 12 m deep skirted anchors ca
P
with retrievable top cap were used for anchoring of the 'c3
Nkossa process barge offshore Africa in soft clay in 170 m C
0
water depth (Colliat et al, 1995: 1996). Thirty-two 5 m .I
.c,

diameter, 13 m deep skirted anchors for anchoring semi- E 8

.c,

submersible platfonns were installed at the Marlim field Q)

C
offshore Brazil in soft clay in 720-1050m water depth
(Mello et al, 1998). Four -30 m diameter, 13 m deep
E
skirted multi-cell anchors for the Snorre TLP platform in
the North Sea performed well in soft clay in about 310 m 12
water depth (Christophersen et al, 1992). Four 12 m dia-
meter, 6 m deep skirted foundations for the Draupner E Au, -50 kPa
jacket in the North Sea were installed in very dense sand in
70 m water depth (Tjelta,1995). Four skirted spud-cans on
a jack-up at the Sleipner B field in the North Sea were also 16
successfully installed in layered soil in about 70m water
depth to increase fixity and bearing capacity.

Geotechnical Design

Geotechnical design is an essential part of developing a

skirted foundation solution. Design includes analysis of
skirt penetration, capacity, soil stiffness and displacements.
Geotechnical calculation procedures are now well devel-
oped and have been verified. Not all aspects have yet been
presented in the public domain because of confidentiality
clauses associated with research underway. Andersen and
Jostad (1998) summarised the state-of-the-art of the design
procedures. The follQwingneed to be analysed:

- Penetration and removal

- Capacity
- Displacements (consolidation, cyclic displacements,
permanent displacements due to cyclic loads)
- Soil spring stiffnesses 0 1000 2000 3000
- Soil reactions or soil structure interaction analyses for
structural design
Total Penetration Resistance (kN)

Penetration analyses contain calculation of skirt penetration Figure 11. Penetration of Skirted Anchors at Two Sites
resistance, under-pressure needed to achieve target pene- in Clays
tration depth, allowable under-pressure (under-pressure -top: Snorre (Andersen and Jostad, 1999)
-bottom: Nkossa (Colliat et af,1996)

9
 2.0
This procedure accounts for the redistribution of average
soil stresses that occurs during cyclic loading and deter-
--E 2.5 mines whether the failure mode will be large cyclic dis-
f 3.0 placements, large average displacements, or a combination

-2 of the two.
P
E 3.5

4.0
C The skirted foundation concept has now been developed for
4.5
other applications, e.g. for support of near-shore submarine
5.0 pipelines or as foundation for near-shore windmills. The
0 20 40 60 80 100 -60 40 -20 0 20 40 60 foundation works well in the presence of uneven seabed
Suction pressure (kPa) Bucket elevation (mm) and unstable slopes.
inside buckets from average penetration

.
.
.
ao I I
40

6.0

E
1 60

7.0

LO

8.0

1ao

Figure 12. Penetration of Skirted Anchors at Two Sites

-top: sand, at Sleipner T (Sparrevik, 1998; Tjelta, 1998)
-bottom: layered profile at Njord
(Solhjell and Sparrevik, 1998)

The bearing capacity of skirted foundations or the holding
capacity of skirted anchors is normally calculated by limit-
ing equilibrium methods. Finite element analysis is an
alternative or a supplement to limiting equilibrium analy-
ses, especially for new geometry or load conditions. If
finite element programs are used, they should have the
capability to model anisotropic shear strengths and 3-D
effects, and have a formulation that enables accurate
determination of the failure mechanism and the failure load
with only small overshoot. Figure 13 illustrates some of the
failure modes.
The calculations should be based on anisotropic, stress path
dependent undrained shear strengths. The strengths should
be monotonic or cyclic, depending on the loading situation.
The shear strengths are normally determined for triaxial
compression, triaxial extension and direct simple shear
tests. Strain compatibility should be taken into account
when the anisotropic shear strengths are established.
Figure 13. Examples of Failure Surfaces for
Shallow and Deep Anchors
(Andersen and Jostad, 1999)
PILED FOUNDATIONS
Pile design has come a long way since the early days of the
Gulf of Mexico, where foundation design was an extrapo-
lation of land-based methods and experience with piers and
jetties. In their landmark OTC paper, Pelletier etal (1993)
summarised the evolution of offshore pile practice. For
clays especially, there is confidence in the API W2A
recommended practice, even if the method is based on
empiricism and model tests with dimensions and loads far
away from the actual offshore conditions. There is also a
growing awareness of the conservatism of API W2A
method with limiting values for end bearing and side fric-
tion for dense and very dense sands.

Cyclic capacity calculations should be made according to In today's pile practice, there is an increased awareness in
the procedure proposed in Andersen and Lauritzsen (1988). the limitations of the-existing empirical calculation models

10
and the need for a more "rational" approach. In the latest
versions of the API RPZA design guideline, the designer is
encouraged to us all research advances available to him.
New methods have emerged for clays and sands Kolk and
van der Velde (1996); Jardine and Chow, 1996), and it is
would be worthwhile to evaluate these on the same basis as
the earlier analysis methods. The more recent design
methods for piles in clays are essentially effective stress
approaches where the side friction is a function of the
effective stress along the pile (Karlsrud et al, 1992; Kolk
and van der Velde, 1996; Jardine and Chow, 1996). The
effective stress or beta approach and the undrained shear
strength or alpha approach are expressed as
where I(, and tan 6fare shaft friction parameters specific to
the Imperial College method.
Karlsrud (1999) re-analysed the results of i n s ~ m e n t e dpile
load tests in clays, using only the results of the tests in
which he had confidence. The tests included were: West
Delta tests, University of Houston tests, the Pentre,
Tilbrook, Canons Park, Cowden and Bothkennar tests in
the UK, and the Lierstranda, O n s ~ yand Saga tests in Nor-
way. The reader should refer the Karlsrud (1999) for refer-
ences on each site. Figures 14 and 15 illustrate some of the
results obtained.

f = p ' G',, 1)

f=a-s, 2)

where f = friction at pile shaft

p = beta factor
arv0= effective vertical stress in situ
a = alpha factor
s, = undrained shear strength

The API RPZA (1993) "alpha-method" can be converted to

the "beta-format" with the following:

f=a*s, 3)

- s,
f = M (s~/CTrv0)-~ 4)

f = ?4(S,/CT'vo)+H * G
'
, 5)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
f = f$lt . Glvo 6)
I, ("/I
So does the Kolk and van der Velde (1996) method (Wd
represents the pile to diameter ratio): Figure 14. Normalised Shaft Friction (a)vs
Plasticity Index
f=a*s, 7) (Karlsrud, 1999)

f = M (L/d)-O-' * ( S , / O ' ~ , ) --~S"

.~ 8)
Karlsrud concluded that for piles in clays, the shaft friction
f = *+p*q
* tyVO
9) is closely related to the effective stress in situ and the stress
history (overconsolidation ratio, OCR),and that the shaft
and likewise the Imperial College method (Jardine and friction is strongly influenced by the response of the clay
Chow, 1996): close to the pile wall. He suggested that the more rational
beta approach is preferable to the traditional alpha-
t f = 0.8 I(,- G
* ~ .6f
' ~tan 10) approach-. Both approaches suggest lower pile shaft resis-
tance for plasticity indices less than 15 or 20%.
tf = yye . (TfVO 11)
Although many feel that pile resistance and pile design are
a mature issue and that there are no reasons to support fur-
ther research, there remain important u n c e r t ~ t yareas.
Coring and plugging of piles in sands, skin friction distri-
bution and degradation along a pile in sand, relationship
between dynamic and static resistance to driving in clays,
and enhanced use of observations during pile driving are
some of the main topics. Strain-softening, loading rate and
cyclic loading are not well understood when trying to
obtain the actual field capacity.
The design of gravity structures and skirted foundations use
"more advanced" methods than piled foundations. Yet there
are over 6000 offshore piled structures around the world,
and they have existed much longer. Understanding better
the components of basic pile behaviour and adopting
"rational" and more "refined analytical methods for pile
are necessary,
P tect smaller diameter offshore pipelines and flowlines
b against impacts from crossing objects, the pipeline and
4
yl
II
CL
1 10 100
IN-SITU OCR
Figure 15. Normalised Shaft Friction (p) vs
Stcess history
(Karlsrud, 1999)
JACK-UP STRUCTURES
Mobile jack-up rigs, although extensively used, face at least
on paper far greater risks than other engineering structures.
Accident rate averaged 2.6% of the fleet annually between
12
1955 and 1980. Perhaps as many as 50 of the 226 accidents
recorded between 1979 and 1988 by Sharples et al(1989)
were associated with "soils". Punch-through, failure due to
wave loading and scour were the dominant causes. To
prevent such occurrences, it is essential to quantify the
possible range, or the uncertainty, of the vertical and
horizontal load interaction diagram. It is now possible to
update the capacity of a spud can from observations during
pre-loading and by doing bearing capacity analyses under
environmental loading including the uncertainties in the
analysis variables (Nadim and Lacasse, 1992).
SOIL-STRUCTURE INTERACTION
When a structure is subjected to external loads, the
dynamic effects and changes in its response due to the
flexibility of the supporting foundation are referred to as
"soil-structureinteraction". The geomechanics and possible
seabed instability associated with the installation and safe
operation of pipelines and risers and due to earthquakes
need increased attention from the geotechnical engineer.
Pipelines and Risers
Pipelines are used for transport of oil and gas. After instal-
lation the pipeline will be operated under higher tempera-
ture and pressure and will try to expand axially. If the pipe-
line is laid on the seabed, the pipeline can buckle. To pro-
flowlines are placed in a trench and covered with bacMill
material. The weight of the pipeline and the bacld3l cover
will restrain the pipeline from lateral and vertical move-
ment, and the temperature expansion will generate an axial
compressive force. Kvalstad (1 999b) discussed lateral
forces, b a c ~ ~ l ~ t e properties,
rial pipel~e- so^ interaction,
prediction methods and improvement of breakout resistance
for pipelines in jetted trenches. The following is based on
Kvalstad (1999b).
With increasing temperature, a pipeline will exert increas-
ing lateral and vertical pressure against the surrounding
backfill. Upheaval buckling has been reported as the verti-
cal resistance of the soil was exceeded. At the weakest
points, the pipeline will protrude through the backfill and
expand as the lateralhertical restraint is lost. The buckle is
fed axially from both sides by the expanding pipeline until
a new axial equilibrium condition is established by the soil-
pipe friction This may leave section(s) of the pipeline
uncovered in a snake shape above the seafloor, and the
pipeline is susceptible to t~wl-boardhooking and exces-
sive yielding of the pipe material. These aspects are illus-
trated in Figure 16.
 neath the pipeline, which gradually increases the height of
imperfection.

Laboratory and large-scale model tests show that loose

sandy backflls may have a very limited breakout resis-
tance. Field data about backfll properties are lacking and
should be gathered to improve the understanding of the
effect of burial methods on backfill density and breakout
resistance. The failure mode in loose contractive sand is not
well understood. Figure 17 suggests an upheaval failure
mode in loose sand.

Figure 16. Buckling of Trenched and Back-filled

Pipeline Caused by Initial Seabed
"Imperfection"and Temperature Increase
(Kvalstad, 1999b)

Most of the reported failure cases are related to pipelines

trenched in and back-filled with uniform fine sand. The
trenching and back-filling operations may bring the sand in
suspension and the resedimented bacldill may be left in a
loose to very loose state.

Upheaval buckling of pipelines and flowlines in sandy soils

occurs frequently. The costs in offshore trenching and Figure 17. Failure Mode in Loose Sand
backfill operations and the costs connected to intemption (Kvalstad, 1999b)
of operation and repairs caused by upheaval buckling are
substantial. Reliable design approaches and cost effective Kvalstad (1999b) illustrated the calculations for the
methods to improve the resistance against upheaval buck- required burial depths (Fig. 18) for an idealised failure
ling are needed. mode. The pull-out or break-out resistance (or vertical
bearing capacity) can be expressed as for a cohesionless
The pipeline will be subjected to temperature and pressure soil:
variations. The first loading occurs during the first opera-
tional period, when the temperature rises from ambient to
operational level. During the operational life of the pipe-
line, shut down of wells and maintenance periods will
cause several cycles of large force reversals axially and
normal to the pipeline. H
with N,= 1 + f . - 14)
D
During the first loading, high shear stresses will be intro-
duced in the backfill at locations of initial trench imperfec- where F, = vertical load or breakout force
tions. For a contractive backfill material this may cause N, = dimensionless capacity factor
excess pore pressures and often large reduction of effective y' = submerged unit weight of soil
normal stresses. The strength of the backfill is strongly H = burial depth to centre of pipeline
reduced and the pipeline may break out of the soil. The (or top of anchor plate)
repeated shut down and start-up cycles may introduce small D = outer diameter of pipeline
vertical displacements and loss of contact between pipeline L = length of segment
and soil in the lower half. This may cause local failure and W', = submerged weight of pipeline
a gradual wandering of particles from the side to under- f = dimensionless factor

13

Figure 18. Illustration of Idealised Failure Mode for
Risers and Pipelines
(Kvalstad, 1999b)
Model tests and finite element analyses were used to esti-
mate N, as a function of relative depth embedment WD.
For H/D up to 12, the N, number is 2 for very loose sand
(D, < 14%). For medium dense sand (D, = 20-70%), as the
WD ratio increases from 2 to 12, N, increases from 2 to 8.
The increase in N, is from 2 to 14 for dense and very dense
sand (D, > 70%) (Kvalstad, 1999b).
Numerical simulations using the discrete element method
combined with model tests focusing on the flow behaviour
during failure should be carried out. Development of cost
effective vibratory techniques may help increase the den-
sity and thus the breakout resistance in sandy bacHills.
Aspects that need to be considered for the design of pipe-
lines and risers include (Kvalstad, 1999b; c):
- effect of consolidation on uplift resistance
- shear strength to use in analysis
- remoulding effects as sliding occurs or lateral forces act
- embedment
- protective cover and corrosive coating
Results of earlier tests, such as the data presented by Phifer
et a1 (1994), and the experience gained with the ROV
inspections by Shell Oil of the Auger, Mars, and Ram
Powell locations provide useful insight for design on
touchdown, embedment and seabed remoulding. Model
tests are recommended for simulation of touchdown, verti-
cal and lateral resistance and coupling effects and for veri-
fication of analysis models. In particular surface deforma-
tions, remoulding effects and re-consolidation should be
evaluated. In today’s analysis of pipelines and risers, the
seabed and supporting soil are replaced with elastic springs.
Geotechnical parameters entering the design are shear
modulus, undrained shear strength and sensitivity of clay,
and relative density, cohesion and friction angle of sand.
14
Earthquake Analysis
Kaynia (1999) and Nadim (1999) recently presented state-
of-the-art reviews of recent practice and research needs in
earthquake engineering, both on land and for offshore
structures. Kaynia gave an overview of recent develop-
ments in earthquake engineering that are also anticipated to
grow in the early years of the next millennium: i) site
response and microzonation, ii) liquefaction, iii) seismic
earth pressure on walls, and iv) site characterisation by sur-
face waves. For each, he presented brief historical back-
ground, engineering aspects and emerging trends.
The offshore design codes and site-specific seismic hazard
studies provide the framework for the earthquake design of
offshore structures. Earthquake analysis and design for off-
shore installations should include evaluations of local soil
response, soil-structure interaction and assessment and con-
sideration of the uncertainties in the design analysis para-
meters. The following is based on Nadim’s (1999) review.
The first and most important step in any earthquake engi-
neering problem is the specification of the design motion.
Today’s offshore design guidelines recommend that two
levels of ground motion intensify are considered in design:
1) a ground motion that has a reasonable likelihood of not
being exceeded at the site during lifetime of the offshore
installation, and 2) ground motion from a rare, intense
earthquake.
The structure is required to resist elastically the first level
of ground motion. It is typically associated with an earth-
quake event with an exceedence probability of 5-10” to 10-2
per year. The structure should withstand the second level
without collapsing. It has a much smaller exceedence prob-
ability, as low as 10-4per year in some codes. This low
exceedence probability reflects the unacceptable conse-
quences of failure of major offshore installations.
Table 2 lists the recommended return interval or annual
exceedence probability for the design earthquake in four
offshore design codes: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate
(NPD) (1993), American Petroleum Institute (API) (1991),
Canadian Standards Association (CSA) (draft, 1988), and
Det norske Veritas (DnV) (1989).
A typical offshore platform is composed of two primary sub-
systems: superstructure (platform, deck, etc.) and foundation
sub-structure (supporting soil, embedded foundation ele-
ments, etc.). During an earthquake, the foundation sub-
structure transmits the ground motion to the superstructure
and, in turn,must resist the induced forces and contribute to
dissipating the superstructure motions. The earthquake
response and performance of an offshore platform are func-
tions of the coupling and interaction between the two sub-
systems, and of the nature of the earthquake which may
occur at the site.
Table 2. Annual exceedence probabilities or
recurrence intervals for design earthquake
in design guidelines (Nadim, 1999)
Design Recommended annual exceedence probability
guideline or recurrence interval for design earthquake
NPD 1Q2/yr,qtultimatelimit state" event
(1997) 1o4/vr. ttlimitstate of Dromessive collaDset' event
API Elastic design: ground motion which has a rea-
(1993) sonable likelihood of not being exceeded at the
site during the platform's life (recurrence inter-
val of 200 yrs for Southern California)
Analyse for the ground motion from a rare, in-
tense earthquake with a recurrence interval of
several hundred to a few thousand yrs
CSA 104/yr for Safety Class 1failure consequence
(1988)
10q2/vrfor Safetv Class 2 failure conseauence
DnV 1om2/yr, ttultimatelimit state" event
(1989) 104/yr, "limit state of progressive collapseq1event
The major trend in the earthquake analysis is to use sub-
structuring and superposition techniques to evaluate the soil-
structure interaction effects. The non-linear behaviour of soil
and structure is approximated by equivalent linear models,
as sub-structuring and superposition are strictly valid for
linear systems only. Piles can be treated as a separate sub-
system.
Key soil properties for earthquake analyses include:
- shear modulus at small strains
- damping characteristics
- density
- variation of shear modulus and damping during cycling
- shear strength under dynamic loads
- pore pressure build up characteristicsunder cyclic loads
Ideally, the following i ~ o ~ a t i should
o n be provided about
the design earthquake:
- intensity of motion (peak acceleration,peak velocity)
- frequency content (response spectrum or power spectral
density function)
- number of components of motion to be considered
- whether the motion components are statistically inde-
pendent
- wave propagation mechanisms (body or surface waves)
- control point where does the motion takes place
The problems of liquefaction and earthquake-induced slides
should be studied in detail if the soil foundation is deemed
15
subject to liquefaction andlor if the slope of the seabed
exceeds 2-3" in the vicinity of the platform. Liquefaction
an'alysis for offshore sites is not any different from that of
their onshore counterparts.
There has been a great deal of interest in recent years
regarding the stability of submarine clay slopes. The main
reason for this interest is the routing of oil and gas pipelines
through areas with uneven seabed and steep slopes and the
potential risk posed to the integrity of a pipeline by sub-
marine slides. Methods for evaluation of shear strength and
stability of clay slopes under earthquake loading have been
developed (Nadim and Kalsnes, 1997; Nadim ebaZ, 1996;
Nadim, 1996). A general overview of seismic considera-
tions for offshore pipelines is provided in Bruschi eta1
(1996).
As an example, the stability of submarine slopes along
fjords in Western Norway was investigated by Nadim and
Kalsnes (1997). The key issue under a strong earthquake
was whether the soil would keep its shear strength after
being exposed to high cyclic shear stresses induced by the
ground motion. With the help of direct simple shear tests
on clays from two fjords, Nadim and Kalsnes showed that
the cyclic shear strength under earthquake loading was 30
to 80% higher than the static shear strength, provided the
cyclic shear strains during the earthquake were small (shear
strain less than 0.5%). This effect is due mainly to the rapid
rate of loading. The reference static strength was that for
failure in 2-3 hours. However if the soil experienced large
cyclic shear strains (greater than 2-3%) during the earth-
quake, it could undergo further creep displacement after the
earthquake and experience a significant reduction of the
static shear strength.
RISK ANALYSIS
The offshore industry has been at the forefront in applying
reliability-based analysis to assist in decision-making, This
has contributed to the documentation of case studies where
reliability concepts have been used.
The usefulness of the approach is illustrated with the case
study of an offshore structure where conventional and
probabilistic analyses of its pile foundation were done at
two times. First in 1975 before platform installation, when
limited information and limited methods of inte~retation
of the soil data were available. Second in 1993, after a re-
interpretation of the available data using the geotechnical
improvements done in the interim, additional laboratory
tests, a re-analysis of the loads, and an analysis of the
installation records. The structure is a steel jacket installed
in 110 m of water in the North Sea. The jacket rests on four
pile groups, oneat each corner. Each pile group consists of
six piles. The piles in the groups are 60" diameter tubulars,
with wall thickness of 3 and 2.5". The soil profile consists
of mainly stiff to hard clay layers, with thinner layers of
dense sand in between.
The profiles used in the analysis originally showed wide
variability in the soil strength, with considerably higher
shear strength below 20 m. No laboratory tests, other than
strength index tests, were run to quantify the soil para-
meters, and sampling disturbance added to the scatter in the
results. During pile installation, records were made of the
blow count during driving. These records were used 20
years later to adjust the soil profile, especially the depth of
the stronger bearing sand layers. New samples were also
taken and triaxial tests were run. The new evaluation indi-
cated less variability in the strength than before. The axial
pile capacity was calculated with the API RP2A recom-
mended practice. The requirement was a factor of safety of
1.50 under extreme loading and 2.0 under operation load-
ing. The uncertainty analyses used the first-order reliability
method, where each of the parameters in the calculation
and the calculation model were taken as random variables,
with mean and standard deviation. The results of the analy-
ses are given in Table 3 and Figure 19.
Table 3. Pile capacity analyses of most loaded pile
under extreme loading
Analysis Factor of safety
FS
1.1975,before 1 1 79
*) P'f = area beneath curve where FS is less than 1 (Fig. 19)
t
.-
-.-
I
c
g
-0
-
.-
2'
E ability of a major e ~ h q u on ~ ethe San AndreasFault
.a
$2
a -
Factor of safety
Figure 19. Safety Factor and Probability of Failure
for Most Loaded Pile
The newer deterministic analysis gave a safety factor (FS}
of 1.39, which is below the requirement of 1-50.However,
the newer information reduced the uncertainty in both soil
and load parameters. The pile with a safety factor of 1.39
16
y failure probability (Pf} that the pile
has s i g ~ i c a n ~lower
which had a safety factor of 1.73 twenty years earlier.
Taking into account the uncertainties showed that the pile,
although with lower safety factor, had higher safety margin
than the pile with a much higher safety factor, as perceived
at the time of pile driving. The lower uncertainty in the
parameters led to a reduction in the probability of failure by
a factor of 2.5.
Factor of safety is therefore not a sufficient indicator of
safety margin because the uncertainties in the analysis
parameters affect probability of failure. The uncertainties
do not intervene in the conventional calculation of safety
factor. The essential component of the probability of failure
e s t i ~ a t ewas g e o t e c ~ c a expertise.
l Experience and engi-
neering judgement was also needed. The most impo~ant
contribution of uncertainty-based concepts to geotechnical
engineering is increasing awareness of the uncertainties and
of their consequences. The methods used to evaluate
uncertainty, probability of failure and risk level are tools,
just like any other calculation model or computer program.
R e ~ a b ~ iand t y risk approaches are therefore a complement
to the conventionalanalyses.
The risk approach has the following major needs:
- reducing model uncertainty by obtaining and analysing
performance data of high quality
quantifying acceptablerisk level
sensitivity analyses to identify the most significant
parameters in an analysis
convincing the designer to view the value-added in un-
certainty-based analyses
Establishing the basis for acceptable risk criteria is difficult
and controversial. Society requires increasingly that analy-
ses be done to determine the risk imposed on the public.
Risk statistics for persons voluntariljv or involuntarily
exposed to hazards range from 1 x 10- death/year for air
travel, 3 x 10-4for road accidents to 2 x 10-3for parachut-
ing. Californians live in ParHield or the San Francisco
Peninsula where there is respectively 90% and 20% prob-
occurring between 1988 and 2018.
Figure 20 gives two examples of risk charts, the latter pro-
posed by the US Bureau of Reclamation (Whitman 1984;
1997). Other charts also exist. None represent official risk
criteria, but they are the staaing point of a discussion that
needs to be finalised. European regulatory agencies are
looking into associating design to acceptable risk level. The
proposed guidelines have in common that they are based on
engineering judgement and experience, and suggest some-
what similar bounds of acceptable and unacceptable levels
of annual of occurrence.

Low Consequence Level - economic consideration
generally govern
Risk generally accepted
Marginally acceptable risk
Risk outside generally acceptable limits
Hig Consequence Level - use best available methods
Figure 20 Examples or siak evaluation guidelines
(Whitman, 1984; 1997)
Cornell (1995) quoted that if faced with a decision on the
target annual structural failure probability for new design,
he would select 104, simply because values an order of
magnitude in either direction seem unreasonable. The target
17
suggested by Cornell fits in nicely in the charts shown in
Figure 20. Cornell also pointed out that if an existing struc-
ture is shown not to achieve a target, it is the signal that the
situation analysed is one of the major contributors to risk.
The realisation that the target risk level is not achieved
should trigger a more detailed assessment of the risk com-
ponents and of the possible remediation measures and costs
involved. The design engineer, because of his under-
standing of both technical and safety issues, is the one who
can and needs to establish the uacceptable risk,, based on
the degree of belief in our methods and the problem at
hand.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The observational approach is one of the most powerful
tools in geotechnical engineering. It is not used enough,
and may even be misused. Adopting a course of action and
observing the consequences is not the observational
method. The essential elements are (Peck, 1985):
1. make as thorough subsurface investigations as practi-
cable
2. set a course of action on the basis of the most probable
set of circumstances
3. formulate in advance the actions to be taken if less
favourable conditions are encountered.
The omission of any of these elements makes the design
more dependent on good luck than on sound practice.
Advanced calculations shall not be a substitute for high
quality site investigations. Othewise important subsurface
characteristics can go undetected, ignored or oversimpli-
fied. Using a range of values will not necessarily guarantee
a correct result.
Instrumentation is required to obtain quantitative answers.
The offshore industry has been good at instrumenting foun-
dation and structural elements to verify behaviour. There is
however a need to spend time and money on interpreting
the results that have been obtained to further the under-
standing of the behaviour of soils and soil-structure inter-
action and to improve future designs. The geotechnical pro-
fession learned tremendously from the instrumentation
results from the early gravity platforms, but less has been
learned form the newer ones with often more severe load-
ing and more daring solutions. There are large amounts of
prototype data that could trigger key advances in the geo-
technical understanding of foundations, but these are not
exploited.
As offshore structures grow older, they need to be either re-
qualified or removed. The geotechnical profession is not
yet ready to solve these challenges. For the re-qualification
of older structures, the needs are related to data gathering
and review, assessment of the soil response, and upgrading
options. Because data for older structures are often incom-
plete or missing, non-destructive methods to confirm for
example pile length and quality and to assess geology and
soil characteristics should be developed. Improved record-
ing and storage of geotechnical information is required.
With respect to platform removal or reuse, the geotechnical
profession should not wait until the oil industry requests the
analyses to be done. The profession should act pro-actively
to ensure that the key aspects are considered in the calcula-
tions of removal.
Research has helped develop sound solutions for practice.
The solutions have been more cost-effective than before,
they have provided more reliable solutions. In a time of
depressed oil prices, it is important to continue research to
be able to respond to the new challenges when the market
needs it. Topics for research have been mentioned in the
course of the paper. Some of the most urgent are:
impact of geohazards and review of triggering factors
evaluation of slope instability and run-out distance
slope instability due to earthquake loading
behaviour of soils containing gas and deepwater oozes
geological, geophysical and geotechnical integration
model tests of touchdown of risers and pipelines
non-linear models for soil-pipeline interaction analysis
multi-disciplinary databases with high quality case
studies and follow-up of field instrumentation and per-
formance observations programs (existing records for
different structures, different soils, different loadings)
For applying research results to practice, the following path
is recommended: (1) develop physical models, (2) improve
geotechnical analysis, (3) verify approaches by applying
them to different geologic regions and site conditions or
different loads, (4) simplify the verified analytical proce-
dures for practice.
An additional challenge is developing solutions that are
environmentally responsible in all aspects.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The paper gave a brief overview of topics that are at the top
of the agenda in offshore and near-shore geotechnical engi-
neering. The geotechnical profession made important con-
tributions to offshore development: the early piled struc-
tures in the Gulf of Mexico, the gravity base foundations in
the North Sea, the challenges fiom the Arctic and iceberg
clustered areas, and finally the new nearly universal
lightweight skirted foundation structures. For each solution,
the geotechnical considerations had to first be solved before
the planning could move ahead. Geotechnical
breakthroughs have enabled new and daring constructions
18
offshore and opened the way for increasingly cost-effective
solutions. The offshore conditions have caused rapid
development within the geotechnical profession.
Skirted foundations and skirted anchors have proven to be
competitive alternatives to more traditional solutions for
various types of offshore platforms. Practical calculation
procedures have been developed for penetration analyses
and for calculation of holding capacity. The holding capac-
ity of an anchor is significantly higher if the load is applied
at an optimal depth below the sea bed instead of at the
anchor top. Skirted anchors can be used to hold large per-
manent pull-out loads, both for TLP's and taut leg mooring
systems.
The geotechnical profession can be said to have reached a
mature stage. There are still many challenges. Failure to
address the most pressing needs will reduce our potential to
achieve more reliable and cost-effective designs, and to be
able to offer to the offshore industry adequate solutions
adapted to lower oil prices.
Among the most pressing development issues, the author
would single out the following four:
- effects of geohazards, including behaviour of soils con-
taining gas and submarine slope instability
- integration of geological, geophysical and geotechnical
data
- modelling of pipe-soil-water interaction for pipelines
and risers and sustainable solutions for transport of
hydrocarbons
- follow-up of performance observations on offshore
installations to hrther document soundness of methods
used and engineering judgements made.
Geotechnical engineers need to communicate better with
the .related fields of geology, geophysics, structural engi-
neering, and hydrodynamics. The problems need to a
greater extend than before to be solved by a team of experts
rather than fiagmentarily.
Much has changed since the early days where foundation
design was an extrapolation of land-based methods and
experience with piers and jetties. Today, the geotechnical
design of piers and jetties and other structures on land can
greatly improve because of the geotechnical developments
made offshore.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author wishes to acknowledge the work of her
colleagues at NGI who provided most of the information
herein. In particular, the assistance of Tore Kvalstad,
Knut H. Andersen, Farrokh Nadim, Amir M. Kaynia, Per
Spmevik, John H.Lmholt, Stein S ~ ~ d vTom ~ k L, m e , ~~~ - Part 1" CSA code for the design, c o n s ~ c t i o n
KjelX Karlsrud and Tini van der H m t is recognised. Thie and i n s ~ ~ a of
~ oEshore
on structures.
author is also indebted to the many sponsors and client whio
make it possible for NCI to carry out research and devel- C ~ s t o p h e ~ eH.P.,
n, Bysveen, S., Stme, O.J. (1992).
opment work in the forefront areas of offshore geotechnic;d "Innovative foundation systems selected for the Snorre
engineering. field." 6th Intern. Con$ on Behaviour of Oflshore Struc-
tures, London, Roe., Vol. I, pp. 81-94.

Cofliat, J.L., Boisard, P., h e t , J.C. and Spmevik, P.

American Petroleum Institute (1993). "Recommended prac-
tice for planning, designing and constructing fixed off-
shore structures." API W - 2 A , 20th edition, Washington
D.C., USA.
Andersen, K.H. and Jostad, H.P. (1999). " F o ~ ~ t i Resign
on
of Skirted Foundations and Anchors in Clay," OTC Paper
10824,31stAnnual OTC, Houston, Vol. 1, pp. 383-392,
Andersen, K.H., Dyvik, R., Schmder, K., Hansteen, 0.E.
and Bysveen, S. (1 993). "Field Tests of Anchors in Clay.
Predictions and Inte~retation,'~ fourn. Geotech. Engg
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This Page Intentionally Left Blank
G E O-, m International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, I999
KEYNOTE LECTURE 1
PERFORMANCE OF QUAY WALL STRUCTURES DURING THE 1995 KOBE
E ~ T ~ Q U ~ E
Kenji Ishihara' and Misko CubrinovskP
'Department of Civil Engineering, Science University of Tokyo, Japan
2Kiso-JibanConsultants Co. Ltd., Japan

SYNOPSIS: At the time of the 1995 Kobe Earthquake, quay walls consisting of gravity-type caisson boxes sustained a
considerable amount of movement over a total length of about 30 km in the port and harbour district of Kobe city.
Following the quake, in-situ measurements of the movement of the caisson walls as well as ground displacementsbehind
them were made along directions perpendicular to the revetment line at 33 locations. Based on the data thus obtained, some
simple data compilation is made to figure out the characte~sticfeatures of displacement of the quay wall structures and to
understand the mechanism of the movement as correlated with the soil conditions unde~eaththe caisson boxes. It is shown
that large defo~ationwas induced in relatively shallow sandy soil fills abom 5 m in thickness beneath the caisson boxes
where the caisson walls typically tilted backwards indicating extrusion of the soils forwards up to the sea side. In case of
caisson walls resting upon thick strata of replaced sandy fills about 20-30 m thick, the compressional component in the soil
fills appears to be predominant, causing the caisson boxes to tilt forward to the sea. The qualitative interpretation as above
for the movements of the quay walls is described in the present paper.

INTRODUCTION surements can be made over wide areas. A method based

During the e ~ h q u a k eliq~efactiondeveloped extensively
over areas of reclaimed lands in the port and harbour
district of Kobe city. In the terrain behind the quay walls,
the liquefaction gave rise to an increase in the lateral force
and led to excessive movements of the gravity-type caisson
walls as much as 3 to 4m towards the sea. Some percentage
of these movements may be ascribed to a pure translation
of the wall caused by the inertial force due to the very
high intensity of ground shaking during the earthquake.
Whatever is the genetic cause, the h o r i z o ~
~ovement
~~ of
the walls was accomp~iedby equally large amount of
lateral spreading of fill-soils which propagated rearwards
inland. In order to delineate features of movements of the
caisson walls and also the backfill behind it, a number of
cross sections perpendicular to the revetment line were
chosen and detailed field survey was performed on
displacements of the walls and the distortion of the ground
surface. Details on the ground displacements obtained in
this survey scheme is described elsewhere (Ishihara et al.,
1997). In the following, consideration will be given to
features of ~splacementsof the quay walls based on results
of the field survey conducted after the earthquake.
MEASUREMENTS OF DISPLACEMENTS OF
THE GROUND AND CAISSON WALLS
Various methods have been developed and employed to
measure the vertical and horizontal displacements of the
ground caused by an earthquake. The most conventjorid
method is the triangular survey where precise rnea
on interpretation of air pho~ographstaken prior to and
after the earthquake was developed by Hamada et al.
(1986) in a bid to survey overall movements of the ground
covering wide areas. Recently, a method called Global
Positioning System (GPS) was exploited to pinpoint
locations of particular objects on the earth prior to and
after a quake by virtue of satellite surveying. This method
has an advantage in that as many points as necessary can be
easily identified with a high degree of resolution. but
required cost is somewhat expensive.
While the above mentioned m e ~ ~ o l o g i have
e s many
advantages, none of them appears suitable for portraying
more detailed profiles of deformed configuration which
occurs as a result of liquefaction of the ground in the
neighborhood of revetments. To clarify more precise
pictures of post-earthquake deformations, what may be
called "method of ground surveying" was employed, as
described below, at various places in the waterfront areas
of Kobe. The steps taken in executing this method are as
follows.
1. Choose an appropriate alignments representative of the
ground rupture in the area to be investigated where an
open land space can be made available with a
sufficiently long distance in the direction perpendicular
to the line of waterfront. The locations where crack
openings are clearly discernible are preferred such as
paved roads or aprons in wharf seas.
m
-. Tlf-ie scheme of fieZd su~eying is sche~atically

23
 Fig. 1 Illustration of key points to be defined in the method of ground surveying
illustrated in Fig. 1. Measurements were made of the
width of crack openings and the distance between two
adjacent cracks by means of a steel tape. The surveying
was made seawards starting from a datum point D
which is far enough away from the waterfront and
where no cracks at the ground surface exist. The datum
point as determined above was assumed as being free of
permanent ground distortion, at least locally.
3. In the inland portion, the amount of vertical offset was
measured at each two adjacent edges of the crack
openings. The inclination of soil blocks between two
adjacent cracks was measured by means of a leveling
instrument. Measurements were also made on the
inclination and sinking of the caisson walls.
4. By summing up successively the width of crack
openings from the datum point, lateral displacements of
the ground in the direction perpendicular to the
revetment line were obtained as a function of the
distance from the waterfront. Similarly, vertical
displacements were obtained by successive summation
of measured values in the same alignment. The vertical
and lateral displacements of the caisson boxes were also
estimated in this scheme of successive summation.
The sections where measurements were made in the
earthquake-affected area are indicated in Fig. 2. They are
all located in the peripheries of man-made islands which
were reclaimed by using practically the same fill materials,
i.e., Masado soils derived from weathering of granitic
rocks. The grain size distribution of Masado is shown in
Fig. 3. Typically the soil consisted of about 20% silt, 40%
sand and 40% of gravel. The revetments or quay walls in
this area were all constructed of gravity-type caisson walls
with inner compartments filled with gravelly sand. The
caisson boxes were placed on a rubble mound resting on a
bed of Masado soils which were artificially placed after the
soft clay in the original seabed was removed by dredging.
The fill materials behind the caisson walls are also Masado
soils, practically identical with those used for the
foundation bed. Typical examples of movements of the
caisson walls and the backland ground are introduced
below.
(1) Rokko Island ( R-3 Section)
The location of this cross section is indicated in Fig. 2 and
the results of the ground survey are displayed in Fig. 4. In
the area of R-3 section, a large depression about 18 m
wide developed behind the caisson wall. Since this
depression was submerged to some extent at the time of the
field survey, it was not possible to know the exact value of
the displacement and its distribution within the depressed
zone. There were data on movements of the caisson mea-
sured by means of GPS which were reported by the Port
and Harbour Research Institute (1997). In the case of the
submerged depressions existing behind the caisson,
reference was made to these data regarding the lateral
displacement. The value of 3.3 m indicated in Fig. 4 is the
lateral displacement obtained at the caisson point by GPS.
The displacement at the edge of the depression (point G)
was estimated as 48 cm based on the summation of crack
 Fig. 2. Locations of sections where measurements were made by the ground surveying method

openings. Therefore, the lateral displacement at the

portion of the depression is inferred to have been as 3.3-
0.48=2.82 m. fn the summary plots which follow, the
lateral displacement was inferred in the above manner in
the case where a depression existed behind the caisson. The
settlement of 1.64 m indicated in Fig. 4 is the value
obtained by taking the difference between the design-stage
elevation of the caisson and the post-earthquake elevation
obtained by the ground surveying. The soil profile near
this cross section is shown in Fig. 5. It is inferred that the
reclaimed deposit with an SPT N- value of about 7 exists
down to a depth of about 20 m at this particular point. The
same deposit appears to have developed liquefaction to a
depth of 16 m in the backland areas as shown in Fig. 4. Diameter 0 (mm)

(2) Fukaeharna (F-2Section) Fig. 3, Range of grain size distribution of Masado

Fukaehama Island is located northeast of Rokko Island as
shown in Fig. 2. It was constructed by reclaiming Nasado
soils in the early 1960. The soil conditions beneath the
reclaimed land and method of revetment construction were
about the same as those applied to wharves in other islands.
The results of the ground survey are displayed in Fig. 6
whereas location of the investigated section is shown in the
inset of the figure. A soil profile at a site near Section F-2
is shown in Fig. 7 where it may be seen that a loose deposit
of Masado soil exists to a depth of about 15 m. The
outcome of the ground survey disclosed a lateral movement
soils used for land filling in the port area of Kobe
of 1.97 m and sinking of 0.98 m at the frontal edge of the
caisson wall as displayed in Fig. 6 where it can be seen that
the quay wall tilted backwards with its base displaced
towards the sea by 2.43 m. This type of backward tilt was
prevalent along some parts of the waterfront such as in the
western and southern revetments of Fukaehama Island. It
is conceived that the reason for the backward tilt is due to
the extensiveness of liquefaction in looser soil deposits and

25
 Fig. 4. Detailed profile of the quay wall and ground deformation at R-3 section in Rokko Island

also due to a smaller height of the caisson which is 8.5m

in the secticn F-2.

CONSTRUCTION OF QUAY WALLS

Practically all of the quay walls in the severely damaged

areas in the Kobe harbour consisted of reinforced concrete
caisson boxes in-filled with local soils. The caisson boxes
had been constructed in dry dock yards and towed by boats
to the site and sunken by in-filling the gravelly soils. Since
the original seabed consisted of a soft marine clay, this
clay layer was excavated underwater by means of shovels
or dredging to a desired depth where soils with competent
stiffness were encountered. The depth of excavation varied
widely from 5 m to 30 m below the seabed level depending
upon soil conditions. The local soil derived from disin-
tegration of the granite was carried to the site by bottom-
open barges and dumped underwater to the excavated sea
bottom. The dumped materials consisted of silty sand
containing 30 to 40 % of gravel but they were not
compacted. The rubble mound was constructed atop the
dumped materids and then the caisson boxes were placed
on top of the mound. Stone rubbles were placed in the
immediate back of the caisson box and then reclaimed soils
were dumped in the lots behind the retaining caisson walls.

DI~ENSIONSOF CAISSON WALLS

Fig. 5 Soil profile at a site near section R-3
For all of the cross sections shown in Fig. 2, data on (Manshin Highway Authority, 1993)

26
 Fig. 6. Detailed profile of the quay wall and ground deformation at F-2 section in Fukaehama Island

n
E
U

Fig. 8 Correlation between height and width of

the investigated caissons

displacements of the caisson boxes were collected for clas-

sification and analyses of the deformation and failure
Fig. 7 Soil profile at a site near section F-2 mode. The analyses presented in the following are based
(Hanshin Highway Authority, 1993) on these data. The height and width of the caisson boxes

27

Fig. 9 Modes of movement of the caisson boxes
vary depending upon the design consideration for
individual sections of the quay walls along the waterfront.
For the 33 sections chosen for the present study, the
height-to-width relation is shown in Fig. 8 where it can be
seen that the height of the wall ranges between 8 m and 18
m while the width is within the range of 4 m and 12 m.
The average ratio of the height, H, to width, B, may be
roughly approximated as H=l.6B. The height versus width
plot is shown with different symbols for varying ranges of
thickness of the replaced fills below the level of the seabed,
but there appears to be no discernible correlation between
the thickness and height or width of the caisson walls.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CAISSON MOVEMENT
The displacements of the quay walls caused by the earth-
quake in 1995 may be classified into two types depending
upon whether the caisson box has tilted forwards or
backwards as illustrated in Fig. 9(a) and (b), respectively.
Whichever the type may be, the displacements as a rigid
body may be further divided into two components, that is,
translational and rotational components. The translational
28
Fig. 10 Vertical versus horizontal components of
caissons displacements
component of the movement of the caisson box consists of
the horizontal and vertical components. These will be
denoted, respectively, by UH and UV. The translational
movement was always downwards and towards the sea
whereas the rotational component was either the forward
tilt (anti-clockwise rotation) or backward tilt (clockwise
rotation). In the following analysis, the forward tilt or
anti-clockwise rotation will be taken as positive.
The vertical component plotted versus the horizontal
component of rigid-body displacements of the caissons is
shown in Fig. 10 where it may be seen that the maximum
value of the vertical displacement was 1.7 m whereas the
maximum horizontal displacement was 3.8 m (Fig. 11)
with one exceptionally large value of 7.1 m. It is observed
in Fig. 10 that the horizontal displacement of the caissons
was generally larger than the vertical component of
translational movement.
The measured angle of rotation of the caissons is plotted
against the horizontal displacement in Fig. 11 and also
versus the vertical component of movement in Fig. 12. It
may be seen in these figures that there is no discernible
tendency for the wall rotation to be correlated either with
the horizontal or vertical displacement. It is to be noticed
that the majority of the caisson walls resting upon shallow-
depth replaced sand fills had tilted backwards in the
negative direction whereas the forward tilting had
occurred for caissons lying on sand fills with a thickness
larger than 7.3 m.
Fig. 11 Angle of rotation versus horizontal dis- Fig. 12 Angle of rotation versus vertical dis-
placement of caisson boxes placement of caisson boxes

To visualize the influence of direction of rotation on the

amount of displacements, the same data as shown in Fig.
10 are re-plotted in Fig. 13 with different symbols distin-
guishing the positive and negative directions of rotation.
No specific features of the translational movement may be 8
W
seen for the quay walls that exhibited backward tilt.
>
EFFECTS OF THICKNESS OF THE REPLACED 3
FILLS
It is expected that the thickness of the replaced soil fills
may have some influence on the movement of the caisson
walls. To examine this aspect, the horizontal displacement
for each of the walls investigated was plotted in Fig. 14
versus the thickness of the sand fill underlying the
caissons. It may be seen that there is no pronounced
tendency for the horizontal displacement to vary with the
thickness of the replaced fills though a slight increase in
UH with the thickness may be noticed. Figure 15 shows
that nor is a thickness-related tendency for the magnitude
of the vertical displacement. In a similar study by Inagaki
et al. (1996) where 24 cross sections of the quay walls in Horizontal displacement, U, (m)
Rokko Island were taken up for consideration, there was
no remarkably noticeable tendency of both vertical and Fig. 13 Forward and backward tilts of the caisson
horizontal displacements to vary with thickness of the boxes and their relation to translational movement
underlying replaced soil deposits. Shown in Fig. 16 is the
plot of the rotational angle versus thickness of the replaced
fills where a tendency of increasing angle of rotation is with smaller thickness of the replaced sand deposit, the
noted with increasing thickness of the replaced deposit walls have tilted backwards, with a negative angle of
below the caissons. It is to be noted that for 7 cross sections rotation.

29
 n

W
B h

E
W

I
3 >
3

Sandthickness, TH (m) Sandthickness, TH (m)

Fig. 14 Horizontal displacement as correlated with Fig. 15 Vertical displacement as correlated with
thickness of the sand fill thickness of the sand fill

As shown in Figs. 14 and 15, both the horizontal and

vertical components of wall displacementsappear not to be
influenced by the thickness of the underlying sand deposits.
This implies that, the smaller the thickness of the
underlying sand deposit, the greater the magnitude of
average shear strains and volumetric strains. To examine
this feature, the horizontal displacement of the caisson
walls divided by the thickness of the underlying soil fill is
plotted in Fig. 17 for individual cases against the thickness
of the sand deposit, TH.It is apparent that the overall shear
strain tends to increase with decreasing thickness and
reaches values as large as 40 % for cases where the
replaced sand deposit is shallow with a thickness of about 5
m. Similar tendency for increasing volumetric strains
with decreasing thicknessis also observed in the data
plotted in Fig. 18 where the overall value of the
volumetric strain through the sand deposit is seen to reach
a value as large as 30 %. To illustrate the relative
magnitude of overall strain development within the soil
deposit underlying the caisson box, the component of the
v o l u m e ~ cstrain is plotted in Fig. 19 versus the shear Sand~ckness,TH (m)
strain for each of the cross sections being studied. It may
be seen in Fig. 19 that the overall volumetric strain has a Fig. 16 Angle of rotation of the caisson boxes as
tendency to increase with increasing shear strain. correlated with thickness of the sand fill
The overall shear strain in the underlying soil deposit in
Fig. 19 which is notably large reaching a value of 30- soil mass upward and toward the sea. An investigation for
40 % is indicative of the fact that a significant amount of the purpose of clarifying this point was conducted by the
movement of the replaced soil must have taken place in the Port and Harbour Research Institute by means of
lateral direction perhaps accompanied by extrusion of the underwater inspection by divers over the foundation rubble

30
 Sandthickness, TH (m)

Fig. 17. Overall shear strains plotted versus the Fig. 18. Overall volumetric strains plotted versus
thickmess of the Blls the thickness of the fills

mound (Inagaki et al., 1996). It is mported that a signifi-

cant mount of heave was observed underwater in front of
the caisson wall, indicating the extrusion of the nnderlying
soils which had been softened probably as a result of
partial or N 1 liquefaction developed in the replaced fills.

It is expected that the rotation of the caisson box is related

to its size in the cross section. To examine this aspect, the
angle of rotation experienced by each of the caissons
studied is plotted in Fig. 20 versus the dimension of the
caisson box which is expressed as a product of the width
€3, and height, If. It may be seen that caissons with a small
cross sectional area had suffered backward tilt ac-
companied by a large mass of soils extruded up towards
the sea.

DIRECTION OF THE CAISSON TILT

Pt wodd be of interest. to examine conditions 85 to whether
a caisson box had tilted seawards or landwards. As shown
in Fig. 21, the majority of the investigated caisson boxes
showed forward tilt whereas, in seven cases, the caissons
exhibited backward tilt. It may be seen that the backward Fig. 19. Overall volumetric strain versus overall
mtation was limited to those caissons resting on repjaced shear strains in tbe naderiying sand fill
fills with shallow depths, thereby inducing large overall
shear strain as shown in Fig. 21. The data compilation
shown in Fig. 20 indicates also that the backward rotation and was accompanied by a large shear deformation in phe
was i r r m n e d to those caissons having relatively small area underIying soil fiils involving extrusion of soil mass
of the cross section. Thus, it may be mentioned that the outward up toward ths:s e a
backward rotation was induced to the small-size caissons

31
A
M
3

HXB (m2) Overall shear strain, Y,, = & / TH (%)

Fig. 20. Angle of rotation as correlated with the Fig. 21. Angle of r o t a t ~ oversus
~ overall shear
crass sectional area of the caisson strain of the sand fill

The characteristic feature of the caisson movement as

described above was also observed in a series of shaking
table tests conducted by Ghalandarzadeh et al. (1998) in
which a model caisson was placed in a rigid container 2.0
m long, 0.5 m high and 0.4 m wide filled with loose
saturated sand. In the experiments where strong shaking
was applied, the light-weight caisson models exhibited
backward tilt whereas forward tilting was observed in
models of heavy-weight caissons.

EF~ECTSOF TREATMENT OF FOUNDATION

SOILS

The majo~tyof the quay walls in the Kobe port and

harbour district were constructed, as illustrated in Figs, 4
and 6, by placing gravity-type caisson walls atop soil fills
composed of an u n c o ~ p a cgrav~l-containing
t~ silty sand.
However, there were two mutually neighboring sections
where the foundation beneath the caisson was di€feren~y
treated. These sections are located in the south part of Port
Island, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 22. The construction
work had been almost completed at the time of the Kobe
earthquake. The cross sections at these two sites are shown
in Figs. 23 and 24. At PC-13,on the west side, the quay
wall had been c o n s ~ c t e d through
, a length of 350 m,
using the caisson boxes placed on a replaced sandy soil
(Masado) deposit without any compaction being executed,
as shown in Fig. 23. In the east side, instead of removing
the original seabed clay, the sand compaction techniqu~
was employed to improve the clay deposit, as shown in the
Fig. 22 Location of three quay wall sections in the
south part of Port Island (Inagaki et al., 1996)
cross section of Fig. 24. The center~to-cen~r
spacing of the
piles was 1.5 m and the pile diameter was 40 cm. The area
ratio of compacted portion in plan was as much as 70%.
The clay deposit in the inland portion had been stabilized
by installing a sand drain with a spacing of 1.2 m, as
illustrated in Fig. 24. On top of the sand-drained clay
deposit, sand compaction piles were installed to strengthen
the whole deposit, as shown in Fig. 24.
Following the Kobe ~ ~ q umeasurements
~ e , were made
of the lateral and vertical displa~ementsof the caisson
boxes at these sections. The lateral displacementmeasured

32
Fig. 23 Cross section at PC-13qnay wall in the south part of Port Island (Inagaki et al., 1996)

Fig. 24 Cross sectloa at PC.14 and PC-15quay wails in the south Port Island (after Inagaki et al., 1996)

at the top edge of the caissons is displayed in Fig. 25
throughout the Sections PC-13,PC-14and PC-15.It is
obviousiy seen that a part of PC-13where the foundation
was replaced by non-compacted sandy soils had suffered
the maximum horizontaf displacement of 4.5 m and
settlement of 2 m. In the portion of PC-14and PG-15
where sand compaction piles were installed, maximum
horizontal displacement was on the order of 2.5 m and
settlement on the order of 50 cm.
With respect to the horizontal movement, the amount of
displacement incurred at these two sites of different
foundation conditions were not significantly different but
there was remarkable reduction in the settlement observed
in the Sections WJ-14 and PC-15 where the sand com-
paction piies were installed. In view of the fact thax. the
compressibiity of so3 deposits as a whole was significantly
smaller in the compaction pile zone, the smaer settlement
in this zone in comparison to that in the Section PC-13
could be understood with good ty?asons. However, if it
comes to the lateral displacement, it would be somewhat
difficult to offer intuitively understandable explication for
there not having been a significant difference. It might be
probable that a large shear deformation had taken place in
the upper part of the sand compacted pile zone in a manner
analogous to the extrusion-accompanied farge shear defor-
mation which was explained in Fig. 17 to have occurred in
relatively thin replaced sandy fills beneath the caisson. It i s

33
 Distance along the Quaywall line
Fig. 25 ~ o r i z o n and
~ l vertical displace men^ of the quay walls at three sections in the south Port Island
(after Inagaki et al., 1994)
apparent, anyway, that the soil improvement had acted
positively toward reducing the settlement but was not so
effective in preventing the large lateral displacement. This
fact could indicate that the lateral resistance between the
caisson body and the upper portion of the sand fills
including the stone mound had not been improved by
installing the sand compaction piles. This observation
appears to have addressed an important new question as to
how it is possible to design quay walls for a lateral force as
large as that encountered at the time of the Kobe
earthquake.
CONCLUSIONS
The movements of the caisson type quay walls caused by
the 1995 Kobe Earthquake were analyzed on the basis of
data obtained by the ground survey conducted after the
quake along the peripheries of man-made islands in the
port area of Kobe. The outcome of the data compilation
~dicatedthat the h o ~ ~ displacement
o n ~ of the quay walls
towards the sea was generally less than 3 m with an
average of about 1.5 m, and the vertical component was
less than 2 m with an average of about 1.0 m. Two
patterns of movements were observed: one involving
rotation of the caisson box with its top inclined towards the
sea and another type of movement with a rotation directed
backward. It was pointed out that the backward tilt of the
caissons is likely to have been caused by extrusion of the
largely sheared underlying sand fill which had suffered
cyclic so~eningdue to the intense shaking. The forward
tilt took place mostly in caisson boxes resting on thick
34
strata of reclaimed fills indicating that the compression of
the underlying soil fills was the primary cause of the
damage.
References
Ghaland~adehA., Orita, T., Towhata, I. and Yun, F. (1998):
“Shaking Table Tests on Seismic Deformation of Gravity
Quay Walls”, Soils and Foundations, Special Issue, pp. 115-
132.
Hamada, H., Yasuda, S., Isoyama, R. and Emoto, K. (1986):
“Observation of Permanent Ground Displacement Induced
by Soil liquefaction”, Proc. ~ a p a nSociety of CiviE
~ s ,336, No. 111-6, pp. 211-220.
E ~ g i ~ e eVol.
Hamada, H., Isoyama, R. and Wakamatsu, K. (1996):
“Liquefaction-Induced Ground Displacement and its
Related Damage to Lifeline Facilities”, SoiEs and
Foundations, Special Issue, pp. 81 -97.
Hanshin Highway Authority (1993): “Geology Archive in the
District of Hanshin Highway Osaka Bay Route, No, 6.
Inagaki, H., Iai, S., Sugano, T., Yamazaki, H., and Inatomi, T.
(1996): “Performance of Caisson Type Quay Walls at Kobe
Port”, Soils and ~ o u ~ a t j o nSpecial
s, Issue, pp. 119-136.
Ishihara, K., Yoshida, K. and Kato M.(1997), “Characteristics of
Lateral Spreading in Liquefied Deposits during the 1995
Ha~shin- Awaji E~thquake,”Journ~lof E a r ? ~ ~ u ~ ~
Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 23-55.
Port and Harbour Research Institute (1997): “Damage to Port-
related Facilities by the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu
Earthquake,” Technical Note No. 857 (in Japanese).
G E 0m,lnternat~onaiConference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3,1999
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ 2
SITE ~~~~~~~~~~~T~~~AND ~~~~~A~~~~ DESIGN rN SOFT ~~~~~~~~~

M.E Randolph, P.G. Watson lurid M. Fahey

Centre for Ofshore F u ~ n ~ a f Systems,
~on The University of Western Aarstralia, ~ ~ WA 69Q7,
d ~~~~~i~ l ~ ~ ~
~ ero,s ad^^ shift of the ~ffshorei n ~ u stot ~war^ deeper water%and tbe i n s e o€
The twin c h a l l ~ ~of ~ ~ oil
~ falling ~ prices,
~
need to be met within offshore geotechnical engineering by innovative techniques for soil characterisation and design of
foundations and anchoring systems, There needs to be increased emphasis on in situ methods of d e t e ~ n i n gsoil properties,
and also clever techniques fGr reconstituting soil in the laboratory, either repairing effects of disturbance during sampling, or
ab initio from bulk seabed samples. As novel foundation systems arise, a ~ p r o p ~ adesign
te approaches need to be developed,
with an i ~ ~ rrolet for ~ physical
t mudel testing in order tu validate n ~ e r i~~a ~l ~l sThis
~ s paper
* d e s ~ b a~ms g e of re-
cent experience in these areas, focusing on soft sediments ranging from ~ u ~ ac ol nl ~ ~ ~ clay d ~ to
~ ~e da l c silts
~ axld
~ o ~
mud. Navel pene~ometersare described and va~~dated through comparison with results from conventional cone and vane
tests. Model test data from skirted foundations subjected to vertical and horizontal loading are presented, and compared with
predictions from conventional continuum mechanics.

Offshore developments are moving increasingly into deeper

water, where the sediments are generally softer and nearer The difficulties encountered in reconstituting samples for
to normally consolidated than those found in shallower laborato~and model testing is well illustrated by experi-
waters. Such sediments offer a double challenge for the de- ence reported by Mao and F&ey (1399). The particular soil
sijp uf € o ~ ~ dor~ ~~ ~n n cs~ ~ ~ ~ s~ ~t c ue~ ~assess-a~~t e~g was an ~ ~calcaeoas
o sih, ~ sing ~ an upea
t nee-~
ment of e ~ g i ~ e eproperties o n a ~ dle-like stmc$we as shorn in Figure I. In order to maxi-
r i ~ ~ ~ h r o c~ og~~y e ~ ~ sam-
pling and laboratory testing is hindered by disturbance mise the programme of laboratory tests, the original ‘un-
during sampling, particularly where dissolved gas comes disturbed’ samples were remoulded after testing, and then
out of solution; and the foundation systems themselves reconstituted so that further testing could be undertaken,
must make use of innovat~~e ~ e ~ h ~ini order
~ u to
e provide
~ However, to obtain the very high water contents found in
an ~ p ~ r o ~level t e~ e l at an
~ a of ~~ ~ ~~ l the
~ a ac ~~ ecost. ~~ namrd material, it was found necessary to use a syn-
thetic flocculant during sedimentation, providing a quite
These challenges may be addressed, at least in part, by im- viscous pore fluid. After initial consolidation, the sample
proving in situ techniques to characterise the soil, and also was heated in order to break: down the flocculant before
~ o d e l l i ~studies
g to establish design mles for a l t e ~ a t i v ~ being ready for further consol~dationand testing. Figure 2
f ~ ~ n ~systems.a t ~ oIn~ sit^ tests, such as ~~~~~~t~~ or ~ o ~ &e~s ~~ e e s ~s r e- s ~ a t~ in
s~e simple
~ ~ shear of the
vane shear tests, will generally not be s ~ f ~ c in ~ ethem-
n~ natural material, and ~ a t e r~e i~ ~o n~ s t ~using
~ ~ eeither
~
selves as, for the most part, they yield only a single quantity water, or the synthetic flocculant. it is evident that the
(for example, cone resistance) with little information on higher density resulting from use of water as the pore fluid
such matters as strength anisotropy and strain-softening or during sedimentation gives a much more dilatant response
~ ~ n - h ~ ~dh aer a ~c ~ ~e ~ns t ~~c s - during shearing.
It is therefore necessary to establish links between in situ
me~sure~ents of strength and stiffness, and resultsaf dif-
ferent laboratory tests. The latter may well need to be con-
ducted on reconstituted, or ‘repaired’ samples, with labora-
~orys i m ~ ~ ao€ t the
i ~ in
~ situ tests being rtsed to asses the
degree to which the o r i g i ~c o~ ~ ~ ~ t&shore
i o n ~ have beexr
replicated, Similar tec~niquesmay also be applied to larger
samples prepared for model tests on foundations, in order to
link, ultimately, foundation performance to the most reli-
able form of ch~acterisatio~ studies (generally a combina-
tion of in situ testing and addition& labratmy shear tests).
The main focus of this paper is therefore to discuss the links
between different foms of in situ test, laboratory shear tests
and foundation performance, with the latter focusing on
skirted found~tions~The ideas will be illustrated by data
from r ~ c o ~aomdl s ~ y~~ t ~~ ~clay*sr ~ o~ r e~ s ~~ ~ ~~ n ~t ~
a r e ~ a ~ i simple
v ~ l ~ material, and ~ n e - ~ c~a ~ cn~ e o~~ s
silts, which are more difficult to simulate in the laboratory Figure 1 Micrograph of aragonite c a ~ c a ~ ~ sill
ous
and can exhibit s ~ g n i ~dilation
c ~ t on shearing.
35
 quite large voids (after Joer (1999), private c o ~ u n i c a -
tion). Ideally, such disturbed zones should be avoided, but
this is not always possible.

Shear strain y (a)

(a) Natural material (b) Reconstituted material
Figure 2 Stress-strain response of (a) natural material;
(b) natural material reconstituted with water; and (c) Figure 3 Stress-strain response in triaxial c o m p r ~ s i ~ n ,
natural material reconstituted with synthetic flocculant triaxial extension and simple shear of (a) natural mate-
rial and (b) bulk reconstituted material
In order to provide sufficient material for use in centrifbge
model tests, bulk seabed samples were obtained from the
same location (in a water depth of about 200 m on the
North-West Shelf of Australia). The seabed material was
predominantly calcite, and so it was not possible with the
bulk samples to simulate the very high water contents of the
aragonite soils found at slightly greater depth.
For the bulk samples, the flocculant approach was not con-
sidered feasible. Instead, the soil was sedimented using
silicon oil, with a viscosity about 100 times greater than
water. The more viscous pore fluid again seemed to lead to
a less dense s ~ ~ c t u rite ;also helped provide appro~riately
scaled consolidation characteristics for model testing
(Schofield, 1980).
(a) Natural material (b) R e ~ o n s t i ~ t material
ed
It is hard to avoid some loss of fines in the whole process of
obtaining bulk samples from the seabed, air-drying the ma- Eigure 4 Stress paths in triaxial compression, triaxial
terial arid then sieving it. To compensate, additional eal- extension and simple shear of (a) natural material and
careous fines (commercially available as ‘Omyaearb’) were (b) bulk reconstituted material
added to the seabed material before preparing samples. In
this way, it was possible to obtain samples that gave a
similar profile of cone resistance to that observed in situ.
However, the calcite-rich calcareous silts are generally
more dilatant than those rich in aragonite, and indeed the
reconstituted seabed material followed this trend, with a
more dilatant response than the natural material at compa-
rable depths, particularly in simple shear. This is illus-
trated in Figures 3 and 4, which show s~ess-strainresponse
and stress paths in triaxial compression, extension and sim- Figure 5 Observed sample disturbance
ple shear for natural and reconstituted bulk material.
The magnitude of volumetric strain during re-consolidation
Effects of Sample Disturbance is often taken as the primary measure of sample distur-
bance. This approach is adequate in cases of minor distur-
The previous discussion concerned r e c o ~ s ~ ~ t ofi ocom-
n bance, undetec~blein a radiograph or visually. In cases of
pletely remoulded samples. However, care is also needed in more severe disturbance, it can also be helpful to perform
assessing the degree of dist~bancefrom so-called ‘undis- model penetro~etertests through the sample, both to assess
turbed’ samples. A first step in this is to x-ray all samples the degree of homogeneity, and also to compare the pene-
prior to extrusion. Figure 5 shows an example of a sample tration resistance with that measured in the field.
where gas has come out of solution, leading to fracturing of
the sample on horizontal planes, and even the f o ~ a t i o nof The SHANSEP approach (Ladd and Foott, 1974) may also

36
be used to reduce the effects of sample disturbance. This overburden stress is equilibrated above and below the
requires a knowledge of the stress history of the sediments. penetrometer (apart from the shaft itself, which will typi-
The approach should also be used with some caution for cally occupy only 10 to 14 % of the total projected area), so
silty material, as testing at elevated effective stress condi- that the load cell measures the net penetration resistance di-
tions may reduce dilation, and increase the susceptibility to rectly. Secondly, plasticity solutions may be used to relate
degradation under cyclic loading (Finnie et al, 1999). the net penetratation resistance to the (average) undrained
shear strength of the soil. The resulting bearing capacity
IN SITU TESTING factors are affected only by the surface roughness of the
penetrometer, with a maximum uncertainty of f 1 0 %, com-
The most widely used in situ tests offshore are the cone pared with double that amount for cone factors.
penetrometer test (CPT) and the vane shear test, with the
latter being restricted to the softer, normally consolidated or Penetrometer and Vane Tests in Soft Clays and Silts
lightly overconsolidated clays such as are common in the
Gulf of Mexico. The vane test, alongside laboratory test- Figure 7 shows a comparison of strength profiles deduced
ing, is often used to calibrate the CPT, essentially deriving from penetration tests in normally or lightly overconsoli-
an appropriate cone factor linking the net cone resistance to dated kaolin clay, and normally consolidated calcareous
the undrained shear strength. silts (including material down to clay-size particles). The
strengths have been deduced from the measured penetration
Recent laboratory studies of the vane test reported by resistances, q, using direct factors, NT and Nb for T-bar and
Watson ( 1999) have indicated systematic differences be- ball respectively, and from the measured cone resistance,
tween the strength deduced from vane tests and from other qcm by
laboratory and penetration tests. These differences are ex-
plored further below, in the context of results from T-bar
penetration tests (Stewart and Randolph, 1994), which are
believed to yield an average shear strength, similar to that
measured in simple shear.
where a is the area ratio of the cone (= 0.87 for the labora-
The cone penetrometer has a number of limitations for tory cone), B, is the excess pore pressure ratio just behind
measuring the strength of soft sediments in deep water. the cone (taken as unity here) and Nc is the cone factor.
Unless the tip load cell is compensated for the ambient wa-
ter pressure (which represents 10 MPa for every 1,000 m
depth), the sensitivity of the cone is severely compromised.
Commonly, offshore cones are designed with a 30 to 50
MPa limit, in which case it is difficult to obtain accurate
measurement of penetration resistances of a few hundred
kPa or less. The various corrections, for pore pressure on
the back face of the cone and for total overburden stress,
can also lead to errors in excess of 20 % in the estimated net
cone resistance.

T-bar Ball

Figure 6 T-bar and ball penetrometers (c) Normally consolidatd calcareous silt

In an attempt to improve the accuracy of in situ strength
measurements, new penetrometers have been developed at
the University of Western Australia, including the T-bar
and ball eenetrometers ((Newson et al., 1999; Randolph et
al., 1998 ; Watsan et al., 1998). These penetrometers,
shown in Figure 6, allow the soil to flow around them,
which has two advantages over the cone. First, the ambient
37
Figure 7 Observed soil strength profiles
In practice, it has been found that taking NT = Nb = Nc =
10.5 provides almost exact agreement in the deduced
strength profiles, as seen from Figure 7. This is a somewhat
surprising result, particularly in view of finite element and
plasticity analyses that indicate a 20 % higher factor for the
(axisymmetric) ball, compared with the (plane strain) T-bar.
At present, this discrepancy is attributed to effects of
strength anisotropy, with analytical studies being under-
taken to explore it further.
Also shown on Figure 7 are peak and residual vane
strengths from vane tests conducted during the centrifuge
test (in-flight). These have mainly been conducted with a
vane of 15 mm diameter, and height of 10 mm (h/d = 0.67),
although vanes with h/d = 1 and 1.5 have also been used.
Interestingly, the residual vane strengths in the calcareous
silts were generally similar to the peak values, while those
in the clays were much lower.
A summary of the ratio between vane shear strengths and
strengths deduced from the penetrometers is shown in Fig-
ure 8, for vanes of three different aspect ratios, and for soils Figure 9 Vane factor as a function of aspect ratio
ranging from normally to highly overconsolidated (HOC)
kaolin, and calcareous ‘clays’ and silts (Watson, 1999). In addition to strength anisotropy, the strain level at which
There is a clearly defined average ratio for each aspect ra- the laboratory strength is reported will also influence cor-
tio, which appears to follow a linear trend, as shown in Fig- relations between field and laboratory tests, particularly for
ure 9. materials that show any dilation. Figure 10 shows plots of
shear strength profiles for normally consolidated kaolin clay
Previous correlations for the vane test have tended to be in (i) measured using a T-bar penetrometer, and (ii) deduced
terms of the measured (or estimated) triaxial compression from laboratory tests carried out at appropriate stress levels.
strength. However, penetrometer tests are believed to cor- The first plot compares the in situ test with the ‘ultimate’
relate much better with an average strength, more closely strengths from the laboratory tests (at strain levels in excess
represented by the strength measured in simple shear. This of 20 %), while the second plot (Figure 10(b)) compares the
helps to account for apparent overprediction of strength by laboratory strengths at a shear strain level of 5 %. This plot
the in-flight vane tests, by a factor ranging from 15 to 50 %. shows excellent agreement between the average laboratory
strength profile and that of the T-bar.

(a) Ultimate strength (b) Strength at y = 5%

Figure 10 Comparison between laboratory measured

shear strength and in situ strength profile (normally
consolidated kaolin clay)
A similar plot is shown in Figure 11 for calcareous silt,
where considerable dilation occurs, so that the ultimate
strengths (at the strain limit of the test) may be 50 % or
more greater than the strength at 5 % strain. Again, reason-
able agreement is obtained between the T-bar and average
(c) Vane C (Nd= 1.5) laboratory strength profiles.

Figure 8 Ratio of measured soil strength In summary, it appears that the strength measured by
(s,’ : average s, from penetration tests; s,2 : peak S, observed in vane shear test) PenetrOmeterS corresponds to an average shear strength
(typically close to that measured in simple shear), but at a
limited strain. Certainly, for materials that exhibit dilation,
38
the (average) ultimate laboratory strength appears higher
than that deduced from penetrometer resistance; the latter
correlates well with laboratory strength at 5 % shear strain.
(a) Ultimate strength (b) Strength at y = 5%
Figure 11 Comparison between laboratory measured
shear strength and in situ strength profile (normally
consolidated calcareous silt)
In Situ Measurement of Remoulded Strengths
A final comment on the new style ‘flow-round’ penetrome-
ters, such as the T-bar and ball, concerns the ability to as-
sess the effects of remoulding. By undertaking several cy-
cles of penetration and extraction, perhaps over a
displacement range of 20 to 40 times the diameter of the
probe, changes in strength due to remoulding can be meas-
ured. Note that this is full remoulding, and differs from the
development of residual shear planes as might occur in a
cyclic (or large rotation) vane test.
Figures 12 and 13 show results from offshore use of the T-
bar on the North-West Shelf of Australia (Hefer and Neu-
becker, 1999). The first of these Figures shows a compari-
son between T-bar and (estimated) net cone resistance in
layered calcareous silts and sand. The extraction curve for
the T-bar is also shown, indicating a pull-out resistance
typically less than 50 % of the penetration resistance.
Figure 12 Comparison between T-bar and cone
penetrometer
39
Depth (4, m
Figure 13 Degradation of strength due to cyclic loading
Figure 13 shows the results Of a cyclic test conducted at a
depth of 4-5 m below the s ~ - b e d -The mnoulded resis-
tance reduces rapidly over the first few cycles, and stabi-
lises after 10 to 15 cycles at a resistance of about 15 % of
the initial peak value. This result may be used directly in
assessment of the lower bound cyclic strength of the soil.
SKIRTED FOUNDATIONS - INSTALLATION AND
BEARING CAPACITY
Installation
The installation resistance of skirted foundations comprises
end-bearing on the tip of the skirts, and internal and exter-
nal friction on the skirt walls. For suction caissons, addi-
tional resistance may be encountered from internal stiffen-
ers (particularly associated with the anchor pad-eye) and the
external pad-eye itself.
There has been some debate over the bearing capacity fac-
tor appropriate for the tip of the (generally circular) cais-
sons that make up typical offshore foundations. Since +he
wall thickness of the skirt is small by comparison with &he
caisson diameter, it has been customary to adopt a lower
value of bearing capacity, more associated with a plane
strain geometry, than would be applicable to a circular ge-
ometry.
Hjortnaes-Pedersen and Bezuijen (1992) and Bezuijen et a1
(1992) back-analysed a bearing capacity factor of N, = 5.14
(appropriate for a plane strain surface footing) from skirt
penetration tests on the centrifuge, together with friction
ratios of a = z,/s, = 0.35, where T~ is the skirt friction. The
value of N, is surprisingly low, considering the deep pene-
tration of the slurts, and contrasts with the value of N, = 7.5
normally adopted by NGI in their analyses (Colliat et al,
1995; Solhjell et al, 1998).
Figure 14 shows a typical installation record (using direct
force, rather than the internal suction such as might be used
offshore) for a slurted caisson in normally consolidated
kaolin. The caisson was modelling a 7.5 m diameter pro-
totype, with skirts of length 3.75 m, and wall thickness 60
mm. Both tests indicate a consistent resistance that is best-
matched by assuming parameters of a = 0.1 and N, = 7.5.
The fluctuations in resistance during the early stages of in-
stallation are mainly due to slight malfunctions of the valve
controlling egress of water from inside the caisson (leading
to over-pressure) and the resulting attempts to correct for
the excess internal water pressure.
Figure 14 Installationresistance during skirt
penetration
In other tests in ca!careous silt, an end-bearing capacity
equivalent to 7 3 , was found to be adequate, although fric-
tion ratios were generally higher than the value of 0.1 indi-
cated in Figure 14. Typically, deduced a values lay in the
range 0.3 to 0.5.
It is common to assume equal friction inside and outside of
the caisson, mainly due to the lack of any data indicating
otherwise. However, House et a1 (1999) have suggested
that the internal friction may be significantly lower than the
external friction, for installation by suction. Average fric-
tion ratios were consistent with values used in offshore de-
sign, typically in the range 0.3 to 0.5. In order to explain
internal plug failure that started to occur in some cases at
aspect ratios, L/d, as low as 3.5 to 5 (where L is the embed-
ded length), deduced internal friction ratios were typically
around 0.2, with external values in the range 0.5 to 0.7.
Potential differences between internal and external friction
during caisson installation, and the consequences for pre-
mature failure of the soil plug, are issues that need further
experimental study. The action of internal suction, tending
to elongate the soil plug, may well lead to much lower in-
ternal friction than for dead-weight installation where the
plug is compressed.
Bearing Capacity
The bearing capacity of skirted foundations may be esti-
mated using the conventional approach of a bearing capac-
ity factor, N,, and the local undrained shear strength, suo,at
the level of the skirt tips (see Figure 15). However, it is
important to make allowance for the effects of (a) strength
variation with depth, and (b) embedment, both of which can
have a significant influence on the value of N,.
40
Figure 15 Caisson foundation and soil strength profile
The strength variation with depth can be quantified through
the ratio kD/s,,, where k is the strength gradient, and D the
diameter of the foundation (Figure 15). For surface foun-
dations, the variation of N, with strength ratio, kD/s,,, is
shown in Figure 16 (assuming rough-based foundations),
based on results published by Houlsby and Wroth (1983)
and Kusakabe et a1 (1986). It may be seen that, for a skirted
foundation on normally consolidated soil, with a skirt
length, d, of 0.1D (giving kD/s,, = lO), the value of N, will
be around 12, nearly double the value for homogenous soil
conditions.
Embedment of the foundation (through the use of skirts) has
two counteracting effects on N,. Increasing skirt length will
generally reduce the strength ratio, kD/s,,, and hence also
the value of N,; however, this is offset by the confining ef-
fect of embedment, which leads to an increased bearing ca-
pacity. In addition, the bearing capacity will be enhanced
by friction along the outside of the skirts.
Figure 17 shows a comparison of bearing capacity factors
for skirted foundations in normally consolidated soil, where
the strength is proportional to depth (s, = kz). For these
conditions, the strength ratio, kD/s,,, is numerically equal to
the inverse of the skirt ratio, d/D. The upper bound solu-
tions have been obtained from an eztended form of the
mechanism proposed by Kusakabe et a1 (1986) (Randolph,
1998), while the lower bound solutions result from recent
work at the University of Western Australia (Martin (1999),
private communication; to be published). The range be-
tween the two solutions is quite wide, particularly for large
embedment ratios, where it reaches f 2 0 %.
Finite element results from Hu et a1 (1999) indicate that
actual values of bearing capacity factor lie approximately
mid-way between the upper and lower bound solutions.
These results also showed that, to a first approximation, the
bearing capacity for a rough-sided skirted foundation could
be obtained from the values for a smooth-sided foundation,
by just adding the frictional load on the skirts. This obser-
vation allows the results to be generalised for foundations
of any degree of skirt roughness. For smooth skirts, the
bearing capacity factor derived from the finite element re-
sults remains almost constant, at about 10, for d/D greater
than 0.5.
 the results imply very low friction values for the clay test,
14 I 1
and very high friction values for the calcareous silt. The
12 difference may be due, in part, to choice of the strength
gradient, k, in normalising the results (Watson, 1999).
10
8 The theoretical solutions so far have all been for 'pre-
z" embedded' skirted foundations at different embedment ra-
6
tios, although the centrifuge data are for caissons that are

1-
4 pre-embedded to an initial depth, and then penetrated verti-
2
0
{ Kusakabe et al, 1986
(upperbound) 11
1
cally with full displacement of the soil. A large strain finite
element analysis has been carried out to simulate this proc-
ess, using the method presented by Hu and Randolph
0 2 4 6 8 10 (1998).
kD/S"O
q
m
,
Figure 16 Bearing capacity factor, N,, for rough surface
footing 0 3 6 9 12

18 18 -Observed result
3.5 ---FE-Smoth sides
16 16

14 14 t\ ;I;;; Finiteelement
analysis
2 12 z" 12

10 10

8 8
bound
6 6
0 0.5 I 1.5 2 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
dlD dlD
(a) Rough sides (b) Smooth sides

Figure 17 N, for caisson foundations (rough base) in Figure 19 Large strain finite element analysis
normally consolidated soil
The results of this analysis are shown in Figure 19 for the
Figure 18 shows comparisons between the bearing capacity caisson in clay. Comparison of this Figure with the results
measured in two centrifuge model tests (Watson, 1999) and in Figure 18(a) shows that the computed bearing resistance
the finite element solutions for smooth and rough skirts. is reduced by penetrating from the initial skirt depth. This
The models represented a prototype of 7.5 m diameter, with is mainly because soft soil becomes trapped beneath the
initial skirt penetration of 3.75 m (d/D = 0.5) in kaolin clay, foundation, and pushed downwards, so that, at any given
and a prototype of 12 m diameter with initial skirt penetra- penetration, the soil immediately surrounding the caisson is
tion of 4.8 m (d/D = 0.4) in calcareous silt. Both soil pro- of lower strength than the undisturbed soil at that depth.
files were normally consolidated, with strength varying The large strain results for smooth and rough skirts bracket
proportionally with depth. the experimental data very well. It should be noted, how-
ever, that similar analysis for the caisson foundation in cal-
qnam qnetm careous silt would lead to a worse comparison with the ex-
0 3 6 9 1 2 0 5 10 15 20
perimental data, as the computed resistance would be less
than observed. This may be a result of dilation effects in
3.5 Observed the real soil, which are not modelled by the simple Tresca
6 soil model used for the finite element computations.
E 4 E
i Tensile Capacity
$4.5 E 9
B 5
4
An important advantage of shrted foundations over surface
12
5.5 foundations is their ability to withstand significant transient
tensile loading. In fact, numerical and experimental results
' 6 15 indicate that the short-term tensile capacity is similar to the
(a) Kaolin clay (b) Calcareous silt (compressive) bearing capacity, although the response will
generally strain-soften quite sharply.
Figure 18 Comparison between observed bearing
capacity and finite element solutions Figure 20 shows a comparison of the tensile loading re-
sponse of the same two model caissons described above, in
The experimental results fit reasonably within the range of normally consolidated clay and calcareous silt. The re-
finite element results for smooth and rough sides, although sponse in clay (Figure 20(a)) shows an initial capacity that
41
agrees very well with that predicted by numerical analysis,
with a similar yield point to that in compression (Figure
18(a)). After the initial peak resistance, the experimental
data show more rapid softening than indicated by the nu-
merical analysis. This is believed to be due to effects of
remoulding of the clay (Watson, 1999).
(2) A plane strain flow region below the conical wedges
(longer caissons only).
(3) An internal (for rotation centre below skirt tip level) or
external scoop mechanism at the base of the caisson.

qnetm qn&D
-6 -3 0 -10 -5 0
I I
0 I
I
0
I -Observed result1 I -Observed result I
Smooth sides
Rough sides I

(a) Kaolin clay (b) Calcareous silt

Figure 21 Alternate collapse mechanisms
Figure 20 Comparison between observed tension
capacity and finite element solutions Different combinations of these mechanisms cover the
range of behaviour observed from model tests or numerical
By contrast, the measured response in calcareous silt shows analysis. Indeed, where direct comparisons have been
a tensile resistance that increases with further extraction of made, an upper bound approach based on the mechanisms
the caisson. This is due to the dilatant nature of the cal- in Figure 21 generally gives close agreement with results of
careous silt used for the model tests. The strain-hardening 3-dimensional finite element analysis (Watson, 1999).
due to dilation would clearly be an important and beneficial
feature of an offshore design, provided it could be shown Figures 22 and 23 show limiting capacities under horizontal
that the offshore sediments in question were dilatant in their load and moment respectively, for caissons of varying skirt
stress-strain response, depth to diameter ratio, d/D. The side friction ratio on the
skirts has been taken as a = 0.5. The value of a will affect
LATERAL CAPACITY OF SKIRTED FOUNDA- the capacity, typically by +10 % between fully smooth and
TIONS fully rough conditions. Results are presented for both uni-
form soil and normally consolidated soil. In addition, both
The lateral resistance of skirted foundations has received free head (load applied at mudline level) and fixed head
increasing attention over the last few years, with the grow- (pure translation) limiting capacity is shown for lateral
ing application of suction caissons as anchors for deep- loading conditions.
water moorings (Dyvik et al, 1993; Andersen et al, 1993;
Keaveny et al, 1994; Colliat et al, 1995, 1997). Caissons 30
may be divided into two classes: foundations, where the Uniform soil
main component of load will generally be vertical (com-
pression or tensile); or anchors, where the main component
of loading will generally be horizontal. In both cases, how-
ever, the overall response may best be considered in terms
of a yield function in vertical, horizontal and moment
(V:H:M) load space (Tan, 1990; Martin; 1994; Murff,
1994).
The first step in developing a yield function is to establish
the ultimate capacity under pure horizontal load and pure
moment. This may be achieved using the three-dimensional 0 I I
mechanism proposed for laterally loaded piles by Murff and
Hamilton (1993), and extended for caissons by Randolph et 0 1 2 3
a1 ( 199gb). Alternative collapse modes are shown in Figure d/D
21, comprising three main mechanisms:
Figure 22 Limiting capacity under horizontal loading
(1) Conical wedges of soil in front and behind (unless a
gap forms) the caisson.

42
 translation with fixed vertical penetration, Tan (1990)) and
14
‘probe’ tests (lateral translation with constant vertical load).
12 Figures 25 and 26 show typical yield envelopes deduced in
normally consolidated clay and calcareous silt.
10
0

& 8 I -f i

I Non-svmtrical I -Sideswipe
$ 6
4

2
0
0 1 2 3
dlD
Figure 23 Limiting capacity under moment adad
A sharp contrast between the lateral response of caissons in -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1
clay (essentially plastic response) and calcareous silt (where VNC
significant dilation occurs) is shown in Figure 24. For the Figure 25 Yield envelope in normally consolidated
kaolin clay, the small increase in resistance as the caisson is kaolin
subject to large displacement is mainly due to soil heave in
front of the caisson. The extrapolated yield stress of WA =
10 kPa agrees well with the calculated value for d/D = 0.5
and s,, = 3.6 kPa, taking a friction ratio of a = 0.1.
For the calcareous silt, there is a yield point at a stress of
WA = 12 kPa, which is consistent with an upper bound es-
timate of the lateral capacity of 12.1 kPa (d/D = 0.4, s,, =
4.6 kPa and taking a friction ratio of a = 0.4). Beyond the
yield point, the shear stress continues to rise significantly,
due to effects of dilation.

-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1
VNC

z3 9
v)
Figure 26 Yield envelope in normally consolidated
calcareous silt
$ 6 The yield envelopes can be described by an equation of the
ki form
W 3
I response I
0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Lateral displacement, m Lateral displacement,rn
(a) Kaolin clay (b) Calcareous silt where V, is the vertical capacity for H = 0, A is the founda-
tion area and s,, is the shear strength at skirt tip level. For
Figure 24 Comparison between observed lateral clay, a non symmetrical yield envelope is indicated, which
resistance and upper bound analysis is believed to be associated with the strain-softening nature
of the tensile response in clay. The parameter, A, is best
The experimental results shown in Figure 24 were obtained taken as 2 on the tension side, and about 3.75 on the com-
from tests where the caissons were translated horizontally, pression side (Watson, 1999). However, experimental re-
with no rotation. Values of moment necessary to prevent sults indicate a symmetrical yield envelope may be more
rotation were measured, but these were found to be ex- applicable in calcareous silt, with A = 3.75 proposed for
tremely small (effectively zero). both the tension and compression sides.

Yield Envelope In order to assess the deduced yield envelope in greater de-
tail, probe tests were conducted and the displacement in-
The yield envelope has been explored in the V:H plane (for crements at yield compared with those derived assuming.as-
zero moment) by conducting ‘sideswipe’ tests (lateral sociated flow. The relative magnitudes of the displacement
43
increments, 6v/6h, are plotted in Figure 27 as a function of
the vertical load level. Excellent agreement with normality
is evident on the compression side, while the displacement
increments on the tensile side indicate that the yield enve-
lope assuming A = 3.75 may be more appropriate.
Figure 27 Displacement vectors at yield (calcareous silt)
ADDITIONAL ASPECTS OF CAISSON RESPONSE
Effect of Consolidation
A further aspect to be addressed is the effect of consolida-
tion on the response of skirted foundations. Consolidation
will arise through dissipation of excess pore pressures gen-
erated either because of the deadweight loading, or due to
the action of cyclic loading.
Typical responses to sustained loading are shown in Figure
28 for both compressive and tensile loading, in terms of
displacements and excess pore pressure. For compressive
loading, the excess pore pressure measured directly beneath
the foundation cap gradually decays towards zero, while the
vertical displacements increase towards a plateau (with
some residual movement due to creep).
Figure 28 Foundation behaviour under constant
vertical load
By contrast, under tensile loading, the excess pore pressure
beneath the cap is sustained (equal to the net applied tensile
44
stress, after allowance for friction along the skirts) and wa-
ter is gradually drawn into the space beneath the founda-
tion, with unbounded displacements.
For compression loading, there will be a gradual strength-
ening of the soil beneath the foundation, and resulting in-
crease in both vertical and horizontal capacity. This is il-
lustrated (for preload = O.4Vc)in Figure 29, where bearing
tests were conducted after allowing either 50 % or 100 %
consolidation, and Figure 30, in which a lateral loading test
was conducted after 50 % consolidation of the excess pore
pressures induced by the preload.
The increase in lateral capacity by 20 % may be interpreted
as an increase in base shear capacity by some 50 %, to-
gether with unchanged side resistance, from active and pas-
sive pressures in the soil surrounding the skirts.
Figure 30 Increase in lateral capacity due to preload
Cyclic loading
The final aspect of foundation behaviour to be discussed is
the response to cyclic loading. Full details of the test pro-
gram undertaken are provided in Watson (1999), and only a
brief discussion is provided here.
Figure 31 outlines the settlement response (6v,,,) of a cais-
son foundation (D = 7.5 m, d/D = OS), in normally consoli-
dated calcareous silt, to constant amplitude lateral 2-way
cyclic loading. In each case the vertical load was main-
tained constant at 40 % of the undrained bearing capacity.
The response is pseudo-linear, with increasing rate of set-
tlement observed for increasing cyclic amplitude
(H~~~/A~~~).
 0.8
2
11 \, pFGiCl
thick line :V = 0.4V1I

E 0.6
1.6
ill i,'
U
Cd
0 1.2
>
ck)
0.4 3
D? 0.8

0.2
0
0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 4 0 0 5 0 0
No.Cycles
Figure 31 Observed settlementduring 2-way cyclic
loading with V = 0.4Vc
Using the response curves shown in Figure 31, damage
contours may be determined describing the relationship
between 6v,,,, N and Hcy,/As,,. These are shown in Figure
32, for the case of V = 0.4Vc.
It may be seen that a transition occurs for cyclic load levels
of €€/Asuoin the region of unity. For load levels greater
than this, significant displacements accumulate rapidly over
a few cycles, while at lower load levels, the foundation can
withstand 100 cycles or more, with quite moderate cumula-
tive displacements.
2
0.4
I 6vave= 0.01 m
0 100 200 300 400 500
No.Cycles
Figure 33 Comparison of 6Va"e damage contours for 2-
way cyclic loading :V = 0.4Vc and V = 0.4Vt
Using contour diagrams of the form shown in Figure 32,
empirical methods have been developed for predicting
foundation response under general loading conditions, such
as experienced during storm loading. An example is shown
in Figure 34, showing the cyclic loading history, and the
comparison between observed and predicted vertical set-
tlement. In the example shown, the vertical loading was
maintained constant at V = 0.4Vc.

1.5

s
3 1
2
0.5

0 150 300 450 0 150 300 450

0 25 50 75 100 125
No.Cycles
Figure 32 Damage contours for 6Vave for 2-way cyclic
loading with V = 0.4Vc
Figure 33 compares damage contours derived from 2-way
cyclic caisson tests, with vertical load maintained constant
at either 40 % of the bearing capacity (0.4Vc) or 40 % of the
tension capacity (0.4VJ. As can be seen, the damage con-
tours deduced for V = 0.4Vt are considerably lower than
those determined for V = 0.4Vc, implying reduced resis-
tance to cyclic loading under constant tension load.
No. cycles No.cycles
150 (a) Load history (b) Settlement
Figure 34 Comparison between observed and predicted
vertical settlement during storm loading
Full details of the methodology for predicting the cyclic re-
sponse are given in Watson (1999). Essentially, the ap-
proach is based on Miner's Rule, where for each level of cy-
clic loading the accumulated settlement from previous
loading is attributed to an equivalent number of cycles at
the current load level. Additional settlement from the (real)
additional cycles at the current load level may then be cal-
culated. However, the approach has been modified to take
account of work-hardening due to increasing embedment
(resulting in increased vertical and horizontal capacities).

45
CONCLUSIONS
This paper has reviewed a variety of innovative approaches
for characterisation of soft sediments, including methods of
reconstituting soil at high voids ratio and for quantifying
the degree of disturbance in deepwater samples. The main
emphasis, however, has been on novel penetrometers, and
the link between strengths deduced from penetrometers and
those measured in different devices in the laboratory.
A key outcome of this work is the provisional recommen-
dation that the strength determined from penetrometers such
as the T-bar and ball devices correlates best with the
strength developed in simple shear, at a shear strain of
about 5 %. The strength in simple shear is generally close
to the average strength measured in triaxial compression,
triaxial extension and simple shear, and is considered the
most appropriate strength for use in conventional bearing
capacity calculations. The adoption of a representative
strain of 5 % is particularly pertinent for materials, such as
silt, that exhibit dilation during monotonic shearing.
The ability of the T-bar (or ball) penetrometer to investigate
the sensitivity of offshore sediments to remoulding, by cy-
cling the penetrometer up and down, has enormous poten-
tial. Both the final remoulded strength, and the number of
cycles needed for the strength to degrade to the fully re-
moulded value, are important parameters for robust design
of foundations subjected to cyclic loading.
Results from centrifuge modelling of caisson foundations
have been presented for loading conditions ranging from in-
stallation, through vertical loading in compression and ten-
sion, to cyclic horizontal loading. During skirt penetration,
a reduced bearing capacity factor of N, = 7.5 appears ap-
propriate. It is intriguing that this is significantly lower
than the factor appropriate for T-bar penetration, and the
reason for this requires further study.
In other respects though, monotonic caisson response under
either vertical or horizontal loading appears consistent with
theory based on classical limit analysis. Where the material
dilates, additional reserve capacity has been shown to de-
velop, both for tension loading and also horizontal dis-
placement.
The yield envelope approach has been found to work well
for combined vertical and horizontal loading. Additional
data are needed in order to assess how the addition of mo-
ment loading will affect the yield envelope. From a practi-
cal point of view, most foundations will be subjected to
combined horizontal and moment loading, with a given
lever arm corresponding to the centre of action of the hori-
zontal loading due to wave and wind action. This will lead
to some reduction in the size of the yield envelope.
Under cyclic loading, test data indicate that it is appropriate
to design for horizontal load levels below that needed to
mobilise base shear (ignoring cont~butionsfrom the skirts,
through active and passive resistance) in order to avoid ex-
cessive move men^. This is a further area where addition^
data from model and field tests are needed, in order to allow
calibration of different analytical approaches, and a more
direct link between the cyclic response observed in element
tests such as simple shear, with the actual foundation per-
formance.
46
The concept of gradual accumulation of damage due to cy-
clic loading of different intensity was verified by compa~ng
fo~ndationresponse under u n i f o ~ cycles of loading with
the response under a simulated storm loading. However, it
was found important to incorporate effects of work-
hardening (due to cumulative settlement) into the prediction
model in order to match experimental results.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper has drawn extensively .on research carried out
within the Special Research Centre for Offshore Foundation
Systems (COFS), established and supported under the Aus-
tralian Research Council's Research Centres Program.
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Murff, J.D. 1994. Limit analysis of multi-~ootingfounda-
tian systems. Proc 8th Inf. Con$ on ~ ~ ~ eth~hod^~ u ~ e r
a d A ~ ~ irz~G n e€ ~ ~ ~~ o r~ g ~ ~~o w I., n223-
~, ~ ~ ~ c ~ ~
244.
Murff, J.D. & Hamilton, J.M. 1993. P-ultimate for
undrained analysis of laterally loaded piles. J. Geot. Eng.
Div., ASCE, 119(1), 91-107.
Newson, T.A., Watson, P.G. and Bransby, M.F. 1999,
Undrained shear strength profiling using a spherical
penetrometer. Submitted for publication.
Pestana, J.M. & ~ i t ~A.J.
i e1995.
~ Compress~onmodel fur
~ 61~1-63~I ~ ~
cohesionleess soils, G e o ~4Sf4), (. ~ ~ ~ ,
Randolph, M.F. 1998. EH Davis Memorial Lmture: Mod-
elling of offshore foundations: Part 2 - Anchoring sys-
tems. A ~ s ~ ~G ~ e t ~i a~ ~@ 33(?),
c ~ 3-~ 15.
~ ~ ~ s ,
Randoleh, M.F., Hefer, P.A., Geise, J. and ats son^ P.G.
1998 Improved seabed strength profiling using T-bar
penetrometer, Proc Int. Conf. Offshore Site Investigation
and Fo~ndationBehaviour - "New Frontiers". Society for
Underwater Technology, London.
~ ~ ~ d ~M.F.,
l p O"eil1,
h , M.P., Stewart, D.P. and Erbrich,
C. 1998b. Performance of suction anchors in fine
grained calcareous soils. Proc. 1998 Ofshore Technol-
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
G E0 m,International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
KEYNOTE LECTURE 3
ENGINEERING BEHAVIOUR OF MARINE CLAYS
A. Sridharan, D.Sc.
Honorary Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, lndian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, lndia

SYNOPSIS - The geotechnical properties of marine soils are very much diffetent from other in land soils like transported or
residual soils because of their geology, mineralogy, depositional environment, structure and alteration that take place
subsequent to deposition. Because of many recent geotechnical activities in the off shore, and in coastal regions, there is
considerable interest on the physical and engineering behaviour of marine clays. In this paper based on the information
available the factors affecting the physical and engineering properties of Indian marine clays are discussed and compared
with the other marine clays of different regions of the world. The mechanism@)controlling the physical physico chemical
and engineering behaviour are studied in relation to pore medium chemistry. The factors affecting the sensitivity of marine
clays have also been brought out.

INTRODUCTION

Industrialisation and urbanisation are taking place at

alarming rates all over the world, particularly over coastal
areas. Large scale demand for lands to cater for varied kinds
of human activities necessitates laud reclamation projects. In
addition, off shore commercial construction activities are
also increasing fatly. Number of important constructions
which have come out in the recent past on the reclaimed
areas fiom sea could be cited. For example the Changi
Airport, Singapore; Replacement airport at Chek Lapkok,
Hongkong; Uddevalla Shipyard, Sweden; Fertilizer plant at
Ashuganj, Bangladesh; Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust area,
Mumbai, India; Deep water port at Kakinada, India; Salt
Lake City, Calcutta to name a few have been constructed in
essentially reclaimed land. Thus one cannot avoid marine
deposits or reclained land with marine soils for civil
construction activities. Hence, the understanding of physical
and engineering behaviour of marine soilsklays becomes
very important.

GEOLOGY

The marine sediments are made up of terrestrial and marine

contributions. The terrestrial contributions include the
particulate materials eroded fiom the shore or carried as
bottom load or in suspension by rivers and streams as well as
mineral matter in true or colloidal solution. The marine
contributions, which alone lead to pelagic soils, mainly
comprise of organic and inorganic remnents of dead marine
life. With increasing distance fiom the shore, 'the terrestrial
contribution normally decreases and marine contribution
increases.
Fig. 1 Distribution of marine soils around lndia
(Gulhati, 1990)
In general, the marine soils are associated with high water
content (in many cases more than their liquid limit), high
sensitivity, high compressibility; low remoulded shear
strength and low permeability. Some of the noteworthy
marine soils which are highly problematic and have recieved
the attention of many researchers all over the world are

49
Table 1 - Distribution of clay minerals in the ocean (Gnffi CLAY MINERAL PERCENTAGE ('/o)

et. al., 1968)

Location No. of Chlorite Mont- Illite Kaolinite
Samples morillonite
% % % %
North 202 to 10 16 55 20
Atlantic 206

South 196 to 11 26 47 17
Atlantic 214

North 170 18 35 40 8
Pacific

South 140 to 13 53 26 8 (a) MEGURIE

Pacific 151

Indian 127 to 12 41 33 17
129
necessity are Madras marine clay, Cochin marine clay,
Kuttanadu clay, Mangalore marine clay and marine clay from
the Mumbai area.

MINERALOGY

The marine soils are very rich in clay minerals. Fig.2 shows
the clay mineralogical composition of marine clays from
h a k e bay region, Japan. Table 1 shows the distribution of
clay minerals in soils of various oceans. It can be noted that
considerable percentage of active clay minerals is present in
almost all oceanic regions and in particular, in the Indian
(b) YAMAASHI
Ocean region. There is a regionwise correlation between the
mineralogical content of surface soils off-shore in India with Fig.2 Clay mineralogcal composition of marine clays:
Ariake Bay, Japan (Ohtsubo et al, 1996)
the minerdogcal content of soils which are carried by the
rivers that flow into the sea (Goldberg and Gnffm, 1970).
Some of the examples are indicated below; Norwegian clays, Swedish clays, Eastern Canada clays, San
Fransisco bay mud, Ariake bay clay in Japan and Indian
i) The soils on the continental shelf in Bay of Bengal in the marine clays.
West Bengal region have their origin at Himalayas and they
Indian coastal line covers about 6400 km fiom Rann of
contain appreciable amounts of illite, chlorite and kaolinite.
cutch on the Western side to Calcutta on the Eastern shore
ii) The soils on the continental shelf surrounding the
line. Fig. 1 shows the distribution of various kinds of marine
peninsular coastal region are contributions from Deccan
sediments around the Indian coastal region. Indian marine
pleateu and they are rich in smectite.
clays are not properly described in the literature. From the
limited literature available, the Indian marine clays are
Some chlorites are present in Madras and Bombay clays.
considered to the pleistocene to recent origin, consideraed to
Rock formining minerals like feldspar, quartz, amphibole are
the young and were depoisted in salt or brackish water
present in both clay fraction as well as silt and sand size
environment. (Mohan and Bhandari, 1977; Narasimha Rao
fractions. Generally the same type of clay minerals are
and Kodandaramaswamy, 1984). They have high water
present in the marine clays of other countries lrke Norway,
contents close to their liquid limits or more, giving rise to
Japan, Canada, Korea and Hongkong. The amount of
poor consistency, high void ratio and they have high colloidal
montmordlonite present is in small quantities in the marine
activity. Some of the notable Indian marine soils which have
clays of other countries in contrast to large amounts of
attracted the attention of researchers arisen out of practical

50
 DEPTH MUNAM- CHERA- PARUR
et al, 1986 suggest a smple rapid method to identify clay BELOW G.L. BAM NELLOOR
mineral type in soils by the free swell technique. They have
shown that while soil containing smectite mineral will show
much larger sediment volume in water than in CCb, soil
containing kaolinhe clay mineral will show more sediment 2-
volume in CCL than in water. .. .
The depth of presence, nature and properties of marine clays 4 -
vary very widely tkom place to place. Normally, marine -
clays appear in alternating layer system comprising of sands
6-
and silts. Figs.3 shows typical profile of Indian marine clay
deposits.
8-
PHYSICAL,, CHEMICAL AND INDEX PROPERTIES -
Table 2 presents index and other properties of Indian marine 10 -
clays and marine clays of other countries. Sensitivity of
Indian marine clays are generally much lower them
sensitivity of marine clays of other countries. The salt 12 -
content of Indian marine clays are generally more then the -
salt content of marine clays of other countries. This is
perhaps the primary reaction for low sensitivity. As can be
14 -
noted fiom Table, 2 the marine soils invariably have their -
SAND
natural moisture content at around or even more than their 16 -
liquid limit values, indicating very soft consistency of the - CLAYEY SAND
soils. It becomes very difficult for field personnel as well as
laboratory technicians sampling of such soft soils and testing 18 - MARINE CLAY
them in the lab or at^. Special samphg techniques, -
sophisticated testing facilities and judicial intepretation of the
test results and their application in the field are required for 20 - SANDY CLAY

marine soils. Characterisation of marine soils could be

effectively carried out mostly with conventional physical and
an DECAYED WOOD/
CHARCOAL
index properties which enables to understand the engineering
behaviour better. Fig.3 Typical bore log marine clay of Kerala coast

Marine soil properties are suceptable to testing conditions.
Unlike other inland natural soils (either transported or
residual) care need to be taken to obtain the physical and
index properties. Prior to any testing for physical and index
properties, air drymg or oven drymg the soil, significantly
influence their behaviour. Fig 4a and 4b shows typical grain
size distribution as affected by air drymgloven drying (Jose
etal 1988 & Rao etal 1989). Air drying or oven drying prior
to any testing makes the particle to get aggregated. Clay size
ftaction becomes almost fifty percent get reduced, and the
soil become coarser.
Table 3 shows the effect of oven dryinglair drymg prior to
testing on the index properties activity and on the grain size
fractions. The significent influence is evident. , W e liquid
limit, plastic limit and free swell index show much reduction
upon initial drying the clay before testing, the shrinkage limit
exhibits anincrease, lending support to the formation of
~ n ~ o ~ lusually t e in Indian marine clays, while
o ~ present
vermiculite is usually present in marine clays of other
countries its presence i s not reported in Indian marine soils.
Tn otherwords, the marine soils are not only problematic from
the point of view of their soft consistency and associated
properties, but also due to the presence of appreciable
amount of active clay minerals. However, it is interesting to
note the contradiction that most of the problematic sensitive
marine soils, such as Norwegian clays, Cariadian clays,
contain appreciable amounts of less-active clay minerals
(r.g., Bjemun, 1954; Penner and Burn, 1978; Locat et al,
1984) and even if they are semectite rich soils, the smectite is
of low swelling type (e.g., Ohtsubo et al, 1982; Ohtsubo et
al. 1985).
Smectite rich marine clays can be problematic because of
high swelling and high shrinkage when dried. Sridharan

51
Table 2a Index and other properties of some Indian marine clays

Location Visakhapatnam Bombay Madras cochin Mangalore

'roperties
Liquid limit (%) 65 - 100 42 - 100 80 - 86 108 - 117 100 - 176
Plastic limit (%) 40 - 45 26 - 60 24 - 28 43 -48 62 - 72
Natural water
content (%)
PlasticityIndex(%) I
I 80-90
25 -50 I
I 8 0 - 125
25 -40
73 - 75
52 - 64
92 - 124
65 - 90
105 - 120
95 -97
YOClay I 40-70 I 38-80 25 -77 36 - 48 36 - 38
Sensitivity I 2-3 I 2-5 1-2 2-4 2-4
I 70-75 I 0.3 - 1.5

-7
Saltcontent(gm/l) 25 -80 30 6 - 12
PH 7 - 8.6 7.6 - 8.23 I -7.9
0.2% - 0.8% 3% - 9.8%
% Carbon I I 47-55% 1% - 5%
Cation exchange - 25 30 - 25
Capacity (meq/100 g)
Clay mineralogy Illite and Chlorite Smectite Montmorillonite Montmorillonite,
Chlorite Illite Kaolinite Kaolinite
Qm Feldspar, Mica Feldspar, Mica,
Calcite Calcite and Quartz, Calcite and
I I
Hematite Hematite
Table 2b lndex and other properties of some marine clays

'roperties
Liquid limit (%)
Location Norwegian

21 - 57
Japan

40 - 150
I 32 - 60
I Korean

31 - 130
Hong Kong

100 - 140
Plastic limit (%) 16 - 30 28 - 40 22 - 30 17 - 30 40 - 60
Natural Water 32 - 44 51 - 157 40 - 90 27- 110 100 - 130
Content (%)
Plasticity Index (%) 5 - 33 10 - 30 11 -95 50 - 80
22 - 56 50 - 86 10 - 45 40 - 80
~~ ~

Clay (%) 35 - 65 ~~

Sensitivity 3 - 500 19 - 970 10 - >loo0 1 - 13 1.5 - 80

Salt content.(gm/c) 0.2 - 26 0.1 - 8.0 1-35 2 - 10 25 - 80
7.4 - 8.0 4.5 - 6.0
~

PH 7.0 - 8.0 3.7 - 9.0 9.3 - 9.6

% Organic matter 1 1 - 18 5 3-7 4 - 30
% Carbon <1 <4 10 5-11 2
Cation exchange 44 - 53 9 - 13
Capacity meq/lOO g 3 - 10 - -~

Clay mineralogy Illite, Chlorite Smectite Mica, Illite Mainly Illite,

Quartz, Feldspar Kaolinite Mica, Chlorite, Illite Kaolinite
Mica, Vermicullite Vermicullite, Montmorilonite
4mphibole Chlorite, Feldspar, Quartz
Feldspar Quartz, Feldspar, Qm
Cristobalite Amphibole

52
 Table 3 Typical Physical Properties as affected by testing conditions Kerala Cost
-
Sl. Site Munambam Nettoor Cheraneloor
No.
- kpth of Sampling(m) 9.40 10.4 12.10 1.0 1.50
- I. Specific Gravity 2.66 2.60 2.63 2.64 2.65 2.72 2.66
-2. Bulk density (gm/cc) 1.5 1.52 1.68 1.42 1.4 1.42
-3. Natural Moisture content (%) b2.0 96.5 76.4 124.00 120.5 28.80
4. Liquid Limit (%)
(a) Moist soil 116.5 139.0 83.5 135.5 131.5 75.0 .18.5
(b) Airdried -.. -- -- 87.7 102.5 20.0 96.5
- (c) Ovendried 57.0 64.0 48.5 44.8 59.5 59.5 57.0
5. Plastic Limit (%)
(a) Moist soil 15.5 52.0 33.8 47.5 48.0 60.6 45.3
(b) Airdried -- -- 38.7 44.7 57.6 41.5
- (c) Ovendried 18.0 37.4 30.6 33.6 39.5 42.3 34.5
6. Plasticity Index (%)
(a) Moist soil 71.0 37.0 49.7 90.0 83.5 14.4 73.2
(b) Air dried -- -" __ 48.8 57.3 62.4 55.0
(c) Overn dried 19.0 X.6 17.9 11.2 19.0 17.2 22.5
- 'toe8
-
7. Liquidity Index 0.65 0.51 3.86 0.84 0.87 0.60 0.57
8. Shrinkage Limit (%)
(a) Moist soil !2.5 23.1 23.2 17.8 17.0 18.1 19.3
(b) Air dried _- -- -- 19.5 17.8 17.9 18.5
.I_
(c\ Oven dried !7.0 26.3 28.6 19.5 25.0 21.4 20.3
9. 3ain size Distribution
(a) Moist soil
(i) Clay size(%) 42 54 35 48 47 45 36
(ii) Silt Size(%) 40 40 55 31 33 42 43
(iii) Sand size(%) 18 6 10 21 20 13 21
(b) Air dried
(i) Clay size(%) -- __ -- 32 43 37 33
(ii) Silt size(%) -- __ -- 43 35 48 46
(iii) Sand size(%) __ __ __ 25 22 15 32
(c) Oven dried
(i) Clay size (%) 23 26 20 27 23
(ii) Silt size (%) 59 65 70 58 56
(iii) Sand size(%) 18 10 10 15 21
10. 4ctivity
(a) Moist soil 1.69 1.61 1.43 1.77 2.47 2.03
(b) Air dried -- -_ -- 1.53 1.36 1.68 1.67
- (c) Oven dried 0.83 1.04 0.90 0.44 0.69 0.63 1.0
11. 3ee swell Index(cc/gm)
(a) Moist soil 4.30 3.0 3.4c 5.20 4.20 5.90 4.50
(b) Air dired __ - ..- 1.70 1.80 2.20 2.42
- (c) Oven dried 1.40 1.57 1S O 1.50 1.66
-
12. lrganic Matter (%) 6.30 7.05 5.85 7.64 8.27 7.61
- pH value
13. 7.72 7.67 8.0 7.83 7.40 7.10 7.60
14. clalcium Carbonate (%)
- -- - -- 19.3( z3.50
15. 3ation Exchange Capacity 36.0
- :m.eq/lOOgm) -- 17.7 -- 26.0 I- --

53

0.01 0.1 0.5
GRAIN SIZE (mm)
Fig. 4a Grain size distribution curves for Munambam soil
(Kerala coast)
U.VI
GRAIN SIZE (mm)
Fig. 4b Grain size distribution curves for Nettoor soil
(Kerala coast)
aggregation at all size levels. It has been observed (Jose et al
1988) that the aggregations cannot be easily broken by
soaking the soil, even upto about 2 months. The results
bringsforth the importance of conditions of the sample prior
testing which is very important.
Fig 5 shows the effect of dispersing agent on the grain size
distribution. The use of dispersing agent has significant
influence on the grain size distribution. Fig 6 shows the
relationship between the % clay fiaction and the liquid limit
for marine clays fiom Munambam, Nettoor and Cheranelloor
0.005 0.01
P A R T I C L E S I Z E (mm) -
Fig. 5 Grain size distribution curves - effect of dispersing
agent
0
1.0
3
CL AY, '10
Fig. 6 Liquid limit vs percent clay plot for various
pre-testing conditions
of Kerala Coast. Although prior air dyngloven drying
before testing brings down the liquid limit in comparison to
the natural moist soil, the liquid limit bears a good
relationship with percent clay size fraction.
Fig 7 shows the plasticity chart representing the Norwegian
(Bjermm, 1954), Canadian (Eden and Crawford, 1957;
Gillot, 1979), Japanese (Egashira and Ohtsubo, 1982) and
Indian (Rao, 1974) marine clays. The Norwegian clays plot
predominently in the CL region, the Canadian clays in the
CH region, the Japanese clays in the MH region and the
54
 80- o NORWEGIAN CLAYS

\ a
- CANADIAN CLAYS lootA NORWEGIAN MARINE CLAY a/
pKixq
0 JAPNESE CLAYS 0 CANADIAN
x' 60-
w A INDIAN CLAYS 0 JAPNESE
Q
5 -
E 40-
2
I
In
a
- - ;-.I-
2 20-
-
0 1 U,

TOTAL NO O F SOILS 125

RESULTS F R O M :
NORWEIGIAN CLAYS
a
BJERRUM (1954)
EDEN ETAL (1957)
(BJERRUM [19541) 0 20 40 60 80
ECASHIRA ETAL (1982) '1. CLAY SIZE FRACTION
K A Z l ETAL (1973) Fig. 9 Percent clay size fiaction vs plasticity index
LAMBE AND WHITMAN (1969)
LA ROCHELLE (1977)
SKEMPTON (1953) between liquid limit and plasticity index (Fig 8). A statistical
SKEMPTON & HENKAL equation of
PI = 0.77 [ WL - 17-71 Cl1
(where PI is Plasticity index and WL is the Liquid limit) is
obtained for 125 soils covering marine soils of different
regions including Indian marine clays with a correlation
coefficient of 0.97.

0 50 100
LIQUID L I M I T ('/a)
Fig. 8 Liquid limit vs plasticity index for 125 marine soils
Indian clays in the CH regon. The very high liquid limit of
Indian marine clays can be attributed to the presence of
considerable amount of smectite. In spite of the fact that the
Japanese clays are smectite rich, they plot in the MH region,
as the smectites in Japanese clays are of low s w e h g type
(Egashrra and Ohtsubo, 1982). The Canadian clays
comprising of illite, quartz, feldspar and mica show higher
plasticity characteristics by plotting in the CH region.
However, the higher plasticity in this case can be attributed
to the presence of considerable amount of amorphous
sesquioxides (15 - 25%) (Sridharanet al, 1989), which
would contribute to the higher water holding capacity of the
marine clay. For marine soils a good relationship exists
150 Fig. 9 Presents the percent clay size fruction vs plasticity
index (activity plot) for Norwegian, Canadian, Japanese and
Indian marine clays. It can be noted that the Norwegian and
Canadian clays cluster in the inactive zone while the
Japanese clays are distributed in the inactive and normal
regions, the Indian clays position themselves in the normal
and active zones. Fig. 10 Presents results on activity under
different pre test conditions for Cochin marine clays. Pre test
condition does influence the activity values. Active clays
becomes normalhactive clays if the test are carried out on
dried samples prior to testing. This once again brings forth
the importance of testing only the moist samples and not the
air dried or oven dried prior to testing.
Repeated washing (i.e., the reduction in pore water salinity)
also has been observed to have an effect on the index
properties of the marine soils - either in the natural state or
dried state prior testing (Jose et al, 1988). Depending upon

55

0 20 40 60 80
CLAY 'is
Fig. I0 Relationship between plasticity index and percent
clay under different pretest conditions
the dominant clay mineralogy of the soil, kaolinite or
montmorillonite, either particle arrangement (as governed by
the inte~article a ~ c t i o n ) or double layer thickness
dominates the behaviour and hence, washing will either
decrease the liquid limit or increase the liquid limit. (i.e.,
washing will cause the deflocculation of the fabric. At the
same time, the resulting decrease in the pore salinity favours
the growth of double layer thickness). It is advisable to test
the samples with pore water salinity remaining the same.
The salt content of Indian marine soils are generally high
(with the exception of Mangalore marine clay) compared
with the salt content of marine clays of the other parts of the pressure dissipates, more and more soils mass will be
world. Changes in salt concen~ationbrings out s i ~ ~ cdeposited
variations in the consistency limits. This is explained from
considerations of d i f i e double layer theory and fabric.
Marine clays rich in kaolimite as clay mineral floculates with consolidated (Gulhati?1989). However, the deposits near the
increase in concentration of ions, valency and decrease in
dielectric constant. Normally strength increases and
compressibility decreases. For clays rich in montmillonite
mined opposite behavior takes place. Increase in ion
concentration and ion valency, decrease in dielectric constant
brings down d i m e double layer thickness, and hence
decrease in volume.
Soil particle ~angementor fabric have definite role in
controlling the behaviour of sensitive clays. Fabric is a
~ c t of~ inter o ~particle a ~ a c t i oand
~ r e p ~ i o n . The
presence of dissolved salts in a marine environment serves
effectively to depress the di&e double layer and causes
floccdation. Many investigators related At c o ~ c e n ~ t i to on
activity of clays, The low activity of marine soils fkom other
parts of the world is presumably due to the reduced salt
concentration. Due to high salt Concentration activity is
genedy more for Indian marine soils. Apart from dryhg
and washing, other processes like extraction of organic
matter and salt, homoionisation of marine soils will also
greatly affect their Atterberg limits and grain size
d i s ~ b u t i (Table
o ~ 4a and 4b).
It has been observed that marine clays of Cochin area
experience an increase in their liquid and plastic limits and in
the percent clay size fiaction &er the extraction of pore salt,
organic matter and sesquioxide, while those fiom Mangalore
marine clays has increased &er calcium homoionization.
These quite contrasting behaviour can be explained if due
care is given to clay mineralogy. Cochin marine clays are
smectite rich soils while Managalore marine clays are
kaolinite d o ~ a n clays.t It has been well es~blishedthat
the plasticity characteristics of smectitic soils are primarily
governed by double layer thickness and those of kaolinitic
soils are primarily controlled by soil fabiic in association
with the i n t e ~ ~ i cal ~e a c ~ (o n ~ ret al,i 1986;
~ 1988).
~ ~
Hence, any process which favours the growth of double layer
thickness will result in an increase in the liquid limit of
m o n ~ o ~ l o n i t i csoils and any processes which favours
flocculation will result in an increase in the liquid limit of
kaolinitic soils and vice-versa.
The marine sediments are formed of sedimentation process.
When soil mass settles fiom suspension on the sea bed, the
total stress in the deposit below increases and consequently
pore water pressure increases. Before this excess pore watex
~ t at the top, including more excess pore wata
pressure. With the result, one can observe most of the
off-shore deposits near the major deltas to be under -
shore line are observed to be in a normally consolidated stage
and due to their exposure to varied kinds of oceanic forces, a
slight over consolidation has also been observed, even at higb
natural water contents.
Fig. 1 la & 1l b shows a typical e-log p7 relationship for E
Cochin marine clay (Nettoor area), both in the undisturbed
56
 0.05 0.10 0.50 1.0 5.0
PRESSURE, p (kg/cm2)
Fig. 1l a Typical e-log p’ curves for Nettoor soil (depth
1.5m).
5

4
1 10 100 , 1000
VERTICAL EFFECTIVE STRESS, a;;, (kPa)
3

0 UNDISTURBED
2
Fig. 13 Compression curves from I -Dconsolidation tests on
Gulf of Mexico coastal sediment
1
0.05 0.10 0.50 1.0 5.0 from almost its liquid limit water content. Oven drying the
PRESSURE, p (kg/cm2)
soil before reduce its liquid limit (Table 3) because of
Fig. 1 1b Typical e-log p’ curves for Nettoor soil (depth 2m) aggresation of particles. One has to take preventive care not
to air dry or oven dry the soil for remoulding the same.
Natural moist samples need to be used. The coastal seafloor
sediments of Gulf of Mexico (Fig 13) show much smaller
perconsolidation pressure of the order of 6 - 20 kPa (Sheahan
and Degroot, 1997).

Fig. 13 shows five oedometer tests conducted on specimens

from five different depth starting at approximately the
seafloor surface and increasing in depth in increments of
o REMOULDED
approximately 0.25 m. The consolidation properties are
significantly different between shallow sandy specimens (<
0.5 m) and the deeper clayey specimens (< 0.5 m). The
consolidation results suggest that just below the seafloor
surface (0.5m & below) the soil is slightly over consolidated.
These results are important since the stress - strain - strength
behaviour of cohesive soils are highly dependent on OCR.
0.05 0.10 0.5 1.0 5 Baltic sea bed sediments have still smaller pre-consolidation
PRESSURE, p (kg/cm*) pressure of about 2-3 kPa. (Ag and Silva, 1998). The
remoulding can result in a reduction in C, of the order of
Fig. 12 e-log p’ curves; Effect of oven drying prior to about 20% to 35% (Ag and Silva, 1998).
remoulding and testing

57
 Table: 4a EEects of pore salt removal and cation ~ e a ~ one the
n index
~ p r o p e of
~~ marine clays

Soil Pore salt Liquid limit Plastic limit ’lasticity inde8 Free swell
Description Treatm~nt Conce~~ation (%) (%I (%I (~3/g)
(glf)
Representative 9.4 116 35 81 5.8

Cochin Pore salt extracted -0 125 49 76 5.9

~ & eclay Cal~im treated
- 0 111 54 57 4.2
Aluminium treated
-0 169 71 98 8.I

Representative 0.3 179 72 107 dispersed

vfangdore Fore salt extracted -0 178 82 96 dispersed

darine Clay
Calcium treated -0 184 87 97 4.6

A I treated ~ -0 ~ 200 94 106 6.0

Table: 4b Effects of cementing agents removal on the index propexlies of marine days

S1. Soil Fore salt Liquid limit Plastic limit ’lasticity inder
NO. Description Treatment Concen~ation (”/.) (%)
fdfr)
1, Representative 9.4 3 16 35 81 5.83
2. Cochin Lron oxide extracted -0 157 61 96 6.20
Marine day

3. Drgdc matter
-0 129 47 82 2.49
Zxtracted
- --
4. Representative 0.3 179 72 107 dispersed
5. dangalore kon oxide -0 159 58 101 dispersed
rlarine Clay
6. 3-gmic matter -0 I64 60 104 dispersed
:xtracted
and mouIded states. A detailed study of e-log p’ cwves ratio is quite hi& and the pre c o ~ o ~ d pressure
~ o n is well
from v ~ siteso of Indian
~ coastal tine indicates that the defined. The r e ~ o ~ d soil
e d follows almost linearly with
d ~ t i oinnthe range 0.3 0.5
soils have ~ r e ~ c o ~ ~ l ~pressure - pressure right fiom the initial void ratio. Fig 12 brings out
kg/m2 k 3 0 - 50 kPa). It can be seen that the initial void the eEect of oven drying the soil before it is hand r e ~ o ~ d

58
 3 .v 7

- 6
2
c-
a
0-2 .O- a 5
2 f3
4:
t
g
4
s
s? 1 .o - 3
FALLING HEAOTEST

X CRO TEST
I EFFECTIVE S T R E S S (kPa)
0

7
0 .o I I I
ro-9 10-@ to-
6
COEFFICIENT OF P E R M E A ~ I ~ r T Yk, (cmfs2 9
Fig. 14 Relationship of permeability to void ratio and 2
= 5
porosity 5;f
>
0
4
I I
32
10-' lo-6 IO-~
PERMEABILITY (cm/s)
(b) PERMEABILITY MEASUREMENTS

Fig. 16 Comparison of consolidation and permeability

properties in vertically and horizont~yextruded samples

Fig. 14 (Geotechnical consortium 1994). The values of k for

marine soils appear to be fairly high for corresponding void
ratios which may be probably due to their flocculent fabric.
Fig. 15 shows a typical plot showing the variation of k with
the depth. One of the interesting thing that need to be
observed in this plot is that the measured values of k are
lower than the values of k calculated from the consolidation
theory. (Marine Geotechnical consortium 1994.) The
permeability profile is characteristics of other results reported
for frne - grained marine sediments and shows decreasing
p e ~ e ~wit ~h depth.
l i ~ The studies done on marine soil
samples extruded both in vertical and h o ~ z o ndirections
~
td8 to-' 1OC IO-~ 1Cf4 have shown almost similar e-log p' behaviour (Fig. 16) with
COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY fcm/s)
very good agreement in pre-consolidation stresses and the
Fig. 15 Coefficient of permeability vs depth profile coefficient of permeability in the horizontal direction to be
(connected dots are by direct measurements; falling head and slightly (Ag and Silva, 1998) which can be attributed to the
~ ~ -d
constant ahead). Calculated by c o ~ l i theory lower resistance to flow due to more favourable grain
unconnected dots orientation in the horizontal direction as compared with the
vertical direction and the fact the sediment material was
PERMEABILITY deposited vertically.

As for as the ~ e ~ i l iist concerned

y more or less linear
r e l ~ o between
~ ~ p void ratio and log^^ of coefficient
of permeability has been observed by many researchers. A
typical e-log k plot for deep sea sediment is shown in
STRENGTH AND SENSITIVITY
Sensitivity is a complex mineralogical geotechnical pheno-
menon which depends on various factors. The remoulded

59
 0

*
* A d & d

A h
d

AASHl PROFILE

70 90 110 130 150 170

WATER CONTENT : '/o

Fig. 17 Undrained shear strength vs water content

for Cochin m ~ clay~withe di~erentt r e ~ e ~ t s
re~at~ons~ip

!7000
3
$
f
Lil

5000
0:
Fig. 19 Variations of m ~ s ~ b and e dremo~ded~ ~ a ~
Q.
3
W strengths with liquidity index for Ariake, C o c h and
3000 ~ ~ g ~marine o r clays
e
a
W
3
a
0: behavio~sof C o c h and ~ g ~ marine ~ clays
r e under
g tO0U identical c ~ c ~ t ~can c be
e observed
s to be quite ~ ~ ~ e
iiom each other. This ~ n ~ d ib ~e ~t ao v of ~ two
~i ~these
120 140 160 180 200 220 marine clays can be satisfactorily explained in terns of their
WATER CONTENT : ' h t mineralogy- While the remoulded strength of
d o ~ a nclay
smectite rich Cochin marine clays is mainly a hction of
Fig. I8 ~ n ~ shear e d vs water content
~ strength
d i m e double layer thickness, that of kaolinite d o ~ ~
r e ~ ~ i o n for
s ~~p ~ ~marine
treatments
a clay
l with
o ~ ~~ e r e n t
ore marine clays is d ~ e ~ d on e n particle
~ arrange-
m e n ~ s ofabric
~ as controlled by inter particle a ~ ~ t i ~
~ C h a n et&al,~1996).~ ~
i ~ s greater role in the
~ ~ o ~ ~d t er de n~ r~o p e ~ play
development of clay sensitivity, p ~ c u l a r ~when
y the Fig. 19 illustrates the mdistrubed and remoulded un&&ed
chemical environment of the clay-water system is changed. strengths of C o c h , ~ ~ g ~and o Mra kee marine days as a
§ ~ i ~ v i t varies
y from about 1.0 for heavily over h c t i o n of their liquidity index values. While Indian marine
consolidated clays, over loo0 for the extra sensitive quick clays exhibit a liqui~tyindex less &an 1, Make clay
clays. (Yamaashi profde) has a liquidity index in the range 1.11 to
2.85. Inspite of higher liquidi~index values, Ariake clay
Fig.17 & Fig18 show tbe undrbed shear strengths of possesses m d i s ~~ ~ ~ strengths ~ ~ e~ p tdo ~
Cochin md ~ a n g ~ o rmarine
e clays r e ~ ~ i v e f?om
l~, those of Indian rn&e clays. Bwause of its low ~ m ~ ~
laboratory vane shear tests, as ~ c t i ofo water
~ content. undrained strengths, Ariake clay exhibits extra high
The effects of various chemical treatments to which the clays sensitivity.
are subjected are &o included in. the figures. The

60
 0
a NORWEGIAN
0 o HIGASHI-
0 0 JAPAN
0 .
A e o
0
a
A
.
I I
10 100
SENSITlVlTY
Fig. 20 Sensitivi~as i n ~ u e n by
~ dsalt concentration
Good relationship exists between sensitivity and salt
concentration as sensitivity increases with decrease in salt
concentration (Fig.20). Changes in salt con~ntrationcan
occur because of leaching during isotropic uplift and
subsequent deposition. A slow seepage of fresh water fiom
rainfall or ground water which in course of time may remove
some or all of dissolved salts of the pore water. Adsorbed
cations also affects the sensitivity. Some studies show that
sensitivity is directly proportional to the sum of (Na++ K")
ions and inversely proportional to the (Ca" + Mg") ions.
This is primarily due increase in diffuse double layer
thickness for monovalent ions and decrease in diffuse double
layer thickness for divalent ions. Because of hydrated size of
Na" is morethan K' ions, the diffbse double layer thickness is
more for Na' ions, concentration being same. With the result
sensiti~tyincreases with increase in Na'K' ratio.
In certain cases, inorganic and organic dispersing agents may
be important in quick clay development. The dispersing
agents are i m ~ in ~Swedish, t Japan marine clays which
contains upto 5% organic matter but are not important in
Norwegian marine clays which contains less than 0.5%
organic matter. The other factor which can cause sensitivity
is the structural arrangement of particles built up during the
very slow process of formation of clays in nature. This
structure is considered to be more open or meta stable than
that developed in the relatively very rapid consolidation
process.
Fig.21 presents the variation of sensitivity with the liquidity
index for Norwegian as well as Ariake bay clays of Japan.
While the Indian marine clays plot almost in line with the
Norwegian clays, h a k e clays, p a r t i c ~ ~ lthose
y from
61
500 SHIROlSHl
YAMAASHI
e
t 0
0
~ O R W E G ~ ACLAY
N 0
'
0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8
LlQUIDf TY INDEX
Fig. 21 Liquidity index vs sensitivity for Norwegian and
Japanese marine clays
Yamaashi profile, deviate very much from the Norwegian
clay behaviour as for as the sensitivity is considered.
Fig.22 presents the variation of the sensitivity as a function
of water content ratio (ratio of natural water content to the
liquid li*mit) for results collected from literature. It is seen
that the correlation is good considering the variability is
involved in sampling and testing by various institutions.
FACTORS PRODUCING HIGH SENSITIVITY
It is generally accepted that sensitive soils, be they clayey or
silty, will acquire an open, ffocculated fabric during
sedimen~tion.Flocculated fabric in saline e n v i r o ~ e nmay
t
be due to double layer contraction by high salt concentration
or by adsorption of divalent or trivalent cations or the
presence cementation bonds.
The amorphous material have significant effects on
sensitivity. The amorphous constituents of soils consist of
complex hydroxides of silica, alumina and iron. It has been
observed that a good relation between sensitivity and
amorphous material as increase in sensitivity with decrease
in percentage amorphous materials.
It has been brought out that the Geology, Mineralogy and
Chemical environment under which deposition takes place,
and alteration that takes place subsequent to deposition
(leaching of salts) plays a dominant role in controlling the
engineering properties of marine soils. Physico-chemical

1
= 1.028
0.5 0.9 1.3 1.7 1.9
W,/W,, WATER CONTENT RATIO
Fig.22 Water content ratio vs sensitivity
environment is strongly affected by salt concentration, ion
type, pH of clay-water system, dielectric constant, organic
matter and temperature.
Factors which contribute to high undisturbed strength and
high sensitivity are the depositional flocculation under saline
environment (lesser diffuse double layerflow zeta potential),
slow increase in sediment load and the cementation bonds
developed due to corbonates and sesquioxides
Factors which are responsible for producing low remoulded
strength and high sensitivity are the high water content (w, >
wl,),low specific surface of soil grains (high silt content and
coarser material), large thickness of diffuse double layer
(high zeta potential), low salinity, high monovalent cation
adsorption relative to divalent cation, low amorphous content
and low smectite content.
62
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Understanding the engineering behaviour of marine soils has
become important because of increased off shore and
nearshore geotechnical activities. From the limited literature
available, the Indian marine clays considered to be the
pleistocene to recent origin, to be young and were deposited
in salt or braclush water environment. Montmorillonite or
illite or expanding layer silicates are usually present in Indian
marine clays. Rock forming minerals like feldspar, quartz,
amphibole are present in both clay fraction as well as silt and
sand size fiactions. The amount montmorillonite usually
present is small in the marine clays of other countries in
contrast to large amounts of montmorillonite usually present
in lndian marine clays.
For marine soils, a good relationship exists between liquid
limit and plasticity index. Air drying or oxen drymg prior to
laboratory testing for index and other physical properties
significantly influences the result. Natural moist soil without
prior air drying on oven drying is absolutely essential for
carrying out physical, index and other properties. Based on
the activity (ratio of plasticity index to percent clay size)
Indian marine clays fall in the zone of normal or active zone
whereas other marine clays falls in the range of inactive and
normal zone. The salt content of Indian marine soils are
generally high compared with the salt content of marine clays
of the other parts of the world. Changes in salt concentration
brings out significant variations in the consistency limits
because of variations in diffuse double layer thickness and
net fabric condition. Meachanism controlling various
properties could be explained by these two parameters.
Many investigators related salt concentration to activity of
clays. The low activity of marine soils from other parts of
the world is presumably due to the reduced salt
concentration. Due to high salt concentration, activity is
generally more for Indian marine soils. Good relationship
exists between sensitivity and salt concentration as
sensitivity increases with decrease in salt concentration.
Undrained shear strength of marine clays are strongly
influenced by different treatments which are possible due to
leaching action over a prolonged period. Two distinct
mechanisms viz; (i) variation of diffuse double layer
thickness with forces of repulsion dominating and (ii)
changes in soil fabric with forces of attraction dominating,
control the engineering behaviour. Good correlation exists
between index and strength for undisurbed and remoulded
undrained strength.
 s generally accepted that sensitive soils be they clayey or
silty must have an open, flocculated fabric during
sedimentation.
Sensitivity (ratio of undisturbed to remoudeed undrained
strength) could be high if undisturbed strength is more or
remoulded strength is low or both
High undisturbed strength is primarily due to high
flocculation under saline environment, adsorbtion of high
valency cations, high concentration of ions and cementicious
bonds. Low remoulded strength is primarily due to factors
inducing large thickness of di&e double layer like low
salinity, high monovalent cation with large hydrated size
and low amorphous content.
In general a good straight line correlation exist between
between sensitivity and liquidity index. Since for most
marine clays liquid limit and plasticity index are related well,
sensitivity has also a good correlation with water content
ratio (ratio of natural water cdntent to liquid limit).
Engineering behaviour marine clays is highly complex
because of several parameters involved. Different
mechanisms controlled the physical, physico-chemical and
engineering properties. In view of its importance, systematic
and further detailed studies are required for safe and
economical geotechcal designs connected with these soils.
In view of the involvment of physico-chemical properties in
controlling the engineering behaviour, studies on long term
behaviour acquires greater importance.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author wishes to thank Dr K Prakash, Assistant
Professor, J.C. College of Engineering, Mysore for hls help
in preparing this paper.
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I'
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Chandrakaran, S., Sudhakar Rao, M., and Sridharan, A.
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Datta, M., Gulhati, S.K., and Rao, G.V. (1982),
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Egashira, K. and Ohtsubo, M. (1982), "Smectite in marine
quick clays", Clays and Clay Minerals, Vo1.30,
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Gillot, J.E. (1979), "Fabric, composition and properties of
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Jose, B.T. (1969), "A study of the physical and engineering
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University of Science and Technology. India.
Jose, B.T., Sridharan, A. and Abraham, B.M. (1988),
"Physical properties of Cochin marine clays", Indian
Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 18, No.3, pp-226-244.
Jose, B.T., Sridharan, A and Abraham, B.M. (1988), "A
study of geotechnical properties of Cochin marine clays",
Marine Geotechnology, Vo1.7, pp. 189-209.
Jose, B.T., Sridharan, A and Punnoose, K.K. (1991),
"Geotechnical properteis and electrical characteristics of
Cochin marine clays", Proceedings of institution of
Engineers (India), Vo1.72, pp.41-46.
Locat, J., Lefebvre, G. and Ballivy, G. ( 1 984), "Mineralogy,
chemistry, and physical properties interrelationships of
some sensitive clays from Eastern Canada", Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 21, pp.530-540.
Mohan, D. iind Bhandari, R.K. (1977), "Analysis of some
Indian marine clays", International symposium on soft
clay, Bangkok, Vol. 1, pp.55-74.
Narasimha Rao, S. and Kodandaramaswamy, K. (1984),
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Geotechnical Conference, Calcutta, Vol. 1, pp.5-11.
Ohtsubo, M., Egashira, K. and Takayama, M. (1985),
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sediments", Marine Georesources and Geotechnology,
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Sridharan, A., Rao, S.M., and Murthy, N.S. (1988), "Liquid
limit of kaolinitic soils", Geotechnique, Vo1.38, No.2,
pp. 19 1- 198.
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Sudhakar M. Rao, Sridharan, A. and Chandrakaran, S.
( 1990), "Engineering behaviour of uplifted smectite-rich
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Ohtsubo, M., Takayama, M. and Egashira, K. (1982),
"Marine quick clays from Ariake bay area, Japan", Soils
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Penner, E. and Burn, K.N. (1978), "Review of engineering
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Kao. B.M. (1 974), "Geotechnical investigation of the marine
deposits in the Mangalore harbour site", Indian
GeotechnicalJournal, Vo1.4, pp.78-92.
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drilling project, Leg 75, Hole 532 A", Marine
Georesources and Geotechnology, Vol. 12, No.4,
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The marine geotechnical consortium ( 1994), "Geotechnical
properties of Northwest Pacific pelagic clays: Deep sea
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Georesources and Geotechnology, Vol. 12, No.4,
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Rao, B.M. and Pranesh, M.R. (1978), "Marine clays along

west coast of India", proceedings of Indian Geotechnical
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Sridharan, A., Rao, S.M., and Murthy, N.S. (1986a), "Liquid

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rapid method to identifL clay type in soils by free swell
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
G E 0 &, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

GEOTECHNICAL CHALLENGES IN OFFSHORE FACILITIES DESIGN AND

CONSTRUCTION
M. Hariharan
Marine Engineering Department, Engineers India Limited, New DeIhi, India

SYNOPSIS - The paper describes the various aspects in the design and construction of offshore platforms where inputs
from Geotechnical engineering are required. The current state of Technology, the various uncertainties and unresolved
issues and the areas in which additional research and development work is required are identified and elaborated.

INTRODUCTION The topics are limited to fixed steel offshore platforms

There are several aspects in design and construction of
offshore facilities, which rely significantly on the
evaluation, interpretation, and application of principles of
sound Geotechnical Engineering. The subsea soil is a
heterogeneous mixture, and its composition and properties
vary significantly at different locations. Systematic
research and development work over the past few decades
has resulted in the conversion of highly variable and
empirical relationships into analytical expressions and
incorporation in analysis and design of components of
offshore facilities. This paper deals with the design aspects
in general and Indian offshore industry experience in
pariicular, with respect to Geotechnical practice.
THE PROBLEMS
The various problems to be tackled by the Geotechnical
engineer in the design and construction of an offshore
facility, in the Indian context, are as follows:
Geotechnical Investigation and Interpretation
Determination of Jackup rig spudcan penetration
Determination of the effect of spudcan penetration on
piling design
Determination of Pile Ultimate Axial Capacity curves
Determination of Soil Resistance to Pile movement (P-
y etc. curves)
Determination of Pile Group Behaviour.
Determination of Potential for seabed instability and its
effect on analysis and design of piles
Pile Driveability analysis and segmentation
Determination of Jacket leg penetration into seabed
Determination of Bearing capacity of shallow
foundations - Mudmat design
since these are the only types being constructed in India.
The Indian practice, some of the unresolved issues and
potential research problems are described in the following
sections.
GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION AND
INTERPRETATION
The entire offshore platform is supported by a few piles. It
is therefore necessary to design the piles safely and
adequately. The subsea soil varies significantly from
location to location. Figure 1 shows typical soil profiles at
different fields in some Indian offshore fields. It is
necessary to know the details of the soil profile at any
specific location. The extent of Geotechnical investigation
required to be performed for a specific project would
depend on the size of the platform and its details. The
worldwide practice varies from only a limited number of
boreholes fur an entire field to a few deep and a number of
small boreholes for a single platform. The Indian practice
is to have one borehole per platform. The depth of
investigation is generally 100-120 metres.
Normally, core sampling is specified to be taken at every
metre interval for the top 20 - 30 meters and every 3
metres thereafter. Insitu cone penetration test is conducted
at about 5 metre intervals for 2-3 metres. The following are
the tests conducted at the field and in the shore-based
laboratory:
Atterberg Limits
Moisture content
Grain Size Distribution
Density, Relative density and Specific Gravity
Torvane
0 Motorvane

67
 0 Pocket Penetrometer
0 Undrained Triaxial Tests
0 Carbonate content
0 Chemical Tests on Soil and Water
Based on the study of the results, the following
Engineering parameters are determined and furnished in
the Soil Report:
Soil stratification and design engineering parameters
Pile Ultimate Axial Capacity curves
Soil Resistance to pile movement (p-y, t-z and q-z curves)
Mudmat Bearing Capacity Expressions
The parameters for piles depend on the size (diameter) of
the pile, which is not known at the time of investigation
and reporting. The values are furnished for a few
preselected pile diameters. If the design uses other pile
sizes, the designer can determine the parameters for those
sizes.
JACKUP RIG SPUDCAN PENETRATION
The Jackup drilling rig used to drill the wells is supported
by three or four legs and each leg has a large diameter
footing, commonly known as spud can. The stability of the
rig during operating and survival storm conditions depends
on the support provided by the soil to the spudcan. At the
time of jacking the rig is loaded with ballast such that the
maximum leg reacti0.n is achieved at this stage itself, and
the spudcan penetrates into the soil and reaches the stratum
where the requisite bearing capacity is obtained. No further
penetration is allowed during operating or storm conditions
(Le Tirant, 1993).
The main problem to be solved in this stage is the
estimation of the penetration of the spudcan, and to
establish that a punch-through phenomenon does not take
place. Punch-through is a phenomenon likely to take place
in locations where a stronger layer of small thickness
exists over a weaker layer. As the loading increases, the
stronger upper layer suddenly gives way, resulting in a
sudden increase in the penetration in one leg, tilting of the
rig and potential damage to the legs (Fujii et al, 1989).
Accurate determination of the above aspects is necessary
to determine if the location is suitable at all for drilling and
also if a specific rig is safe and adequate for drilling at the
location.
The penetration of a spudcan is calculated by different
approaches. The most common approach is to evaluate the
ultimate bearing capacity at different depths, and the depth
at which the bearing capacity equals the pre-load pressure
on the spudcan is the penetration (Endley et al, 1981 ). This
approach is simplistic and adequate for some purposes.
68
However, it is not adequate for an accurate determination
of the penetration in many other cases. Similarly, the
phenomenon of punch through cannot be predicted
accurately. It also does not give any information on the
amount of disturbance the adjacent area undergoes when
the spudcan pushes through the soil.
A parametric elasto-plastic finite element analysis
considering the large deformation and failure of the soil as
the spudcan penetrates through it would give the requisite
insight into the phenomenon. The development of the
model and the analysis procedure, however, is quite
involved and time consuming. An experimental
investigation would be able to provide the initial feedback,
and serve as a starting point for computer analysis. Several
investigations have been conducted using centrifuges.
EFFECT OF SPUDCAN PENETRATION ON PILE
DESIGN
The spudcan creates a crater during the jacking up
operation. The crater remains for all times. It does not get
filled up automatically. The front row piles of the wellhead
platform are very close to the edge of the hole (refer Fig.
2a). It is necessary to consider the effect of the proximity
of the crater in the design of the piles of the well platform.
This is taken care of in the fo€lowingmanner:
(a) The penetration operation is assumed not to affeet the
pile, i.e., the displacement of the soil during the jacking
operation does not deform the pile temporarily or
permanently.
(b) The proximity of the crater to the piles is assumed to
reduce the lateral resistance of the soil to pile
movement. This is incorporated in the analysis in the
form of reduced shear strength of the soil while
determining the p-y curves. In the initial years, a zone
of soil above a line inclined at 30/45 deg. to the
horizontal from the edge of the spudcan was assumed
to be ‘disturbed soil’ (refer Fig. 2b), totally ineffective
in supporting the pile. This assumption was very
conservative and was not critical when the penetrations
were small. It was reviewed when the penetrations
were large. Considering that the disturbed soil would at
least be in the remoulded stage when the design storm
attacks the platform reduced the conservatism. Later,
the definition of the ‘disturbed zone’ was revised based
on field measurements conducted by different agencies.
Currently, the definition of the disturbed zone is a
cylindrical space of diameter equal to 2.5 times the
spudcan diameter, centred on the centre of the spudcan,
and extending from seabed to the estimated penetration
(refer Fig. 2c).
There are no published rigorous analytical or experimental
investigations to establish the extent of conservatism
involved in ~ s ~ p t i (b)
o nand whether assumption (a) is
justified. The parametric finite element analysis suggested
in the previous section can be extended to verifL and if
possible update the above assuniptions.
DETERMINATION OF PILE AXIAL CAPACITY
CURVES
Practically all offshore platforms in Indian offshore are
steel jacket type with tubular, driven piles. One of the most
critical aspects of pile design is the determination of the
pile ulti~ateaxial capacity for different pene~ations.The
configuration of the jacket aQdthe size and number of piles
is determined based on thts information. The optimum
design of the jacket structure thus depends critically on the
pile axial capacity predictions.
Several methods have been developed to determine the
axial capacity of driven piles. The axial capacity is the sum
of the skin friction capacity and the end bearing. The most
commonly used method for determination of the skin
friction capacity in clays is the ‘alpha’ method, wherein the
ultimate friction between the pile and the soil is defined as
a fraction (‘alpha’) of the undrained shear strength of the
soil. The coefficient ‘a’has been determined based on
tests, primarily on land piles, and is a function of the
eflective overburden pressure, shear strength and degree of
consolidation in clayey soils. The skin friction is a function
of the effective overburden pressure, and the angle of
internal hction in sands. In sands, however, a I i i n i t i ~ ~
value of friction is specified based on the degree of
compaction and the calcium carbonate content. The
ultimate skin friction is computed using the preferred
procedure at different points along the depth of the pile,
and cumulated to obtain the total friction capacity of the
pile.
The end bearing of the pile is co~putedbased on whether
the pile would be ‘plugged’ or ‘unplugged’ at the
penetration. The pile is considered ‘plugged’ if the total
cross section of the pile can be considered to support the
bearing pressure of the soil. This happens when the end
bearing over the soil plug area is less than the skin friction
of the soil plug over the inner wall of the pile.
Many methods have been used to in the past to compute
the ultimate axial capacity of the piles in Indian offshore
locations, which are primarily clay strata. The most
common ones were the API Para 2 method (NI, 1993),
and the Lambda Method (Vijayvergiya and Focht, 1972,
Kraft et al, 1981). Currently the New API method (API.
1993) is being followed. This is considered to be less
conservative and more reliable than the earlier methods for
Indian offshore conditions, One parameter, which is not
69
defined in API, which is subject to individual judgement,
is the length parameter. The computed friction capacity of
the pile is stated to be reduced due to the fact that at
ultimate loading level, different portions along the len@li
of the pile will experience different amounts of relative
motion between soil and pile. Considering that the
frictional resistance of the soil also exhibits a strain-
softening behaviour, the full theoretical capacity would not
be mobilised at any time. The ratio between the mobilised
capacity and theoretical capacity assuming simultaneous
mobilisation of ultimate skin friction is defined as the
length effect factor. Different formulae have been defined
for this factor, and an improper choice can result in the
results being unrealistic. Normally a conservative estimate
is adopted, which counteracts all the advances made in
definition of the alpha factor. Research in this topic
continues (Lacasse and Nadim, 1996, Kolk and van der
Velde, 1996).
There have been very little experimental investigations on
the axial capacity of deep, slender marine piles. It is
recognised that the investigations are quite expensive. A
well-conceived field investigation program can give a
significant amount of data, which can help rationalise the
computation of axial capacity of driven piles in various
types of soils.
DETERMINATIO~ OF SOIL R E S ~ ~ T A N C ETO
PILE MOVEMENT
The term ‘soil resistance to pile movement’ is used in this
paper as a generic term that defines the resistance offered
by the soil when a pile, subject to different types of loads
moves against it. The normal terms used in the industry
are, p-y curves to define the resistance to lateral
movement, t-z curves to define skin friction resistance, and
q-z curves to define the end bearing resistance. Generally
these curves are defined as nonlinear load (or pressure) -
displacement relationships. The computer programs
available today can accommodate such a relationship in the
analysis of piles. The p-y curves are the more critical of the
values and influence the pile design.
The development of these curves as parametric
relationships has been based on experiments on model
piles, which were of small diameter. The industry
extrapolates these to very large piles (API, 1993). The
validity of such an extrapolation is not established.
although it is believed to be conservative. There are
instances in soft soil locations where the design bendiIi~
stress in the pile due to lateral loading is very large 011
account of the conservatism involved in the extrapolation
procedure (Hamilton and Murff, 1995). The parametric
relationships can be updated only on the basis of
investigations on large diameter piles in different types of’
soils. Such an investigation is feasible, although somewhat
expensive. It is also possible to perform a nonlinear finite
element analysis of the pile-soil system using the material
properties of the soil from field tests, and find the bending
moment and deflection along the length of the pile subject
to different mabmitudes of lateral loading. The back
analysis of the pile would result in the load-deflection
relationship at different points along the length. The p-y
curve is a generalisation of such a load deflection
relationship for a given soil. The above procedure is
critically dependent on the accuracy of the nonlinear
constitutive relationships for different types of soils. A
parametric analysis, however, is expected to give a greater
insight into the relationship than is available at present.
DETERMINATION OF PILE GROUP BEHAVIOUR
It is known that when a group of piles located at a close
spacing and connected at the pilehead is subjected to axial
or lateral loading, the deformation of the group is greater
than the deformation of a single pile subjected to the same
average load per pile. The group effect of piles is to reduce
the axial capacity of the piles, if they are located closer
than a specified value. Normal!y the piles are located at a
minimum spacing of 3 times the pile diameter. At this
spacing, there is no reduction in capacity of individual
piles. The group capacity is equal to the sum of the
capacities of the piles in the group.
The more critical aspect in the design of piles is the effect
on the behaviour under lateral loads. The lateral
deformations increase considerably. There is an increase in
bending stresses, which would require higher wall
thickness of the pile at and below mudline. The point of
maximum bending moment shifts slightly downward and
the zone of higher wall thickness is to be extended further
down.
The pile group behaviour has been studied and methods to
estimate the same and incorporate it in the soil-pile-
structure interaction analysis have been proposed (Focht
and Koch, 1973, and Poulos, 1988). Hariharan and
Kumarasamy (1 982) developed a procedure compatible
with the p-y approach used in the interaction analysis. The
procedure was verified with published experimental results
on single and groups of piles. It was found that the use of
the p-y curves for a single pile based on recommended
procedures was not adequate to predict the behaviour of
the single pile in the experiments. The curves were
adjusted to obtain the behavour of single piles to match the
experimental results. Application of the modification of p-
y curves for group behaviour thereafter resulted in a very
good prediction of the behaviour of the group. The paper
emphasised the need for more accurate determination of
the p-y curves for a single pile.
70
SEABED INSTABILITY AND ITS EFFECT ON PILE
DESIGN
Fields in somewhat small water depths (less than 50
metres) which have top layers of soft clay have the
potential for wave induced soil movement, and, in extreme
cases, submarine mudslides, under storm wave conditions
(Henkel, 1970). The potential for submarine mudslides
exists in areas with high rates of soil deposition such as
river deltas, where the topsoil is underconsolidated. The
effect can be felt in deeper waters near river deltas, where
the topsoil is an underconsolidated sediment deposition
and there is a slope in the seabed. The differential pressure
exerted by the wave crest and trough on the seabed result
in shear deformation and consequent movement of the soil
mass in a cyclic manner. It is necessary to evaluate the
movement profile of the soil and to accommodate it in
design. The lateral resistance of the soil, defined by the p-y
curve, is considered to be valid for the relative movement
between the soil and the pile. If the movement of the pile is
greater than the movement of the soil, the soil offers
resistance to the movement of the pile. Otherwise, it exerts
a load on the pile. This effect can be accounted for in many
standard programs.
Physically, the effect of this phenomenon is to reduce the
resistance offered by the soil to lateral loading, thereby
increasing the bending stresses in the pile. The
displacement of the pile (jacket) at mudline would also
increase considerably, which is to be accommodated in the
design of other components.
Generally, the calculation of the soil movement is based on
static computations considering the worst (highest) storm
wave. This is likely to be quite conservative. If the soil
mass were to be treated as an elastic medium with mass,
stiffness and damping, subject to random dynamic pressure
fluctuations, and the problem analysed as a random
vibration problem, it is likely to result in a less
conservative prediction of the soil movement.
In case of submarine mudslides, the movement of the soil
is unidirectional and much larger than the pile movement,
and thus would exert a very large lateral load on the pile.
Fortunately, the need to install a platform has not arisen in
Indian Offshore areas with a potential for mudslides
The potential for wave induced liquefaction needs to be
evaluated in areas where loose sands are present. The
phenomenon is similar to liquefaction caused by
earthquakes, but less understood.
PILE DRIVEABILITY ANALYSIS AND PILE
SEGMENTATION
The offshore pile is approximately 150 - 170 metres long.
It is not possible to install such a length of pile in one
piece. It has to be segmented to suit the requirements and
limitations of the crane of the derrick barge, the proposed
hammers and the size of the pile. The hammers to be used
to dnve the pile are determined based on the resistance to
be overcome at different penetrations. A series of
driveability analyses are performed to determine the
hammer to be used at different penetrations.
The pile driveability analysis is based on the wave
equation analysis technique developed by Smith (1960).
One of the most important factors necessary for the proper
interpretation of the results is the determination of soil
resistance to driving p u t t et al, 1995). It is considered that
the computation of resistance to driving is not sufficiently
rigorous. Further, since there are substantial variations in
the soil properties, it is advantageous to determine the
driveability based on an upper and a l o w r bound to the
resistance to driving.
One of the critical aspects in determining the segmentation
of the piles is the consideration to avoid the phenomenon
of pile run-down. Run-down is defined as an uncontrolled
large movement of the pile during the early stages of
driving. It occurs if the energy of the hammer required to
overcome the soil resistance to driving is much smaller
than the energy imparted by the hammer. The pile acquires
a momentum and rushes through the soil till the resistance
is adequate to stop the pile. Run downs can cause damage
to the top of the jacket and/or the pile and result in a
substantial increase in the installation time and cost. A
careful evaluation of the rundown potential is required, and
steps to avoid rundown or at least accommodate it by
means of adjusting pile segmentation, choice of hammer
and provision of intermediate stoppers in the pile are
required during the design of the pile. Back analysis of
past rundown experience could provide useful insight
(Bhowal and Nanda, 1999)
JACKET LEG PENETRATION INTO SEABED
The jacket leg is normally closed during launch, free
floatation and upending stages. The closure may be a rigid
plate in case. of legs without piles driven through them, or
flexible rubber diaphragms, if a pile is to be dnven through
them. Mudmats are provided to support the jacket self
weight and other loads experienced during installation. At
the time of jacket installation, it is to be ensured that the
jacket sits properly on the mudmats and is reasonably
level.
71
Normally the jacket leg protrudes by a small distance
beyond the mudmat. When the platform is being installed
in a location with very strong topsoil, it is likely that the
leg does not penetrate into the soil, but rests on the soil
The mudmat is at a height above the seabed. As the
installation proceeds, the leg may or may not suddenly
penetrate into the soil. Both have adverse impact on the
final construction. If the leg penetrates into the soil, it
would cause the already installed piles to bend, and
possibly overstress them. The leg does not penetrate into
the soil, the resulting final elevation of the jacket would be
higher and that would call for additional offshore work to
set the deck at the right elevation. Some problems in
grouting have also been experienced in such cases.
The problem can be solved, or at least minimised if the leg
penetration is evaluated and accounted for in deciding pile
installation sequence, mudmat design etc. The evaluation
of leg penetration into the soil normally follows the same
procedure as for evaluation of penetration of spudcan of
the Jackup rig.
BEARING CAPACITY OF SHALLOW
FOUNDATIONS - MUDMAT DESIGN
The jacket structure is provided with mudmats, which
would act as temporary foundations of the jacket until the
pile driving is completed and the piles grouted with the
sleeves. The mudmats of a jacket experience higher
proportion of horizontal design loads compared to normal
onshore foundations. They are not embedded into the soil.
Further, there is no specific limitation on foundation
settlement.
The mudmat is designed to carry the self-weight of the
jacket, piling and the environmental loads during
installation period (Helfrich et al, 1980). The weight and
location of the centre of gravity of the piling is determined
based on the stage of the piling operation, and the
adequacy of mudmat is verified for every stage of the
piling operation.
If the jacket rests on reasonably strong soils, four
individual mudmats would be provided at the four corners
of the jacket. The ultimate bearing capacity of individual
mudmats is computed as a stress using normal procedures.
Usually, the four pieces of the mudmat are treated as one
rigid unit bearing the total imposed loads. The maximiiin
bearing stress under the various loading conditions i s
computed at all the corners of the mudmat elements. The
bearing stress at any corner point is limited to the
permissible bearing stress i.e., Ultimate bearing stress
divided by factor of safety.
There is a minor conservatism involved in limiting the
maximum corner point stress tcj the permissible bearing
stress of the entire mudmat. In case of isolated mudmats,
this conservatism is not significant.
At poor soil locations, the corner mudmats are not
adequate to transmit the jacket and other loads safely to the
soil. It is quite often necessary to provide a single mudmat
covering most of the base area of the jacket, sometimes,
even beyond the base area. (See Fig. 3). The design of
mudmats in such cases is extremely challenging. The
following are the major aspects.
(a)The mudmat d e s i p is extremely sensitive to
installation sequence. The sequence has to be firmed
UP.
(b)There is no major scope for conservatism. Even
substantially large increase in mudmat area may not
increase the factor of safety substantially.
(c) Such a mudmat has very large lateral dimensions. The
influence of the bearing pressure will be experienced to
a large depth. Computation of bearing capacity
becomes that much more complicated, since usually a
large variation in the soil properties is experienced in
this depth of influence. Further, normal methods of
averaging the shear strength over a depth range may
produce high bearing capacities for the total foundation,
but result in localised failure of the soil due to weak top
layers. Some platforms had experienced tilting during
installation.
(d) Usually, the practice of limiting the extreme point
pressure to the permissible soil bearing pressure (which
is an average pressure) can result in a conservatism of
upto 33 percent in factor of safety. This needs to be
carefully balanced with the relation between local and
global faiI lire.
(e) There is no published theoretical or experimental
investigation on the bearing capacity of foundations
with a hole (refer Fig. 3).
(f)Since such mudmats are very large, they are expensive
installation aids. Further, on account of large weight,
they impose additional requirements on the, jacket,
adding to the total cost of installation. It is therefore
advantageous to optimise the design of such mudmats.
The current practice in India is to consider the largest size
of a triangle or rectangle that can reasonably be fitted into
the shape of the mudmat at a corner. This portion can be
considered to be somewhat uniformly loaded. . The
permissible bearing pressure of the equivalent mudmat
shape is used as the limiting bearing pressure at the corner.
This has been successful in many cases, but tilting of the
jacket was experienced in some cases. Certainly an
72
investigation, both analytical and experimental, into
bearing capacity of large mudmats with holes, in soils of
varying shear strength profile, would be very beneficial.
CONCLUSIONS
The paper describes the various aspects in the design of
offshore platforms in which inputs from Geotechnical
Engineering is required. The current state of technology,
the various unsolved problems and uncertainties, and areas
where additional research and development work is
required are identified and elaborated. It is hoped that the
paper would help researchers get an overall idea of the
design process and enable them to select and pursue
research topics of interest to the industry.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank the management of Engineers
India Limited for permission to publish this paper, and Dr.
A Nanda for the critical review and suggestions.
REFERENCES
American Petroleum Institute (1993), API RP 2A:
Recommended Practice for Planning, Designing and
Constructing Fixed Offshore Platforms - Working Stress
Design.
Bhowal, S. and Nanda, A. (1999), Rundown of Offshore
Piles, Proceedings, GEOSHORE.
Dutt, R. N., Doyle, E. H., Collins, J. T. and Ganguly, P.
(1995), A Simple Model to Predict Soil Resistance to
Driving for Long Piles in Deepwater Normally
Consolidated Clays, Ofjshore Technoloa Confkrence,
OTC7668.
Endley, S. N., Rapaport, V., Thompson, P. J. and Baglioni,
V. P. (1981), Prediction of Jackup Rig Footing Penetration.
Ofj%horeTechnology Conference, OTC4 144.
Focht, J.A. and Koch, K.J. (1973), Rational Analysis of the
Lateral Performance of Offshore Pile Groups, Ofisshore
Technology Conference,OTCl896.
Fujii, T., Kobayashi, T. and Tagaya, K. (1989), Punch
Through Encountered in India and Indonesia, Ojihore
TechnologyConference,OTC6 124.
Hamilton, J. M. and Murff, J. D. (1999, Ultimate Lateral
Capacity of Piles in Clay, Qfihore Technology
Conference,OTC7667.
Hariharan, M. and Kumarasamy, K. (1983), Analysis of
Pile Groups Subjected to Lateral Loads, Behaviour of
Ofshore Structures, pp383-390.
Helfiich, C., Young, A.G. and Clarence, J. (1980),
Temporary Seafloor Support of Jacket Structures, 0flYhot-e
Technology Conference, OTC3750.
Henkel, D.J. (1970), The Role of Waves in Causing
Submarine Landslides, Geotechnique, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp.
75-80.
Kolk, H. J. and van der Velde, E. (1996), A Reliable
Method to Determine Friction Capacity of Piles Driven
into Clays, Qfshore Technology Conference, OTC7993.
Lacasse, S. and Nadim, F. (1976), Model Uncertainty in
Pile Axial Capacity Calculations, OfiYhore Technology
Conference, OTC7996.
73
Le Tirant, P. (1979), Seabed Reconnarssance and (?fjihorc
Soil Mechanics .fbr the lnstaliatron of I'elroleuni
Structures, Editions Technip, Paris.
Le Tirant, P. (1 993), Stability and Operation of' ,Jackups,
Editions Technip, Paris.
Poulos, H. G. (1988), Marine (hitechnics, Unwin Hyinan,
London
Smith, E. A. L. (1960), Pile Driving Analysis by Wave
Equation, J. So11Mech. & Foundatmn I h v . , ASCE. Vol.
86, NO. SM4, pp. 35-61.
Vijayvergiya, V. N., and Focht, J. A. (1972), A New Way
to Predict the Capacity of Piles in Clay, (?fjshorc
Technology (lonference, OTC 171 8.
GEO--, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

RESPONSE OF OFFSHORE PILE FOUNDATIONS

P.J. Hazarikal and G . Ramasamy2
'Research Scholar, 2Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Roorkee, Roorkee, U.P., India

SYNOPSIS- Pile foundations are fiequently used for supporting offshore and nearshore structures. Pile groups in such
environments are subjected to complex loading conditions necessitating a comprehensive analytical procedure for a proper
evaluation of foundation response. The paper presents a method for three dimensional pile group analysis wherein the
commonly encountered situations for such foundations can be accommodated. The procedure frrst evaluates the individual
pile response under possible axial, lateral and torsional loading, which are then utilised to estimate the group response. The
procedure has been programmed in C and used to solve some typical nearshore pile foundation problems. The software can
be utilized for a rapid estimation of various pile group configurations in arriving at an optimum design solution.

INTRODUCTION The behaviour of a pile foundation is greatly

Piles are commonly adopted as foundation for a wide
variety of marine structures. In the field of oil and gas
exploration, pile foundations support offshore platforms of
the steel template type. Recently, they have been
effectively used for tension leg platforms also. Piles are
frequently used for nearshore structures like jetties,
wharves, berthing and mooring dolphins etc. (Fig.1) which
act as service platforms facilitating passenger and cargo
handling facilities at ports. Piled foundations, thus, have
an important role to play in the offshore and nearshore
construction environment, and calls for adequate attention
to be focussed towards their proper analysis and design.
SALIENT ASPECTS OF THE PROBLEM
Pile foundations are provided in groups . They are
subjected to large axial and lateral loads. The gravity loads
fiom the superstructure are transmitted as axial
compressive loads to the supporting soil. In the case of
offshore pile groups, it is the lateral load component
which is critical in the performance of such foundations.
High lateral loads are imparted in offshore platforms from
environmental forces like ocean waves, wind, thrust fiom
ice sheets in cold regions, etc. Nearshore structures have to
resist large lateral loads during berthing of ships against
them. Further, the lateral loads may act eccentrically
inducing torsional loads on the foundation. A pile group
may be subjected to partial uplift under lateral loading, or
may have to support the superstructure under full uplift as
in the case of tension leg platforms.
influenced by the geotechnical characteristics of the soil in
which it is constructed. The soil deposit often occurs in
layers, with properties varying erratically with depth. The
pile installation procedure affects the pile-soil interface
behaviour. Appropriate modeling of the pile-soil system is
an essential pre-requisite towards a realistic estimation of
the foundation response.
A pile group is essentially a three dimensional
structure, and may contain both vertical and batter piles to
effectively resist the imposed loading. The loading pattern
on the foundation may also be three dimensional . The
piles in a group may be of different lengths (as in a slope),
and may have varying sectional properties. Also, the
piles have a considerable free standing length in water.
Given this scenario, it is obvious that the behaviour
of such a foundation could be quite complex, necessitating
a detailed evaluation of the foundation response. This calls
for a comprehensive analytical procedure which can
accommodate all the probable situations and provide
solution based on which the safety of the structure can be
satisfactorily assessed.
This paper presents a numerical procedure for three
dimensional pile group analysis wherein the above
mentioned aspects have been adequately accounted for.
ANALYTICAL PROCEDURE
In a pile group, the loads from the superstructure are
transmitted through the pile cap to each pile in the group.
The sum total of the individual pile response gives the
group response. As such, the response of the individual

75
piles need to be pre-evaluated for estimation of goup Analysis of Pile under Axial Compressive Loading
behaviour. A brief outline of the procedures for analysis of
single piles as well as pile groups is presented here. The response of a pile to axial compressive loading can be
depicted by a load-settlement curve. This can be obtained
from field tests; however being very expensive and time
consuming, they are always not feasible. An alternate way
is the analytical gene~tion of load-settlement curve
utilizing the geotechnical characteristics of the soil
deposit. The load transfer approach (Coyle and
0 0 0 0 0 0 Reese(1966), Vijayvergiya( 1977)) is particularly suitable
A for such a purpose in that it can readily accommodate
"n
com~onlyencountered pile-soil situations like layered
soil deposits, pile with sectional variations etc. This
procedure (Fig.2) has been adopted for evaluation of pile
0 0 0 0 0 0
response under axial compressive loading, which is then
appropriatelymodeled into the group analysis.
I
-
LEVEL^
I

.I
SEA
r=:

u s i n g load transfer
c u r v e s a n d soil
p r o p e r t i e s to
obtain:
J
8
SECTION A-A
h

(a) PILED W H A R F E
v
E
c.
B - 7 s=
W
'T yT
d
5
c
I

Discretization of W
U3
Pile Shaft
' B' 2 'I I I I I I I I Y l
Load-Settlement Curve

Figure 2 Estimation of Axial Load-Settlement

Behaviour of Single Pile ( Coyle & Keese, 1966 ).

Analysis of Pile under Uplift Loading

As already mentioned, some or all of the piles may be

subjected to uplift loads. The response of such a pile is
SECTION B-6 similar to that under compressive loading; however, due to
( b ) PILED PIER absence of tip resistance, the pile has to resist the uplift
loading entirely by shaft resistance. Further, the soil shear
Figure 1 Typical Nearshore Pile Foundations strength parameters as applicable under uplift are reported
to be different from that under compression, and have to

76
be properly selected. Keeping these aspects in view, an
algorithm has been developed for evaluation of load-
displacement behaviour of piles under uplift, utilizing the
load transfer approach as adopted for compressive loading.
The response so obtained is made available to the group
analysis procedure for representing the piles under uplift.
Analysis of Pile under Lateral Loading
The analysis of a pile under lateral loading is performed
utilizing the beam on elastic foundation concept,
employing finite difference technique for solving the
governing differential equation. The advantage of this
approach is in its ability to accommodate layered soil
deposits, pile of varying cross-sections, various pile head
conditions etc. The soil strength charac~e~sticsis
represented by its subgrade modulus which is
appropriately selected from available knowledge base. The
procedure (Fig.3) is used to generate a load-deflection
curve from which the response of the pile c m be estimated
for inclusion in the group analysis.
Analysis of Pile under Torsional Loading
A pile group expenences torsional loading when the
lateral loads act eccentrically on the foundation.
Procedures are available for evaluation of single pile
yuM
L=(n-1 ).h h = node.
spacing
I Y t connected to the pile cap. The group is subjected to an
I I Lateral Load-Deflection Curve
40
4-1
Discretization of
Pile Shaft
Figure 3 E ~ t i r n a ~of
i o Lateral
~ Load Deflection
Behaviour of Single Pile.
77
response under torsional loading (Poulos, 1975), but
involve constraints like homogenous soil profile, pile of
constant cross-section, etc. On the other hand ,it has been
observed that the principal group torsional resistance is
obtained fkom pile head shear, and the contribution of
individual piles for this purpose is very small. As such,
the group response is quite insensitive to the numerical
value of the torsional pile response used in the analysis.
This permits a simplified evaluation of the torsional
stiffness of the pile (Bowles, 1996) which has been adopted
here.
Evaluation of Group Response
The response of individual piles as described above need
to be approp~atelyinco~oratedin the total analysis to
obtain the group response. This response consists of the
forces and displacements developed in each pile in the
group. In the present analysis, a matrix procedure (Bowles,
1996) has been utilized for estimating the response of a
three dimensional pile group. The procedure is compatible
with the solution provided by the single pile analyses, can
handle both vertical and batter piles and accomii~odateall
possible loading c~mbinations on the foundation. An
outline of the procedure is given in Fig.4.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The proposed analytical procedure has been programmed
in C and used to solve some typical pile foundation
problems pertinent to nearshore structures. The results
obtained are presented here and discussed to bring out
certain salient aspects of pile group response under typical
nearshore loading conditions.
A pile foundation for a jetty structure consisting of
12 piles as shown in Fig.5 is considered. In the first case
(Case I), ail the piles are considered vertical shown by
solid lines in Fig.5. The foundation is formed in a layered
soil deposit having varying stiffness properties. The piles
are of 0.750~1diameter and have a freestanding len&h of
10 m in water. The pile heads are considered rigidly
axial load Py=2000 kN and lateral load QY =loo0 kN as
shown in Fig. 5 .The results are presented in column 2 of
Table 1 in the form of pile cap displacementsand forces at
the pile head. It is observed that the large lateral load
acting on the foundation in conjunction with the
freestanding pile length produces a lateral deflection Ax =
0.049 m which may be critical from design considerations.
The bending moments developed in the piles are also quite
large (M,= 521.5 Nm).
In the second case (Case 2), an alte~ative
c o n ~ g ~ t i o nwherein
, the corner piles are battered, is
considered. Here, the four corner piles are provided a
batter of 1H: 4V and are oriented at 45" with respect to the
horizontal axes as shown by the dotted lines in Fig.5.The
loading and soil conditions are same as in Case 1. From
the results (column 3 of Table l), considerable reduction
of cap displacement in lateral direction is observed, with
Ax now being 0.02m7as compared to 0.049 m in Case 1.
Bending moments are also reduced, with maximum being
Mv=242.8kNm. However biaxial bending is developed in
the corner piles, with Mw=171 kNm. There is a
considerable variation both in the nature and magnitude of
axial load in various piles of the group. The corner piles 9
and 12 are subjected to a maximum compressive loading
of 972.9 kN and the corner piles 1 and 4 are subjected to
a maximum uplift load of 643 kN.

Three Dimensional Analysis of Pile Foundations

: A Pictorial Outline

GI

L o c a l pile
coordinate
system

F, : Axial Load
F, ,F,, F,. : Mutually I'
External l o a d s ' o n group :

C a p displacements : ---\ \--

Ax Ay ,Az ;@-x,OCy,OCz \ \
\ \ DENSE
\ \ SAND

I Compute pile constants from P-Z

Q-Y response of single pile
t
I CSI
SECTION A-A
\ \
LA
PILE DIA = 0.75rn
PI LE SPACING I 3.0 m
Compute cap constants PILE LENGTH I 2 5 m

[PI =[K] ,[XI Figure 5 Pile Foundation for a Jetty Structure.

clap d i s p l a c e m e n t
PI = w1- [PI
t
Compute individual p i l e h e a d
d isDla ce rn e nts The above two examples provide an insight into the
4 behaviour of a pile group under loading. The configuration
Compute individual pile forces of the pile group is an important factor affecting the cap
and m o m e n t s
movements and forces developed in each pile. Batter piles
1
I -7E v a l u a t e sroup stability
help to decrease lateral cap deflection and bending
moments in piles; however, axial forces in the piles
increase considerably. The lateral load is critical in the
Figure 4 Evaluation of Group Response. performance of such foundations ,and guides the selection
of pile size, length and group geometry. The output results

78
bring out the three dimensional nature of the pile response, Table 1 (Contd.) : Results of Pile Group Analysis
from which the limitations of conventional two
Description Case 1 Case 2
dimensional analysis is apparent. The program is suitable
All Piles Vertical Corner Piles
for quick evaluation of group response for various
Battered
probable configurations in order to arrive at an optimum
(1) (3)
solution.
Lateral
Force,
CONCLUSIONS
Fv, F W ( W
Pile foundations are frequently used for supporting Pile no. 1 0.0 83.3 26.4 26.5
offshore and nearshore structures, and as such, there is a
need for development of analytical procedures for their 2 0.0 83.3 0.0 37.4
proper analysis and design. Such pile groups have typical 3 0.0 83.3 0.0 37.4
characteristics like large fieestanding lengths in water,
high lateral loads (as compared to vertical loads), 4 0.0 83.3 26.4 26.5
5 0.0 83.3 0.0 37.4
Table 1 : Results of Pile Group Analysis 6 0.0 83.3 0.0 37.4
7 0.0 83.3 0.0 37.4
Description Case 1 Case 2
All Piles Vertical Corner Piles 8 0.0 83.3 0.0 37.4
Battered 9 0.0 83.3 26.4 26.1
(1) (3) 10
Cap displacements 0.0 83.3 0.0 37.4

(i) AX, (m)x 10” 49.10 19.60 11 0.0 83.3 0.0 37.4

(ii) AY, (m) x 1 0 - ~ 0.42 0.43 12 0.0 83.3 26.4 26.1

(iii) AZ, (m) x 1 0 - ~ 0.00 0.00 Pile Head-

(iv) a,, (rad) x 10-5 0.00 0.00 Moments,
(v) a,,,(rad) x 10-j 0.00 0.00 Mu, Mv, Mw
(vi) aZ,(rad) x 10-j 9.10 3 1.OO W-m)
Axial Force, Fu(kN)
~~

Pile no. 1 0.0 521.5 0.0 0.3 172.0 171.0

Pileno. 1 1.98 -643.00 2 0.0 521.5 0.0 0.0 242.8 0.0
2 1.98 725.00 3 0.0 521.5 0.0 0.0 242.8 0.0
3 1.98 725.00 4 0.0 521.5 0.0 0.3 172.0 171.0
4 1.98 -643.OO 5 0.0 521.5 0.0 0.0 242.8 0.0
5 11 1.80 355.00 6 0.0 521.5 0.0 0.0 242.8 0.0
6 11 1.80 355.00 7 0.0 521.5 0.0 0.0 242.8 0.0
7 22 1.60 -15.00 8 0.0 521.5 0.0 0.0 242.8 0.0
8 22 1.60 -15.00 9 0.0 521.5 0.0 0.3 169.8 171.0
9 33 1.40 973.00 10 0.0 521.5 0.0 0.0 242.8 0.0
10 33 1.40 -385.00 11 0.0 521.5 0.0 0.0 242.8 0.0
11 33 1.40 -385.00 12 0.0 521.5 0.0 0.3 169.8 171.0
12 33 1.40 973.00 * Negative sign indicates uplift ; 1,4,9, 12 Batter Piles

79
provision of batter piles etc. which have to be accounted
for in the analysis. In the process, pile-soil conditions like
layered soil deposits, installation effects, etc. need to be
realistically modeled. The proposed analytical procedure
can readily accommodate all these aspects of the problem.
The output results can be easily interpreted for estimating
the various response parameters of the foundation. In
arriving at a design solution , considerable trial solutions
need to be evaluated. The software developed for the
purpose is particularly suitable for such situations. With its
considerable user-friendly facilities and built-in
knowledge base, the software could be effectively used as
a CAD package in design offices.

References

Bowles,J.E.( 1996), Foundation Analysis

“

and Design”, McGraw Hill Book Co., New

York.
Coyle,H.M., and Reese,L.C.( 1966), “Load
Transfer for Axially Loaded Piles in Clay”,
Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundations
Division, ASCE, Vo1.92,SM2,pp 1-26.
Poulos,H.G.( 1 975), “Torsional Response of
Piles”, Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Division,ASCE,Vol. 101 ,No.GTlO, pp. 1019-
1035.
Vijayvergiya,V.N.( 1977), “Load Movement
Characteristics of Piles”, Proceedings, qfh
Symposium of Waterway, Port, Coastal and
Ocean Division, ASCE, Long Beach,
California, Vo1.2, pp. 269-284.

80
 GEO -, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

RUNDOWN OF OFFSHORE PILES

S. Bhowal and A. Nanda
Geotechnical Department, Engineers Zndia Limited, New Delhi, India

SYNOPSIS - Rundown of offshore piles under self weight or under the combined weight of pile and hammer during driving is
commonly encountered during pile installation in certain type of soils where the soil resistance to driving is low. Excessive pile
rundown can cause pile installation related problem or may seriously damage the jackeqequipments and hence it is essential to
predict rundown in advance. This paper describes the different methods of analysis generally used to predict pile rundown. Pile
rundown as observed during pile installationfor two locations in the western offshore of India are considered here. This paper gives
brief details of offshore pile installation and rundown behaviour and in addition comparison of the different methods of predicting
pile rundown with the observed pile installation data are presented.
INTRODUCTION was done to estimate the required number of blows/ stresses
developed in the pile sections with a particular hammer during
Steel tubular piles are widely used for the foundations of driving the piles safely to target penetration. The wave equation
offshore and coastal structures. These piles are generally driven model has been used for pile driveability analysis using well
to the design penetration with suitable hammers operating from establishedprogram GRLWEAP (1995) to analyze the two cases.
a floating barge. Rundown varying from few meters to depths
exceeding 40.Om are encountered during pile installation for CASE STUDY
offshore platforms. Rundown is the penetration of the pile below
mudline under self weight or under the combined weight of the The case study for Location A and Location B in the western
pile and the hammer during driving. Excessive pile rundown are offshore of India has been presented here separately.
usually observed in soft clay, loose sand and in compressible
calcareous sands where the soil resistance to driving (SRD) is Location A
low. The typical sequence followed during pile installation are
f i t the pile is lowered in position, then selected hammer is At this location the Platform has a 4+4 pile configuration i.e.
placed on the pile and finally the pile is driven with hammer four main piles and four skirt piles in a four legged jacket
blows. Pile rundown may occur during any of these operations, configuration in a water depth of approximately 30.Om.
initially in the top soil layers or during subsequent driving
causing serious damage to the jackevequipments or may create The soil profile of location A consists of the top 18.0m siliceous
other pile installation related problem resulting in expensive and clay, very soft to soft, highly plastic with sand pockets followed
time consuming remedial measures. From this point of view it is by calcareous fine to medium size loose sand upto 25.5m,with
very essential to correctly predict the pile rundown in advance loose clayey at around 18.Om and a thin layer of soft clay at
and take preventive measures accordingly. A number of 21 .Om including some clay pockets towards bottom. Underneath
procedures are available for evaluating pile rundown. These it lies calcareous soft to fm clay, highly plastic, silty and
include: pockets of fine to medium sand upto a depth of 48.0rnfollowed
by medium dense sand, stiff clay and medium to dense sand
A) Equating SRD to the static self weight of pile and layers. The details of the soil profile and soil parameters of
hammer, location A are illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 2 gives the
B) Comparing the total work done by the pile against SRD estimated pile capacity and SRD for both plugged (PL) and
with the potential energy lost by the pile due to free fall unplugged (UP) cases.The parameters used for estimating SRD
are given in Table 1. The main piles and skirt piles consists of
C) when the computed blow counts are less than three and two sections respectively. Table 2 gives the sectional
2 blows/feet. properties for both main and skirt piles.

This paper presents details of offshore steel tubular pile
installation and pile rundown for two locations in the western
offshore of India. Procedures available to estimate pile rundown
are elaborated. A comparativestudy is done for the above stated
methods for evaluating pile rundown with the observed pile
installation data for the two locations. Pile capacity and SRD for
the two cases were developed from available soil report and as
per standard practice for offshore piles. Pile driveability analysis
The main and skirt piles were driven to the design penetration of
about 66.5m below mudline using steam operated Vulcan (V)
hammers namely V020 and V560. All piling operations were
done from a floating barge having a high capacity crane. Main
pile sections P1 were lifted and lowered in two diagonally
opposite side of four corner jacket through jacket leg one after
another. P2 sections were then stabbed in P1 sections top and
welded. The combined Pl+P2 section were then lowered and

81
Lamdowndue to self weight was observed. Pl+P2 section were
driven to approximately35.Om with V020/V560 hammer. Similar
operations were carried out for the other diagonal direction.
Then P3 sections were stabbed in P2 top in two diagonally
opposite side and welded. The combined P 1+P2+P3section were
driven by V560 hammer half stroke. Second stage of rundown
occurred after a few meter of driving and then finally the main
piles were driven to the target penetration with V560 full stroke.
Similarly the other two diagonal main pile were driven. Skirt
piles P1 +P2 sections were lowered and driven as main pile but
through skirt pile guide and skirt sleeve and almost similar
rundown behaviour as main pile was observed. Driving of the
skirt piles P1+P2 section to target penetration finally with the top
of the P2 section being below water level were done with V560
hammer on chaser pile stabbed on P2 section top wherein
rundown at intermittent depth was observed. The chaser pile was
retrieved after completion of each driving and stabbed on to the
next P2 section top before driving. Finally grouting was done
between the pile and the jacket legs and skirt sleeves to intregate
the pile with the jacket. The details of rundown observed for
both main and skirt piles are mentioned below.
Rundown behaviour of all the four main piles were almost the
same. Initial rundown was about 33.Om while lowering Pl+P2
section. The Pl+P2 section went down the soft clay strata which
continues upto 18.Om below mudline and then punctured through
the 7.Sm thick loose sand strata under its self weight and then
stopped in the middle of the next clay strata at a depth of about
33.Om which is of medium stiff. Then the piles were driven with
V020 hammer or VS60 hammer half stroke to approximately
3S.Om depth and in one pile, rundown from 33.Om to 34.5m with
pile and V560 hammer combination was observed. The second
stage of rundown of about 12.Om with Pl+P2+P3+V560hammer
combination after a few meter of driving with half stroke from
3S.Om depth was observed in the same clay layer and finally the
piles stopped at a depth of around 47.5m almost on the top of
the medium dense sand layer.
Skirt piles rundown behaviour were almost the Same as main
piles while lowering Pl+P2 section of skirt piles wherein a
rundown of about 3 2 . h was observed. Then the pile sections
were driven by about 1.Om with V560 hammer half stroke and
rundown of about 2.5-3.Om upto approximately 36.Om was
observed. This was followed by another three rundown varying
from 1.Om to 2.Om depth intermittently with Pl+P2+Chaser
Pile+V560 hammer combination. At each driving with V560
hammer with half stroke and pile penetration of about 1-2m
depth from 36.Om onwards was followed by a rundown and
finally rundown stopped at a depth of about 47.0m almost on the
top of the medium dense sand layer.
Location B
At this location the Platform has a 4+4 pile configuration i.e.
four main piles and four skirt piles in a four legged jacket
configuration in a water depth of approximately 53.Om
The soil profile of location B consists of a loose sand layer of
0.5m depth on the top followed by very soft to soft clay layer
upto a depth of 13.7m. Underneath it lies calcareous medium
82
dense sand upto 17.Om depth followed by clay layers of varying
strength upto the depth of consideration for rundown. The details
of the soil profile and soil parameters of location B are
illustrated in Figure 3. Figure 4 gives the estimated pile capacity
and SRD for both plugged (PL) and unplugged (UP) cases. The
SRD parameters used for location B are same as mentioned in
Table 1. The main and skirt pile consists of four and two
sections respectively. Table 3 gives the sectional properties for
both main and skirt piles.
The main pile were driven to a depth of about 90.Om and skirt
piles to about 83.Om depth below mudline using a combination
of steam driven Vulcan (v> and Menck (M> hammers namely
V020, V530, M3000 and M3900. Pile operationswere done from
a floating barge having a high capacity crane. Initial pile
installation procedures for main piles with P1 and P2 sections
were the same as done in location A. Here only one stage of
rundown was observed during lowering pile sections. Then the
pile were driven to a depth of about of about 35.Om with V020
or V530 hammer and the remaining depth to 45.7m with M3000
hammer. Next P3 sections were stabbed on to P2 top, welded
and driven with M3900 hammer upto about 65.8m depth. Then
P4 sections were stabbed on to P3 top, welded and driven to
fmal penetration with M3900 hammer. Initial skirt pile
installation procedures were also the same with P1 and P2
sections as done in location A. Single stage rundown was
observed during lowering Pl+P2 sections of skirt piles. The
Pl+P2 sections were then driven to about 39.Om with V530
hammer. Driving of the skirt piles P?+P2 section to target
penetration finally with the top of the P2 section being below
water level were done with M3000 and M3900 hammers on
chaser piles stabbed on P2 section top with suitable alternations
of short and long chaser pile and hammers. Finally grouting was
done between the pile and the jacket legs and skirt sleeves to
intregate the pile with the jacket. The details of rundown
observed for both main and skirt piles are mentioned below.
The rundown behaviour of all the four main piles were almost
same. Rundown varying from 23.Om to 30.Om were observed in
different piles while lowering Pl+P2 sections. The main pile
Pl+P2 section went through the thin loose sand and soft clay
strata which continues upto 13.7m depth below mudline and then
punctured the 3.3m thick medium dense sand strata under its
own weight and then finally stopped in the stiff clay layers. Skirt
piles rundown behaviour were almost the same as main piles.
Rundown of about 30.Om was observed while lowering Pl+P2
sections of skirt piles. The rundown as observed while lowering
different sections is partially also a factor of piling operation
carried out by the crane operator from the crane
ANALYSIS
The pile capacities for the two locationsA and B were calculated
as per standard practice for offshore piles. The SRD of the piles
were estimated as per Table 1 which is well established for the
type of marine soils as in location A and B in the western
offshore of India. Both plugged and unplugged pile capacities
and SRD were evaluated and pile rundown evaluation were done
based on these estimated datas. Evaluation of the magnitude of
pile rundown by three different methods are described below.
Method A : The rundown depths were evaluated by equating the
static self weight of the pile sections and also combined weight
of pile sections and hammers with both plugged and unplugged
SRD i.e.
where, "Wt" is the weight of pile sections/Weight of pile and
hammer and "(SRD)y" is the soil resistance to driving (SRD) at
depth y. The weight of the combined pile sections and pile-
hammer combination were calculated as per Table 2 and Table
3 and as per McClelland and Reifel (1985). Figure 2 and Figure
4 give the SRD plot of locations A and B respectively.
Method B : The rundown depth were evaluated by comparing the
total work done by the pile against SRD for both plugged and
unplugged case with the potential energy lost by the pile due to
free fall i.e.
where," h" is the free drop of pile and "y" is the pile penetration
below mudline. For initial rundown evaluationof pile sections by
method B, free pile drop (h) of about 2.0m above mudline is
considered as done during pile installation to puncture the
diaphragm by lifting the pile section and dropping from certain
height. Analysis of combined pile and hammer were done by
considering zero pile drop.
Method C : The rundown were considered upto the depth
wherein the computed blow counts required to drive the pile
section with that particular hammer are 2 blows/feet. Pile
driveability analysis were done using the wave equation model
as stated earlier.
Location A
The main and skirt pile diameter of location A are same and the
length difference being only 2.0m, hence anlllysis for only main
pile are done. The rundown analysis were done by all the three
methods as described above for different case of pile sections
and pile-hammer combination. At 35.0m depth the soil resitance
to driving (SRD) value is more than the weight of combined pile
section Pl+P2+P3 for both plugged and unplugged case and of
Pl+P2+P3+V560for unplugged case only and hence there will
be no further rundown for this cases as estimated by method A
and analysis by method B is not required for this cases. The pile
driveability analysis with hammers used shows that about 0-2
blows/feet are required to drive upto a depth of 8 . b and 18.0m
with V020 and V560 hammers respectively for both plugged and
unplugged case. Beyond this depths the estimated blow counts
with hammers used were always above 2 blows/feet and so there
is no rundown based on method C with Pl+P2+P3+V560
combination. The results obtained by different methods of
rundown evaluation and for different pile-hammer combination
for location A are presented in Table 4.
83
Pile installation record shows an initial rundown of about 33.0m
while lowering the Pl+P2 pile section and a second stage
rundown upto about 47.5m from 35.Om onwards while driving
with a pile-hammer combination of P1+P2+P3+V560. Typical
pile rundown behaviour as observed during pile installation in
location A is shown in Figure 5.
Based on the analysis and as compared with actual rundown
behaviour for location A, initial rundown estimate by method A
gives lower rundown value for both plugged and unplugged case.
While lowering, the pile section Pl+P2 puntured through the
7.5m thick sand layer having layers of soft clay strata and clay
pockets hence weakening the sand strata. Estimate of initial
rundown while lowering P1+P2 by method B plugged case gives
higher rundown value where as unplugged case predicts nearer
to observed rundown. Very low rundown value are estimated by
method C. The second stage of rundown estimated by method A
gives values nearer to observed rundown data.
Location B
Pile rundown analysis both main and skirt pile were done for
location B. The rundown analysis were done by all the three
methods as described above for different case of pile sections
and pile-hammer combination. The results obtained for skirt pile
were almost same as main pile and hence results of main pile are
only shown. The pile driveability analysis with hammers used
shows that about 0-2 blows/feet are required to drive upto a
depth of 0.5m and 8.0m with V020 and V530 hammers
respectively for both plugged and unplugged case. Beyond this
depths the estimated blow counts with hammers used were
always above 2 blows/feet and so there is no rundown based on
method C. Since the SRD is always also much more than the
pile section weight PI +P2+P3 and with hammer combinations no
second stage of rundown is expected here as per method A. The
results obtained by different methods of rundown evaluation and
for different pile-hammer combination for location B are
presented in Table 5.
Pile installation record shows pile rundown varying from 23.0m
to 30.0m while lowering the Pl+P2 pile section. Among all the
eight piles only for one pile the rundown observed was 23.0m
whereas for other piles rundown was around 30.0m. Typical pile
rundown behaviour as observed during pile installation in
location B for two piles are shown in Figure 6.
Based on the analysis and as compared with rundown behaviour
of majority of the piles for location B, rundown estimate by
method A gives lower rundown value for both plugged and
unplugged case. Estimate by method B plugged case gives higher
rundown value where as unplugged case predicts nearer to
observed rundown. Very low rundown value are estimated by
method C. No second stage of rundown occurred during pile
installation as estimated based on SRD, as stated above. The
analysis of pile rundown by different methods for both the
locations gives almost similar trend when compared with the
observed pile installation datas.
CONCLUSION Table 3. Main and Skirt Pile Section for Location B

Based on the above analysis it may be concluded that Method A

generally predicts rundown value on the lower side as observed
from actual initial rundown behaviour. Estimate of the second
stage of rundown is better predicted by method A. Unplugged
case analysis of method B gives more realistic result for initial Main P4 0.0- 3.739
Length
Jii Dia.

27.756 1.372 32
Wall

rundown when compared with the actual rundown behaviour ?ile

while lowering the pile sections for both locations. Prediction of 6.589- 27.756
pile rundown by driveability analysis of method C gives very
low rundown value compared to actual rundown. Excessive pile
P3 27.756- 57.756 30.0 1.372 32
rundown than estimated may damage the jacketlequipments and P2 57.756- 62.665 42.0 1.372 32
also disturb the full pile installation sequence and hence the 62.665- 65.665 38
results obtained by different methods are to be used with proper 65.065- 72.665 54
judgement giving due importance to the type of soil strata, to 72.665- 75.665 38
predict the pile rundown correctly. 75.665- 99.756 32

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT P1 99.756-158.256 60.0 1.372 32

158.256-
159.756
-
The authors wish to thank the management of Engineers India Skirt P2 0.0- 12.168 42.088 1.219
Limited for permission to publish this paper. Pile 12.168- 15.168
15.168- 22.168
References 22.168- 25.168
25.168- 42.088
GRLWEAP (1995). Programme for wave equation analysis for -
pile driveability.

McClelland, B. and Reifel, M.D. (1985).Planning and design of

-
P1
I
98.588-100.088I
40.088- 98.588 60.0
I I
1.219 32
I

fixed offshore platforms, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New

York.
Table 4. Estimated Main Pile Rundown for Location A

Table 1. Parameters for Soil Resistance to Driving (SRD)

Soil Description Sand (%) Clay (%)

Skin friction * P1+P2
End bearing * Pl+P2+V020 I 21.02I 21.37 I 49.94I 34.67 I 8.0 )I
Pl+P2+V560 122.98124.86 153.82 149.07 I 18.0 1 ~

Pl+P2+P3 * **
** NR NR NA
Table 2. Main and Skirt Pile Section for Location A
Pl+P2+P3+V560* 45.20 ** - NIL
Pile Section Length from Total Dia.
TOP Length
(m) (m) (m)
Main
Pile Table 5. Estimated Main Pile Rundown for Location B

59.40- 75.575 11 CASE I METHOD A I METHOD B I MET- 11

112.575-1
14.575 38
23.80 15.38 42.86 30.22 NA
Pile Pl+P2+V020. 27.20 19.33 49.30 33.53 0.5
32
77.967- 79.967
e chaser pile length is about 34.2m.

84
 0.0-
8.0
8.0
18.0 13.7
25.5 17.0
21.5
26.3
48,O
29.7
50.0

58.0
I I MEDIUM SAND Q$=30° i 36.3
60.0
61.0 44.0
46.0
DENSE SAND a= 35'
79.3 50.0

FIG 1, SOIL PROFILE OF LaCATIUN A

60 L.
Vs. OEPTH AT LO~ATION 8
FIGURE 4. PILE C A P A C f ~ / S ~ D
FIGURE 2. PILE CAPACIN/SRD Vs. DEPTH AT LOCATION A

85
G€0m,
International Conference on Offshore and i ear shore Geotechnical Engineering, December 23, 3999

SUBMARINE PIPELINE BUCKLING ON THE SEABED

M.R. Pranesh and Arvee Sujil Johnson
Ocean Engineering Centre, Zndian Institute of TechnoZogy, Madras 600 036, India

SYNOPSIS - Submarine pipelines are laid on the seabed for the transportation of hot oil products from oil fields to
refineries. Depending on the bathymetric conditions, the pipeline characteristic features and the +hotoil products, the
bending stresses and strains associated with differential thermal and pressure loading leads to cornpressive forces, which
in turn lead to vertical and lateral buckling. In this paper of the upheaval buckling analysis, the seabed is idealized by
Winkler foundation model and along the slipping length the longitudinal frictional resistance is taken as a function of
vertical deflection. An integro-differential equation for the slipping length is derived and is solved by finite difference
method. This paper confirms the effect of longitudinal fkictional resistance in the submarine pipeline buckling analysis.
Do = Outside diameter of the pipeline
t = Thickness of pipeline
A = Area of cross section of the pipeline
Submarine pipelines will be subjected to differential
temperature and pressure, when fluid petrocarbons flow p = Pressure difference between the oil inside and
sea water outside of the pipeline
fiom offshore wells to onshore refineries. In addition to
the above loading, they are also influenced by The investigators (Kerr, 1978; Hobbs, 1984) reported that,
environmental loading depending on the location and due to longitudinal frictional effects, the effects of axial
seasons. compressive forces would be reduced at the buckled
portion (as shown in Fig. 1). The region at which the
Submarine pipelines are subjected to compressive forces, effect of hction is predominant is called as adjoining
arising from the restraint of the strains associated with region and its length is called slipping length, I,.
thermal and internal pressure loading. These compressive
forces lead to buckling of pipelines. For example, if the Hobbs (1984) and Hobbs & Liang (1 989) considered the
oil and gas temperatures are up to 80-90°C above water pipeline buckling, which is laid on the seabed surface.
temperature and operating pressures up to 10N/mm2,then They have considered the seabed as rigid foundation. But
these effects can produce very significant compressive authors have not considered the slipping length in the
force. The axial compressive force due to temperature is analysis for buckling in the vertical plane (Upheaval
given as (Hobbs, 1984); buckling).
PO= E.A. a, .T, (1) Heedo Yun and Kyriakides (1985) reported that large
ground movements can also induce compressive loads.
Where The ground movements such as fault movements, land
PO = Axial compressive force slides, sedimented subsidence, can lead to pipeline
A = Area of cross section of the pipe buckling. The authors have considered the pipeline as
a, = Coefficient of thermal expansion buried in the soil, which is idealized by elastic foundation
T, = Temperature change (“C) (Winkler model) and rigid imperfect foundation; however
the authors have not considered the effects of friction
The axial compressive force POdue to pressure difference between the pipeline and the seabed.
p between the oil and the sea water is given as (Hobbs,
1984): T e ~ and ~ J ~p c h e (1988)
r studied the vertical upheaval
bucking of pipeline, which is laid on imperfect rigid
PO= E. A. E = A. p. Do (0.5+)/(2. t) (2) foundation, due to thermal expansion and internal
pressure. They also have not considered the effect of
Where longitudinal fhction.
E =Axial strain
p = Poisson’s ratio Kerr (1978) studied the lateral thermal buckling of
railroad track, considered it as a beam, with the help of ASSUMPTIONS
va~ational fo~ulation.The author obtained an exact
solution, assuming the constant longitudinal frictional 1. The pipeline will be circular even after bending.
resistance along the slipping length; however the variation 1. The seabed is idealized by Winkler foundation.
of frictional resistance with respect to the change in 2. The sea floor characteristics are considered to be same
deflection is not considered. along the length of the pipeline under consideration.
3. The deflection at the lift off point is taken as zero.
4. Buckling will take place only in the vertical plane.
S T A T ~ ~ E NOF
T THE PROBLEM
5. Maximum deflection and moment is a function of
buckledhplifted length.
Fig. 1 shows the vertical buckling configuration of the
submarine pipeline subjected to compressive force PO.It
ANAlLYSIS
can buckle both in downward or upward direction in the
vertical plane. In zone 1, there is no frictional effect and in
The differential equation of the pipeline in the vertical
zone 2, the effect of friction is predominant. In zone 3,
plane in bending, which is supported by seabed in zone 1
there is no soil support. It can be seen that the
is given as (Hetenyi, 1946),
compressive force in buckled region will be reduced to P
from PO at extreme end as shown in Fig. 1. In the
E I. d4y/dx4+ PO.d2y/dx2+ K.y - q = 0 (3)
adjoining region, the compressive force varies with length
t, ie, the slipping length. On the slipping length, the
Where,
vertical movement of the heated pipeline is restricted by
E I = flexural rigidity of the pipeline
the frictional force developed between the pipe and the
K = subgrade modulus (spring constant)
soil.
q = submerged weight of the pipeline
The aim of the problem is to find out the critical buckling y = deflection of the pipeline at distance x
load for the vertical buckling of the submarine pipeline
PO = axial compressive force acting on the pipeline
considering the coefficient- of longitudinal frictional Introducing non-dimensional parameters,
resistance, which is a ~ n c t i o nof deflection.
Y = YE,,and X = xE,,in which,
L, = 4d(E I k ) = characteristiclength
Apo= POL;/(E I) = compressive force coefficient
P, B = q L;/(E I) = load coefficient
_c

Equation (1) can be written in non-dimensional form as:

E I .d4Y/dX4 f A,, .d2Y/dX2+ Y = B (4)

(a> Pipeline configuration

X x+dx

(b> Axial compression f a r c e before buckting

yj
Pl
A B D
Y +dY

(c> Axial compression f o r c e a f t e r buckllng

k,Kydx(dy/dx>

Fig. 1. Pipeline Buckling Configuration Fig. 2. Pipeline Section due to Axial Compression

88
In the zone 2 (the effects of longitudinal fiction is -dM+ Qv.dx + fi. K. y2 .dx + (PO-fi.K. Q"ydx).dy -
predominant), that is in the adjoining region having the
length l,, the free body diagram of the slipping length fi .K .y .dx.(y+dy) = 0
region of length dx considering the vertical equilibrium is
shown in Fig. 2. It can be noted that the longitudinal Equation (9) on simplification, reduces to
frictional resistance is a function of deflection and it is
equal to fi .K .y .dx for a length dx. -dM + Qv.dx + PO.dy - (fl .K .I," y .dx).dy

Considering the vertical forces in Fig. 2: - fi .K .y .dx.dy = 0

CV=O
-fi .K .y .dx .dy/dx-K .y .&-Qv + q .dx + Qv + dQv=O Dividing the equation (10) by dx through out,
(5)
Where, -dM/dx + Qv+ PO.dy/dx - (fi .K . I , y .dx).dy/dx
fi = Coefficient of longitudinal friction
Qv= Shear force -fl .K .y .dy = 0

Equation (5) on simplification, reduces to Differentiating equation (1 1) with respect to dx,

-d2M/dx2+ dQJdx + PO.d2y/dx2- (fi .K .cy .dx).d2y/dx2

Considering the horizontal forces in Fig. 2: - (d(fi .K. Q"y .dx)/dx).(dy/dx) - (fi .K .y .dy/dx
CH=O
(PO-fi .K .J," y .dx)- fi .K .y .dx - ((Po-fi.K .cy .dx) + + fl .K.y .dy .dy/dx) = 0 (12)
d(P,-fi .K .J:y .dx)} = 0 (7)
On simplificationequation (12), since
Equation (7) on simplification reduces to, E1 .d2y/dx2= d2M/dx2,it takes the form as

E1 .d4y/dx4+ PO.d2y/dx2- (fi .K .cy .dx).d2y/dx2

Considering the moments about 0, + fi .K .y .dy/dx + K .y - q = 0 (13)
CM=O
M - dM - QV.x+ (Qv+ dQv)(x+dx)+ q .dx.(x+dx/2) Note: if fl=O, then equation (13) reduces to Equation (3).
Equation ( 13) can be written in non-dimensional form as:
-K .y .dx.(x+dd2) + fi .K .y .dx.(y+dy/2)
d4Y/dX4+ A,, .d2Y/dX2- (fl .eY .dX).d2Y/dX2
-fi .K .y .dx .dy/dx.(~+dx/2)- (PO- fi .K Jcy d x ) . ~
+ fi .Y .dY/dX + Y = B (14)
+ { (PO-fi .K I,"y dx) + d(Po-fi.K 6"y .dx)}.(y+dy) = 0 In the zone 3, where the pipeline is not supported by soil

Table 1. Effect of f1 on Deflection and Moment Coefficients on A,,

1 =30.0 B=8.Ox1O-'
Deflection Coefficient
A,, f1=o f,=l.l f1=0 f,=l.l
0.005 0.2334 0.2268 386.10 373.79
0.010 0.2727 0.2637 46 1.20 443.83
0.015 0.3282 0.3 137 567.98 539.99
0.020 0.4 123 0.3888 731.12 685.42
0.025 0.5547 0.5 107 1009.7 923.40
0.030 0.8486 0.7406 1588.3 1375.5
0.035 1.8101 1.3094 3490.3 2499.3

89
 as the pipeline buckles upwards or downwards (that is in Table 2. Effect of A,, on Loads and fi.
the buckled region) the differential equation for the
vertical plane in bending is given as (Hetenyi, 1946), Mome t, MY(x 104) for 1=30.
5
Load B=4.0x I r5 B=8.0x1
E1 .d4y/dx4+ P .d2y/dx2- q = 0 (15) A,, f,=O f,=1.o f1=0 f,=1 .o
0.005 19.31 19.02 38.61 37.48
Where 0.0 10 23.3 1 22.65 46.12 44.53
P = PO-(fi .K .kBy.dx) 0.015 28.39 27.79 56.79 54.24
= Compressive force in the buckled portion 0.020 36.56 35.55 73.12 68.93
0.025 50.49 48.55 100.97 93.05
Equation ( 15) can be written in non-dimensional form as: 0.030 79.42 74.14 158.83 139.20
0.035 174.52 146.41 349.03 255.90
d4Y/dX4+ A, d2Y/dX2+ Y =B (16) 0.040 1322.3 2374.0 2644.6 3546.60
0.045 146.00 169.00 297.00 362.10
Where 0.050 79.00 84.00 159.83 173.00
A, = A, -(ff .K.ScBY.dX) 0.055 56.00 73.00 1 12.70 134.00
0.060 44.00 49.00 88.00 123.90
The equations in non-dimensional. form (Eqn. (4), (14) 0.065 37.37 39.53 74.00 85.00
and (16)) are solved by using finite difference method, 0.070 32.70 33.79 65.57 70.60
The nonlinear term in Equation (16) is taken as zero in the 0.075 29.60 30.19 59.34 61.86
first iteration and is considered in the second iteration 0.080 27.50 27.77 55.03 56.2 1
onwards. The boundary condition applied for the analysis 0.085 26.00 26.00 52.00 52.62
at A, C and D (Fig. I ) are given by 0.090 25.00 25 .OO 50.19 50.35
My(A) = 0 0.095 24.50 24.50 49.17 49.24
S y (D) = 0 0.100 24.47 24.47 48.94 48.95
S y (A) = 0
Y’(D) = O
Dy(C) = 0 (17) coefficient and maximurn moment coefficient. It can be
seen that when the frictional coefficient increases from
Where fl=O, the maximum deflection coefficient decreases by
Dy = Deflection coefficient = Y 24% (for fi = 0.9), 26 % (for fi = 1,O) and 28% (for fl =
Y’ = Slope coefficient = dY/dX 1.1) respectively for 1 = 30.0, at the point near the critical
MY= Moment coefficient = d2Y/dX2 load. When the longitudinal frictional coefficient
Sy = Shear coefficient = d3Y/dX3 increases from f,=O, the maximum moment coefficient
decreases by 24.8% (for fi=0.9), 26.6% (for fi=l.O> and
As the pipeline configuration is assumed as symmetric, 28.4% (for fi=l.l) respectively for 1=30.0 at the point near
only half p o ~ i o n is considered in the analysis. For the critical load.
different buckling length 1, f, and P,, the deflection
coefficient and moment coefficient are calculated. Table 2 shows the effect of load on compressive load
coefficient A,, and Table 3 shows the critical load for
RESULTS AND DISC~SS~ONS different buckling length of the pipeline. For the length 1
=30.0, the critical load in non-dimensional form is 0.0394.
The results are presented for c.ritica1 buckling load for a From the Table 1, it can also be noted that after the critical
wide range of parameters that are normally encountered in buckling load, the bending moment coefficient increases
practice in the design of submarine pipeline. The when fl changes from 0 to 1.1. Also, it can be seen that
following are the range of non-dimensional parameters change in the coefficient of longitudinal hction do not
(Pranesh 8z Somanatha, 1984): change the buckling load.

A,, = 0.005 to 0.10 It can be seen from the Fig 3 that as the compressive force
B = 4 . 0 ~ 1 0to
- ~8 . 0 ~ 1 0 - ~ A,, increases, the maximum deflection increases and
fi ~ 0 . 9 to
0 1.10 reaches a maximum level and then decreases. The
1 = 14.0 to 50.0 compressive force, whch show maximum deflection at
the critical buckling load. It can also be seen that when the
Table I shows the effect of coefficient of longittldinal load coefficient changes, the critical buckling load do not
friction on the buckling load A,, on maximum deflection change.

90
 Table 3. Variation of P,, on 1 length is derived and is solved by finite difference
method. The result shows that the longitudinal hctional
1 Pcr coefficient (0.9- 1.1) do not change the critical buckling
14 0.13047 load; however it reduces the moment and deflection
18 0.10184 coefficients by about 24-28% at the critical vertical
22 0.07045 buckling load, which confirms the effect of frictional
26 0.05 159 resistance in the submarine pipeline buckling:analvsis.
30 0.03940
34 0.03 107 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
38 0.025 12
42 0.02073 The authors are thankful to the authorities of Ocean
46 0.01739 Engineering Centre, Indian Institute of Technology,
50 0.01481 Madras 600 036, India for extending all the facilities for
the research work.

CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, the seabed is idealized by Winkler
foundation model and along the slipping length, the
longitudinal frictional resistance is taken as a function of
vertical deflection. By considering the longitudinal
hctional coefficient with respect to the deflection, the
frictional resistance offered by the submarine pipeline and
the soil media varies along its slipping length; thereby
simulating the on-site condition of the submarine pipeline.
A new integro-differential equation for the slipping
References
Allen, H. G. and Bulson, P. S. (1980). Background to
Buckling, McGraw Hill Book Company Limited,
United Kingdom.
Bathe, K. J. and Wilson, E. L. (1987). Numerical Methods
in Finite Element Analysis, Prentice Hall of India
Private Limited, New Delhi, India.
Gujit, J. (1990). Upheaval Buckling of Offshore Pipelines:
Overview and Introduction, Ofshore Technology
Conference, 6487.

Heedo yun and Kyriadides, S. (1985). Model for Beam

Mode Buckling of Buried Pipelines, Jl of
Engineering Mechanics, ASCE, 11 1:2:235-253.

Hetenyi, M. (1 946). Beam on Elastic Foundation,

University of Michigan Press, Michigan.

Hobbs, R. E. (1984). In Service Buckling of Heated

Pipelines, J1 of TransportationEngineering, ASCE,
110:2:175-189.

Hobbs, R. E. and Liang (1989). Thermal Buckling Close

to Restraints, Proc ghIntl Conf on Offshore
Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, 1: 12 1- 127.

Kerr A. D. (1978). Analysis of Thermal Track Buckling in

the Lateral Plane, Acta Mechanica, 30: 17-50.

Pranesh, M. R. and Somanatha, G. S. (1985). Wave Load

Submarine Pipeline Sea Floor Interaction, Jl of
000 2.00 4.00 6.00 8-00 TransportationEngineering, ASCE, 3:237-250.
,
Max . Deflection Dymax
Terndrup Pedersen, P. and Juncher Jensen, J. (1988).
Upheaval Creep of Buried Heated Pipelines with
Fig. 3. Effect of A,, on Deflection Coefficients Initial Imperfections,Marine Structures, 1:11-22.

91
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 International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

GEOTECHNICAL ASPECT§ OF DESIGN AND INSTALLATION OF DEEPWATER

PIPELINES
P.C. Rawat
Formerly, Heaii of Pipeline Engineering Department, Engineers India Limited, New Delhi, India

SYNOPSIS : Production and transportation systems for oil and gas are being planned and implemented in progressively deeper
waters in the depth range of 300 m to 3000 m. This paper addresses the requirements and available techniques for geologic,
geophysicaland geotechnical investigations ;methodologies for evaluation of topography, geophysicalfeatures, soil conditions
and potential hazards ; and the generation of engineering parameters affecting design and installation of deepwater pipelines.

INTRODUCTION
Offshore locations where hydrocarbon deposits are
expected to be found are located both on the continental
shelf and on the continental slope down to deep ocean.
The generally acceptable definition of deepwater is the
water depth beyond 180m, which is the boundary between
the continental shelf and the continental slope. Production
and transportation systems for oil and gas are being
planned and implemented in progressively deeper waters
in the depth range of 300 m to 3000 m. Some major
international companies have estimated that 50 percent
of their future reserves are in water depths greater than
300 m. From the initial thrust in the Gulf of Mexico and
offshore Brazil, deepwater projects are now being
aggressivelypursued in the areas such as West of Shetlands
(the Atlantic Frontier), while planning for projects is now
in advanced phase in West Africa and Asia Pacific. In
order to meet growing demands of petroleum products in
the country, India has plans to explore and develop
deepwater oil and gas fields off the west and east coasts.
In the context of deepwater pipeline installation, some of
the world’s deepest rigid steel pipelines already installed
are : 300 mm diameter in water depths of 900 m in the
Marlim field offshore Brazil, 300 mm and 350 mm
diameter in 980 m water depth at the location of Ram
Powell tension leg platform, 350 mm and 400 mm
diameter in 870 m water depth at Auger tension leg
platform expansion, and 300 mm diameter in water depth
of 1645 m in the Mensa field all in the Gulf of Mexico.
Significant developments in the recent past in pipeline
technology have taken place to meet the challenges to
design and lay transmission lines in water depths in excees
of 3000 m. With growing interest in deepwater, improved
understanding of the engineeringgeology of the deepwater
environment and the engineering characteristics of the
s’ediments encountered has been developed at many sites
around the world.
The potential hazards that are of engineering concern and
relevant to the economic life of deepwater pipelines are
irregular and hummocky seafloor topography with steep
gradients, geologic features such as seafloor landslides,
buried landslides deposits, sufiicial materials such as very
s ~ f clays
t and silty clays, turbidity currents, active and
buried faults, and earthquake induced liquefaction, slope
instability and turbidity flows.
This paper addresses the requirements and available
techniques for geologic, geophysical and geotechnical
investigations ; methodologies for evaluation of
topography, geophysical features, soil conditions and
potential hazards ; and the generation of engineering
parameters affecting design and installation of deepwater
pipelines. Field measurements of waves, currents, and
physical parameters such as water temperature, salinity,
density, dissolved oxygen, etc. are not included herein.
SYSTEM DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Pipeline systemsare designed, installed, and operated such
that the systems during their intended design life can
transport the specified production requirement, meet the
defined safety objective and have the required resistance
against the operational loads, and have sufficient safety
margin against accidental loads whilst incurring minimum
life cycle costs. To this end, an understanding of deepwater
geological processes, topography, and soil conditions play
an important role in the development of design data to
ensure safe installation and operation of pipelines.
PIPELINE ROUTE SURVEYS
The pipeline route is selected with due regard to the
probability of damage to the pipe. The routing of
pipelines to avoid hazardous conditions starts with a
baseline study (desk-top study) of all the potential routes
using hydrographiccharts and published information. This
provides valuable information for planning field work and
guiding on-the-spot decisions onboard the survey vessel.
For assessment of seabed conditions along the potential
pipeline route and to develop a cost effective design for
pipeline, an extensive survey programme is carried out to
document geophysical and geotechnical information.
Geophysical Surveys
Significant improvements have been achieved in
underwater positioning,deep-towed acoustic/ geophysical
system, remote operated vehicel (ROV) mounted seabed
mapping equipment, and data processing over the last few
years. Recent deepwater geophysical surveys carried out
in frontier areas are : Foinaven and Schiehallion Fields,
West of Shetlands, in water depths ranging from 200 m to
1000m (Hamilton, 1996) ;Guiness Project, offshore West
Africa in water depths from 200 m down to 2 100m (Kuhn,
1996) ;and Oman - India Gas Pipeline (OIGP) Project, in
the Arabian Sea, in water depths upto 3500 m (Mullee,
1995 ; Evans, 1996). Geophysical survey of the pipeline
route consistsof :bathymetry, seabed imaging, sub-bottom
profiling, deep seismic survey, magnetometer survey, and
ROV survey. In general, the survey is carried out in two
phases.
Phase-1 :Route reconnaissance and hazard identlJication
In deepwater, pipelines can be susceptible to a number of
environmental hazards with variable degrees of severity.
Surveying such a large, relatively unknown terrain is
always a major challenge. First of all, a reconnaissance
survey maps out a corridor 8 to 10 km wide, centered on
the theoretical route from which a detailed survey corridor
is selected. The reconnaissance survey is carried out using
the shallow-towed swathe bathymetry and side scan sonar.
Bathymetric contours and side scan sonar reveals reliefs
to a resolution in the order of 20 m. The speed of coverage
and real-time contour plots allows "dead-end" tracks to
be aborted within minutes of survey. More complex areas
such as channel meanderings, shelf breaks, steep gradients,
erosion channels, features suggestive of remant of volcanic
action, ridges, etc. are boxed-in by making parallel runs
covering areas as wide as 25 km. This data enables the
94
onboard pipeline engineer to abandon unsuitable routes,
and recommend the promising ones for high resolution
detailed survey using deep-towed swathe mapping system
to cover a nominal 1 km wide corridor.
Phase - 2 :Detailed survey
In the second phase, the selected corridor is investigated
using a deep-towed swathe bathymetry system, side scan
sonar, sub-bottom profiler, and deep seismic survey
instrument. Preliminary data processing and interpretation
is done onboard the vessel in real time. The purpose is to
identify any man-made or geological hazards along the
intended route and identifL areas of span potential. If the
selected corridor is found to have obstacles or other
hazards, alternative corridors are selected and additional
surveys are performed as for phase two.
During the second phase, the survey is carried out by
runing three longitudinal lines ;a centre line and one wing
line spaced 250-meither side, using a 500 m wide swathe
to cover the 1000 m wide corridor identified in phase one
survey. A deep-towed swathe bathymetry running near
the seabottom is used. Concurrently with the bathymetry
system, side scan sonar and seismic surveys are performed
to locate and position debris or obstructuion along the
route, such as cables, wrecks, etc., and natural features
such as outcrops, boulders, scours, slumps, and relic or
slope instability.
The sharp resolution offered by the deep-tow system flying
dose to the seabed provids excellent seabed contouring,
accurate digital profiles for pipiline stress analysis, and
high resolution side scan sonar images. The sub-bottom
profiler reveals the text-ure of the sub-soil layers and
evidence of submarine slides on steep slopes or sediment
flows in the channel. The real time evaluation of the data
processed on board the survey vessel provides
identification of significant hazards and permit
development of route deveiations around such hazards.
Utltra-high resolution seismic data are acquired in
"critical areas" using multi-electrode spark array or air gun
to investigate possible faults, slides, slumps and other
forms of instability and detailed information regarding
seabed structure and stratigraphy to a depth of 150 m to
200 m below seafloor depending on the nature of the
seabed.
Magnetometer survey
Magnetometer survey is carried out to detect the presence
of any metallic objects on the seafloor such as existing
pipelines, communication cables, wrecks, and debris. The
magnetic sensor is towed close to the seabed. The depth
of burial of objects is estimated.
Remote operated vehicle (ROV) survey
Based on the studies of high resolution geophysical data
collected during route survey, specific areas of concern to
pipeline designer are inspected at close range for
irregularities andatested using a remotely operated vehicle
(ROV) for direct physical and visual correlation of seafloor
conditions. ROV survey data may provide evidence of
modem day fault movement in the form of fissures, fresh
appearing or broken scarp surfaces or small scale
instabilities.
The ROV is fitted with manipulators, video colour
cameras, still camera, lighting system, side scan sonar,
obstacle avoidance sonar, sub-bottom profiler, and pipe
tracking system enabling acquisition of comprehensive
survey data. The ROV has also been successfully used for
OIGP Project for collecting core samples (4-cm diameter
and 60-cm long) using a piston sampler, conducting soil
penetration tests with a 1-m long rod pushed by ROV
manipulator for getting a general idea of the seafloor
hardness, observing settlement of a pipe released at the
seabed on touch down at a particular velocity, and
conducting soil excavation tests using suction hose and
pump and taking measurements of the excavated trench
size.
The marine eletromagnetic (MEW profiling
A prototype system, MEM, has been used to measure
seabed electrical conductivity in a profiling mode to
calculate porosity of the upper 20 m of seabed and to
determine the biogenic gas content of marine sediments
in deepwater (Hussong, 1996).The system provides useful
information in sandy seabeds which are difficult to define
with acoustic profiling.
Post Processing
In addition to customary survey reports, the digitally-
recorded swathe bathymetry is used to create digital terrain
model (DTM) for three dimensionalbathymetry, gradient
plots, and profiles. These are used by engineers later for
pipeline routing optimisation and to complement
geotechnical studies on slope stability.
Geotechnical Surveys
On completion of geophysical surveys, geotechnical
survey of the pipeline route is carried out. The geotechnical
survey consistsof collecting soil samples from the seafloor,
conducting tests onboard the survey vessel, and sending
selected samples to onshore laboratory for further testing.-
Sepcial investigation of the seabed material may be
required to evaluate specific problems with respect to
general idea of seafloor hardness, excavation and burial
operations, and pipe settlement on touch down during
installationn.Sampling and testing of deepwatersediments
present special challenges related to equipment design
problems associated with high pressure, operational
handling of equipment, and to the large total stress relief
upon retreival. Stress relief is especially important when
gas is present in the sediment either in dissolved form in
the porewater or as gas hydrate. Occurrenceof gas hydrates
in the sediments, which if destabilised and dissociated by
drilling or construction activity can greatly affect the soil
properties.
Deepwater geotechnical investigation technology has
evolved over a number of years. Geotechnical vessels,
equipment and procedures exist for sampling and insitu
testing of deepwater soils. Geotechnical investigations
have been perfiomed in the Gulf of Mexico for well design
and foundation design of tension leg platforms in water
depths ranging from 818 m to 1616 m, with maximum
boring penetrations ranging from 91 m to 579 m below
mudline (Pelletier, et al., 1996). The total length of drill
pipe below the drill floor has reached 2195 m. Hampson
and Power (1 996) describe geotechnical investigations
darried out in water depths of 300 m to 500 m for the
Foinaven and Schiehallion Fields, West of Shetland, for
conceptual foundation design of subsea structures and
floating production storage and offloading (FPSO)
systems. The site investigation programme comprised of
drilling and samplingand conducting downholepiezocone
penetration tests (PCPTs) to elevation of between 30 m to
100 m below mudline, obtaining insitu measurement for
shear strength over the upper 3 m using seabed vane tester,
and insitu measurements of small strain shear modulus
(Gmax) using seismic piezocone.Piezoconepenetration tests
(PCPTs) have also been performed in water depths ranging
from 1185 to 1247 m within the Faeroe-Shetland Channel,
West of Shetland. This equipment has been modified and
upgraded to work in 2000 m water depth (Power and
Banvise, 1996). Fugro introduced in 1994 a light weight
done penetration test (CPT) device and a push sampling
system that operates without an umbilical and can be used
within a drillstring in water depth around 1500 m (Lunne,
1996).
A prototype insitu testing system, the Tethered Seafloor
Platform (TSP), has been designed to continuously
measure geotechnical properties from the seafloor down
to approximately 70 m in water depths upto 3000 m
(Humphrey and Adams, 1995). This is accomplished by
using a remotely operated subsea package to push specially
designed probes downwardsthrough the seabed. The types
of probes are :cone penetrometer, piezo and seismic cones,
cone pressuremeter, and shear vane (under development).
Successful field trials for the prototype TSP have been
completed in water depths upto 320 m, offshore Norway.
The TSP provides high quality, reliable insitu soil
informtion for subsea templates and pipelines at minimal
cost compared to high cost of rotary drillingin deepwaters.
Deepwater sediment sampling
Lunne (1996) has described available deepwater sampling
equipment and procedures either from the seabed with a
maximum penetration of 15-30 m, or push or piston
samplingin a borehole to larger depths. Wireline sampling
without any drillstring can be performed in differentways.
A piston gravity corer (Kullenberg type) is normally used
for obtaining seafloor samples upto 6 m long depending
on the penetration achieved. The number and location of
soil samples along the pipeline route is finalised after
interpretation of sub-bottom profiler results. However, in
general, piston gravity cores are collected at every 1000
m interval in water depths upto 500 m and at 5000 m
interval in water depths beyond 500 m. A grab sampler
(VanVeen or equivalent) is used for obtaining seafloor
soil in areas where the surficial sediment layer may be too
thin to use the piston gravity sampler.
Three special seabottom samplers that have been reported
to obtain long cores either by pushing, hammering or
vibration are briefly described below :
Stacor
The Stacor core sampler (ID=125 mm, OD =170 mm,
length of core barrel = 35 m) has been developed by IFP
in collaboration with ELF and TOTAL. The special feature
of this sampler is that the piston is stationary relative to
the base template. This sampler is reported to produce good
quality cores with high recovery ratio in 5400 m water
depth (Montarges, et al., 1987).
Selcore
The Selantic Selcore motorised core sampler powered by
hydrostatic pressure has been used for Oman- India Gas
96
Pipeline project for recovering 85 mm diameter cores upto
6 m long from water depths down to 3500 m (Mullee,
1995). The sampler is lowered on a high speed winch to a
critical height above seabed (measured by acoustic
altimeter), then enters the soil under free fall. A chamber
sealed during decent at atmospheric pressure is opened
automatically. The inrush of seawater powers a hammer-
action motor which forces the core barrel achieving
superior penetration without core distortion.
Deep sea hammer corer
This core sampler (ID=120 mm, OD=192 mm, length of
dore barrel =25 m) uses controlled energy of a hydraulic
hammer to drive the sampler (Smith and Tronstad, 1994).
Two field tests in shallow water have been performed and
deepwater tests are to be performed to evalutate its
performance.
Future deepwater geotechnical investigations need
technology developments to increase total drilling depths
(water and soil) beyond 2500 m. Increased emphasis on
insitu testing and continued developments of new
downhole tools are foreseen (Pelletier, et al., 1996).
Considerable improvements in the sampling handling is
required during deepwater investigations,and for trimming
and testing the laboratory samples.
CHARACTERISTIC OF DEEPWATER SOILS
Deepwater soils typically have sedimentologic origin
different from shelf soils due to geologic processes that
have shaped the complex deepwater environment. In
general, the deepwater sediments have accumulated slowly
and continuously over time, with only modest changes in
depositional rates, particle size, and mineralogy. This has
resulted in decreasing lateral and vertical variability with
increasing water depth. This differs sharply from the shelf
deposits which exhibit sharp local variations due to
changing sediment load (terrigenous and pelagic material
containing biogenic material) and transport mechanisms
(turbidity flows and turbidity currents).
Deepwater sediments are classified as hemipelagic clays,
biogenic deposits, authigenic carbonates, and coral
mounds found on the continental slope and rise ;as pelagic
clays, authigenic deposits, and turbidities and glacial
marine deposits found on abyssal plain. Their
characteristics and engineering properties have been
described by Dutt ( 1995).Lunne ( 1997)has compared soil
data from various deepwater sites :Voring Basins offshore
Norway, offshore Brazil, Gulf of Mexico, and Troll in the
Norwegian Trench.
GEOLOGIC HAZARD EVALUATION
The proposed pipeline route may contain certain physical
features or potentially active geological processes of
engineering concern. The designer is required to
demonstrate that a pipeline has adequate serviceability
under wave and current hydrodynamic loadings,
displacements induced by earthquakes and faulting,
!panning acros8 bottom irregularities, and sufficient
strength and flexibility to accomodate the forces induced
by slides and turbidity flows.
The study of geophysical record indicates the topography
(smooth or rugged), seafloorgradients (local and regional),
thickness of bedded layers (thick in the areas of low
gradient and thin in the areas of steeper gradient), and
faults exhibiting relatively large seafloor expressions
(scarps tens of metres high). Blanket of drape sediments
indicates faults are inactive. If there are no indications in
the sub-bottom profiler data of a hemipelagic covering, it
indicates the possibility of faults being active. Results of
tests conducted on sediment specimens from the cores
determine geologic characteristies such as origin and
history using x-ray radiography, paleontology, c- 14
isotope dating, and mineralogy methods. Engineering
properties of sediments are integrated with geologic
analysisto help create regional models of seafloor stability.
The ROV survey data may provide evidence,of modern
day fault movement in the form of fissures, fresh apperaing
or broken scarp surfaces, or small scale instabilities.
Studies of the composition of the sediments in the core
samples taken at the scarps may suggest whether the faults
have been inactive or active in the recent past. Movements
on the faults are periodic and related to earthquakeswhich
generally follow major fault zone and lineaments.
Landslides
Landslides are defined as any large mass movement that
contains sufficient energy to tkeaten the integrity of the
pipelines, and includes mudslides and massive turbidity
flows. Landslides can be initiated by a wide variety of
triggering mechanisms, such as earthquakes, currents and
by execssive deposition of weak soils on steep slopes.
These occur on continental slopes, submarine canyons,
and marine deltas. Evidence of past slides is shown in
geophysical records in the form of debris flow sediment
layers. If the debris flows are buried by many metres of
drape, it indicates that they occurred thousands of years
ago. Where no hemipelagic drape over the surface of debris
97
flows is found either in the geophysical data or in the core
samples, it indicates that the landslides are recent ones.
Soils having high liquidity index values are indicative of
sediments that are sensitive to disturbance, and can create
conditions for development of slurry-type debris flows
once failure is initiated anywhere nearby. Comparison of
shear shength data from core samples with that expected
for normally consolidated clays would indicate whether a
previous overburden has compressed the sediment over a
span of time, causing a shear strength gain, and the
overburden was subsequently removed by erosion or
landslides. Aging of the sediments and cementation
between clay and fine silt particles may also be the reasons
for the apparent overconsolidation.
Submarine channels and canyons act as conduits for
funnelling large volumes of terrigenous sediment down
the channels and continental slope in the deep ocean. The
channels may present a number of geophysical hazards,
including spans, turbidity currents, downslope creep,
slumping of channel walls and liquefaction, which could
cause large lateral displacementsof the pipeline. Turbidity
flows are fluid mixtures of sediment and water that flow
downslope along the seafloor. Most submarine canyons
result from down cutting by turbidity flows, and large
submarine fans form beyond the canyon mouth as turbidity
Currents slow and drop their load. Turbidity currents
typically begin as landslides or slumps as the soil mass
breaks apart and soil particles become suspended. The
turbidity currents move with high velocity and may be a
hazard for pipelines. Triggering mechanisms can be
earthquakes or wave loading, or failure can occur
spontaneously in meta stable sediments as excess pore
presents develop from rapid sedimentation (Dutt, 1995).
Evidence of turbidity flows is obtained from the study of
X-ray radiographs of the cores showing sediments
composed of fine sand, silt and clay particles which are
bioturbated. The turbidities are generally graded upward
from fine sand to day.
Earthquakes
Earthquakes are the most likely trigger mechanism for a
fbture seafloor instability event and generally follow major
fault zone and lineaments. An earthquake can affect a
submarine pipeline in many ways :by vibration or ground
shaking due to ground motion acceleration, by ground
failure in the form of faulting, landslides, liquefaction,
densification and ground cracks, and by tectonic uplift or
subsidence developing diapirs as a result of liquefaction.
Buried pipelines normally move with the soil when
subjected to seismic waves causing axial and bending
strains in the pipelines. A pipeline resting on the seabed
will experience lesser level of strain than the buried
segment of the pipeline. Liquefaction can contribute to
soil instability, resulting in span problems, or it can cause
a pipeline to sink into the soil or float on the soil depending
on the relative buoyancy of the pipeline.
An earthquake source characterisation of the site and
surroundingarea is carried out defining earthquake source
zones and earthquake recurrence relationships that
accurately models the occurrence of earthquakes in space
and time. Campbell et al. (1996) has carried out a
probabilisticseismichazard analysis to estimatethe values
of peak ground acceleration (PGA) with return period of
200, 500 and 1000 years at selected locations along the
Oman - India gas pipeline route and the submarine Indus
Canyon. The results defined the ground shaking hazard
along the pipeline route and Indus Canyon for evaluation
of risks to the pipeline from potential earthquake-induced
geologic hazards such as liquefaction, slope instability,
and turbidity flows.
Nadim (1 996) carried out an earthquake hazard study for
the Troll - Mongstad oil pipeline in Fensfjord in Western
Norway to establish the design earthquake loads. The
design earthquake was characterised by peak ground
acceleration (PGA), response spectrum, and typical
acceleration time histories at two load levels representing
the ultimate limit state (ULS) and the limit state of
progressive collapse (PLS). To establish the appropriate
soil characteristics, a special laboratory testing programme
consisting of static and dynamic tests was executed to
investigate the effect of various factors on the shear
strength of a soil element within a slope.
Morphological Feature
The seabed along the deepwater pipeline route is often
characterised by pockmarks and other small-scale
morphological features. Pockmarks are believed to be
depressions caused by gas dissipation from shallow
reservoirs resulting in erosion of the seabed sediments.
Muddiapirs, mud mounds and mud volcanoes are
associated with the rise of gas charged sediments towards
the seabed and may lead to excess pore pressure which in
turn can trigger sliding or at least weaken the soil or result
in erosions. By careful routing of the pipeline, the
pockmarks and other morphological features can be
avoided.
ENGINEERING ANALYSES
98
Based on the results of geophysical surveys, X-ray
radiography, ROV studies and soil testing representative
geologic and engineering model of turbidity flows and
seafloor stability are developed to estimate the loading on
the pipeline.
Slope Stability
If a pipeline traverses a slope that becomes unstable and
starts to slide, the pipeline can be displaced laterally by
the motion of the soil. Earthquakes are the most important
release mechanisms for landlsides. The critical angles for
slide release show a broad scatter varying from 0.5" on
continental slopes upto a maximum of 50" - 60". The value
of critical angle depends mainly on the properties of the
sediment and the magnitude of the release mechanism.
For slope stability analysis, peak horizontal acceleration
can be estimated from the site specific seismic hazard
evaluation for appropriate annual return period earthquake.
Vertical accelerations may be assumed half of the
horizontal values. From the bathymetric profiles, the
gradient of the slopes transverse to the pipe can be
determined. Stability analysis can be performed with the
computerprogram STBLAD (1975). The program includes
capabilities for input of 'horizontal and vertical
accelerationsto simulateearthquakesas quasi-static forces.
A methodology for evaluating the seismic stability of clay
slopes and estimatingthe magnitude of earthquake induced
deformation is described by Nadim (1996). The
appropriate undrained shear strengths to be used in static
and dynamic (Pseudo-static) stability analysis are
establishedthrough a special laboratorytesting programme
considering the effect of rapid rate of loading, permanent
shear stress on the potential failure surface, cyclic loading
induced by earthquake ground motion, creep deformation
after the earthquake, and post-cyclic shear strength. The
analysis provide the factors of safety against slope
instability as a function of the peak earthquake
acceleration.
Landslides without earthquakes occur when a slope is
oversteepend by sedimentation at the top or is undercut
by scouring near the bottom. The return interval of massive
gravity slides can be estimated based on the amount of
timi requied to deposit the material that slumps.
Turbidity Currents
In turbidity currents, the sediment particles are held in a
state of auto-suspension by the turbulence of the fluid flow.
The rate of sedimentation exactly matches the rate of
erosion, and there is no net sedimentationor erosion. The
flow of turbidity currents across the piepline will induce
drag forces on the pipeline that are proportional to the
density of the fluid and the square of the flow velocity.
The lateral force induces tensile stress in the pipeline. If
sufficient data to determine the frequency and present
activity of turbidity currents is not available, the flow may
be conservatively assumed to carry sand and silt particles
and may be modelled after a recorded event which occurred
offshore Oahu, Hawaii in 1982 (Dengler et al., 1984).
Fault Movement
if a pipeline is crossing a fault, an earthquake can affect
the pipeline by relative motion of two adjacent sides of a
fault. Normal faults induce tension in a pipeline that crosses
perpendicular to the fault and reverse faults induce
compression. Vertical displacement across a normal or
reverse fault can result in unsupported spans. There is a
historical basis for consideringpipeline failures due to fault
crossings. It is difficult to estimate the likely movement
across a fault crossing. Fault offset can be predicted using
empirical relationships between fault displacement and
Richter magnitude (Lindeburg, 1982 ; Walls and
Coppersmith, 1994). A simplified relationship between
fault offset and strain in the pipeline is given by Newmark
and Hall (1 975).
Seabed Interactions
The pipeline laid on an extremely rocky and uneven seabed
remain in touch with seabed for short lengths and free
spanning for large portions with suspended free spans
exposed to the current induced vortex sheddingvibrptions.
Digital seabed profiles are directly loaded from the survey
data processor into the pipeline stress analysis program to
evaluate the effects of uneven seabottom for the
installation, operation, and accidental flooding load cases.
Digital terrain model of the entire pipeline corridor allows
to carry out a series of simulation in order to be able to
evaluate and optimise free span interventionmethods such
as mechanical supports, seabed exeavation, rock
dumping, etc.
CONCLUSION
The current practice for acquiring geophysical and
geotechnical data for design and installation of deepwater
pipeline is presented. The paper highlights the integrated
studeies used to perform geologic hazard evaluation and
engineering analyses.
99
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Considerable help has been taken in the preparation of
this paper from the various publications, presentations,
and discussions during feasibiKty studies on the Oman -
India Gas Pipeline Project. The Author expresses his
gratitude to Oman Oil Company and the team of
Consultants and Contractors involved in this most
challenging project for the help.
REFERENCES
Campbell,K.W., Thenhaus, P.C., Mullee, J.E., and Preston,
R. (1 996), 28th Oflshore Technology Conference,
Houston, Texas, OTC 8135, pp. 185-195.
Dengler, A.T., Noda, E.K., and Normark, W.R. (1984).
Slumping and Related Turbidity Currents Along
Proposed OTEC Cold-Water-Pipe Route Resulting
from Hurricane Iwa, 16th Offshore Technology
Conference, Houston, Texas, OTC 4702,
pp. 475-480.
Dutt, R.N. ( 1995). Review of Deepwater Sediments :Their
Environment ar,d Engineering Characteristics, 8th
Deep Offshore Technology Conference, Rio De
Janeiro, Brazil, V01.2, Session B4, pp. 43-58.
Evans, R.E. (1996). The Oman - India Pipeline Route
Survey 1994, Towards 2000 :Meters or Millenium
Deepwater Site Investigation Conference, London.
Hamilton, I.W. (1996). Geophysical Investigation of
Foinaven and Schiehallion, Towards 2000 .- Meters
or Millenium Deepwater Site Investigation
Conference,London.
Hampson, K. and Power, P. (1996). Geotechnical
Investigations for the Foinaven and Schiehallion
Developments, West of Shetland, Towards 2000 :
Meters or Millenium ? Deepwater Site Investigation
Conference,London.
Humphrey, G.D. and Adams, J.B. (1 995). TSP-Insitu
Testing System for Geotechnical Studies in 3000
Meter Water Depth Environments,8thDeep mshore
Technology Conference, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil,
V01.2, Session B4, pp. 1-14.
Hussong, D.M. (1 996). Review of Available Deepwater
Survey Geophysical Systems, Ecosounders, Side
Scan Sonars and Sub-bottom Profilers, Towards
2000 : Meters or Millenium ? Deepwater Site
Investigation Conference, London.
Kuhn, H. (1996). Deepwater Site Investigations Offshore
West Africa, Towards 2000 :Meters or Millenium ?
Deepwater Site Investigation Conference, London.
Lindeburg,M.R. (1 982). SeismicDesign for the California
Civil Professional Engineering Examination,
Professional EngineeringRegistration Program, San
Carlos, California, Third Edition.
Lunne, T. (1996).Deepwater SedimentSampling, Towardr
2000 : Meters or Millenium ? Deepwater Site
Investigation conference, London.
Lunne, T., Tjelta, T.I., and By T. (1997). Deepwater
Geotechnical ChallengesOffshoreNorway, Int. Con$
on.Deepwater Technology, Advancements and
Challenges, Bombay, India.
Montarges, R., Fay, J.B., and Le Tirant, P. (1987). Soil
Reconnaissance at Great Water Depth, 4th Deep
Oflshore TechnologyConference, Monaco, Vol. VI,
pp. 18-29.
Mullee, J.E. (1995). Oman - India Pipeline Route Survey,
2 7th Oflshore Technology Conference, Houston,
Texas, OTC 7676, pp. 335-345.
Nadim, F. (1996). Analysis of Earthquake Induced
Submarine Slides, Towarws 2000 : Meters or
Millenium ? Deepwater Site Investigation
Conference, London.
Newmark, N.M. and Hall, W.J. (1975). Pipeline Design
to Resist Large Fault Displacement,Proc. of US.Na-
tional Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Ann
Arbor, Michigan, pp. 416-425.
Pelletier, J.H., Doyle, E.H., andDutt, R.N. (1996). Towards
2000 : Meters or Millenium ? Deepwater Site
Investigation conference, London.
Power P. and Barwise, A. (1996). Deepwater PCPTs for
Drilling Rig Sites, Towards 2000 : Meters or
Millenium ? Deepwater Site Investigation
Conference, London.
STABLD (1975). Computer Analysis of General Slope
Stability Problems, JHRP- 75-8, Joint Highway
Research Project, Engineering Experiment Station,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Smith, D.V. and Tronstad, K. (1994). Deep Sea Hammer
Corer, Electronic Engineering in Oceanography,
Conference, Publication No. 394, pp. 129-134.
Wells, D.L. and Coppersmith,K.J. (1994). New Empirical
Relationships among Magnitude, Rupture Length,
Rupture Width, Rupture Area, and Surface
Displacement, Bulletin of the Seismological Society
ofAmerica, Vol. 84, No. 4, pp. 974 - 1002.

100
GE 0 $%%&, international Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
APPLICATION OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURE MECHANISM TO ASSESS
CO~DUCTORSETTING DEPTH IN NOR~ALLYCO~SOLIDATEDCLAY
Tushar Kanti Roy
Dy.Supt. Engr. (Civil), Institufe of Engineering & Ocean Technology CIEOT), Oil 6 Natural Gas Corpmafion Limited, Panvel, Navi
Mumbai 410 221, India

Synopsis: The current practice of driving the conductors to about 50-60 meters below the seabed or depth of refusal in
Indian offshore is conservative. Considering the current design criteria and hydraulic fracture mechanism adopted all over
the world for determining the conductor setting depth, a considerable amount of money can be saved with respect to
material and jack-up rig time. Mud losses due to hydraulic fracture cause severe inconveniences to drilling activities in the
offshore and in some cases jeopardize the platform foun~tionintegrity. Existing hydraulic fracture theories are discussed
and compared with the normal practice adopted in normally consolidated clays.

INTRODUCTION fracture to be the governing mechanism. Hydraulic

The method of determining conductor setting depth is
based on the assumption that existing overburden pressure
develops the capability of foundation to resist hydraulic
fracture. This assumption leads to higher conductor
setting depth resulting in higher material and installation
costs. In India, the conductors for drilling oil and gas
wells are, in general, driven to about 50-60 m below
seabed. The conductors are driven by hammer to a
predetermined depth or point of refusal from a jack-up
rig. Conductors prevent the upper portion of the hole from
caving in and water from entering and mud from leaving
the hole. In offshore these conductors also protect the well
casings from environmental forces. Typically conductors
are 660 to 762 mm diameter pipes. The conductors
should be driven below the seabed to gain adequate
bearing capacity so as to transfer the self-weight and the
toad of biow out preventor and initial casing hung off to
the soil.
Hydraulic fracture is a tensile failure of the borehole wall
that causes cracks to open. It occurs when the pressure
inside the borehole exceeds the strength of soil. Hydraulic
fracture is known to be the cause of earth dam failure.
This phenomenon has successfully been utilised in the oil
industry to exploit greater yield from the wells. On the
other hand, it can pose serious problem during drilling
operation. Drilling fluid may go to the soil instead of
being returned to the drill floor in the event of hydraulic
fracture. There can be huge loss of mud fluid in additior
to the remedial measures to be taken.
CURRENT DESIGN CRITERIA
fracture will cause a vertical crack in normally
consolidated or slightly overconsolidated clay. In heavily
overconsolidated clay a horizontal crack will be formed
since the vertical overburden pressure represents the
minor principle stress. Hydraulic fracture will initiate
when:
where:
Pmax = mud pressure at depth L below seabed
03 = total minor principal stress at depth L
The mud pressure, pmm,can be expressed as:
where:
Ym = unit
weight of drilling fluid
H =water depth
d = height of mud discharge level above water
The total minor principal stress, 0 3 , can be written as:
where:
0
; = effective horizontal earth pressure = k,0;
: = effective overburden pressure = y:
0 L
U,, = hydrostatic porepressure = yw (H+L)
y; = submerged unit weight of soil
yw = unit weight of sea water

Though there are several phenomena that cause mud To avoid hydraulic fracture the minimum setting depth,];,
loses, the current design criteria consider hydraulic must meet the following criteria:

101
For vertical fracture
For horizontal fracture
Both horizontal and vertical stress profiles are plotted in
figures 3 and 4 along with the mud pressure profile for
sites 1 and 2 respectively. Conductor setting depth is
chosen as the intersection of o h and pmaxor o, and pmax,
whichever is deeper. This procedure of selecting
conductor setting depth is grossly conservative in heavily
overconsolidated clays.
According to Andersen et. al. (1994) conductor setting
depth can be worked out from the recommended
maximum drilling mud pressure, pmm, and hydraulic
fracture pressure, pi, using the equation given below:
(3)
where:
yI = coefficient depending on the consequences
of hydraulic fracturing
y2 = coefficient depending on the uncertainties in
the soil data used to determine the hydraulic
fracture pressure
The recommended setting depth should be found as the
intercept between pmax line and the maximum mud
pressure line.
FRACTURE THEORIES
Different theories are available to explain the soil failure
due to increasing hydraulic pressure. The commonly used
theories are explained here.
Fracture Propagation Theory
This theory is applicable when the minor principle stress
is overcome and cracks are opened in the soil around the
borehole. Jaworski et a1 (1981) proposed an empirical
equation based on laboratory tests to estimate the fracture
pressure and is given by:
q = m 0 3 + ot (4)
102
where:
of = total fracture pressure
o3= minor principle stress
ot=tensile strength available to resist cracking
m = 1.5 to 1.8 for different sample groups tested
As the tensile strength of soil is negligible, a crack
approximately perpendicular to the axis of the least stress
in the soil is developed when the stress is reduced to zero.
This was observed by Bjermm et a1 (1972) while
conducting permeability tests by pushing a piezometer
into normally consolidated clay in the laboratory. This
theory is based on the formation of vertical cracks when
the circumferential stress exceeds the excess pressure in
the borehole. This would happen when the coefficient of
earth pressure at rest, k,is less than unity. However, in
overconsolidated clay, where K., is large, lateral stress
will be significantly higher than the vertical stress, in
which case a horizontal fracture is likely to initiate.
Plastic Flow Theory
This theory is applicable when the difference in two of the
orthogonal stresses causes shear failure and the strains in
the soil increase the borehole radius. Cracks may or may
not open during shear failure. Before the initiation of any
fracture, the soil around the borehole may yield
plastically, provided that seepage has occured during
testing. When the borehole expands, the radial strain is
compressive, while the circumferential strain is tensile.
Hence plastic yield will occur when:
where:
or= radial stress
= circumferential stress
s, = undrained shear strength of soil
Palmer (1972) demonstrated that at failure the hydraulic
pressure, of, will equal the radial stress, and the
circumferential stress is same as the in-situ horizontai
stress, oh.Therefore, equation (5) can be rewritten as:
This relationship, in general, overpredicts the hydraulic
fracture pressure. This may be due to highb values of the
heavily overconsolidated clays or because of occurrence
of significant seepage during the test.
Mori and Tamura (1987) showed that, in cohesive soils,
shear failure, rather than tensile failure, near the borehole
initiates failure and proposed:

Of =cT3+2su (7)
This relationship is same as equation (6) in case of
normally consolidated clays like the clays at these sites.
Cavity Expansion Theory
If the borehole walls are smooth, the stresses around the
cavity will be evenly distributed. In such case soil fails by
cavity expansion. Gibson and Andersen calculated the
indefinit~ expansion of the cavity occurs in a
pressuremeter test when:
where:
G~~ = pressure
required for cavity expansion
G = soil shear modulus = E/2( l+v)
v = poisson's ratio of soil
Total pressures versus depths are plotted in figures 5 and
6 for sites 1 and 2 respectively. The plots of total pressure
from cavity expansion theory in figures 5 and 6 are given
for Gls, of 250 which are thought to be representative of
Indian marine normally consolidated clays.
SITE DESCRIPTION
Two sites are identified on the west coast of Indian
offshore for the present study. The soils at site 1 consist of
soft to stiff clay layers. The soils at site 2 are also
predominantly clay layers with few sand and silt layers in
between. The clays at both the sites are normally
consolidated with OCR of 1. The water depths at site 1
and 2 are 57 m and 61 m respectively. The shear strength
and unit weight profiles for both the sites are presented in
figures 1 and 2 respectively.
CALCULATION OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURE
PRESSURE
The proposed approach is based on Andersen et a1 (1993)
and the generally accepted principle that hydraulic
fracture occurs when the minor principal effective stress,
03' ,becomes negative (i.e. tensile) with a magnitude
exceeding the tensile strength of the soil, q,i.e. when :
o3+ 0,s 0
In the proposed calculation approach, the minor principal
effective stress is determined by calculating the total
stress and pore pressure in the soil around the borehole. In
this approach emphasis is given on modelling of non-
103
linear stress-strain properties of soil and pore pressure
change in the soil. The non-linearity and the pore pressure
characteristics can be determined from the laboratory tests
in which the stress conditions around the borehole are
simulated. The proposed calculation approach involves
the following steps:
1. Establish stress-strain and pore pressure soil data
from representative laboratory tests on soil samples
consolidated to the in situ stresses.
2. Calculate changes in total normal stresses and shear
stresses at the borehole periphery as ~ c t i o n sof
excess borehole pressure, APm, by non-linear finite
element analysis of a circular disc.
3. Calculate the pore pressure change at the borehole
periphery as a fbnction of excess borehole pressure
based on octahedral normal stress changes (Aooct),
shear stresses and pore pressure.
where, D is a pore pressure parameter calculated
from laboratory DSS tests.
4. Calculate effective stress change, A G and
~ do;, as
a function of excess borehole pressure, APm, by
subtracting the pore pressure changes in step 3 from
the total stress changes in step 2.
5. Determine the excess borehole pressure, which first
-
gives either A o i = (bo,,' -
+ q)or ACT: = (0;+
ot) from plots of AD; and A& as functions of
excess borehole pressure. The tensile strength of
soil may conservatively be assumed as zero.
6. The fracture pressure is calculated as, pf = U, +
K o ~ ;+ Apm or pf = U, f a; -t Apm, depending on
whether Ap, is governed by AGO' or Ao;.
7. If the result from step 5 is that fracturing will not
occur, the cavity expansion pressure should be
calculated and used as the limiting value.
TEST EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURE
Hydraulic fracture tests are performed using a rig or
drillship. A standard 5 inch drillstring is used to drill the
soil above the bottom of the test depth. The drillstring is
then clamped. Fracture tests are performed using a single
wireline packer assembly inserted into a predrilled pilot
hole below the main boring. The pilot hole is drilled using
a 2.87 inch OD open-centre drag bit mounted on a drilling
sub which is lowered and recovered by wireline overshot.
Torque and bit load are transfered to the pilot bit by the
main drill string. The pilot bit plugs the main drill string
so that drilling mud is diverted through the pilot bit to
lubricate the bit and remove cuttings from the hole.
On reaching the target depth a packer assembly is lowered
to the base of the drillstring and inflated. The pilot bit and
packer assembly are shown in figure 7. The inflatable
rubber bladder is mounted on a hollow rod connected to
the bottom of a steel housing containing a pressure
transducer. Two hoses in a composite umbilical connect
to the top of the housing and provide compressed air for
packer inflation and fluid under pressure to induce
hydraulic fracture. On completion of the test, the packers
are deflated and withdrawn.
The fracture pressure, ofis defined as the point at which
the flow rate drastically increases. A typical plot from an
in situ hydraulic fracture test is shown in figure 8. The
fluid pressure above hydrostatic, p', at the test depth is
expressed as:
p' = pt + y w h - Ap
where:
pt = fluid pressure measured by the transducer near
Pump
h = height of pressure transducer above mean sea
level
Ap = pressure drop in the umbilical between
transducer and pressure chamber.
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
The current design criteria is used to estimate the
conductor setting depth for the two sites. The estimated
conductor setting depths for sites 1 and 2 are 40 and 48
meters as shown in figures 3 and 4 respectively. Due to
lower values of k, = 0.5, ov becomes the governing
criteria for conductor setting depth estimation for the sites
under study. The present practice of driving the
conductors to about 50-60 meters or till refusal has lot of
scope to reduce the conductor setting depth and
consequently to save in material, fabrication and
installation costs.
In absence of any hydraulic fracture test in the area, it was
not possible to compare it with the different hydraulic
fracture theories.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
From the present study, the following conclusions can be
drawn:
104
a. Conductor setting depth can be reduced and thus
significant savings can be achieved by performing
hydraulic fracture tests. The savings will be in the
form of reduced material, fabrication and
installation costs.
b. In addition to conductor setting depth, hydraulic
tests provide valuable data for planning mud
programme for oil drilling.
c. The fracture pressure measured in-situ provides a
measure of in-situ shear stresses.
Based on the present study the following
recommendations are made.
a. In absence of any hydraulic fracture test data in
Indian offshore, it is difficult to compare the
different fracture theories. At present, generalized
theory of hydraulic fracture strengths in all types of
clay is not available. Hence, it is recommended
that, until such a theory evolves, reduction in
conductor penetrations are only applied on asite
specific basis where hydraulic fradture test have
been performed.
b. Hydraulic fracture tests can be performed asa part
of the routine offshore geotechnical site
investigation.
REFERENCES
1. Andersen, K.H and Lunne Tom (1994)."A method to
determine conductor setting depth in clay'', Proceeding
BOSS.
2. Andersen, K.H; Lunne, Tom; Rawlings,C.G; By,T.H
(1993)."Hydraulic fracture as a criteria for conductor
setting depth in clay", Canadian Conference on Marine
Geotechnical Engineering, Vol.1, page 4-26.
3. Bjermm, L., Nash, J.K.T.L et a1 (1972), "Hydraulic
Fracturing in Field Permeability Testing",
Geotechnique V01.22 No.2.
4. Jaworski, G.W, Duncan, J.M. and Seed, H.B. (198 1).
"Laboratory Study of Hydraulic Fracturing",
Proceeding ASCE Vol. 107, No. GT6, pp 713-732.
5. Overy, R.F. and Dean, A.R. (1986) "Hydraulic
Fracture Testing of Cohesive Soils", OTC 5226.
6. Wright N.D. and Tan M (1991), "Hydraulic fracture
tests in heavily overconsolidated clay to determine
conductor setting depths" Proceedings of International
Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference,
Edinburgh.
 -
- I

Site 1
- - Site 2

1001

Fig. 1 Undrained Shear Strength profile g. 2 Submerged Unit Weight profile

Fig. 4 Pilot Bit and Packer Assembly

0 1000 1500 2000
Fluid Pressure (kPa)

Fig. 3 Typical Hydraulic Fracture Test Results

105
 SSSESSE, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

DEVELOPMENT OF NGI’s DEEPWATER GAS PROBE, DGP

Karl Henrik Mokkelbost and Stein Strandvik
Norwegian Geotechnical Insfitute,.NGI, Norway

Abstract
The paper describes the development and testing of a new device for sampling of in situ pore water. The device
is referred to as the Deepwater Gas Probe, DGP, and represents a new generation of geotechnical instruments
that can be operated in geotechnical soil borings in downhole mode without the use of an umbilical cable. The
probe is capable of working in water depths down to 2000 m and can sample pore water with its content of gas
and sture it under in situ conditions. The DGP is an instrumented tool, and in the development great attention
was given to its robustness and to make it easy to maintain and operate. Upon design of the DGP, a prototype
was tested and calibrated in the workshop. To date the D W has been used successfully in two soil
investigations.

INTRODUCTION disturbance. Research by Lunne et al, 1998, has

Soil investigations in increasingly deeper waters have
required development of new equipment and new
technology. Over the last decade NGI’s BAT-probe
has been used world wide for porewatedgas sampling
and porewatedgas saturation (q) profiling. The BAT-
probe has a pressure limitation of about 700 m of
water. When moving into the deep waters of the
Norwegian Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, NGI decided
to develop a new tool for operation without an
umbilical cable. The probe, now referred to as NGT’s
Deepwater Gas Probe (DGP), is capable of
porewatedgas sampling in water depths down to 2000
m, and the DGP uses completely new technology
compared to the BAT-probe.
PURPOSE OF POREWATER GAS SAMPLING
The main purpose of testing with the DGP is to obtain
samples of the in situ pore water that can be analysed
for content of gas. The analysis of the sample is
made in a gas chromatograph upon retrieval of the
probe, and the main aim is to look for presence of
hydrocarbon gases namely methane, ethane and
propane. This enables us to calculate the in situ pore
water gas saturation, q, under the in situ conditions of
pressure, salinity and temperature. The same
theoretical approach that has been used for sampling
and testing with NGI’s offshore BAT-probe is also
used for the DGP. The theory and procedures are
described in detail by Rad and Lunne, 1994, and with
further case histories with B.4T testing given by
Mokkelbost, 1996.
revealed that even a small amount of gas (5 to 10 96)
dissolved in the pore water can have a significant
impact on the sample quality when sampling in deep
waters. Knowledge on the in situ gas content and gas
saturation can thus be important for the procedures
used in the subsequent laboratory testing program and
interpretation of the test results.
DESIGN CRITERIA FOR THE NEW PROBE
Ideally the DGP should be designed to operate with
equipment from any geotechnical contractor
performing offshore soil investigation. For the first
project NGI worked with Fugro Engineers B.V.
(Holland), FEBV. It was therefore a requirement that
the DGP was fully compatible with the XP-system
designed and operated for deep-water soil
investigations by FEBV. The XP-system is a carrier
and installation tool that can push geotechnical
instruments or a sample tube in to the bottom of a soil
boring. This lead to a set of criteria that were
absolute in design in order to be compatible with the
XP-system and to apply to the requirements set forth
by NGI.
Absolute requirements in design
0 Operating in 2000 m water depth
Although soil investigations in water depths of 2000
m are not a barrier to day, it seemed like a reasonable
design limit for the tool at present. This means that
the probe was designed and tested in the workshop for
pressures in the excess of 200 bars (20MPa).

When sampling of seabed sediments in deep waters, 0 Restrictions to outer dimensions

the samples undergo an extreme stress relief when Compatibility with the XP-system set strict
brought to the ship deck. Gas dissolved in the requirements to the dimensions of the probe. The
porewater may come out of solution and cause sample outer diameter had to be 36 mm, the maximum length

107
could not exceed 1700mm, and the tool had to be
flush without seals in the upper 1400 mm. The outer
diameter combined with the requirements to the
strength of the tool left very little room inside for the
necessary instrumentation.
0 No umbilical cable i.e. all operations
programmed
This meant that the probe had to carry its own power
supply and be instrumented to read and store data
from sensors. It also needed a programmable unit
that could start and stop the sampling process.
0 Installation by free-fall, i.e. large shock forces
upon landing in drillbit
During normal operations with the XP-system, the
tool is dropped inside the drillstring. During free-fall
it has a velocity of about 15 m/s decreasing to 3 to 4
m / s when approaching the drill bit, and the equipment
is exposed to large shock forces in the order of 400.G
upon landing and latching inside the drillbit.
Important aspects in design
0 Measure and log pressure and temperature during
testing
In order to fully analyse a pore water gas sample it is
necessary to know the exact pressure and temperature
of the sample at the time when a small gas sample is
extracted for gas chromatograph analysis. Thus, the
pressure and temperature inside the container during
sampling are not absolutely needed, but it was given
high priority to be able to log both parameters during
sampling. The in situ soil temperature is important
for the outcome of a DGP test, but is also an
important parameter for other geotechnical
considerations.
0 Design and shape of container and general
maintenance
Previous sampling with NGI's BAT probe has shown
how important it is to rinse, flush and clean the
sample container to avoid cross-contamination
between tests. Therefore, it was desirable to design a
container with tubes and compartments that could be
flushed from both ends with water and gas to make it
clean.
0 Handling of pore water gas sample under high
pressure.
With a design limit of 200 bars it is necessary to be
able to handle a pore water gas sample with pressure
in that range. An extracted gas sample to be analysed
in the gas chromatograph has a pressure of 1
atmosphere or 1 bar absolute pressure. A system was
therefore needed to reduce the pressure inside the
container from the in situ pressure inside the
container after sampling, which could be as high as
108
20 MPa, and down to a pressure that could be
handled, say maximum 1 MPa. Furthermore, in order
to apply to the general routines in a soil investigation,
we needed a tool that could be prepared for the next
test within 30 to 60 minutes. The process of
analysing and sealing off a sample, rinsing the
container and reprogram the log units for a new test
had to be carefully planned.
TECHNICAL SOLUTION
In the design of the DGP a multidisciplinary approach
was required. Previous experience with structure
monitoring helped in selecting procedures for
measuring and storing of pressure and temperature
data. Experience gained through laboratory testing of
rock under extremely high pressures helped to find a
valve technology for 20 MPa that could sustain the
shock-forces during installation in the drillstring.
Following the requirements listed above, DGP was
designed and built mainly in NGI's workshop. Figure
1 presents a diagram of the probe with its main units
consisting of a filter unit, a container unit with valve
and the DGP body housing the electrical motor,
pressure transducer, thermometer chip, loggers, timer
unit and battery pack. The total length of the tool is
about 1665 mm including a filter tip of 120 mm. The
container is part of the DGP main body, and has a
volume of about 95 ml. The outer diameter (36 mm),
length of the tool and threads as well as steel quality,
surface hardness and tolerances are made according to
specifications from Fugro Engineers BV in order that
the DGP shall be fully compatible with their XP
carrier tool system. However, the upper crossover
unit (and diameter of the DGP body) can easily be
modified to adapt to other equipment.
Since there is no communication to the DGP unit
once installed in the drillbit, the probe needed a
programmable unit that could open the valve after a
certain time and close it again after the sampling time
was over. The waiting time before opening is
dependent on the drillfloor operation and had to be
adjustable. The sampling time required is dependent
on the permeability of the soil and can vary within
wide ranges; say 5 minutes for sands to several hours
for low permeable clays. The logic unit designed for
the DGP allows for setting of three different time
intervals within the following limits: waiting time
before opening in the range 1 to 30 minutes and
sampling time in range 1 to 120.000 minutes.
The DGP is equipped with a standard pressure
transducer and a standard temperature chip. Reading
and memory units that can be programmed to read the
sensors at pre-set intervals and store the data are
adopted from the industry. After a test the data are
transferred to a PC using optical technique.
CALIBRATION AND TESTING IN THE
WORKSHOP
After the final design of the DGP was made and all
the various components were purchased and
machined, a detailed check was performed. In
particular, great attention was given to the machining
of the 0-ring grooves and the associated 0-ring
surfaces. Because of the high pressure the probe was
designed for, the tolerances for these construction
details were very important.
Following a complete assembly of the probe,
checking that all parts fitted nicely together, most
concern was given to the shock-loads the probe is
exposed to during installation and landing at the
bottom of the drillstring (at the landing ring in the
drillbit. In order to test the DGP for such shock-loads
in NGI's workshop, the probe with an accelerometer
attached was dropped inside a 100 mm diameter pipe
from a height sufficient to give accelerations in the
excess of 500.G. After some testing and adjustments,
all components were found to work satisfactorily. It
was therefore concluded that the DGP was
successfully designed and did pass the test simulating
the in situ working conditions.
Upon the internal quality control and testing at NGI,
the DGP was brought Fugro's offices in Holland for a
detailed test and compatible check. During this test,
the engineers at Fugro could satisfy themselves that
the DGP was made according to their specifications.
The DGP was exposed to another chock load test with
more than 100 repetitions of loads with accelerations
in the excess of 400.G. No damaged was observed to
the internal components of the probe, and it
functioned satisfactorily.
CASE HISTORIES
The Deepwater Gas Probe (DCP) has to date been
used successfully in two soil investigation; at
M@reN@ring in the Norwegian Sea in 1997 and in the
Caspian Sea in 1998.
The first field survey was under contract to the
Seabed Project and was undertaken as a regional and
site specific investigation in deep waters at the
M@reN@ringplateau in the Norwegian Sea. The
second survey with the DGP was under contract to
Fugro Engineers BV in the Caspian Sea in September
1998. Although the water depths were rather modest,
ranging from 118 to 128 m, the client decided to
109
perform the soil investigation without an umbilical
cable using the XP-system. The first project is
described in some detail below.
The Seabed Project is defined by a Group of oil
companies that has development interests in the
M@reN@ring area in the Norwegian Sea. The survey
was conducted in July/August 1997, and the DGP was
used in 2 borings in water depths of 532 and 966 m.
The deepest test was at 304 m below seabed. A total
of 17 DGP tests were performed, out of which 15
were successful. In all tests the DGP was installed
with the XP-system in "free fall mode", and the
testing was performed without any damage to the
testing equipment.
The main objectives with the Deepwater Gas Probe
testing at M@reN@ringwas to obtain in situ pore
water samples for analyses of porewater-gas
saturation, q, and to determine the in situ soil
temperature profile. The q-profiles calculated from
the content of methane found in the pore water in two
borings, are presented in Figure 2. Relatively low q-
values where obtained in the two borings with
porewater-gas saturation values generally below 5 96
in the upper 60 m of the profile, and typically less
than 22 96 in the depth interval 200 to 300 m. The
temperature profile is presented in Figure 3. It is
interesting to notice the difference in seabed
temperature from the "shallow" boring in 532 m of
water with a seabed temperature of 4.8 "C to the deep
boring in 966 m of water where the seabed
temperature was about - 1.0 "C. The boring in
shallow waters reflect a thermal gradient of about 4
"C/100m while the deep boring reflect a gradient of
about 5 "U100m. The subzero seabed temperatures
are not unusual for deep water sites in the Norwegian
Sea where deep cold water currents are dominating
the environments.
LATER DEVELOPEMENTS
Following the successful development and testing of
the DGP, a second probe was designed to monitor the
in situ pore pressure dissipation after installation in
the bottom of a borehole. The probe is referred to as
the Deepwater Porepressure Probe, DPP, and is
equipped with a 6 mm diameter filter tip that reduces
the required dissipation time after installation. The
purpose of the device is to monitor the decay of the
excess pore pressure after installation, and thus be
able to evaluate the in situ pore pressure distribution
with depth. The DPP uses the same design as the
DGP, but is less complicated since there is no
container and valve unit.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

In the development and design of the Deepwater Gas

Probe (DGP), great attention was given to the design
criteria set forth by the geotechnical soil investigation
industry. The device is capable of sampling
porewater with its content of gas and stores it under in
situ conditions. The probe can monitor and store
information on pressure and temperature as they
develop inside the sample container during a
sampling test. The data are used in the subsequent
analyses of the pore water gas saturation, and for
general geotechnical considerations. The paper
describes how the DGP was developed and used
successfully in two soil investigations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The development of the Deepwater Gas Probe has

been funded by NGI solely. The permission from the
Seabed Project to publish the results from the
MGreNGrring 1997 Soil Investigation is greatly
acknowledged .

REFERENCES

Rad, N.S. and T. Lunne, 1994

Gas in soils: Detection and q-profiling.
ASCE, Journal of Geotechnical Engineering.
Vol. 120, NO 4, pp 696-715.

Mokkelbost K. H., 1996

Shallow gas detection using NGI’s BAT probe.
41h International Conference on Gas in Marine
Sediments.
Varna, Bulgaria 28-30 Sepetember 1996.
Proceedings

Lunne,T., T. Berre and S. Standvik, 1998

Sample disturbance effects in deepwater soil
investigations
SUT Conference on Soil Investigations and
Foundation Behaviour
London, Sept. 1998 Proceedings pp 199-220.

110
 Gas saturation, q,%
0 10 20 30 40 50

0 I I I I
+
A f \
Legend
A
L
+ BoringA
A Bonng8,

100

).
200

+
+
+
300 -+
Figure 2. Gas saturation versus depth
From Msre -Vsring 1997 Soil Invest.

In situ soil temperature, aeg.C

-4 0 4 8 12 16

E
d
8
Q
Q,
0

100
I

1
U)

-
Q,
P
5 200
+
P
Q,
n +
+
300
Figure 3. In situ soil temperature versus depth
From Msre- Vsring 1997 Soil invest
Figure 1 Layout of Deepwater Gas Probe

111
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
GEOSa international ~onferenceon Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
THE BREAK-OUT BEHAVIOUR OF OBJECTS EMBEDDED IN OCEAN BOTTOM
A. Ivanov Igor
~ s kr ~ e c ~ ~U~ #~ i cv ~a ts~~~ ~o , ~ fStr.o 83,
~of Roads, ~~ r ~ t State v Irkrrtsk, 664074, Russia

SYNOPSIS - The problems of the research of foundation deconsolidation processes and estimation of structure displacements
due to break-out forces, and conditions, under which structures break loose from their foundations, arise, when it is required
to lift sunk ships, to d e t e ~ confining
e forces of “dead” anchors, to dismount or rearrange sea drilling platliorrms. Structure
displacements are influenced by compressive stress reductions as well as by developing tensile stresses in a soil skeleton.
Stresses and strains of the soil skeleton are evaluated on the basis of solving problems of the consolidation and
deconsolidationtheory.

The necessity of investigations into the interaction of a
structure with its foundation due to break-out forces,
estimation of the break-out conditions and determinationof
the efforts required for the purpose arises when it is
necessary to dismount or rearrange gravitational drilling
platforms or after finishing the work to liquidate the danger
for navigation as well as when it is required to lift sunk
ships and determine the conf~ingforces of gravity anchors
and those with the so called “active suction” and other
cases.
The processes of consolidation and then deconsolidationof
foundation soils (Ivanov P.L., Ivanov I.A., 1991) can easily
be seen on the diagrams (fig. 1, a, b and c), namely, their
loading qs, unloading and break-out force applications qb,
excess pore-water pressure developments U, over a
foundation-bed as well as variations of their settlements S in
time t. In this case volumetric strains of any “point” of the
foundation are determined fmt by compaction developing
and then, by soil swelling, according to the compression
curve (see fig. 1, d), the relation of void ratio e with normal
stress variations of, or the sum of normal stresses 0‘ in a
soil skeleton (‘(effective’’ stresses).
During the first stage of the foundation loading (I in fig. 1)
the process of foundation compaction-consolidation, its
further progress and then pore-water pressure decreases take
place. At the second stage (see fig. l), during foundation
unloading up to qs = 0, there occurs in a number of
foundation zones, soil swelling, accompanied by water input
into soil pores, further pressure decreases in pore water, and
even by the development of negative excess pore-water
pressures. In this case, a gradual structure rising takes place.
The third stage (fig. 1) is c h ~ c t e by
~ the
~ daplication
of a break-out force qb, giving rise to further develop men^
of negative excess pore-water pressures, which gradually
decrease at q b = const and as water inputs into
deconsolidation zones. As a result, the increasing portion of
the break-out force is transferred to a soil skeleton, giving
rise to tensile stress develop men^.

Figure 1. A diagram for the foundation loading and unloading q, excess pore-water pressure variations over the structure
foundation-bed U, vertical s ~ ~ t udispla~ments
re (settlements)S and compression curve for soil loading and unloading

113
When tensile stresses over the foundation-bed reach the
value of soil adhesion &, that is, when the following
condition is satisfied:
qb+ uW=- G = - Ra. (1)
there occurs a contact breaking with soil in the plane of its
foundation-bed and a cavity forms that is filled with pore
water, percolating into it form a soil body. At this stage
(IV, fig. 1) structure rising continues and the soil surface
under the structure foundation-bed lowers (the dotted line in
fig. 1, c). On the compressio~curve it corresponds to the
area (IV) in the soil skeleton, where stresses increase up to
the value of the former existed (in this point) natural stresses
(czS - soil dead-load stresses), in other words, the second
compaction of the former swelled soil takes place.

Figure 2. Lines of equal excess heads in pore Water at different time ~ o m e n t stl,~ t2, t3, tb (see fig. 1, a) in a s ~ ~ t
foundation

Gradual development of the cavity under the structure based on the application of lows of the isothermic gas
foundation-bed, resulting from the structure rising with compression (Boil-Mariott) and its dissolution (Henry).
respect to the soil surface, the value of h (see fig. 1, c)
results in an inrush of water, surrounding the structure into The deconsolidation equation for the conditions of a spatial
the cavity and in complete break-out of the structure from problem in case of a three-component soil with taking no
the soil at the moment tb. account of the soil creep phenomena in the soil skeleton will
look like
Marine soils in natural deposits always contain some
amount of restrained gas in their pores and there always ----
dH
- + (l + e)(l + 2 c ) K V2H , (2)
exists some dissolved gas in pore water. Considerable at 3 .y ..
wo at 3ywaw
expansion of the restrained gas bubbles as well as the gas
and steam liberation under decreased pressures in pore water P O + e)(1 + 2 6 )
markedly influence the rate and character of deconsolidation = 3a t (3)
processes.
s + pn'
p = P, +P,+u,' (4)
The soil deconsolidation process (Ivanov I.A., 1995, 1997)
can be described by a consolidation equation where o is
restrained and dissolved gas. The inclusion of the influence where H - excess heads in pore-water and equals u,,4yw;
of the restrained and dissolved gases on the process of the 0 - summing of normal stresses in the soil skeleton under
soil consolidation was suggested by FIorin V.A. (1961) stable condition; e - void ratio; 'yw - water unit weight;

114
a - coefficient of compressibility, swelling or softening;
K - coefficient of p e ~ e a b i l i6~-; coeficient of soil lateral
pressure; p - coefficient of gas volumetric compression
(volumetric expansion); s - content of restrained gas;
p - coe~cientof gas disso€ution(libe~tion)in pure-water;
n’ - water content in a soil volume unit; P, - h y d r o ~ t i ~
-
water pressure; P, atmospheric pressure; U, (x, y, z, t) -
excess pore-water pressure due to soil consol~dationor
deconsolidation.
The solution to the problems is reduced to the d e ~ n ~ t ~ofo n in consequence the tensile or unloading stresses in the soil
the unknown value of the head function H (x?y, z, t) under
the initial and b o ~ c od n d~i t i given
~ ~ for each i ~ d i v i d u ~
case.
The initial excess heads in pore-water No at a “sudden”
change in the sum of the stabilized normal stresses by a
magnitude of A@ and determined as I-&= A@/3y,4. The
water-tightness condition is satisfied according to the
structure base before the omen^ of the soil contact break-
out, i.e.dH / d z = 0, and after the cavity f o ~ a ~ o n - d~stributedload q = 140 kPa (Fig. 3) was applied to the
according to the base H = qdy,. At the soil surface H = 0
and at the rest boundaries of the consolidation or
deconsolidation area d2H/bX2= d 2 H / a 2= dZH/6k2= 0.
As is seen from the equation (3), the value m depends on the
relation ship between the coefficient of a gas v o l ~ e t r ~ c
expansion and that of a soil softening. The greater the gas
bubble e x p ~ i and
o ~ the lower the s o ~ e n i b i l ofi ~ a soil
skeleton, the greater the value o than 1. As the content of
the restrained gas increases, so does the coefficient of the
gas volumetric expansion; the value m becomes still more
than 1, negative excess pressures in pore-water decrease and
skeleton increase.
The influence of restrained and dissolved gases on soil
deconsolidation was numerically investigated using the
examples of the structure break-outs from the foundation,
the 105x75 m structure being not put deeper. Calculations
were made for the case of fmal completion of the
p r e l i ~ process
~ n ~ of the fo~ndat~on c o n s o l i ~ ~ ~due
o nto
the dead weight of the s ~ c ~ r A e . vertical equally
structure. The load of the structuredead weight qs = 1 10 kPa
and the value of the break-out load q b = 30 kPa. In addition,
a “sudden” load application was used. The depth of the
water area was equal to 30 m.

-150

-100

-50

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 tRa,E.t

Figure 3. A diagram for the foundation loading

Physic~-mechani~l characteristics of the foundation soils and a bit more than 2,6 % when the dissolved gas is
used for the calculations are as follows: swelling coefficient included (curve 2, Fig. 4) the breakage of the structure
a = 4 105 kPa”; swe€ling pe~eability coef~c~ent contact occurs p ~ c t ~ ~~‘suddenly’~
lly
K = 5 10-8smls; e = 0,7;yw = 10 Wm3; = 1; R,= 8 Wa;
s from 0 to 4 %; p = 0,0245 (for air at 0” C); n‘ from 0,41 to Some increase in the time of breaking the structure contact
0,37 (depending on s); P, = 30 kPa. with the soil (Fig. 4) is explained by the fact, that the
dissipation of the negative excess pressure in pore-water
As was shown by the studies (Fig. 4), takring account of considering the restrained gas proceeds than without this
even the smallest amount of restrained gas considerably consideration.
influences the time of breaking the contact of the s t ~ c ~ e
with the foundation soil tha. In case of considering the Numeric& investig~tion~ into the influence of the water area
restrained gas content of a little more than 3,5 %I when the depth H, on the time of breaking the contact of the structure
dissolved gas is not included, i.e. pn’ = 0, (curve 1, Fig. 4) base with the soil tRawere also carried out in the presence of
restrained and dissolved gases.
 700
600
500
400
300
200
100

0 0,5 1,0 195 290 2,s 3,O 395 4,O S,%

Figure 4. Time dependence of breaking the contact with the soil t h on the restrained gas content: 1 - without including the
dissolved gas; 2 - when the latter is taken into account

As the result of the calculations made, it was established the increase in the water area depth considerably increases
(Fig. 5 ) that the time of breaking the contact of the structure and tends to some maximal constant value equal to tRain the
with the soil in the presence of the restrained gas and with absence of the restrained and dissolved gases (line 1, Fig. 5).

tR a , h i
700

600

500

t
400
300

200

100

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Hw,m

Figure 5. Time dependence of breaking the contact tRa on the water area depth €3, in the presence of different amounts of the
restrained and dissolved gas: 1 - in the absence of the restrained and dissolved gases; 2 - in the presence of the dissolved gas
only; 3,4,5,6,7 - in the presence of therestrained and dissolved gases (co~espondingly1,2,3,4,5 ‘3%)

The influence of the incompleteness of the preliminary
consolidation process on the foundation deconsolidationwas
numerically studies using the break-out examples of the
s ~ ~that~ wasr not e put deeper and was analogous to that
considered above. The calculations were performed for
different periods of time of the preliminary foundation
consolidation GOnsunder the action of the dead weight of the
structure. The loads and conditions of their application
correspond to those described before (Fig. 6). Additionally
applied are the following physical-mechanical
characteristics of the soils: coefficient of compression
a = 2 10“‘@a-’; coefficient of p e ~ e a b i at~ compression
i~
K = 1,s - 10-8S ~ S .
As the investigations exemplified (curve 1, Fig. 7), the
greatest influence is observed during the initial period of the
foundation consolidation (up to 15000 h, = 21 mth), i.e.
when considerable excess pressures in the f o ~ d a t i of
o ~the
structure are preserved in pore-water.
At the moment of maximal excess pressure in the f o ~ d a t i o n
of the structure in pore-water breaking the contact of the
structure with the soil occurs “suddenly”. In case of a
definitely complete process of the preliminary consolidation
of the foundation (150000 h, w 17,5 y) the value of time
taken to break the contact of the structure base with the soil
achieves its maximum (648 h, curve 1, Fig. 7) and from here

116
on it remains practically the constant inde~ndentof the structure residence time on the soil.

150

100

50

-5 0

Figure 6. A chart of the foundation loading

A number of numerical studies was done on the consolidation process and the presence of the restrained and
simultaneous influence of incompleteness of the p r e l i m i n ~ dissolved gases (Fig. 7) on the time of breaking the contact
of the structure with the foundation soil.

700
600
500
400
3 00
200
100

0
Figure 7. Time dependence of breaking the contact tRa on the time of the p r e l i m i n ~foundation consolidat~onkOns with the
different restrained gas content s: 1 - in the absence of the restrained and dissolved gases; 2 - in the presence of the dissolved
-
gas only; 3 , 4 in the presence of the restrained and dissolved gases (correspondingly 1,2 %)

It is seen from the above investigations that the inclusion of
only 1 % of the restrained gas at the time of the preliminary
process of the foundation consolidation about 12000 h
( m 17 mth) gives rise to “sudden” breaking the contact of the
structure with the soil (curve 3, Fig. 7). The value of the
time for breaking the contact of the structure with the soil
when the preliminary consolidation process of the
fo~dationis entirely completed decreases up to 358 h, i.e.
the time of breaking the structure contact with the
fo~dationsoil is 290 h less as compared with the case
when the restricted gas is not taken intoconsideration
( t b = 648 h).
References
Ivanov, P.L. (1991). Soil and foundations of
hidroengineering.Moscow, (In Russian).
Ivanov, P.L., Ivanov I.A. (1991). Reconsolidation of
foundations under the action of break-out forces.
Proceedings of X ECSMFE, Italy, Florence, 447-448.
Ivanov, I.A. (1995). Reconsolidation of the sub-soil and
movements of structures affected by crushing and
breaking-off loads. Abstracts of I1 international
conference “Development of Russian arctic offshore”,
Saint-Petersburg,224-225.
Ivanov, I.A. (1997). The study of the interaction between
the gravity platform and foundation under the action of
break-out loads. Abstracts of I11 intemational
conference “Development of Russian arctic offshore”,
Saint-Petersburg, 254-255.
Florin, V.A. (1961). Fundamentals of soil mechanics.
Moscow, Leningrad, Vol. 2, (In Russian).

117
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
GEO sssssss, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3,1999
LOCATING AREAS SUSCEPTIBLE TO MUDSLIDES AND INSTABILITY ON THE
MAP OF INDIAN OFFSHORE
K.S. Prakashal, Digvijay Kumarl, B.K. Sinha: R.K. Choudhary?, B.K. Guptal and A.K. Singh'
'SE@, 2DySE@>
Institute of Engineering and Ocean Technology, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, O.N.G.C. Township, Phase-11, Panvel,
Navi Mumbai 420 221, India
SYNOPSIS : Mudslides and Instability are the major geo technical hazards for offshore structures and submarine pipelines.
Since, these involve large areas, it is necessary to map the susceptible areas for an entire region The areas susceptible to
mudslide and instability due to wave and earth quake Ioading have been presented for surveyed areas of both east and west
coast of Indian offshore. Data for the analysis were obtained from various soil investigations reports for exploratory and
production locations, geophysical survey reports for various locations & pipeline reports and general area reports and Glenn
report. Well known methods have been adopted to carry out the analysis by dividing the areas into grids and sub grids.
INTRODUCTION Nadim (1997) have presented a state of the art report on
submarine land slides and they have reportedthat in clayey
Owing to exploitation of oil resources from offshore fields, soils, even in the areas susceptible to mud slides, the extent
many structures have to be founded in the sea and many of displacements would be of the order of only a few meters
pipelines have to be laid on thesea bed. Mudslides (seabed at maximum.
instabilities or sub aqueous slides) are a potential hazard to
offshore structures such as jacket platforms, oil and gas Henkel (1970) presents the method of analysis for wave
pipelines etc. When placing a structure on the sea.bottom, it loading assuming linear shear strength gradient and this
is not only necessary to evaluate the slope stability situation approach has been adopted and a psuedo-static analysis has
at the specific site but also, look at the possibility of been carried out for earthquake analysis.Natarajan and Gill
structure being hit by slide debris from failure up slope. (Poulous (1988)) have presented a step by step procedure
Slide volumes as large as 20,000 km3 and run out distances for analysis of instability due to waveloading . Ishihara and
in excess of 140 km have been reported in the literature. Yamazaki (1984) have presented a systematic procedure for
determining the depth of instability,
Triggering mechanisms for initiating instability include
wave loading, earthquakes, high rate of sedimentat~on,gas Hence, it is essential to determine whether a location or
hydrates and seepage of gas into shallow deposits. This route falls in the area susceptible to mud slide or instability,
involves geophysical and geotechnical data collection and so as to avoid such routes or design the structures to
interpretation, testing, analysis and presentation of results. withstand such additional forces, in a comprehens~ve
manner for large areas rather than individual locations. This
Extensive soil investigations and engineering surveys necessitates mapping of areas susceptible to mudslide and
performed during the last two decades have yielded a instability on the map of Indian offshore.
wealth of information on the sea bed features, sub surface
conditions and about the soil strength characteristics on the DATA COLLECTION
western and eastern Indian Offshore.
Geotechnical, Geophysical and Environmental data were
Edgers & Karlsrud (1982) have reviewed case histories of collected from various soil investigatio~reports, survey
some submarine slides and the associated soil flows. They reports available for exploratory & produc'tion locations &
have concluded that : submarine pipeline routes and Glenn report respectively.
P Submarine slides may be triggered on very flat slopes,
even as low as 1 degree and the volumes and distances The Geotechnical data comprisifig of a) Undrained shear
from back scarp to toe are enormous in comparison to strength b) Shear strength gradient c) Sand content d)
most terrestrial slides Total or Submerged unit weight e) qc where ever available
o The predominant soil types having large run-out for clays and a) Unit weight b) Water content c)qc where
distances were silts and fine sands and a major factor in ever available d) Fines content e) D50 for sands for over
the development of all these slides was the availability 600 locations were obtained from the soil investigation
of weak and unstable sediments, and the presence of carried out in different fields for various exploratory
triggering mechanisms. (shallow) and production (deep) wells. Information on

119
water depths at various locations wepe also obtained from
the geotechnical reports.
The shallow Geopliysical and bathymetric records and their
interpretation were available for most of the 600 locations
(both west and east coast) as well-as pipeline routes from
the geophysical reports. The area surveyed at each location
is lkm x 1 km and a width of half km on either side for
pipeline routes. The information on sea bed features and
anomalies are reported from side scan surveys. The water
depths reported are based on continuous echosounding
carried out simultaneously with the analog seismic
profiling using an Atlas Deso 10 ecosounder connected to
the transducer. Bathymetric and sub bottom information is
also derived from the subsea geophysical surveys carried
out for pipeline routes and general area surveys. Limited
information about soil strata below thesea bed is obtained
from the shallow seismic surveys. The geophysicalpro~les
has also been used to correlate the top layer of the seabed
and to estimate lateral variability of soil profile
Meteorological data for 100 year storm conditions were
obtained from Glenn reports. These reports present
climatological features, normal wind, wave estimates and
tidal data.
Method of Data Processing
The area on each coast is divided into grids of SO km x 50
km and each grid is further subdivided into subgrids of 10
kms x 10 kms. Each subgrid is analysed based on the data
available for the locations falling in thesubgrid, From the
geotechnical data available for locations falling in ihe grid,
the stability analyses under the wave loading and
earthquake loading were carried out.
To map areas having predominantly clayey or sandy soils
in the top strata (<20m), the geotechnical data were
analysed. When the top soil was sand of at least 2 mts
thick, Ins~bilityanalyses was carried out for each subgrid
and areas susceptible to instability were demarcated. When
the top soil was only clay, mudslide analysis due to wave
and earthquake loading was carried out and areas
susceptible fo mudslides were demarcated. Based on this
study, the areas which are fo,und to be susceptible to mud
slides and instability on the In&an coast are plotted
LABORATORY TEST RESULTS
Laboratory tests were conducted on clay samples from the
areas that are expected to be susceptible to mud slides. The
tests were conducted mainly with wave loading in mind and
included static, cyclic and post cyclic static direct simple
shear tests. From test results it is observed that the cyclic
shear strength at different consolidation stresses were found
120
to be about 75% of the static DSS strength for 148 cycles
(The equivalent number of cycles was determined using
Seed's procedure @as (1983)) based on Raleigh distribution
for wave occurrence for 100 year storm in Indian offshore
and was found to be 148).
ANALYSIS OF SLIDE AND INSTABILITY
Susceptibility of clay strata to mudslides due to wave
loading and earthquake loading was determined using
Henkel's (1970) method and Seed's (Poulos (1988))
procedure respectively. Susceptibility of clay layers to
instability due to wave loading and earth quake loading
was d e t e ~ i n e dby adopting the procedures proposed by
Nataraja & Gill (Poulos (1988)) and Seed et. al. (1983)
respectively.
Analysis of ~ u d s l i d e sin CIayey Soils Due to Wave
Loading
The analysis of mud slides for clayey soil has been carried
out by using Henkel's method (1970). The important
environmental parameters that greatly affect the mudslides
are the wave height, water depth and wave length and the
soil design parameters are the shear strength at the mud line
and the gradient of shear strength with depth. While
collecting the soil design parameters for a particular
location where existence of multi soil layers were observed,
a linear variation has been assumed and conservative values
have been adopted. The bathymetric study has shown that
the west coast and the east coast locations have sea bed
slope of 0.5 degree and 1 degree respectively though small
undulations of slightly higher slopes are occasionally
encountered.
The following expression has been used to calculate the sub
bottom wave pressure
H h
PO zz 2 .cosh(2.w.-)
yw. - L
Where, H, h and L are maximum wave height, water depth
and wave length respectively.
The average of the wave pressures of different locations in
a subgrid has been taken into consideration for analysis.
The factor of safety (FS) against mudslides is calculated as
the ratio of the resisting moment, MR to the driving
Moment MDwhere,
MR = * A
2 sin e
b(4asin 0 - 4br sin B cos e)+ 4bx sin e]
L2p0 2
M D = --r[sin a - tr COS a]+ - x 3 8 v r
2K 3

a=(?)
and fi = angle of slope in Radian
and e is the angle included and x is half width at mudline
cut by an arc of the failure circle.
Average factor of safety (FS), minimum factor of safety
and the maximum factor of safety have been worked out for
each subgrid. The minimum and the maximum factor of
safety depict the uncertainty involved in a particular grid.
The average factor of safety is evaluated by taking into
account the average'shear strength at mud line, average
shear strength gradient and the average sub bottom wave
pressure of the locations in a particular subgrid. When the
average F.S. is less than 1.3, the subgrid is denoted as
susceptible to mudslide. However, study has revealed that
in clayey soils even if the areasare susceptible to mudslide,
the extent of displacements would be of the order of a few
metres at maximum.
From a laboratory test programme it was found that the rate
effect more than compensates the degradation due to cyclic
loading and hence the static analysis for maximum wave
would be conservativeand hence is adopted in the study.
Analysis of Mudslides in Clayey Soils Due to
Earthquake
The gradient of the shear strength to resist the forces due to
earthquake is given by the following expression:
-=0.5sin(2a)+L.cos2
su a(<)
Y'.P Y been obtained from soil investigation reports. qcll that
where a is the slope angle and k is the seismic coefficient.
The value of k is obtained from the response spectra given
in IS 1893 (1984) and is taken as half of the maximum
earth quake/ground acceleration for this pseudo-static
analysis. Average values of environmental and soil design
parameters have also been considered for analysis . Any
subgrid is classified as susceptible to mudslides due to
earthquake if the actual shear strength gradient is less than
the one given by the above expression. Typical results are
shown in table-1.
Analysis of Instability in Sandy Soil Due to Wave
Loading
The analysis of instability is often based on in-situ test
results such as CPT or SPT. These values are correlated
with respect to relative density or density. The correlation
proposed by Fugro-McClelland between CPT(qc) values
and density have been adopted with some modifications.
The method proposed byNatrajan and Gill ( Poulos(l988))
has been adopted for performing instability analysis due to
wave loading. This procedure involves calculation of the
121
actual cyclic shear stress and the shear strength of the sand.
The actual cyclic shear stress is given by the following
expression:
z
Tvh = 3 . 2 5 ~ 0L -
The cyclic shear strength is given by the expression:
z = 0.009 N1
(7)~
As seen from the above expressions, the cyclic shear
strength depends on the SPT(N) value which is in turn has
been correlated to qcvalues.
Analysis of Instability Due to Earthquake
The instability analysis under earthquakes is based on the
research conducted by Seed and many others. The
acceleration due to earth quake, induces cyclic stress in the
soil. The average cyclic stress ratio can be obtained by
using the expression:
rd is typicaIly a h c t i o n of depth. The value ofrd is taken
as 0.96 from Das (1983) . For the purpose of analysis, the
horizontal acceleration ratio ( k a x / g )is taken as 0.1 from
response spectra(1S- 1893). qcl of the sand deposits have
causes instability is determined using the method proposed
by Seed (1983) as a function of ~ h ~ ~ e for / i ~anG earth quake
magnitude of 7.5. These values of qcl have beencompared
with qcll to determine susceptibility to instability due to
earthquake loading. This expression is for an earthquake
magnitude of 7.5. Typical results are given in Table-2.
EFFECT OF HIGH RATE SEDIMENTATION
Sedimentation causes under consolidation. Limited data
available suggests that this rate of O.Olmm/year would be
the maximum for Indian offshore. As the soil investigation
reports give the Undrained Unconsolidated shear strengths,
which depends on the effective stress in the ground and not
on the total over-burden pressure, it automatically
incorporates the effect of under-consolidation. Therefore,
no further reduction in strength due to high sedimentation
ratehnder-consolidation is considered in this analysis.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The study was camed out for effect of wave loading and
earthquakes on mudslides and instability, based on
 Table-1. Typical results of Ananlysis of Mudslides

n
E
4
n 2 r:
TJ
h

3E c
sl a
&
A
X?
‘> 2 3
W v
%
W
Wave loading Earthquake
4 P v

6 CA 5 zs bL
C
A
L
v3
L
v3
L

1-26 4 2 0.6 0.0087 1.47 N Y

5 6.5 1.03 0.0087 2.12 3.72 2.96 N N
8 6 1.7 0.0087 4.07 N N
9 3.66 1.65 28.49 0.0087 2.17 4.17 3.46 N N
10 3 0.98 0.0087 1.74 N N
15 4 0.81 0.0087 1.39 N Y

Table-2 Typical results of Ananlysis of Instability

-
n SUSCEPTIBILITY
s
W
n n DUE TO
~

2 -4 f- ki n
n
n
E
n
L E% a a Wave

=6
n

2
T-
5
g E
W
n

3
M
W
rd
p ?
?
3
W
vl
4
ELT- loading Earthquake
s-3
s
W
0 0 c
.,
0

$ xc4 28
7
Y W w 5
B. * n 2 U
U
0
5 a
[-25 1 19.14 250 9 0.1 0 120 3.9 0 0 120 11.98 N N
5 25.7 250 9 0.1 NIA 120 3.9 0 0 120 16.1 N N
6 20.15 250 9.33 0.1 NIA 146 3.9 0 0 146 12.16 N N
10 25.46 250 9 0.25 15 120 5 0.27 43.63 163.6 20.43 N N
11 22.25 250 9 0.09 12 120 3.8 0.19 27.5 147.5 13.57 N N
15 23.85 250 10 0.1 NIA 200 3.9 0 0 200 13.43 N N
17 23.27 250 8 0.42 2 20 5.9 0 0 20 24.8 Y Y
19 25.9 250 8.13 0.6 5 25 6.3 0 0 25 29 Y Y
20 27.6 250 7.54 0.27 7 15.4 5 0.05 0.87 16.26 26.4 Y Y
23 26.58 250 9 0.6 NIA 120 6.3 80 0 120 26.9 N N
24 24.1 250 8.78 0.22 10.5 80 4.8 0.15 13.75 93.75 19 N N
25 26.48 250 s 0.23 7.6 20 4.9 0.07 1.49 21.5 23.4 Y Y

available geophysical and geo-technical data for Indian
western and eastern offshore. The study is based on input
data from surveyed area of east and west coast of Indian
offshore. The results of analysis are presented in the form
of maps with the susceptible areas suitably indicated. The
results of analysis indicate that most of the Indian offshore
with clayey soil at top is not susceptible to mudslides both
for wave loading and earthquakes. However, most of the
Indian offshore with sandy soil at top is susceptible to
instability due to wave pressure for 100 year storm
condition or earthquake loading which has been also
mapped suitably. Map of a typical sub-grid showing
susceptible areas is given in Fig.1. Besides mapping
susceptible areas to mudslides and instability, the
variability of the top soil for both east and west coast have
been plotted.
In the entire area surveyed, consisting of over 1000
subgrids, 60 sub-grids were observed to be susceptible to
mudslides whereas 54 sub-grids with sand as top layer were
observed to be susceptible to instability either due to wave
loading or due to earthquake. The study can be of great use
in guiding any future construction andlor pipe laying
activity in Indian offshore area covered herein with respect
to threat from mudslides and instability.
Acknowledgement- Authors acknowledge the help of
Farrokh Nadim ,NGI in reviewing this paper.

122
 References:

Das, B.M. (1983). Fundamentals of soil dynamics,

Elsevier Science publishing CO.,Inc., New York.
Edgers, L. and Karlsrud, K. (1982). Soil flows
generated by submarine slides - case studies and
consequences. Proc. 3rd BOSS Conference,
Cambridge, 2 : 425-37.
Nadim, F. (1997). Earthquake Hazard and
Submarine slides-A literature survey, NGI, Oslo.
Fugro McClelland and Engineers B.V. (1992),
General report, Geotechnical Investigations 1990-
1992,West coast of India, Report No 268UG3.
Henkel, D. J. (1970). The role of waves in causing
Submarine Landslides, Geotechnique, 20 : 75-80,
Bureau of Indian Standards (1984). Criteria for
earthquake resistant design of structures, IS 1893.
Ishihara, K and Yamazaki, A (1984). Analysis of
wave induced instability in seabed deposits of sand,
Legends: Soils and Foundations, 24 : 3 : 85-100.
Monty, A.H. and Homa, J.L. (1996). Review of
Geophysics, Submarine Landslides, 34 33-59.
Poulos, H. G. (1 988). Marine Geotechnics, Unwin
Hyman, Sydney.
Seed, H. B, Idriss, I. M. and Arango, I. (1983).
Evaluation of liquefa~tion potential using field
performance data, Journal of Geotechnical
engineering, ASCE, 109 : 3 : 458-482
I I J

-
Fig 1 Typical Sub grids showing Susceptible arcas

123
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
G EO international Conference on ore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

DESIGN OF SUCTION AND PILE ANCHORS FOR AN INDIAN OFFSHORE SITE

E.V. Ramanal, R.K. Ghanekd, Sabu P.Vmghesel, Knut Sehruder2, Per Magne Aas2and Per Spanevik2
'institute of Engineering and Ocean Technology, Oil B Natural Gas Corporation Limited, Punvel, Navi Mumbai 420 221, India
2Numegian Geotechnical Institute, RO.Box 3930, Ullevaal Hugeby, Oslo, N o m q

NORWEGIAN GEOTECNCAL INSTITUTE, P.O. BOX 3930, ULLEVAAL HAGEBY, OSLO, NORWAY

SYNOPSIS

This paper presents a case study of c o m p ~ s o nof steel tonnage of "Suction anchors" and "Pile anchors" for a western
Indian offshore location for a floating production & offloading vessel (FPO). Suction anchors are designed based on Limit
Equilibrjum Analysis methods developed by NCI. Pile anchors are designed based on Soil pile interaction analysis using
SPLICE module which is part of SESAM suite of software program of DET NORSK VERITAS (DNV).

LOAD DATA

Oil and Natural Gas C o ~ o ~ t i oLimited

n (ONGC) has
embarked upon an ambitious exploration program in deep
water frontier areas recently. The structures required for
offshore oil exploration, production and exp~oitationin
deepwater are different from those of shallow water.
Floating structures are the most widely deployed structures
in deepwater.
The anchor~ngof floating structures used during offshore
operations in deepwater gives rise to problems, which
differ from those encountered in traditional marine
operat~ons.One of the important problems facing many
endeavours in the ocean is that of providing reliable
anchors.
The tensions on anchor lines of drilling and production
floating vessels can be very large, limited movsments only
can be tolerated and anchor dragging is not permitted. The
anchoring time may be relatively long, some times several
years.
The anchors are designed for catenary mooring lines
supporting a floating production and offloading vessel
(FPO). A tensile load of 6000 kN acting in a single
mooring line acting at the seabed at an angle of 3.30' to
the horizontal has been considered for the design. A load
factor of 1.3 is considered, To arrive at the optimal
configuration of the suction anchor, the load attachment
points are varied so that the maximum holding capacity is
obtained. For the pile anchors, the load attachment point is
varied along the depth to arrive at pile lateral deflections
within allowable limits. The vertical (V), horizontal (H)
and moment (M) forces at different chain a~achment
points are calculated for three different diameters of 1829,
2032 and 2438 mm. The input parameters for calculating
the forces are presented in Table 1.
Table -1 - Input For Evaluation Of Forces In Chain At
Different Chain Attachment Points

Different types of anchors are being used such as gravity

anchors, drag anchors, fluke anchors, piled anchors and
suction anchors for mooring of floating structures. The
most promising among all these type of anchors, is suction
anchor.

This paper presents a case study of design of a pile anchor

and suction anchor for a floating production and
offloading vessel at a location in the western coast of
India. A comparison of these two alternatives is presented.

125
Horizontal and vertical components are calculated for the Table - 4 - Soil Design parameters For Suction Anchors
given force in the chain acting at the given load
attachment point. Soil Depth y' SU S" SU

Type Compressi- DSS Extension

The results typically for 1829mm diameter pile, are on
presented in Table 2. m kN/ kPa kPa Mpa
m3
Table -2 - Forces In The Chain For Different Chain Clay 0-5 5.8 3.0-10.73 2- 2-9.2
Attachment Points 9.57
Clay 5- 6.5 10.73 - 9.57 - 9.2-24.61
Chain Force Angle at Horizontal Vertical 15.7 6.46. 32.52
Attach- in the the Force Force
ment. chain attach ment DESIGN OF PILE ANCHOR
Point point
From This section presents the following stages of design of a
Mudli- pile anchor.
ne
0 Pile-Soil-pile interaction analysis of pile
Axial pile capacity of pile
Driveability of pile

Pile-Soil-Pile Interaction Analysis

For carrying out pile-soil-pile interaction analysis, the

software module SPLICE, which is part of SESAM
11.5 7526.2 21.55 7000.1 2764.5 supported package available in-house, has been used. Soil
12.5 7502.7 23.36 6887.7 2974.8 has been modelled on the basis of soil design parameters
presented in the earlier section. Different pile
configurations and different load attachment points along
the length of the pile were considered in the analyses. The
external load from the anchor chain was applied at nodes
commensurate with load attachment points.

The results obtained from the pile-soil-pile interaction

SOIL DESIGN PARAMETERS
The soil design parameters used for the design are
presented in Table 3 and 4.
Table - 3 - Soil Design Parameters For Pile Anchors
analysis, using SPLICE are presented in Table 5. The
lateral deflection of 180 mm when chain attachment point
is at 17.5 m below mudline for 1829 mm and 5 1 mm thick
pile with penetration of 35.5 m is acceptable, as the design
criteria the lateral deflection was suggested limited to 10%
of the pile diameter. Hence, the optimally designed pile
configuration is:

Pile diameter - 1829 mm

type 0 Pile wall thickness - 51 mm
m kN kPa De kP M YO Mpa 0 Pile penetration below mudline - 35.5 m
0 Chain attachment point - 17.5 m below the
mudline
0 Length of pile above mudline - 0.5 m

The material coefficient used for the design of pile anchor

is 1.25.

126
 Table - 5 - Res&s From SPLICE uplift force on the designed pile is, 392 I kN, which is
slightly higher than pull out capacity of 3841kN.
However, since material coefficient of I .25 has been used,
Q)
CI
Q)
attach. Late- Axial stress the pile can be accepted without further revision of pile
;
a
*-I

5
c
3
.Point ral' Dispia-
from defle- cement
length. Therefore, the designed pile configuration is
deemed safe for upiift forces also.

Pile Dr~veabiiityAnalysis

File driveability analysis consists of three definite steps.

First, the soif resistance that can be overcome by a
particular Hammer-Pile-Soil system must be determined
by using a wave equation analysis. Second, the soil
resistance to driving @ID)must be estimated from the
soil design parameters given in the soil ~ ~ v e s t ~ g a ~ ~ o
report. Third, by comparing the SRD values arid results of
wave equation analyses, an evaluation of pile driveability
can be made. The wave equation analysis has been
performed using GRtWEAP software. This software uses
one dimensional wave equation theory.
9 12438.4 151 137-5 15.5 1
I

I 196 I

1-1-42
I

f 84.9
The GKVVEAP program requires the following
Axial Capacity infor~ationto fully describe the pile and soit:
The optimally designed pile configuration has been Pile:
checked for adequacy o f the axial puli out capacity. For Q Total length of the pile
evaluating axial pull out capacity, self-weight of pile and Q Cross-sectional area
soil plug weight are considered. Unit skin friction on the Material density
inside of the pile is considered same as the unit skin
friction on the outside of the pile. Plug length to pile
* Young's Modulus
Soil:
~enetrat~onratio has been assumed to be 0.9 for
Q Dynamic soil properties (quake and damping)
calculation of inner skin friction. Axial pile capacity was
catlcufated based on methods used for western offshore Q Skin friction as percentage of the ultimate capacity
India locations. The methods used are: * Skin friction distribution

Sands: U I t i ~ a t e axial bearing capacity in sands is

calculated based on API RP2A - 1993 using k=0.7 in
compression and k=OS in tension. Also, limiting unit skin
friction and unit end bearing values as given in the Table 3
are used.
Clays: Ultimate axial bearing capacity in clays is
calcufated based on Alpha method (Tomfinson, 2977) and
API RP2A - 1986 method 2 with the following
~ u n sis: considered as 0.7 for normally
m ~ ~ ~ ~ c a t Alpha
consoiidated clays with Su/po'=< 0.45. For over
consolidated clays with Su/po'> 0.45, API RP 2A 1986
Method 2 is conside~ed.
Since the lateral deflection of pile to 25.0m pile
penetration is such that proper contact of soil and pile may
not be possible to develop skin friction, pile skin friction
to 25.01~depth is neglected for the axial pull out capacity,
The soil resistance to driving (SRD) has been calculated
based on the soii design parameters, unit skin friction and
unit end bearing values. The following criteria have been
used to compute SRI3 vafues for both plugged and
unplugged cases.
* 50 % of long term skin friction and no end bearing in
clay layers.
Q 100 % of skin friction and 100 % end bearing in sand
layers,
The skin friction cont~butionassumed for the analysis is
22% and that of end bearing as 78%.
For evaluation of driveability, MENCK MHUT 600
hydraulic h a m ~ e has
r been selected.

Axial piIe capacity in pull out of I829 mm dia 5 1 rnm

thick and 35.5 m pile penetration is, 3841 kN where as

127
Results of driveability analysis Holding Capacity And Failure Modes

The results from the GRLWEAP analysis are presented in Holding capacity analysis has been performed using the
Table 7. simplified approach developed by Norwegian
Geotechnical Institute (NGI), (Andersen 1995). The
Table- 7 - Results of GRLWEAP approach uses limit equilibrium method with roughness
factors to account for the three dimensional effects. Load
attachment point is located below mud line such that the
Blow Strok I Energ failure mode is horizontal translation. This failure mode is

drivin-
g stress
count

~-
elyl known to give the maximum holding capacity. A
rectangular plane model for the anchor has been assumed
in the analysis, with dimension perpendicular to the load
direction equal to the anchor diameter.
KN Mpa Mpa BPM M KJ
1 5000 176.80 87.185 65.4 1.74 249.02 Chain configuration and load taken up by the friction
2 10000 176.77 45.461 134.2 1.74 248.82 along the chain embedded in the soil has been evaluated.
248.65
The design load at pad-eye has been found to be 7630kN
3 15000 176.75 27.863 200.0 1.74
at an angle of 15' with the horizontal. Installation
4 20000 176.72 21.129 3 13.0 1.74 248.48 tolerances for tilt and heading of the anchor has been
5 25000 176.66 23.748 5 18.9 1.74 248.33 assumed as 5' and has been accounted for in the analysis.
6 30000 177.31 24.548 786.2 1.74 248.64
The design configuration of suction anchor is as follows:
For the pile size under consideration, SRD at 35.5m pile 0 Anchor Diameter = 6.00 m
penetration is 25200 kN. From the GRLWEAP results for
Penetration depth = 13.50 m
the MHUT600 hammer, the blow count corresponding to
0 Expected Heave = 0.30 m
an ultimate resistance of 25200 kN is about 500 to 550
blows per meter. So, the expected maximum blow count at 0 Additional Length to compensate tilt = 0.26 m
the design penetration is about 500 to 550 BPM. The blow 0 Depth of chain attachment point = 7.40 m
count at refusal is set to 800 - 1000 BPM. The
compressive and tensile stresses induced during driving It is recommended to increase the required anchor length
are within acceptable limits. Hence, the designed pile can by the values of expected heave and length required to
be easily driven by MENCK MHUT 600 hammer. achieve target penetration at maximum tilt. The final
anchor length thus works out to be 14.1 m.
Evaluation of pile selfpenetrafion
Tolerance on anchor tiit has been accounted for by
The submerged self-weight of the pile is 702kN. By increasing the anchor length such that the average
controlled lowering of the pile through guide frame, self penetration remains same as required. The additional
penetration of pile can be expected to range from 15.0 m length required to compensate tilt has been calculated as
to 21.0 m. Additional penetration of about 3.0 m to 5.0 m 0.3 m. Also in the analysis, the load inclination has been
can be expected after placement of the MENCK MHUT reduced by 5' (tolerance on tilt) thus incorporating
600 hammer on the pile in controlled manner. Since conservatism by increased horizontal component of the
expected self-penetration of pile is quite high, it is chain force.
recommended to use guide frame to maintain verticality
and controlled lowering of pile through guide frame. Vertical Holding Capacity

DESIGN OF SUCTION ANCHORS
Analysis was performed for a cylindrica~ anchor with
closed top. This section presents:
0 Analysis for holding capacity of suction anchor
0 Penetration analysis for suction anchors.
A simplified check has been made on the vertical bearing
capacity of the suction anchor. It is conservatively
assumed that the vertical component of the chain force is
transferred to the anchor tip only as base pressure. Bearing
capacity factor Nc required, to resist the vertical force is
calculated and compared with the standardNc factor for a
circutar footing. As additional conse~~atism, submerged
weight of the anchor has also been neglected.

0 Anchor diameter = 6.0 m

128
 Vertical component of chain force = 1975kN suction is about 75 kN. Hence, the designed suction
Su DSS at 13.5 m i.e. at anchor tip = 28.2 @a anchor can be easily installed by suction.
0 Material coefficient = 1.3
Base pressure = = 70 kPa Total Penetration Resistance (kN)
Nc required = 701 (28.2/1.3) = 3.2 0 1000 2000 3000
0.0

Nc factor required is far less than the standard values (6.2

to 9.0) for circular footings. It can be concluded that
adequate margin of safety exists with respect to the 4.0
vertical bearing capacity.

Penetration Resistance Of Suction Anchor

8.0

Prediction of required under-pressure to reach the target

penetration depth is based on the calculated penetration
resistance of the suction anchor. The total penetration 12.0
resistance shall be equal to the submerged weight of the
anchor and the additional driving force given by the
required suction times the cross-sectional area inside the
anchor. The derived under pressure required for I V."

penetration must not exceed critical limits for buckling of Suction Anchor
DiameterXi.0m: Length: 13.5 m; wall thickness:30mm
anchor shell or tension stresses which may cause upheaval
failure of soil plug inside the anchor. Penetration
Fig. 1 Total Penetration Resistance With Depth
resistance is linearly increasing with increased anchor
diameter but the suction force (under-pressure times
anchor area) is increasing with the square of the anchor Suction Pressure (kPa)
diameter. Hence a large diameter suction anchor is 0 50 100 150 200 250
normally easier to penetrate by suction, compared to an
anchor of slender geometry, which may be important for
stiffer soi 1s.

Static undrained shear strength values have been used in f

v
analysis. The same strength profile, which has been used r,
a
for holding capacity analysis, is used for penetration 0"
analysis as lower bound strength profile. A factor of 1.2 C
.-
.'
has been applied on this profile to arrive at the upper t
CI

bound strength profile for penetration analysis. A material E

coefficient of 1.3 has been applied on the strengths for tf
holding capacity analysis.

The results of 'Penetration resistance of suction anchor

along the depth' are presented in Fig 1. The lower bound
total penetration resistance at the design penetration of Suction Anchor
14.1m is about 2250 kN where as upper bound Total Diameter:6.0 m; Length:13.5 m; Wall thickness:0.03m
Penetration Resistance is about 2700 kN.
Fig. 2 Required and Allowable Suction
Required and allowable suction

The results of 'Required and allowable suction' are
presented in Fig 2. The lower bound allowable suction at
the design penetration of 14.lm is about 200kPa where as
upper bound allowable suction is about 235 H a .
The lower bound required suction at the design penetration
of 14.lm is about 65 kPa where as upper bound required
Effect Of Tolerance On Heading Of Anchor For
Holding Capacity
A torsional moment is introduced due to the tolerance on
heading of the anchor. This torsional moment is resisted
by the shear forces developed along the outside of the
anchor. A simplified procedure is used to calculate the

I29
degree of mobilisation of strength for this purpose. CONCLUSION
ModiCled roughness factors to be used in horizontal
holding capacity analysis can then be estimated as In addition to the savings in steel tonnage, it is envisaged
presented below: that saving will also be resulted in installation cost for
suction anchors vis-a-vis piled anchors. This is mainly due
0 Horizontal component of the chain force, Fh = 7370 kN to involvement of heavy lift vessels like derrick crane
0 Horizontal force on the anchor, = Fh. Sin 5' = 642.3 kN barges for installation of piles anchors, whose per day
0 Anchor diameter, D = 6.0 m rates are quite high. In addition, lighter and cheaper
Torsional Moment, MT = 1927 kNm installation equipment like 'Suction pump skid' compared
0 Penetration depth of anchor, L = 13.5 m to sub sea hammers can be used. It is concluded that
0 Average DSS strength over anchor depth, Su= 15.5 kPa suction anchors may be cost effective and competitive
0 Resisting Momen, MR = (. D.L.S,.r,.D / (2.0.m)
foundation alternative in Indian context, in clays.

where r, represents degree of strength mobilisation andm
is material coefficient By equating MT and MR,rt can be
calculated. The calculated value of rt is 0.204.
The roughness factors for active and passive sides can be
calculated as follows:
r = (1-r:) = 0.98
The value of 'Y' thus calculated is very close to 1.0. It is
concluded that the effect of heading tolerance shall be very
limited and has been neglected in the analysis.
COMPARISON OF PILE ANCHOR VIS A VIS
SUCTION ANCHOR
The designed pile anchor configuration is:
However, hrther research and development studies are
required for establishing feasibility of using suction
anchors in sands, especially in calcareous and carbonate
ands, which are prevalent in India offshore.
REFERENCES
1. Andersen, K.H., Dyvik, R. and Schroeder, K. (1992)
"Pull out capacity of suction anchors for tension leg
platforms", Proceediiigs of sixth International
conference on Behaviour of Offshore Structures
(BOSS)' 1992, Vol. 2, 1992.
2. DET NORSKE VERITAS SESAM A.S., (1992)
Manual of SPLICE software, "Structure-Pile-Soil
Interaction Analysis". version - 5.5 - 01.

3. Goble Rauche Likins and Associates, (1988) Manual of

Pile diameter = 1829 mm
GRLWEAP software, "One Dimensional Wave
Pile thickness =51mm Equation Analysis for Pile Driving".
Pile penetration below mudline = 35.5 m
Chain attachment point = 17.5 m 4. Institute of Engineering and Ocean Technology (1998)
Pile above mudline = 0.5 m "Dimensioning of Bucket Foundations - Soil Design
Steel tonnage =805kN (80.5 Tons) Parameters", Report No: IEOT-NGI\GEOTECH\WP4
\ I \98\Part 111. Internal report of IEOT.
The designed suction anchor configuration is:
5. Institute of Engineering and Ocean Technology
Anchor Diameter = 6.00m (1999a),YJserts Manual for Program SUANCH",
Final anchor length = 14.10m Report No. IEOT-NGI\ GEOTECWWP4\6\99\Part 111,
0 Chain attachment point = 7.40 m Internal report of IEOT.
Wall Thickness of anchor = 30.0 m m
Steel tonnage = 622.80kN 6 . Institute of Engineering and Ocean Technology
(Without internal stiffeners and pad eye etc.) (1999b), "Analysis and Design of Suction and Piled
Steel tonnage = 750.00 kN (75.0 tons) Anchors for an Indian Offshore Location", Report No:
(With internal stiffeners and pad eye etc @ 20%) IEOT-NGI\GEOTECH\WP4\7\99\Part11, Internal
report of IEOT.
The steel tonnage for the piled anchors is about 800.0kN
and that of suction anchors is about 750.0kN per anchor. 7. Sparrevik, P. (1998) Suction Anchors - A Versatile
Hence for a typical FPO with 16 number of mooring lines, Foundation Concept Finding its Place in the Offshore
steel tonnage savings of 800.0 kN (80.0 tonnes) is Market", OMAE, 1998.
expected.
 SESSION
I1

Laboratory, In-sitw and Field Testing and

Behaviour of Soils

131
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
GEO -$@gg&
, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Eng~neering,December 2 3 , 1999

LABORATORY MEASUREMENT OF UNDRAINED SHEAR BEHAVIOUR OF CLAYS

SYNOPSIS
Laboratory measurement of the undrained shear behaviour of clays is an important aspect of the design process for offshore
structures. However, the quality and reliability of laboratory data are governed by aqention to soil behpviour issues such as
sample disturbance, anisotropy, stress history, and rate effects. The Recompression and SHANSEP test procedures were
developed to address these issues. They have many common recommendations for conducting laboratory test programmes
but differ significantly in how to handle sample disturbance. This paper reviews the Recompression and SHANSEP
methods and highlights their advantages and disadvantages. The procedures are demonstrated through presentation of two
case histories for terrestrial soils. Application of the methods to laboratory test programmes for offshore soils are discussed.

Engineering Parameters ( S ~ S E P method

Measurement of the. stress-strain-strength behaviour of
soils is an essential element of the design process for
offshore structures. Site characterisation programmes are
used to identify soil types and to determine pertinent
engineering properties such as the initial state variables,
consolidation properties, and shear characteristics. For clay
soils, it is the undrained stress-s~in-stren~h behaviour
that is of critical concern for design. Final selection of
design parameters must consider the influence of soil
behaviour issues such as sample disturbance, anisotropy,
stress history, and rate effects on the behaviour of clays.
Site characterisation of clays is best done through a
combination of in situ testing and undisturbed sampling for
laboratory testing. Each approach has certain advantages
and limitations, as summarised in Table 1, but when
properly used they provide complementary information.
The key disadv~tageto in situ testing is the reliance on
empirical correlations for estimating soil design parameters
whereas accurate laboratory measurements are largely
dependent on the quality of undisturbed samples available.
The most important effect of sample disturbance on
laboratory strength testing is significant reductions in
sample effective stress. Thus, highly variable undrained
shear strength data are often obtained from unconsolidated
u~drained(W) type and consolidated undrained (CU)
tests must be used to minimise these effects.
This paper reviews two laboratory procedures that were
developed for determining the undrained stress-strain-
strength behaviour of clays. They are the Recompression
inethod developed at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute
(Bjerrum 1973) and the Stress History and Normalised Soil
) developed at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ladd and Foott
1974, Ladd 1991). The methods have many similarities.
but differ significantly in how to handie sample
disturbance. Both methods are being used in research and
practice but there are few published case histories that
compare results obtained from the procedures. This paper
first describes each method noting its advantages and
disadvantages. This is followed by results from two case
histories for terrestrial soils. Recommendations for
application of the methods to offshore soils are presented.
~ C O M P ~ S S I OAND
N SHANSEP PROCEDURES
Both the Recompression and SHANSEP methods were
primrsily developed to minimize the adverse effects of
sample disturbance on laboratory testing of clays. Table 2
gives the basic procedure, advantages, and limitations of
both methods. Additional details are provided in Ladd
(199 1). The methods are identical except for the procedure
used to deal with sample disturbance. Both advocate the
use of C&U tests with shearing in different modes of
failure, i.e., triaxial compression (TC), direct simple shear
(DSS), and triaxial extension (TE), at appropriate strain
rates to account for anisotropy and strain rate effects.
In the recompression method, Bjermm (1973) recognized
the unreliable behaviour of the standard W test and
attempted to improve upon this using a CU test. Thus the
recompression method reconsolidates the specimen to the
in situ state of stress as shown in Figure 1. This procedure
assumes that the reduction in water content during
reconsolidation to the in situ state of stress (dye) is small
enough so as to produce undrained shear strength data

133
 Table 1 In Situ Versus Laboratory Testing for Cohesive Soils (after Ladd and DeGroot 1992)

2. Semi-continuousprofile. 2. Well defined and controlled boundary conditions:

3. Tests large soil mass. drained or undrained; variable stress paths; specified strain
4. Response to natural environment.

Therefore best for most engineering properties

r ~~

1. Unknown effects of installation.

2. Poorly defined stress and strain boundary conditions.
3. Cannot control drainage conditions.
4. Nonuniform and high strain rates.

Therefore interpretation depends on empirical correlations

1. Expensive and time consuming.
2. Unavoidable stress relief.
3..Sample disturbance effects may be difficult to identify.
4. Smali, discontinuous test specimens.

that are representative of in situ conditions. Bjerrum where dv,= in situ vertical effective stress, S = s,,/cfvc for
acknowledged that a reduction in water content would OCR = 1, cfVc = laboratory consolidated stress, m =
result in an increase in undrained shear strength but this exponent.
would be compensated by the loss in strength due to
sample disturbance. Berre and Bjerrum (1973)
recommended that the volumetric strain during
recompression should be less than 1.5 to 4 percent. The
method works best when using high quality block samples.

The SHANSEP method is based on the experimental

observation that the undrained stress-strain-strength
behaviour of most “~rdinary” clays, for a given mode of \D‘=> (1.5 to 2)0’*
shear, is controlled by the stress history of the soil deposit.
The method assumes that these clays exhibit normalised Lab
behaviour and uses mechanical overconsolidation to
represent all preconsolidation mechanisms. The procedure
explicitly requires the stress history profile for the soil to
be evaluated which is usually done based on one-
dimensional consolidation tests. Tests are laboratory
consolidated to stress levels greater than the
preconsolidation stress dP to measure the normally
consolidated behaviour. Additional specimens are also scale)
Vertical Consolidation Stress, o’,(log
loaded in this manner but then unloaded to varying
overconsolidation ratios (OCR) to measured @ In Situ Stress @ UUC Test
overconsolidated (OC) behaviour. Normaiised soil
parameters are used to relate the in situ undrained shear
strength s, to the normally consolidated su and the increase @ Recompression SHANSEP
in normalised s, with an increase in OCR as CK,U Test C h U Tests

Figure 1 Consolidation Procedures for Recompression

and SHANSEP Methods (after Ladd et al. 1977)

134
 Table 2 Recompression and SHANSEP Techniques (after Ladd 1991)
RECOMPRESSION
Basic Procedures
1. Perform CK,,U tests on specimens reconsolidated to
the in situ state of stress, i.e., ofvc
= ofvo.
2. Select appropriate combination of TC, DSS and TE
tests to account for anisotropy.
3.Use strain rates of 0.5 to f %/hrfor triaxial tests and
5 %/hrfor DSS tests.
4. Plot depth specific strength values versus depth to
develop s, profile.
Advantages/limitations/Recommendations
1. Preferred method for block samples.
2. More accurate for highly structured clays.
3.Preferred for strongly cemented clays and for highly
weathered and heavily OC crusts.
4. Should not be used for NC clays.
5. Reloads soil in laboratory.
6. Only gives depth specific strength values.
7.Should be accompanied by thorough evaluation of
stress history to check if su/dvovalues appear to be
reasonable.
Due to its inherent assumptions, the method is not
applicable to highly structured, naturally cemented clays
and is questionable for highly weathered clay crusts in
which mechanical overconsolidation does not represent
the primary consolidation mechanism. Ladd and Foott
(1974) noted that the SHANSEP technique will destroy
some important,aspects of soil structure that has developed
during and after formation of the clay deposit. They feel,
however, that the procedure provides a reasonable
estimate of the in situ properties, especially when
compared with other more traditional techniques.
CASE HISTORIES
There are few case histories in the literature that make a
detailed comparison of the Recompression and SHANSEP
methods. Most of the comparisons presented are for case
histories where the tests were conducted at a few specific
depths and not over a larger profile. Results from two case
histories are presented here; one for a 10 m thick deposit
and one. for a 50 m thick deposit. The first case history
I SHANSEP
1. Establish the stress history profile, i.e., ofvo,
ofp,OCR
2. Perform Cl&U tests on specimens consolidated well beyond
in situ ofpto measure NC behaviour and also on specimens
rebounded to varying OCR to measure OC behaviour.
3. Select appropriate combination of TC, DSS and TE tests to
account for anisotropy.
4. Use strain rates of 0.5 to 1 %/hrfor triaxial tests and 5 %/hr
for DSS tests.
5. Plot results in terms of s,/crfvcvs. OCR to obtain values of S
and m for the equation s,/dvc= S(OCR)"', where S = su/dvcfor
OCR = 1 and m is strength increase exponent.
6.Use above equation with stress history to compute s,
profile.
1. Strictly applicable only to mechanically OC and truly NC
clays exhibiting normalised behaviour.
2. Preferred for conventional tube samples of low OCR clays
having low sensitivity.
3. Should not be used for highly structured, brittle clays and
strongly cemented clays.
4. Difficult to apply to heavily OC clay crusts.
5. Unloads soil in laboratory to relevant OCR.
6. Forces user to explicitly evaluate in situ stress history and
normalised soil parameters.
includes data from high quality block samples and gives
an example of how to apply the Recompression and
SHANSEP methods in practice. The second case history
highlights difficulties with applying either method for
poor quality tube samples.
Connecticut Valley Varved Clay
Soil samples for this case history were taken from the
University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst)
US National Geotechnical Experimental Test Site
(NGES). The site is located at the UMass Amherst campus
in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts,
USA. Glacial Lake Hitchcock once covered the area
during the late-Pleistocene Era of the Wisconsin Ice Age
approximately 15,000 years before present. The main lake
deposit consists of alternating silt and clay layers with
occasional fine sand layers and is locally known as
Connecticut Valley Varved Clay (CWC). The clay layers
were deposited during winter months while the silt and
fine sand were deposited during summer months.
135
Samples for the laboratory test programme were obtained Figure 2b plots dv0and dPand shows that the soil is of
using the Lava1 University block sampler (La Rochelle et medium to high overconsolidation at shallow depths and
al. 1980). The subsurface stratigraphy of the site generally progresses towards an OCR just less than 2 for the deeper
consists of about 1 m of mixed cohesive and cohesionless samples. The variation in dp is much greater for the
fill overlying approximately 30 m of C W C . The shallow more highly overconsolidated samples which is
t1,ickness of individual silt or clay layers is typically on the indicative of the desiccated crust located in the upper part
order of 2 to 8 mm and the layers generally lie in a of the deposit.
horizontal direction. The upper 5 to 6 m of the deposit is
overconsolidated as a result of erosion, desiccation, and 0
seasonal fluctuations in the groundwater table. Below this
weathered crust, the soils become soft and near normally
consolidated with increasing depth. The groundwater table 2
typically occurs in the upper 3 m and varies by
approximately f: 1.2 m (DeGroot and Lutenegger 1994). n
€ 4
W

Atterberg limits for the bulk soil are approximately 5

constant with depth with a liquid limit = 45%, plastic limit Q

= 30%, and plasticity index = 15%. The bulk water 8 6 I I 0

content increases with depth resulting in a liquidity index I I _ _
greater than one for samples deeper than 4 m. Atterberg
8
:IQ I I
I
I
I- -
a
limits typically straddle the A-line in a Casagrande plot
giving the bulk soil an ML (low plasticity silt) or CL (low _ II Ib II I
I
II
(a) I
_ _ a
(b)
plasticity clay) classification using the Unified Soil 10 I I I I I I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Classification System (USCS).

Stress-strain-strength laboratory tests consisted of one- E, at olv0(%) Stress (kPa)

dimensional incremental loading oedometer tests with a
reduced load increment ratio of 0.5 for better definition of
dp.Estimates of the dpwere made using the strain energy
method (Becker et al. 1987). DSS tests were conducted
using a Geonor device in general accordance with the
procedures described by Bjermm and Landva (1966) and
DeGroot et al. (1992). For SHANSEP tests, all specimens
were first consolidated to a vertical effective stress 1.5 to 2
times greater than the estimated in situ dP then either
sheared at this stress state to measure the OCR = 1
behaviour or unloaded to varying stress states to measure
the OC behaviour. For Recompression tests, specimens
were first loaded to approximately 80 percent of dpand
then unloaded to dv0 prior to undrained shear.
Figure 2 Specimen Quality Designation and
Stress History for UMass Amherst Site
Ten SHANSEP DSS tests were performed on samples
taken from three of the blocks. Two tests were conducted
on specimens consolidated to an OCR = 1 while the
remaining tests were conducted on specimens that were
first consolidated to an OCR = 1 and then mechanically
unloaded to OCR values ranging from 2 to 8. Using the
average normalised undrained shear strength of su/cfvc=
0.180 for the two normally consolidated specimens, and a
linear regression for the OC results, gives the following
SHANSEP relationship

Sample quality was assessed using the specimen quality sU/dvc

designation (SQD;Terzaghi et al. 1996) which ranks the
quality of a specimen based on the measured vertical
strain E,, at dvoduring 1-D loading. The system ranks a
specimen using a letter grade ranging from A (excellent
quality) to E (not acceptable). The results plotted in Figure
2a show that a majority of the oedometer specimens are of
A ( E ~< 1%) and B (1 < E" < 2%) quality with a few C (2 <
cV < 4%) quality specimens. Terzaghi et al. (1996) suggest
that reliable estimates of dpand Recompression s, can
only be obtained from specimens with an SQD of A or B
quality, sometimes from those of C quality, but not from D
and E quality.
= 0.1 8(0CR)0.73 (2)
as shown in Figure 3. Application of this equation together
with the stress history profile in Figure 4a (computed from
the data in Figure 2b) gives estimates of s, for any depth
by taking dVc = dv0 in Equation 2. Figure 4b plots these
estimates.
Recompression DSS tests were performed on samples
taken from the same block samples used for the oedometer
tests. Typically two tests were conducted on each block
sample to check for repeatability in the results. Figure 4b
plots the results. The shallow more overconsolidated

136
samples tended to have greater differences between the
companion tests as compared to the deeper lower OCR
test pairs. In general, specimens with the highest OCR also
have the highest s,.
The results in Figure 4b show similar s, values at depths
greater than 5 m but significant differences in the
overconsolidated crust. In this case the Recompression
results are considered more representative of the in situ s,
because of the high quality block samples available. The
SHANSEP method gives near identical results below the
gP6F ,"
+i
crust but much lower values in the crust. As noted by Ladd
and Foott (1974) the SHANSEP method is difficult to
apply to desiccated crusts since it assunies mechanical
unloading as the only preconsolidationmechanism.
0.1
I 2 4 6 8 1 0
OCR
Figure 3 Normalised Undrained Shear Strength vs
OCR for SHANSEP DSS tests
Boston Blue Clay
This test site is located just north of Boston,
~ a s s a c h u s e ~USA.
s, The underlying soil stratum at the
site consists primarily of a low plasticity marine clay
known as Boston Blue Clay (BBC). The BBC in this
region has been subjected to significant weathering since
its deposition some 14,000 years before present (Kenney
1964). As a result, a stiff overconsolidated clay crust
exists near the surface with a gradual transition to a lightly
overconsolidated to normally consolidated clay.
Geotechnical investigations at the site consisted of 75 mm
fixed piston tube sampling, field vane, and piezocone
penetration tests (CPTU) with u2 measurement.
137
data in Figure 2b 0 Recompression
-01
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 20 40 60 80
OCR % (kPa)
Figure 4 OCR and DSS Undrained Shear
Strength Profile for m a s s Amherst Site
Atterberg limits are approximately constant with depth
with a liquid limit = 45%, plastic limit = 25%, and
plasticity index = 20%. The water content is less than the
liquid limit in the crust and is approximately equal to the
liquid limit throughout the rest of the deposit. The soil
plots above the A-line in a plasticity chart and is classified
as a CL (low plasticity clay) soil in the USCS.
Laboratory stress-st~in-stren~ tests followed the same
procedures described above for the Connecticut Valley
Varved Clay. Figure 5 plots the SQD and cYP data from the
incremental loading oedometer tests and the dvo profile
assuming hy~ostaticpore water stress conditions. The
data show an overconsolidated soil near the top of the
deposit and an apparent underconsolidated soil below an
elevation of approximately -23m. However, the geologic
history of the region (Kenney 1964) indicates the soil
should not be underconsolidated and artesian conditions
are not known to exist. The apparent underconsolidation is
therefore believed to be a result of sample disturbance
causing a significant decrease in the measured dP.This
hypothesis is supported by the SQD data from which most
of the specimens have an SQD of C or worse. Based on
the recommendation of Tenaghi et al. (1996), most of
these specimens cannot produce reliable estimates of dPor
Recompression s,.
Initial plans for the test programme were to conduct
Recompression tests on the samples but their poor sample
quality discovered during the oedometer test programme
precluded extensive use of the Recompression procedure.
Laboratory co~olidationto G ' , ~= o'~,,would result in
significant water content changes to the specimens and a
correspondingincrease in Recompression s,.
The DSS SNANSEP test p~grammeconsisted of tests
conducted at OCRs = 1, 2, and 4. A collective evaluation
of the data resulted in
~ ~0.19(0CR)0.75
s , , i ' ~ '= (3)
The next step in the SHANSEP analysis is to compute s,
using dVc = d,, and the in situ OCR. This is where the
SHANSEP procedure runs into the same difficulty as the
Recompression procedure due to the poor quality samples.
In this case, accurate estimates of OCR are not available
based on the SQD data and the apparent OCR < 1 below
elevation - 23m (Figure 5). One approach to resolving this
is to consider the site geology that infers the soil deposit at
depth is likely to be normally to lightly overconsolidated.
A practical assumption is therefore to assume the soil is
normally consolidated starting at a depth where the
oedometer cfP values are less than dVo9 i.e. approximately
elevation -23 m. An estimate of the OCR profile for the
crust can be made using the measured otP data from the
better quality shallow samples. Figure 6a plots this
interpretationof the laboratory data.
where qt = tip resistance and ov0= total in situ vertical
stress. Figure 6a plots the interpreted CPTU data using
Equation 4.
Figure 6b plots the s, profile using Equation 3 and the
selected laboratory stress history profile of Figure 6a. The
c o m p ~ s o nwith the field vane (FVT) data is poor
although the field vane data are suspect given the large
scatter and unusually low values for some locations.
Interpretation of the CPTU data was done using (L,u.nne et
al. 1997)
where Nkt = the cone factor. In this case it iS the Nkt for
DSS mode of shear that is of interest for comparison with
the laboratory DSS data. Mitchell et al. (1999) analysed
these data and recommended Nkt(Dss) = 20 based on
literature values for Nh(TC) = 12 and K, = s,~SS)/s,(TC)
= 0.6 for BBC. The resulting s,(CPTU) profile for this
value of Nkt is plotted in Figure 6b for comparison with
the s,(DSS) data.
This case history highlights the problems in applying the
Recompression or SHANSEP methods with poor quality
samples. In the case of the Recompression method direct
measurements of s, were not considered reliable for the
deeper sections of the deposit because of excessive sample

p-
I I
disturbance. For the SHANSEP method, m~asurementof
0 D fI the relationship between S,/CT',~ and OCR was possible.
However, accurate laboratory estimates of dP were
I SQDI
-10 I 1- difficult to obtain and in this case relied on other
4-%
I I information including site geology and CPTU data.
E
W I I-
I I-
g -20
.-
w
001 I
I- oy-jy- rounds rface

aE -30
I
t-
0 Of I
-10
-40 n
E
W

-50 .-5 -20

c,

0 4 8
at d, (%)
120 250 500
Stress (kPa)
E -30
ilj

Figure 5 Specimen Quality Designation and

Stress History for BBC Site -40

An addition estimate of the otpprofile for the SHANSEP -50

method is available in this case from the CPTU tests 0 250 500 0 50 100 150
conducted at the site. Estimates of o ' ~ were computed
using the empirical correlation of Leroueil et al. (1 995) d, (kPa) (kPa)
S"

Figure 6 Interpreted Stress History and Undrained

Shear Strength Profile for the BBC Site

138
APPLICATION TO OFFSHORE CLAYS
Application of the Recompression and SHANSEP
procedures to offshore soils is challenged by the greater
d i ~ c u l t yof obtaining good quality samples. Thee issues
are discussed here on application of the Recompression
and SHANSEP methods to offshore soils: (1) soil
structure, (2) estimation of stress history, (3) normally and
underconsolidated soils.
Soil Structure
The SHANSEP method has been criticised because it
destructures soil samples to determine the normalised
undrained shear strength parameters (e.g., Mesri 1975).
There is little argument that all soils are structured.
However, from a practical point of view the debate should
focus on the different levels of structure that exists in
soils. For example, the sensitive Scandinavian and
Canadian quick clays are highly structured soils and are
not suitable candidates for application of the SHANSEP
procedure as clearly noted by Ladd and Foott (1974).
However, Ladd and Foott (1974) empirically observed that
for the soils they tested, the SHANSEP method produced
reliable undrained shear strength data. Surely these soils
were structured but evidently less so than some soils such
as the sensitive quick clays.
In the case of offshore sites, highly structured clays such
as the sensitive quick clays are less likely to be
encountered. It is, however, important to gain experience
in quantifying the structure of terrestrial and offshore soils
in order to assess the applicability of the S W S E P
method. Sensitivity is one measure but work by Burland
(1990) on intrinsic soil properties has more promise. In
this framework, the in situ state of a soil is compared to its
remoulded (or intrinsic) properties. Burland (1990) notes
that this framework serves as a useful tool for indicating
the presence of special soil structures. This analysis is
relatively new and as yet has seen little application to soils
in the context of SHANSEP and Recompression test
results for offshore soils. It is a topic that merits further
research to determine its value in assessing the natural
structure of soils and the effects of d e s ~ c ~ i on
n gtheir
behaviour.
Stress History
The critical step in the SHANSEP method is making an
accurate assessment of stress history. Most ofken this is
done based on results from one-dimensional compression
tests that unfortunately are strongly influenced by sample
disturbance. With marginal to poor quality samples,
laboratory dp estimates suffer from similar reliability
problems as Recompression s, data. In such cases it is
139
better to measure the SHANSEP strength parameters than
to rely on poor quality samples for Recompression s, data.
The challenge will still, however, be in estimating the
stress history profile. Information from the laboratory
consolidation tests will need to be supplemented with
additional sources of data. These include geology and
estimates from in situ tests such as the CPTU. A collective
evaluation of all these sources of information should be
used to develop the best estimate stress history profile
which is then used to compute the S W S E P undrained
shear strength profile.
Normally and UnderconsolidatedClays
It is for normally and underconsolidated clays where the
SHANSEP method is most applicable. For soils with an
OCR = 1 or less, laboratory reconsolidation to dVc = dvo
as in the Recompression method will result in large
changes in water content especially with marginal to poor
quality samples. For example, consider the deep section of
the BBC deposit shown in Figure 5 that is believed to have
an OCR approximately equal to 1 . One-dimensional
recompression to dv0= dP for the deepest samples
produced 8 to 10% vertical strain. Such large
consolidation strains will result in a measured
Recompression s, that is too high. The SHANSEP method
makes use of normalised soil parameters to handle this
problem. SHANSEP consolidation brings the soil closer to
a water content that more correctly corresponds to a
normally consolidated state (e.g., points A and B in Figure
1). Once the OCR = 1 normalised undrained shear strength
is measured (i.e., the parameter S in Equation 1) then it is
simply converted in an in situ s, knowing otv0, and with
OCR = m = 1 in Equation 1. Recompression to dv0 = cfP
for these cases may be at the correct in situ stress state but
the resulting reduction in water content is too large to
represent the in situ condition. And since the
Recompression method does not consider normalised data
this reduction in water content is not accounted for.
For underconsolidated soils, such as found in the Gulf of
Mexico near the Mississippi River Lelta, the SHANSEP
normalised strength for OCR = 1 is still applicable. In
such cases the OCR is taken as equal to 1 in Equation 1
but dvois based on nonhydrostatic pore pressure
conditions to account for the underconsolidated state.
S U AM) C o~~ C L u s~I o ~ s
The SHANSEP and Recompression methods address
many important soil behaviour issues that must be
considered for accurate and reliable laboratory
measurement of the n drained stress-strain-strength
behaviour of clays. The methods are similar in all aspects
with the exception of an important difference in how to
handle sample disturbance. When the best quality samples
are available the Recompression method is generally
preferred. However, for marginal to poor quality samples
the SHANSEP method may be more successful in
determining design parameters. In the case of normally
and underconsolidated clays, the SHANSEP method is
preferred over the Recompression method. There is still a
lack of information in the literature providing detailed
comparison and evaluation of the methods for offshore
soils and more research effort needs to be directed at this.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported in part by US National
Science Foundation Grant Number MSS-9 109183 and the
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Waterways Experiment
Station. The author thanks Professor Serge Leroueil for
arranging to take the ,Lava1 University Block samples;
Professor Alan J. Lutenegger, manager of the UMass
Amherst NGES site; and the Massachusetts Highway
Department for access to the BBC site. Matthew M. Bonus
conducted the C W C tests. Travis J. Mitchell conducted
the BBC tests and reviewed this manuscript.
References
Becker, D.E., J.H. Crooks, K. Been, and M.G. Jefferies.
(1987). Work as a Criterion for Determining In Situ and
Yield Stresses in Clays. Can. Geotech. J., 24(4):549-564.
Berre, T. and L. Bjermm. (1973). Shear Strength of
Normally Consolidated Clays, Proc., 8th Int. ConJ on Soil
Mechanics and Foundation Engrg., Moscow, 1:39-49.
Bjerrum, L. and A. Landva. (1966). Direct Simple Shear
Tests on Norwegian Quick Clay, Geotechnique, 16(1):1-
20.
Bjermm, L. (1973). .Problems of Soil Mechanics and
Construction on Soft Clays, Proc., 8th Int. Con$ Soil
Mechanics and Foundation Engrg., Moscow, 3 : 111- 159.
Burland, J. (1990). On the Compressibility and Shear
Strength of Natural Clays, Geotechnique,40(3):329-378.
DeGroot, D.J., C.C. Ladd, and J.T. Germaine. (1992).
Direct Simple Shear Testing of Cohesive Soils, Research
Report No. R92-18, Center for Scientific Excellence in
Offshore Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MA.
DeGroot, D.J. and Lutenegger, A.J. (1994). A Comparison
Between Field and Laboratory Measurements of Hydraulic
Conductivity in a Varved Clay, Hydraulic Conductivity
and Waste Contaminant Transport in Soils, ASTM STP
1142,300-3 17.
140
Kenney, T. C. (1964). Sea-Level Movements and the
Geologic Histories of the Post-Glacial Marine Soils at
Boston, Nicolet, Ottawa and Oslo, Geotechnique,
14(3):203-230.
Ladd, C.C. and R. Foott. (1974). New Design Procedure
for Stability of Soft Clays, J. of the Geotechnical Engrg.
Div., 1OO(GT7):763-786.
Ladd, C.C. (1991). Stability Evaluation During Stage
Construction,J of Geotechnical Engrg., 117(4):540-615.
Ladd, C.C., R. Foott, K. Ishihara, F. Schlosser, and H.G.
Poulos. (1977). Stress-Deformation and Strength
Characteristics: SOA Report, Proc., 9th Int. Con$ on Soil
Mechanics and Foundation Engrg., Tokyo, 2: 42 1-494.
Ladd, C.C. and DeGroot, D.J. (1992). Guidelines for
Geotechnical Experimental Program for Foundation
Design of Oflshore Arctic Gravity Structures, Research
Report No. R92-33, MIT, Cambridge, MA.
LaRochelle, P. Sarraih, J., Tavenas, F., Roy, M., and
Leroueil, S. (1981). Causes of Sampling Disturbance and
Design of a New Sampler for Sensitive Soils, Canadian
Geotechnial Journal, 18(1):52-66.
Leroueil, S., Demers, D., La Rochelle, P., Martel, G., and
Virely, D. (1995). Practical Use of the Piezocone in
Eastern Canada Clays, Int. Symp. on Cone Penetration
Testing, Linkoping, Sweden, 2:5 15-522.
Lunne, T., Robertson, P. K., and Powell, J. J., (1997).
Cone Penetration Testing in GeotechnicalPractice,
Blackie Academic & Professional, London.
Mesri, G. (1975). Discussion of 'New Design Procedure
for Stability of Soft Clays, J. of Geotechnical Engrg.,
10 1(GT4):409-412.
Mitchell, T.J., DeGroot, D.J., Lutenegger, A.J., Ernst, H.,
and McGrath, V. (1999). Comparison of CPTU and
Laboratory Soil Parameters for Bridge Foundation Design
on Fine Grained Soils: A Case Study in Massachusetts."
TransportationResearch Record, in press.
Terzaghi, K., Peck, R.B., and Mesri, G. (1996). Soil
Mechanics in Engineering Practice. John Wiley and Sons,
New York.
 GEOS--, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION IN THE GULF OF KHAMBHAT- GUJARAT

M.N. Bhattl and Y.C. Dave2
‘ExecutiveEngineer, 2DeputyExecutive Engineer, Central Designs O ~ g a n i 5 f f Block
~ j ~ ,No. 9,Second Floor,Dr. ~ivarajM e k ~ a3 ~ a v a n ,
Gandhinagar 382010, Gujarat, India

SYNOPSIS - Geotechnical investigation was carried out in the project area of about 1000 KmZof the Gulf of Idiambhat to
assess technical viability of p l a t e f o ~ various
~g engineering structures of the closure, by taking 10 nos. of bore holes each
having 30 m depth below the sea bed. The average depth of water is about 25 m and current velocity is 2-4 m / s in the
project area. The investigation comprised of drilling the bore holes and collecting soil samples and got tested for all
engineering properties. The results of geotechnical investigation indicated that the soil strata below the sea bed consists of
homogeneous soil with dense-sand, dense silt with lumps of rock & firm clay sediment. The paper narrates criteria for
location of bore holes, method of drilling & sampling and evolution of the test results.

INTRODUCTION
The Gulf of Khambhat located in the North - Eastern
part of the Arabian sea has been proposed to be
transferred partly into a large sweet water reservoir
named KALPASAR by virtue of storing runoff from
the big rivers Sabarmati, Mahi, Dhadhar and Narmada
and many small rivers of S a u r a s ~ region
a flowing in
to the Gulf, after constructing a closure dam
connecting Gujarat main land on East bank and
Saurashtra peninsula on the west bank.of the Gulf.
The closure dam comp~sesrockfill dam with sandy
core, a spillway having 65 discharge openings with a
width of 17 m each, ship locks and a tidal power
plant.
Geophysical survey providing insight in the extent,
depth and thickness of soil layers in the project area
and bathymetric survey providing insight in the layout
of the Gulf were carried out prior to the g e o t e c ~ i c a ~
investigation to come to an optimum alignment of the
closure dam.
The GuIf of Khambhat can be characterized as an area
with a large tidal range (3 m at neap tide to 11 m at
maximum tide) and low wave energy. This large tidal
range induces high current velocities in the order of 2-
4 d s . The main causes of this high tides are
convergence of the shore lines, high water input by
the several Large rivers and shallowness of the Gulf in
combination with the very wide continental shelf
south of the Gulf. The direct influence of wind
generated waves is limited due to the geographic
configuration of the Gulf. The bathymetry of the Gulf
is vafied. The inner Gulf bottom is relatively shallow,
with an average water depth of 25 rn only. The bottom
is characterized by numerous mud banks, shoals,
under water ridges, deep channels etc. The ridges
regulate the entry and exit of the tidal waters.
The bathymetric features of the Gulf bottom are
determined by geological factors such as subsidence
of the Cambay Basin and the accumulation and
disposition of sediment load by the tidal currents.

C H A ~ C T E ~ S T I COF
S THE PROJECT AREA
The development of the Gulf of ~ a m b h a is t closely
related to the so called cambay basin, a tectonic basin,
formed at the end of the cretaceous or early Tertiary
period. The setting of the Gulf coast and the Gulf
waters is a result of many factors. Geological factors
are tectonics, eustatics and neotectonic sea level
changes and l i t h o l o ~of the geological fo~ations,
both locally and regionally, on shore and off shore.
Although the results of CPT’s at these locations
indicate that a sand layer with a thickness of more than
The combination of tidal currents with inff owing river
water provides a constant redistribution of fine silts
and clays, which results in an overall uniformity in the
said nature and mineralogy of the sediments in
different parts. Only coarser material can be deposited
in the deep channels in the Gulf due to the high
currents present.
GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION
All the structures of the KALPASAR project have to
be built along the closure dam alignment. The
structures are sluices, ship locks, spillway and tidal

141
power plant. All these structures need a finn monitoring equipment. Boring locations and project
foundation and are to be built either in the shallow or area are show1 in fig. 1
very deep parts of deep area. For these structures
Geotechnical stability is required. And it is depending
on the properties of the sub soil. The main aspect, of
geotechnical investigation carried out is, therefore, to
obtain insight in the geotechnical parameters i.e.
foundation condition prevailing in the project area and
thereby to identifL areas where favourable foundation
conditions for the construction of a closure dam exist.
The geotechnical investigation comprised of both bore JAM D U S A R
hole investigations in the Gulf proper and subsequent
laboratory analysis of the samples collected during the
bore hole investigation.

To determine the most favourable boring locations in

the project area of about 1000 kin’, all available data
such as the results of the geophysical survey and
existing and available geological, geomorphological
and geotechnical data were used. A schedule for a
geotechnical survey was drafted based on the results
of the geophysical survey and taking into account
existing data concerning the geological features
prevailing in the project area. The soil samples taken
within the scope of the geotechnical survey were
analysed and relevant parameters were established.
The following criteria have been considered to
determine the optimum locatioii of borings
All borings should fall within the proposed
project area.
Borings should be done in the areas where
construction of a closure dam is feasible.
Potential geologic features such as faults,
slumps, steep dips of soil layers should be
identified.
Borings should be done close to the
geophysical survey lines as far as possible to
corelate the results of the geophysical and
geotechnical surveys.
Shallow layers with poor foundation conditions
should be identified.
The boring sites should be accessible with the
drilling vessel and the sea bed should be
sufficiently flat to anchor the vessel.
The boring sites should avoid commercial
shipping routes and anchor areas.
Boring Locations
The locations of the geotechnical bore hole
investigationswere finalised on the basis of the above
mentioned criteria. The exact anchoring sites were
determined on site with the help of additional
information obtained from drilling vessel’s
BHAVN
fl
G U L E O F KHAMEHAT 3
REFERENCE
0 0 BOREHOLE @ DEPTH CONTOURS-CLDSUREDAM
FrG.1, L O C A T I O N OF B O R I N G ‘&CLOSURE D A M
K A L P A S A R PROJECT
Boring Depths
Boring depths depend upon the actual geotechnical
conditions encountered during drilling. At the pre-
feasibility level it was decided that the borings be
extended to a depth of 30 m below sea bed. But in the
case of doubtful and non-expected geotechnical
conditions encountered in the borings, borings have
been extended upto to35 m depth. The co-ordinates of
borings and depth below sea bed are presented in
table-1 . Co-ordinates are in international Union of
Geodetics and Geophysics. (IUGG)
All 10 borings were done by open-hole rotary drilling
and completed in 13 days which implies about 1
boring per 24 hours. Drilling was performed
continuously with 2 shifts of 12 hours each. During
boring very strong currents with velocities. of about 3
m/s was experienced because of which lowering of
the casing into the seabed was dificult. In Some
boring anchoring of vessel became difficult due to
local irregularities in bathymetry.

142
 Table - 1 Boring Locations & Depth Laboratory Testing

Boring 1 Longitude 1 Latitude Depth from

sea bed.
Sampling And In Situ Testing
During drilling process undisturbed samples were
collected by wire line push sampling equipment -
WIP sampler developed by the consultants to obtain
high quality push samples and insitu piezocone
penetration tests (PCPT) were carried out at each bore
hole at different predefined depths which can focus
upon the strength of soil layers and soil properties that
encountered.
The main characteristics of sand are minor or no
cohesion and drained behavior i e. can allow smooth
drain when loaded. Consequently an important feature
is almost immediate and in general limited
information of sand. Fine sand and silts might be
susceptible to liquefaction depending up on their gain
size distribution and insist density. Looking to thee
features laboratory test program focussed 011 the
classification of the sand samples and their strength.
The following laboratory tests were perfomed on
sand samples,
Grain size distribution (down to 0.063min)
* Hydrometer analysis (from0.063 to 0.002mm)
Specific gravity of solid particles
* Shear strength by CD (consolidated drained)
triaxial testing.
Permeability
Minimum and maximum desity.
0 Final classification based on laboratory results
Cyclic triaxial testing was performed on a selected
number of samples to analyze the susceptibillty of
the sub soil to liquefaction.
Results of the laboratory tests are presented in table-3

Relative densities obtained from CPT are given in On the other hand the main characteristics of clay are
table-2, cohesion and undrained behaviour when loaded.
Consequently an important feature is time dependent
Ta ble-2 - Relative Densities and in general relatively large deformation of clay,
when toaded. Compared with sand, the strength and
permeability of clay is relatively low. In clay

+-
BH4 I
15

10
liquefaction is not likely to occur. The laboratory test
program focussed on the classification of the clay
samples and its deformation, strength and
permeability characteristics.
The following laboratory tests were perfomed on clay
I 15 samples,
0 Grain size distribution (down to O.UOJmmi
70
Hydrometer analysis (froin 0 063 to 0 002 mm)
76
BH6 45 Bulk unit weight
Natural water content
Specific gravity of solid particles
Atter berg’s limit
Compression index (Cc)
Field Descriptions Coefficient of consolidation (Cv)
0 Undrained shear strength by UU (unconsolidated
The preliminary borelogs with the field descriptions undrained) triaxial tests
of the soil encountered, based upon the resuits of Peme ability
borings are presented in Table-3. In this table the 0 Final classification based on laboratory tests.
major soil layers identified per boring are presented.
Results of the laboratory tests are presented in table-4
 Table-3
Test result

Abbreviations
8 mc- moisture content (%)
* Y- - minimum density- &N/m3)
.
Ta ble-4 0 y--- maximum density (kN/m3)
Test result 8 sg - specific gavity
0 rDr - reconstituted reIative density
8 yu.- wet density (kN/m')
0 yd - dry density ( k ~ / r n ~ )

0 PL - plastic limit (%)

0 LL - liquid limit (%)
0 PI - plastic limit (%)
8 C _-cohesion (kpa)

Tabie - 5 - Bore Logs and Geotcchnid Parameters

144
The borings BH-1, BH-2, BH-8, BH-9 & BH-10
reveal rather homogeneous soil conditions of mainly
dense sand, Geologically these borings seem to
represent the central and eastern part of the Gulf and
belonging to the Cambay basin.
In the borings BH3 & BH5 very dense silt with lumps
of rock have been identified below the medium dense
to dense sand. These material might represent the
mass of gaj. formation of the weastern part of the Gulf
of Khambhat.
In boring BH-5 lumps of conglomerates have been
noticed. Conglomerates consist of coarse angular
grains of quartz and feldspar which have been
sedimented with mica and small rock ~ a ~ e n tThey s.
are formed in seas adjacent to rapidly upli~edland
masses, after movement of ~ ~ x t u r of
e smaterials over
sub~arineslopes on the sea floor by t~biditycurents.
Besides the lumps of conglo~erates,also lumps of silt
and sand stone in fine grained silt matrix were noticed
within boring BH-5. This might be deposited by.
various mecha~sms d u r ~ g ancient ~eological
periods. The angular shape of the fragments in
conglomerates indicate either limited transport on
crushing of rock along fault zone.
The described features indicate probably the presence
of the indicated slumping structures near boring BH-
5 . During the p r e l ~ ninte~retation
~ of the
geophysical bottom profiling. survey slumps were
recognised near BH-5. This implies a correlation
between the sub bottom data and results Of BH-5.
The borings BH-4, BH-6 & BH-7 appear to reflect the
influence of the Narmada river on the sub soil
condition. In boring BH-6 upto a depth of 35 m
alterations of loose fine sand and firm clay has been
noticed. These sediments are considered as intertidal
deposits.
The borings BH-4 & BH-7 about north & south of the
BH-6 show similar sediments up to depth of about 15
to 20 m. Below this depth medium dense to dense fine
sand is located. This implies a decrease of the
Narmada influence.
Based on the data available so far, it is concluded that
area north of the line between the borings BH-4 and
BH-5 provides the better soil conditions with regard
to a dam foundation. From the results of insitu test
Presented in table 2, it can be concluded that at larger
depths the relative density of sand is around 70 % for
145
boring BH-1 until BH-3 & BH-5. It is also 70% for
the lower parf of BH-4 & approximately 30% for the
upper parts of BH-4 lk BH-6, This means that soil
conditions are favourable for the dam alignment
except near the mouth of the N m a d a river where the
relative density is low compared with the results
obtained in other borings. It can be concluded that in
the area of Bfl-1 until BH-3 & BH-5 and for the lower
part of BH-4 the risk for liquefaction of a sand layer is
very low. For BH-6 and the upper part of BH-4 the
relative density is lower and liquefaction can not be
excluded. Although the results of CPT's at these
locations indicate that a sand layer with a thickness of
more than half .a meter has a high cone resistance
which means that thick layers and loosely packed
sand necessary for liquefaction are not present.
S U ~ ~ A R Y
Geotec~ical~vestigationscarried out by boring in
the project areas of about 1000 km2 and covering
depth of 30 to 35 m below sea bed assessed the
fo~dationconditions for the selection of the closure
dam ali~ment.The project area is having a large tidal
range varying from 3 m to 11 m with high current
velocities in the range of 2-4 &sec. During boring
process disturbed samples were collected and tested
for all engineering properties. Borelogs of all borings
and analysis of laboratory test results indicate that the
formation of subsoil strata comprised of sand, dense
sand, silt, clay Iaminations and gravel layers in
pockets. Susceptibility of subsoil to liquefaction has
been ruled out afier analysing the laboratory test
results.
CONCLUSION
Geotechnical ~nvestigationcarried out for limited
depth considering the investigations at prefeasibiiity
stage. This investigatim indicates existence of stiff
soils upto the boring depth. But one could not judge
for final layout and foundation capacities to rest the
structures from this much information, To come to
more realistic decision for foundation levels of
smctures, more borings at deeper depths along with
in-situ tests of the subsoil encountered are necessary
on the alignment of closure dam.
RE~ERE~CE
p,gs ~ ' ~ - ~Con~u~ting ~ En~neering
O ~ ~
tk G
hchitects, The ~ e ~ e r l a n d(1s 998). PrefeasibilitY
Study Report on Kalpasar - Gulf of KhambIlat
~evelopmentProject.
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 GEOSSi
-, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

MARINE GEQTECHNICAL INVESTIGATIONS FOR LAKHIGAM PROJECT

K. Venkatachalaml, R.K. Khitoliya2,N. Sivakumae, U.S. Vidyarthi4 and K.L. Kalra4
'Director, 'Head, Soil Discipline, 3Sr. Research Officer, 4Research Officer, Central Soil and Materials Research Station,
Ministry of Water Resources, Government of lndia, Olof Pulme Marg, Huuz f<has, N m Delhi 120 026, lndia

SYNOPSIS: Geotechnical Investigation is an essential prerequisite for the design of offshore structures. For the design &
evaluation of stability of foundations of coastal & offshore structures, the behaviour of soil under environmental forces
required to be understood properly for which appropriate field & laboratory investigations have to be carried out. A jetty,
an approach bridge & a bund for chemical port Terminal at Lakhigam, Dahej, Gujarat is proposed to be constructed. In order
to ascertain the physical, strength & consolidation characteristics of foundation soil, field investigations viz. deep drilling,
collection of undisturbedrepresentative soil samples were carried out by the project authorities which were subjected to basic
soil classification, strength & compressibility tests. This paper deals with the above aspects in brief.
TESTING PROGRAMME
INTRODUC'llON
The following laboratory tests as per the procedures laid
Marine Soil deposits are extensively located both on land down in Bureau of Indian Standards have been carried
and off the coast. These are mainly of alluvial origin out on the foundation soil samples.
besides predominant deposits in tidal flats. Rivers -1nsitu dry density/Moisture Content
discharging into the ocean bring large quantities of -Mechanical Analysis
alluvial deposits resulting in sedimentation. Marine -Atterberg Limits
construction is the most expensive and challenging -Specific Gravity
venture for the design and construction engineers. The -Unconsolidated undrained triaxial shear test
prerequisite of any civil engineeringstructuresparticularly -Unconfined compression test
in h e marine environment is thorough investigationof the -One dimensional consolidation
sub soil.
TEST RESULTS - A REVIEW
Proiect Location
* The grain size distribution of the tested soil
The proposed port terminal is located on the East Coast samples indicate that there are two distinct soil formations
of the Gulf of ~ a m b a y ( ~ a m b h a tLakhigam
), in the state dom~natedwith fine sand sizes and silt sizes. Results of.
of Gujarat. The proposed port terminal will consists of Atterberg limits tests indicate that out of the 1 1 soil
Jetty structure, an Approach Bridge and an approach samples tested, 7 soil samples exhibit low to medium
Bund. plasticity characteristics and the remaining 4 soil samples
exhibit non-plastic characteristics. Based on these results
Geotechnical Investigations 4 soil samples fall under SM group 5 soil samples fall
under CI group & 1 soil sample each falls under CL and
The proposed port terminal is a joint venture headed by CH groups as per Bureau of Indian Standard
Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. and assisted by Classification.
several Indian and Foreign contractors. CSMRS was
involved in carrying out laboratory investigation on soil * The values of insitu dry density and moisture
samples collected by project authorities. Foundation content of these soil samples vary from 1.47 to 1-90g/cc
investigations were carried out by deep drilling. In all, and 12.8 to 36.4% respectively.
eleven undisturbed soil samples were received from the
project au~horitiescollected from 3 different drill holes.
* * The specific gravity values vary from 2.61 to 2.68
The main objective of the laboratory investigationwas to
characterize the soil beneath the sea bed and to evaluate * Unconsolidated undrained Triaxial shear test were
its strength and compressibiiity characteristics in addition conducted on soil samples after attaining full saturation
to the stress strain behaviour and volumetric strains at adopting back pressure saturation technique. The
different stress levels by conduc~ingmultistage triaxial relationship between shear stress and normal stress(Mofu
shear tests. circle) of typical soil sample is presented in Fig.1
 MARNE GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATIONS MARINE GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATIONS
LAKHIGAM DAHEJ PROJECT, GUJARAT LAKHIGAM DAHEJ PROJECT, GUJARAT

BORE HOLE NO.: TB2 SAMPLE NO.: S/29 BORE HOLE N0,TB 2 SAMPLE NO. 5/29

3
\
y" 151.

FlG.1 MOHR ENVELOPE FOR UNC0NSOL;bATED UNORAINEO TESl

In addition, the remaining two soil samples were

subjected to unconfined compression test(UCC). Typical
Graphical representation of the same is presented in Fig.2
MARINE GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATIONS
LAKHGAM DAHEJ PROJECT, GUJARAT
BORE HOLE NO.TB 2 SAMPLE NO. S/24
g 10 I *
The pre-consolidation pressure values of these soil
samples indicate that out of the five soil samples tested
four soil sample are over consolidated and the fifth soil
sample is under consolidated. Based on the computed C,
and k values, it may be inferred that the tested soils are
likely to exhibit low to medium compressibility and
impermeable characteristics.
CONCLUSIONS
Grain size distribution of tested soil sample indicate
dominance of silt sizes. In addition these soil samples in
general likely to exhibit low to medium plasticity
characteristics(based on Atterberg Limits).

* Insitu density/moisture content results indicate

fairly dense formation of the foundation with few
FIG2 tlOHR ENVELOPE FOR UNCONFINED COMPRESSJON TEST exception wherein the density found to be very low.

* Unconsolidatedundrained test results indicate fairly

* 5 soil samples were subjected to one dimensional
consolidation test after achieving full saturation. The
typical values of pre-consolidation pressure as evaluated,
based on e-log p curve and A Casagrande's method are
presented in Fig.3
good shear strength. However, unconfined compression
test results indicate low to medium strength.
* Based on One dimensional consolidation test
results, it may be inferred that the tested soil samples are
impermeable and also likely to exhibit low to medium
compressibility characteristics. It is also inferred that the
sample collected from under consolidated strata is likely
to undergo more settlement as compared to the sample
collected from over consolidated strata.

148
REFERENCES

CSMRS report, 1995. Report on Marine

Geotechnical Investigations o n . the
Foundation soil samples of Lakhigam D&ej
Project, Gulf of Bombay, Gujarat,
NO.SW95-9612

H.G.Poulos(1988)., Marine Geotechnics. Unwin

Human Ltd.,London.

Venkatachalam, K. et.al,( 1997). Geotechnical.

Investigations for port Terminal at Dehej,
Gujarat. Second Indian National conference
on Harbor and Ocean Engineering(1nchoe-
97). Thiruvananthapuram, December 7- 10,
1997.

Ruiter et.al, 1983, Marine Geotechnical

Investigations. Proceedings of the
conference on Geotechnical Practice in
Offshore Engineering. ASCT PP 1-23.

149
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G E-, O International
~ ~onferenceon Offshoreand Nearshore Geotechnical Engjneering, ~ e ~ m b2-3,
e r 1999

VARIABILI~OF PROPERTIES OF MARINE CLAYS DUE TO SAMPLE CONDITIONS

Babu T. Jose1,A. Sridharan?and Benny Mathews Abraham3
‘Professor & Director, School of Engineering, Cochin Universify of Sc. 6 Tech., Cochin 22, India
2Advisor, I n d ~ ~institute
n of Science, Bangdore 22, India
3Reader in Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, Cochin University of Sc. & Tech., Cochirt 22, India
SYNOPSIS:- The paper presents a detailed study on the physical properties of Cochin marine clays under different initial
conditions. Preparation of soil samples for certain physical properties involve aidoven drying. In case of marine clays, the
physical properties are significantlyaffected by drying which is attributed to aggregation of finer particles. This aggregation
of finer particles is irreversibleto a great extent even under long periods of soaking. Oven drying can reduce the liquid limit
by more than 50%. Grain size analyses of initially airfoven dried specimens show a reduction in clay size fraction while a
corresponding gain is observed in the silt size. Dispersing agents play a more significant role in deflocculating the clay.
Good correlation has been obtained between liquid limit and plasticity index (very close to Casagrande’s A-line) and
between clay percent and liquid limit. This investigationbrings to focus the need for standardisation of sample preparation
to carry out the tests even for physical properties, especially in case of marine clays.
INTRODUCTION from bore holes. Boring was carried out using the shell and
auger method with the sides protected with casing pipes.
Vast areas of the coastal belt of Kerala in India is covered Samples were collected in stainless steel tubes, which were
by deep deposits of marine clays charactersied by poor sealed with molten wax immediately after extraction.
shear strength and high compressibir~~. The engineering
properties of marine clays of Cochin including their After some p r e l i m i n ~investigations, it was found that
physical properties in their natural state has been studied in index and other tests on representative samples of Cochin
detail by Jose et al(1987J988) and Sridharan et. al(1991). marine clays can best be studied by carrying out tests on
In an attempt to obtain the geotechical properties of thess samples at four different initial conditions viz., moist,
marine sediments and to explore the possibili~ oi washed, air dried and oven dried. Representative samples
improving its shear strength, an exhaustive study of Cochin collected from the field in their natural moisture content
marine clays was undertaken. During the innumerable tests and stored, are designated as ‘moist’ samples. The
carried out for the index and other properties, it was presence of pore water under marine environment and
observed that the initial conditions of the soil specimens excess salts may influence the properties of the clay. In
significantly influenced these properties. Based on order to study the properties without marine pore water and
extensive laboratory investigations carried out on Cochin excess salts, representative moist samples were repeatedly
marine clays, this paper discusses the various tests in which washed with large quantities of distilled water, without any
the initial conditions of samples would influence the test loss of fines. Such samples are termed as ‘washed’
results. This necessitates standarisation of test procedure samples.
for marine clays.
Representative samples spread in trays and dried under
Significant reduction in liquid limit on air drying was room temperature till equilibrium is reached which took
reported by Narain and Iyer (1967) in case of Kuttanad about 15 days are called ‘air dried’ samples. ‘Oven dried’
clays from south of Cochin which is also of marine origin. samples are prepared by drying air dried samples in an oven
~ a m b eti ~al (1985) and Rao et al (1989) also have at 105-110°C. The entire lumps of dried samples were then
reported reduction in liquid limit on oven drying. In this finely pulverised with a mallet and sieved through 425
paper, significant results obtained on the effect of initial soil micron sieve, without any loss of material.
conditions on the index and other properties of Cochin
marine clays have been presented. TEST ETH HODS

PREPARATION OF TEST SPECIMENS
In order to get representative samples of the marine
deposits of Cochin, samples were collected fiom six
different locations spread over Greater C o c k area viz.,
~ ~ Nettoor, ~Cheranallor,b Parur, Maradu
~ andy
Kumbalam. At Nettoor, sampling. was done by open
excavation and at other locations, samples were collected
Various tests were conducted for the determination of
index and other properties as per s t ~ d a r procedures
d on the
specimens prepared as above. Free Swell is defined (Gibbs
and Holtz, 1956) as the increase in volume of the soil from
a loose dry powder form when it is poured into water,
expressed as a percentage of the original volume. The
specimen is prepared by oven drying the soil and passing
through 425 micron sieve. However for the purpose of the

151
present study, free swell index was obtained for all the four
initial conditions of soil samples as per the method
suggested by Sridharan et a1 (1985). As per this procedure,
the free swell index is defined as the swollen volume of the
soil .in distilled water per unit weight of dry soil. To obtain
this, sufficient quantity (equivalent weight of moist soil
corresponding to approximately log. of dry soil) of
moist/washed/air dried/oven dried soil was thoroughly
mixed in distilled water and poured into a measuring jar
and made up to lOOcc with distilled water. The sedimented
volume of the swollen soil was noted and the free swell
index was expressed in cc/g. of dry weight of soil. The
above procedure was adopted in order that the free swell
index could be determined for all the four initial conditions
of the soil samples.
Hydrometer analysis was carried out to obtain grain size
distribution of finer portion of the soil using standard
dispersing agent (33g. of sodium hexametaphosphate and
7g. of sodium carbonate dissolved in 1 litre of water). In
the case of moist/washed/air dried soils, initially sufficient
quantity of the same (nearly equivalent to 50 g. of dry soil)
was taken for the experiment and the exact weight was
obtained by drying the soil slurry at the end of the test.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Typical physical properties of the samples from the six
locations are presented in Table 1. Eventhough the sites are
located far apart, most of the values are quite comparable to
each other. X-ray diffiaction pattern of theJclay fraction
Fig.1 shows the grain size distributioncurves obtained fiom
hydrometer analyses for the moist samples fiorn Panu;
Nettoor and Marady using the standard dispersing agent.
The day size fi-action (< 0 . 0 0 2 ~of
) the thee samples are
44%, 47% ar#t 49%respectively. The initially air and oven
dried samples were soaked for one week before
conducting the hydrometer analysis.
The results presented in Fig. 1 show the significant
reduction in the clay percent due to the differeace in their
initial conditions. For example, for the sample froin Parur,
the clay size fraction drops from 44% to 29% on air dryMg
and to 21% ox1 oven drying. This shows that the reduction
in clay percent for initially oven dried samples could be as
high as 52%. Similar changes were also observed for all
the other soils as can be seen from Table 1. The decrease in
clay size fraction for initially aidoven dried specimens is
essentially compensated by the corresponding increase in
silt size fiaction. The increase in the percentage of sand
fraction due to aggregation for initially oven dried sample
is either nil or very low. These results clearly bring out the
effect of air and over drymg on marine clays. Thus initial
drying of soil samples results in aggregation of soil
particles which takes place essentially from clay size to silt
size level.
100
90
80
70

showed strong reflection around 17.65 A, which is 60

characteristic of smectite group of clay and relatively 50 I00
weaker reflection around 7.25 A, typical of kaolinite clay 40 90
(Jose et al, 1987). 30 80
20 70
The liquid limit of moist samples vary from 83% to 175%
10
depending upon the composition of soil together with the 60

physico-chemical constituents. It can be seen from the a

0 loo 1 50

table that the results obtained on air b d over dried samples W

3 90 . 40
show significantreduction in their Atterberg limits and free 80 ' 30

i
swell index values and an increase in general in the 70 . 20
shrinkage limit. The liquid limit values of initially air dried
samples reduce by about 20-3096 ofthe c o K e s ~ ~ ~ 60 . 10

50. 0

values of the moist samples. In the case of initially oven 40.

dried samples, the reduction in liquid limit is about 40-60%. 30.
The reduction in the values of plastic limit due to initial 20.
condition of samples is not as pronounced as in the case of
10.
liquid limit. The significant difference in the liquid limits
0-
due to changes in the initial conditio~of the soil can be 001 C
attributed to the aggregation of soil particles as indicated by
-PARTICLE SIZE (mm)
the &rainsize d i s ~ b u ~ i oofn the moist, air and oven dried
samples, the results of which are as follows. Fig. 1 Grain size distribution curves - effect of drying

152
 Table 1 :Typical Physical Properties

s1. Location Nettoor ~ h e ~ ~ l o o r Maradu Kumbalam

NO.
Depth of sampling (m) 9.40 1.o 5.50 11.50 9.0 10.0
1. Specific Gravity 2.66 2.64 2.66 2.62 2.65 2.60
2. Bulk Density (g/cc) 1.50 1.42 1.42 1.45 1.49 1.46
3. Natural Moister Content (%) 92.0 124.0 87.O 98.0 77.0 81.0
4. Liquid Limit (%)
(a) moist soil 116.5 137.5 118.5 108.0 137.0 96.5
(b) airdried 87.5 96.5 73.0 105.0 79.5
(c) oven dried 57.0 55.0 57.0 56.5 80.0 56.0
5. Plastic Limit (%)
(almoist soil' . 45.5 47.5 45.3 42.8 55.2 36.5
(b) air dried 38.7 41.5 35.3 45.2 35.0
(c) oven dried 38.0 33.6 34.5 35.7 40.5 32.0

(a) moist soil 71.0 90.0 73.2 65.2 81.8 60.0

48.8 55.0 37.7 59.8 44.50
19.0 21.4 22.5 22.8 39.5 24.0
0.65 0.85 0.57 0.85 0.27 0.74
8. S ~ ~ alimit g e(%)
(a) moist soil 22.5 17.8 19.3 20.3 21.8 19.8
(b) air dried 19.5 18.5 20.2 18.5 19.1
(c) oven dried 27.0 19.5 20.3 21.4 19.4 18.5
9. Grain size distribution
(a) moist soil
(i) Clay size (%) 42 48 36 42 50 36
(ii) Silt size (%) 40 31 43 39 40 43
(iii) Sand size (%) 18 21 21 19 10 21

(b)Air dried
(i) Clay size (%) 32 33 30 41 30
(ii)
... Silt size (%)
. . 43 46 44 44 49
(111) Sand size (%) 25 21 - 26 15 21
(c) Oven dried
(i) clay size (%) 23 25 23 23 30 16
(ii)
...
silt size (%) 59 48 56 49 54 57
(m) sand size (%) 18 27 21 28 16
10 Activity
(a) moist soil 1.69 1.88 2 -03 1.55 1.64
(b) air dried 1.53 1.67 1.26 1.46 1.48
(c) oven dried , 0.83 0.44 0.98 0.99
11. Free Swell Index (cc/gm)
(a) moist soil 4.30 5.20 4.50 4.44
(b) air dried 1.70 2.42 2.26
(c) oven dried 1.40 1.20 1.66 1.54
12. Salinity(g/l) 7.30 6.10 5.990 6.40 6.70 7.20
13. Organic Matter (%) 6.30 7.64 7.61 9.80 6.50 5.60
14. pH value 7.72. 7.83 7.60 8.23 7.80 7.55
-
15. Calcium Carbonate (%) 14.0 23.50 13.95 7.30 10.5

153
 1LO

120

100

--
4
80
W
z
60
*
-
‘>
5 LO
t

i 20

0.001 0.w5 0.010 0.05 0.10

0 20 LO

- 60 80

LlPUiD LIMIT
100

(%I
120 1LO 160 180

___c GRAIN SIZE ( m m ) Fig. 3 Liquid Iimit vs plasticity index

Fig2 Grain size djs~butioncurves - effect of dispersing agents

with a good correlation coefficient of 0.96. It can be

One of the features observed during the hydrometer noticed that although air and oven drying significantly
analyses was a distinct surface de.marcating the portion affected the plas~citych~acte~stics, the points still lie
containing sediments and the supernatant clear water above, essentially on the same narrow band.
when no dispersing agent was used. This indicates that,
almost the entire clay fraction of the marine clays is in a The relation between clay size. fraction and liquid limit is
state of flocculation and no colloids can be seen in the presented in Fig. 4. The statistical fit for the points is
upper portion. When dispersing agent was used,
deflocculation took place with the soil getting dispersed.
Since almost all the fraction exists in the form of flocs,
deflocculation with dispersing agents assume greater (where C is percent of clay size fraction) with a correlation
significance in the grain size analysis of marine clays. The coefficient of 0.90. It can also be seen that irrespective of
study on the influence of different d e ~ o ~ u l aagents
t ~ ~ gon the initial condition of the samples (moist, air dried or oven
the grain size distribution of Cochin marine clays, have dried) the points are contained within a narrow band.
180
been presented by Fig.2. Eight sodium based dispersing
agents recommended in literature (Head, 1980) were
160
tried. It was shown by them that the ‘Sandard ~ s p e r s ~ t ’
0 MOIST SOIL
prove to be the most efficient dispersing agent closely
followed by sodium hexametaphosphate (40g. in one litre)
140. A AIR DRIED -
a OVEN ORlED
alone, The other dispersing agents cause more ~occulation 720
than dispersion.
1
Fig.3 shows the plot between liquid limit and plasticity
index for soils from all the six sites. All the points
corresponding to moist, air dried and oven dried conditions
of the samples fall in a band which is close to Casagrande’s
‘A’ line. It may be seen that the oven dried samples are
generally located below the ‘A’ - line, the air dried almost
on the A-line and the moist samples above the A-line. A
statistical fit to the data results in the equation

-CLAY PI.)
with a high correlation coefficient of 0.98. The moist soils
alone give a relationship as Fig.4 Variation of Liquid limit with clay fiaction

154

Fig.5 Variation of plasticity index with clay fraction
Fig.5 is the plot between clay size fraction and plasticity
index resulting in an equation
with a correlation coe~cientof 0.89. Fig. 5 also shows the
Skempton’s (1953) classification of clays as ‘active’,
‘normal’ and ‘inactive’ clays. The results indicate that
moist samples essentially fall in the active zone and oven
dried soil samples fall behveen normal and inactive clays.
The air dried samples fall in between active and normal
clays. The results clearly indicate the reduction in the
colloidal activity of the clays on drying. The above
~scussionspoint to the possibility of arriving at an
incorrect classification unless one is careful about the
initial condition of the soil samples.
The liq~dity index for these clays vary over a range of
0.27 to 0.87 which indicate that these clays could be taken
Table 2 :Effect of Washing
Sl.NQ.
1.
2.
155
as medium to very sensitive as per Bjerrum’s classification
(Bjerrum, 1954). The values of shrinkage limit vary from
17 to 23%. The higher values indicate a flocculant fabric
(Lambe, 1958; Yong and ~arkentin,1966). On air and
oven drying, generally the samples give still higher values.
These provide further evidence to the aggregation of clay
fraction during drying.
The free\swell index of moist soil ranges over 4.30 to 5.2
cc/g. Oven drying the soil before testing dr~ticallyreduces
the swelling characteristics as in the case of plasticity. For
oven dried soils, the value of free swell index reduces to
nearly one-third of that of moist soil.
EFFECT OF SALT CONTENT
The ef5ect of salts present in the natural soil was
investigated by compari~gthe physical properties of the
natural and washed samples. Washed samples were
prepared by mixing moist soil with large quantities of
distilled water with a mechanical stirrer in large containers.
The supernatant liquid, after allowing sufficient time for
sedimentation, was siphoned out without permitting any
loss of fines from the soil. The process was repeated till
s u p e r n a ~ tliquid was fiee of salts. Preparation of such
washed samples took about 3 months. A comp~ative
study of the properties of the natural and washed samples
are presented in Table 2.
It can be seen from Table 2 that the removal of excess salts
did not bring in significant changes. This is mainly
attributed to the low salinity value of the natural moist
samples as can be seen from Tablel. However the
reduction in the value of the liquid limit of washed samples
on oven drymg is considerably lower than the reduction
observed in the case of natural soil. The free swell index
has marginally increased for washed sample as one would
expect I
Shrinkage Grain size distribution Activity Free swell
limit index
(”/.I
Clay I Silt i Sand
EFFECT OF SOAKING ON DRIED SAMPLES
To explore the possibility of the initially air/ oven dried soil
regaining their original properties prior to drying, the
samples were tested after soaking them in water for
different periods. The results are presented in Fig. 6.
Although the liquid limit steadily increased with duration of
soaking, it could not reach‘its value corresponding to that of
original moist samples. It could attain only about 80% of
its original value for initially air dried samples and 62%
for initially oven dried samples even after soaking for 2
years. Correspondingly, the plastic limit of initially air
dried sample increased from 35.3 to 39.5% on soaking. In
the case of initially oven dried samples, the value increased
fiom 33.7 to 36.5%.
It can be seen from fig.6 that the bulk of the increase in the
value of liquid limit and plastic limit takes place within the
first 3 to 4 months. The increase thereafter is marginal.
Hence it could perhaps be surmised that aggregation is
almost an irreversible’process.
I10
c NATURAL MW sbii ( c o ~3 LM
100
1 1 111
SITE : PARUR I
0 AIR DRIED ( LIQUID LIMIT)
( PLASTIC L I M )
II
A OVEN DRED ( LlQUlD LIMIT)
-SOAKING PERIOD
Fig. 6 Effect of duration of soaking on index properties
CONCLUSIONS
It has been conclusively shown that the determination of
physical properties of Cochin marine clays is significantly
affected by the initial conditions of the soil samples. The
natural ‘moist’ clay when aidoven dried gets aggregated.
When tests are performed on these dned samples for index
and other properties they will show significant changes
depending upon the degree of aggregation. This
aggregation is almost irreversible even if the soil is soaked
for periods as long as two years. Initially oven dried
samples showed reduction in liquid limit to the extent of
even 60% when compared with values obtained for natural
moist samples. While in the case of plastic limit, the
reduction is marginal the shrvlkage limit registered an
increase for initially aidoven dried samples though not very
appreciable. The fiee swell index significantly reduced
even to the extent of one-third of its original values in
certain cases.
Plots between liquid limit and plasticity index yielded a
good correlation with a high correlation coefficient.
Irrespective of the initial condition of the marine clay viz.,
moisvair dried/oven dried, the points hstribute themselves
around Casagrande’s A-line in a narrow band on the
plasticity chart. Good correlation is obtained between clay
percent and liquid limit.
T h s investigation brings out clearly the dire need for
standardisation of sample preparation to carry out the tests
even for physical properties, especially in case of marine
clays.
REFERENCE
1. Bjermm, L. (1954) ‘Geotechmcal Properties of
Norwegian Marine Clays’, Geotechmque, 4:49-69.
2. Gibbs, H.J. and Holtz W.G. (1956), “Engineering
Properties of Expansive Clays’, Trans. Am.Soc.Civ.
Eng., Vol.121, No.1.
3. Head, K.H. (1980), ‘Manual of Soil Laboratory
Testing’, Pentech Press, London.
4. Jose, B.T. Sridharan, A. and Abraham, B.M. (1987),
‘A Study of Geotechnical Properties of Cochin Marine
Clays’, Marine Geotechnology, Vo1.7, No.3, pp.189-
209.
5 . Jose, B.T. Sridharan, A. and Abraham, B.M. (1988),
‘Physical Properties of Cochin Marine Clays’, Indian
Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 18, No.3.
6. Lambe T.W. (1958), ‘The Structure of Compacted
Clay’, Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundations
Division, America1 Society of Civil Engineers
84:2:1.34.
( DAYS ) 7. Nambiar, N.R.M., Rao, G.V. and Gulhati, S.K. (1984),
‘The Nature and Engineering Behaviour of Fine
Grained Carbonate Soils fiom off the West Coast of
India’, Marine Geotechnology,Vo1.6, N0.2.
8. Narain, J. and Iyer, T.S.R., (1967) ‘Measurement of
Soil Stricture’, Proc. South East Asian Regional
Conference on Soil Engineering, Bangkok, Thailand.
9. Rao,S.M., Sridharan A. and Chandrakaran, S.(1989),
‘Influence of Drying on the Liquid limit Behaviour of a
Marine clay, Geotechmque, 39, No.4, pp7 15-719.
10. Sridharan, A. and Rao, S.M. (1985), ‘Free Swell Index
of Soils - A need for Redefmition, Indian Geotchnical
Journal, Vol. 15, No.2.
11. Sridharan, A., Jose, B.T. and Abraham, B.M.(1991),
‘Determination of Clay Size Fraction of Marine clay’,
ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal, Vol. 14, No. 1
pp. 103-107.
156
 lnternationa~Conferen~eon Offshore and Nearshore ~eotechnicalE~gineering,December 2-3, 1999

STRESS OF CLAYS USING BLOCK SAMPLES

~ S T I ~ A TPRECONSOL~DATIO~
~ N ~
Michael Long* and Tom Lunne2
s i ~ Du~li~,
' ~ n ~ v e rCollege Cizlil E ~ ~ n e e Dept.,
r ~ ~ €arls~or~
g Terrace, D ~ 2, ~~r e ll a ~ ~~ ~
'Nowe@an Geotechical Institute, P.0.Box 3930, Ulleval Hageby, Sognsveien 72, Oslo, Norway

SYNOPSIS - Obtaining a good estimate of the p~consolidationstress is key to any project, either offshore or onshore,
involving soft to fm clays. Among the factors which influence the preconsolidation stress are sample disturbance effects, test
method and the technique of data interpretation. High quality block samples have been used in order to primarily examine the
last factor. Test results on three clays involving two different test methods are considered. For the clays which exhibited a
curved stress / strain profile, it was found that the strain energy method yielded a well defined value of the preconsolidation
stress consistent with the geological history of the material. For the CRS tests, which showed a more classical stress I strain
profile all of the methods considered gave reasonable results for the.~locksamples. For the tube samples the m e ~ o d sof
Janbu and Stillfors produced the most satisfactoryresults. This work confums the superiority of block over tube samples.

INTRODUCTION
Owing to the growth of cities and the increasing price of land,
poorer sites underlain by softer and more compressible soils
are being used for development throughout the world. Also
modern developments frequently encroach into nearshore or
offshore areas where the soils are poor. It is well known that
during the loading of a soft soil up to its preconsolidation
stress @Ic) the soil will behave in a relatively stiff manner,
excessive settlements will not occur and the excess pore
pressures generated will be modest. However for loading
beyond pic, soft soil stiffhess falls significantly due to
breakdown of the clay structure, large settlements can occur
and the excess pore pressures generated will be high. Thus a
good estimate of plc is essential for foundation design in saft
ground.
In addition to this many correlations between engineering
parameters (for example undrained shear strength, s,,
normalised by p', against plasticity index, Ip) require the plc
value (or overconsoli@ation ratio, OCR) as input. plc is
usually determined fiom oedometer tests.
In this paper the influence of the fwst two factors are taken
into account by use of high quality block samples and carefbl
sample h ~ d l and ~ g specimen preparatio~. However the
results of tests on lower quality piston tube samples will be
reported for comparison purposes.
The main objective of this paper is to study the influence of
the techniques for interpreting pl, fiom the test data. Tests on
three clays will be used for this purpose: a low p ~ a s t iclay
~i~
from Lierstranda in Norway, a low plasticity laminated clay
fiom Athlone in Ireland and a medium to high plasticity clay
also from Athlone. Both CRS tests (Lierstranda) and ML
tests (Athlone clays) will be discussed.
10 20 30 40
:one resistam U n d ~shear
~ q,, MPa
0.5 1.0 1.5
i ~
strength, su.kPa
20 40 60 so
/5
ravel and day

p', is not an unique property of the soil but depends, among

other effects, primarily on:

0 sample disturbance effects both mechanically due to

cutting of the sample and stress relief when bringing
sample to ground level,
0 subsequent sample transportation, storage and specimen
preparatio~
0 test method, i.e. whether the test is by m ~ ~ i n load
ed
0 Water content, w Direct simple shear
(ML), constant rate of strain (CRS) or constant pore b-4 Ptasticity index. tp d CAU compression test
pressure gradient (CGT), f Total unit weigth, yt
0 technique for interpretation of the test data. Figure 1. Soil Profile - Lierstranda

157
 SOIL PROFlE
Figure 2. Soil Profile Athlone
DESCRIPTION OF SITES AND SOILS
Lierstranda
The Lierstranda test site is located jtist outside the City of
Drammen, 35 km southwest of Oslo. Figure 1 shows a soil
profile from Lierstranda. Below a stone and gravel fill about
3 m thick, a plastic clay extends to about 12 m depth where a
more "lean" clay is encountered. The main bulk of the
testing, including that reported here, was in the depth
12 - 16 m. Fundamental properties of the Drammen clays are
given by Bjerrum (1967) and Lunne and Lacasse (1999).
Athlone
The site is located at Athlone in Central Ireland. A relief road
On embankments was constructed around the northern side Of
the town during the period 1985 - 1992. The Soil profile at
the site is shown on Figure 2. Detailed description Of the
design, construction and perfomance of the d x d m e n t s
can be found in Higgins (1984), Morgan (1989) and LOW &
O'Riordan (1999) respectively.
The Athlone clays are lightly overconsolidated by a
combination of variable water levels, delayed consolidation
and readvance of part of the glacier over the soft deposits.
Lierstranda clay is found to have an apparent
overconsolidation due to secondary / delayed consolidation
as described by Bjerrum (1967).
SAMPLING METHODS
Block sampling at both sites was carried out using NGI's
block sampler, which was developed and tested at the
University of Sherbrooke, Quebec (Lefebvre and Poulin,
158
WIT WEKiMkN/m' VANE SHEAR STRENGTH kNlm2
10 15 20 2 5 0 5 10 15 20
3
YI
4;
i
5:
2
6!?
9
'i
*5
9;
E
10B
11
17
13
14
LEopro
rn Fame11 V ~ P -
HandVan'
1979). Various research projects have been carried out to
compare the quality of Sherbrooke samples with piston
samples. Lacasse et al. (1985), Lunne et al. (1997) and Lunne
et al. (1998), for example demonstrate the superior quality of
the former. The difference was largest for sensitive low
plasticity clays.
The NGI 54 mm dia. fixed piston sampler (composite
version) was used to sample the Lierstranda clays, see
Andresen (198l).The Athlone piston samples were extracted
using an ELE 100 rnrn dia. sampler.
SUMMARY OF LABORATORY TESTING
Procedures
The CRS tests on the Lierstranda clay were carried out at the
~~~~~i~~ Geotechcal Institute (NGI) and the ML tests on
the Athlone clays were carried out at University college
Dublin (uCD). In both cases the procedures used were
broadly those adopted as standard by NGI, which are
described in detail by Sandbaekken et al. (1986). Some small
modifications to the procedures were made by UCD. The
tests consist of the following main steps:
0 The specimen, with a diameter of 67 mm (CRS) or 100
mm (ML) and height 20 mm is mounted on dry filter stones
in the oedometer cell without allowing it to swell.
0 The specimen is loaded incrementally (ML) or with
constant rate of strain (CRS) to a stress which is about 9
times plC. In the UCD ML tests load steps of
approximately 1.5 times the previous load were used up to
plc .An unloading - reloading loop is often done when the
vertical stress (0'")equals about 2 plC.One purpose of this
 Test Lab. Clay Depth Sampler Winitiat Wtiinal y <T'*AVNo @ <T'd
Ref.
m % % W/m3 kN/m2 %
B1/2-D-2 NGI Lierstranda 12.3 Block 39 25 18.3 109 1.6
BU3-C-1 NGI Lierstranda 16.4 Block 33 23 19.0 146 2.3
B2/3-A-1 NGI Lierstranda 12.4 54mm 36 22 18.3 109 3.1
B2/5-A-1 NGI Lierstranda 16.4 54 mm 36 23 18.4 146 4.8
MSL2,G17 UCD AthloneGrey 4.9 Block 95 66 15.2 1 20 6.7
MSL24G19 UCD AthloneGrey 5.4 Block 89 63 14.4 22 3.9
MSb4G8 - A~oneGrey
UCD -
5.4 - -
101.4mm -
57 -
54 -
15.6 - 46 3.6
MSL2,G6 UCD AthloneGrey 4.5 101.4mm 53 38 16.9 37 5.9
MSb4B16 UCD AthloneBrown 7.6 Block 50 37 17.3 36 5.8
MSb4B18 UCD AthloneBrown 7.3 Block 38 31 18.3 32 3.5
MSL2J36 UCD AthloneBrown 8.3 101.4mm 26 23 19.6 68 1.8
MSL2,B7 UCD AthloneBrown 8.4 101.4mm 28 27 20.0 68 1.6
loop is to be able to correct for sample disturbance for samples fiom the upper part of the stratum and the absence of
stresses lower than plC. block samples from the lower part.
0 The time for each loading increment for the UCD ML test Typical test results, in terms of log dVversus strain are
is 24 hours and the rate of strain for the CRS test is in the shown on Figures 3a to 3c for the Lierstranda clay, the
range 0.5% too 1.O% per hour. Athlone grey clay and brown clay respectively. A result for a
0 For the CRS test dVis kept constant overnight at 2 plc to 1 10
Applled Pressure (kPa)
1.00
get a point close to the 24 hour virgin ~ompressioncurve. 0 d

0 In the CRS tests the coefficient of permeability, k, is

normally measured directly by constant head test twice 5
during the test.
Summary of Tests ec 10
A summary of all of the laboratory tests considered in this
h 15
paper is given on Table 1 above. The intention of the choice
i
20
of tests was to compare results on tube and block samples
ftom the same depth horizon. Unfortunately this was not
25
possible for the Athlone brown clay due to lack of tube
30 -
Applied Pressure(kPa)
1 10 100 1000 10000 I 10 100
0 0

5 5

10 c.L $0
1

Q E

3-
C

15 $ 15
111
2
9 3. 20
20

25

30

Fig. 3. Typical Test Results; (b) Athlone Grey Organic

Fig. 3. Typical Test Results; (a) Lierstranda Lower Clay, Clay and (c) Athlone Brown Laminated Clay

159
 I n
I
4-KU2-D-2
+MSL24Gl7
I I
- Lierstranda
- Athlone Grey
I

B
I- ’O- .
\ ’
9
y
7000

6000
+- MSL24816 -Athlone BmmJ

Denotesestimate of

p
S
5000

3 4000

8s 3000

0 2000
4 0 5 0 6 0 7 0 € n
loo0
PFIKX)NSOUDATIONF’RESSIJE, n kpe
I I I I
04 I I I I
Figure 4. Distribution of Evaluated Preconsolidation 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Pressure Applied Pressure (kPa)
test on a block sample and on a tube sample is shown in each Figure 5. Janbu Procedure for Estimating p’,
case. A feature of the test results is the rounded nature of the
curves and the highly variable nature of the material for the
TECHNIQUES FOR EVALUATING P’,
Athlone clays when compared with the Lierstranda .ones. For
the Athlone tube samples the boreholes were drilled from a
Sallfors (1975) sent the results of an oedometer test to 28
platform of fill approximately 1 m thick.
people working in the field of soi! mechanics and they were
asked to evaluate plC.The histogram, see Figure 4, shows the
The Lierstranda clay block samples are clearly superior to
scatter in the results and reflects the difficulty in determining
those extracted using piston tubes. However for Athlone
plc and the fact that different methods were used.
clays, the relative quality of the block and tube samples is not
clear. Sample disturbance effects in these clays is currently
The methods of Casagrande (1936), Janbu (1969), Sallfors
the subject of a more extensive study at University College
(1975), Butterfield (1979) and the strain energy method of
Dublin (Long, 1999) and is beyond the scope of this paper.
Becker et al. (1987) were used here. A detailed description of
PI, - INFLUENCE OF TEST TYPE is beyond the scope of this paper, but some examples of the
application of each of the last four is given on Figures 5 to 8.
Several important studies have been carried out into this In their application of the Janbu procedure, NGI make use
subject for example by Sallfors (1975) ,Crawford (1964) and plots of constrained modulus (M), strain and the coefficient
Leonards and Altschieffl(l964). These studies found that plc of consolidation (c,) versus d V to define p’c. It is believed
is time dependent; the lower the rate of strain or the longer that the structural breakdown of the clay occurs just before
the duration of each increment the lower is the plc value. the minimum M value.
Therefore the CRS tests on the Lierstranda clay give what
could be correctly called a “rapid” plc whereas the 24 hour
ML tests on the Athlone clays give a 24 hour plc. Hence there
is a relative difference in the interpreted results &om the two
clays. NGI experience shows a ratio of about 1.2 between the
“rapid” and 24 hour plc values for Lierstranda clay
EFFECTIVE V E R T W PRESSME

--

I Lierstranda- B112-D-2 I
-
MSL24B18 Athlone Brown
-
b MSL24G6 Athlone Grey

-+ Denotes estimated
preconsolidatioit
pressure
I I I I I l l I

1 10 100 1000
Applied Pressure (kPa)
Figure 6. Sallfors Procedure for Estimating plc Figure 7. Butterfield Procedure for Estimating p’,

160
 Table 2. Summary of Analyses
* assuming hydrostatic conditions

MSLuG 19 Athlone Grey 5.4 Block 22 30 1.36 22.5 1.02 ? ? 47 2.14 37 1.68
MSL24G8 AthloneGrey 5.4 101.4mm 46 42 0.91 37 0.80 30? 0.7? 50 1.09 53 1.15
MSL24G6 AthloneGrey 4.5 101.4mm 37 36 0.97 45 1.22 ? ? 60 1.62 35 0.95
MSL24B16 Athlone Brown 7.6 Block 36 I 32 0.89 36 1.00 ? ? 47 1.31 40 1.11
MSL24B18 Athlone Brown 7.3 Block 32 I 35 1.09 50 1.56 ? ? 48 1.50 38 1.19
MSL2J36 AthloneBrown 8.3 101.4mm 68 I 58 0.85 51 0.75 ? ? 80 1.18 70 1.03
MSL2J37 AthloneBrown 8.4 101.4mm 68 I 68 1.00 51 0.75 ? ? 70 1.03 72 1.06
ANALYSIS OF DATA 3. The methods of Butterfield and the strain energy method
give a clearly defined estimate of plc for the three clays.
A summary of the plc and OCR values determined is given on 4. However the plc values yielded by the Butterfield method
Table 2. Figure 9 compares the results for two of the clays. A are less consistent and in general seem higher than
discussion on the results is given on Table 3. Other expected from the geological history of the sites.
comparative studies have been carried out by Bonus (1995) 5. The values produced by the strain energy method are more
on Connecticut Valley varved clay and by Becker et al. consistent with the site histories and hence appear to be
(1987),. Oikawa (1987) and Sridharan et al. (1991) each on useful for soils with a rounded stress / compression curve.
a variety of clays. 6. The consistency of the test results on the block samples
CONCLUSIONS once again confirms their superiority over tube samples.
Table 3. Analysis / Discussion of Results
1. Casagrande’s technique yields plc values which seem
reasonable when compared with the geological history of Technique Lierstranda Athlone Clays
the sites. It is difficult to use the technique for the Athlone Casagrande use 2 - 3 plcportion OCR w 1.O for
clay ML tests due to the rounded shape of the curves.
of curve, values tubes and 1.6-1 .O
2. Janbu and Sallfors’ methods give similar results for the lower for tubes for blocks seems
Lierstranda clay but are both unsatisfactory for the Athlone
correct, highly
clays due to the lack of data yielded by the ML test
evaluator denendent
procedure used and the rounded nature of the curves.
Janbu
30

25
B
2
g 20
Buttterfield plc clearly defined, plc well defined but
*g
U
0

15
values similar to values seem high
r other methods for
E
3 10 blocks, inconsistent
E for tubes
5 Becker at plc well defined, plc well defined and
a 5
values similar to consistent with
0 others
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 similar results for
Applied Pressure (KP-a)

Figure 8. Strain Energy Method for Estimating ple techniaues

161

REFERENCES
Andresen, A. (198 1). Exploration, Sampling and Insitu
Testing of Soft Clay. Soft Clay Engineering. Ed. by E.W.
Brand and R.P. Brenner. Int. Sym. on Soft Clay Bangkok,
SOA Reports, Amsterdam, Elsevier: 239 - 308.
Becker, D.E., Crooks, J.H.A., Been, K. and Jefferies, M.G.
(1987). Work as a Criterion for Determining Insitu and
Yield Stress in Clays. Can. Geo. Jnl.: 24: 549 - 564.
Bjerrum, L (1967). Engineering Geology of Norwegian
Normally - Consolidated Marine Clays as Related to
Settlement of Buildings. Seventh Rankine Lecture,
Geotechnique, 17: 2: 81 - 118. Also published in NGI
Publication: 171: 1967: 1 - 38.
Bonus, M.M. (1995). Comparison of Recompression and
SHANSEP DSS Stress - Strain - Strength Behaviour of
Connecticut Valley Varved Clay. MSc Thesis, Dept. of
Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of
Massachusetts, Amherst. August
Burmister, D.M. (195 1). The Application of Controlled Test
Methods in Consolidation Testing. Proc. Syn.
Consolidation Testing of Soils, Philadelphia, ASTM
Special Tech. Pub.: No. 126: 83.
Butterfield, R. (1979). A Natural Compression Law for Soils.
Geotechnique: 29: 469 - 485.
162
Casagrande, A. (1936). The Determination of
Preconsolidation Load and its Practical Influence. Proc.
1st. ICSMFE, Boston: Discussion D-34: Vol. 3: 60 - 64.
Crawford, C.B. (1964). The Interpretation of the
Consolidation Test. JSMFD, ASCE, 90: SM5: 87 - 109.
Higgins, J. (1984). The Design of Embankments over Soft
-
Clay at Athlone Some Observations on the Prelhnhaq'
Site Investigation and Design and the Results of the
Subsidiary Trial Embankment. Transactions Institute of
Engineers of Ireland, 1983 I 1984.
Janbu, N. (1969). The Resistance Concept Applied to
Deformation of Soils. Proc. 7th. ICSMFE, Mexico: Vol. 1:
191 - 196.
Lacasse, S., Berre, T. and Lefebvre, G. (1985). Block
Sampling of Sensitive Clays. Proc. 11th ICSMFE, San
Francisco, 2: 887 - 892.
Lefebvre, G. and Poulin, C. (1979). A New Method of
Sampling in Sensitive Clay. Can. Geo. Jnl., 16: 226 - 233.
Leonards, G.A. and Altschaeffl, A.G. (1964). Compressibility
of Clay. JSMFD, A X E : 90, SM5, 133 - 155.
Long, M.M. (1999). Sample Disturbance Effects in Very Soft
Clays. PhD Thesis, University College Dublin. In
Preparation.
Long, M.M. & O'Riordan, N.J. (1999). Field
Compressibility, Consolidation and Shear Strength
Behaviour of Very Soft Clays. Submitted to Geotechnique
for publication.
Lunne, T., Berre, T. and Strandvik, S. (1997). Sample
Disturbance Effects in Soft Low Plasticity Norwegian
Clay. Proc. Sym. on Recent Developments in Soil and
Pavement Mechanics, Rio de Janeiro, June: 81 - 102.
Lunne, T. Berre, T. and Strandvik, S. (1998). Sample
Disturbance Effects in Deep Water Soil Investigations.
Proc. SUT Con$ London, Sept.: 199 - 220
Lunne, T. and Lacasse, S. (1999). Geotechnical
Characteristics of Low Plasticity Drammen Clay. Proc.
Workshop on Sample Disturbance, Port and Harbour
Institute, Japan, 26 - 28 February 1997.
Morgan, J. (1989). Athlone By - Pass: Geotechnical Aspects.
Dept. of Environment Spring Con$, Dublin, May 1989.
Oikawa, H. (1987). Compression Curve for Soft Soils. Soils
and Foundations: 27: 99 - 104.
Sallfors, G. (1975). Preconsolidation Pressure of Soft, High
Plasticity Clays. PhD Thesis, Chalmers University of
Technology, Goteborg, Sweden.
Sandbaekken, G., Berre, T. and Lacasse, S. (1986).
Oedometer Testing at the Norwegian Geotechnical
Institute. ASTM Sp. Tech. Pub. 892, Philadelphia, Penn.
Also published in NGI Publication: 168, 1987.
Schmertmann, J.S. (1953). Estimating the True Consolidation
Behaviour of Clay fiom Laboratory Test Results. JSMFD,
ASCE: 79: Separate No. 31 1: 26
Sridharan, A., Abraham, B.M. and Jose, B.T. (1991).
Improved Technique for Estimation of Preconsolidation
Pressure. Geotechnique: 41: 2: 263 - 268.
GE 0 &%%, international Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnicai Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
A COST EFFECTIVE CYCLIC TRIAXIAL TESTING UNIT
N. Sankarl and K. Vincent Paul2
'Assistant Professor, 'Professor and Head
Department of Civil Engineering, Regional Engineering College, Calicut 673 602, Kerala, India

SYNOPSIS

The evaluation of the strength and deformation behaviour of the soft marine deposits under the wave induced cyclic loading
conditions is essential for the economic and realistic design of the foundations for the massive offshore structures.
Eventhough, a number of test setups, capable of inducing cyclic loading effects to the soil samples are commercially
available, they are all quite costly. This paper presents the details of a cost effective, Cyclic Triaxial Testing Unit, with
electronic instrumentation and computerised data acquisition techniques, developed for studying the behaviour of marine
soils under cyclic loading conditions.
INTRODUCTION COMPLEXITIES INVOLVED IN THE CYCLIC
In the past two decades, the increasing search for LOADING STUDIES
hydrocarbon resources along the Indian coast has Compared to the studies regarding the behaviour of the
necessitated the construction of heavy coastal and offshore soils under static loading conditions, those under the
structures in soft marine deposits. The behaviour of cyclic loading conditions introduce the following
these highly compressible and low shear strength deposits complexities. The simulation of the stress reversal in the
are further complicated by the cyclic loads due to the soil due to the wave loading (ie cyclic loads) is quite
wave loading and it makes the analysis, design and difficult and the conventional loading techniques are
construction of heavy structures in these soft deposits inadequate for the same. The load application should be
quite complex. For the above, it is essential to have a cyclic or repetitive and as far as possible, it should be
thorough knowledge about the strength and deformation sinusoidal as the wave loading induces similar effects in
behaviour of the marine soils under the cyclic loading the soil. Moreover, it should be possible to control the
conditions and for which it is necessary to have an frequency and magnitude of these cyclic load intensities.
economical test set up capable of inducing cyclic or
repetitive loads to the - > i lsamples. Eventhogh, many In the case of static loading conditions, the measurement
cyclic test setups are commercially available, they are of the soil parameters such as the deviatric stress, pore
invariably quite costly. This paper presents the details of water pressure and the deformations are fairly simple.
a cost effective, instrumented Cyclic Triaxial testing Under the cyclic loading onditions, the porewater pressure
facility with electronic instrumentation and computerised and the deformation change with every few load cycles
Data Acquisition facilities, set up in connection with an and hence they become cycle dependent or time
MHRD sponsored research project. dependent. This makes the conventional analog
instruments used for measuring the above parameters
RELEVANCE OF STUDIES ON MARINE SOILS unsuitable for the purpose and hence electronic
UNDER CYCLIC LOADING instrumentation should be adopted.
In general, compared to the studies on onland soil deposits,
the evaluation of the offshore soil properties are more Since the cyclic pore pressures and cyclic deformations
complex since the marine deposits are subjected to various undergo continuous changes with each load cycle, a
environmental loading conditions, among which the effect continuous monitoring or monitoring at regular intervals
of the wave loading is the most important one. The for specific time duration (i.e. for a few number of load
substantial loads transmitted by the massive offshore cycles) is essential. And for the above, the conventional
structures under the static and cyclic loading conditions analog devices or techniques are grossly inadequate and
generate large cyclic porewater pressures and cyclic one has to adopt digital techniques.
deformations leading to a drastic reduction in strength and
a manifold increase in the deformations. Thus in order to CYCLIC TEST SETUPS
effectively design the offshore foundations, it is imperative As the studies on the marine soils under cyclic loading
to evaluate the behaviour of these soft marine deposits picked up in the early 1 9 7 0 ' ~ several
~ investigators
under the wave loading or the cyclic loading conditions. have suggested and tied different types of tests for
studying the behaviour of marine soils under the cyclic

163
loading conditions. The main types of tests adopted for
the above were the modified forms of the simple shear
tests andthe triaxial tests. Anderson (1988) suggested
that the cyclic properties of the clayey soils also depend
on the type of test viz. triaxial shear or direct simple
shear.
Cyclic Simple Shear Tests
The simple shear box testing was suitably modified and
used by many investigators for studying the cyclic
behaviour of marine clays. For most of the cyclic
loading tests on the Norwegian marine clays conducted
at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, this was made
use of ( ~ d ~ r s et
o al.,
n 1980). Several other investigators
have also made use of the simple shear box test to
simulate the cyclic loading effects on the soil by
adopting different techniques and Vucetic and Dorby,
1988, Nalek et al., 1989, Ansal and Erken, 1989 are a
few to cite. (Sankar, 1990).
Cyclic Triaxial Tests
Many investigators depended on the triaxial test as a basic
tool for applying the cyclic loading effects to the soils.
This was effected by suitably modifLing the standard
triaxial test to apply the desired cyclic loading pulse(ie.
sinusoidal, square and triangular) to the specimen and
contented that by this more realistic stress conditions are
achieved. Basically there are two methods of applying the
cyclic loads depending on the energising source for the
cyclic loading. They are based on the pneumatic and the
hydraulic loading principles.
P ~ ~ u m a tSy.mms
i&
Some investigators have tried to simulate the cyclic
loading effects by adopting varieties of pneumatic based
systems or a combination of electro-pneumatic systems.
Among the above, the systems proposed by Mitchell and
King, 1977, Houston and Herrmann, 1980, Hyde and
Ward, 1986, are the notable ones (Sankar, 1990).
Hydraulic Systems
Some other investigators have also tried experimental
setups based on hydraulic principles to effect the cyclic
loading to the soils. They tried several varities of servo
controlled hydraulic, electro-hydraulic techniques for the
purpose. The setups suggested by Brown et al., 1975,
Hyde and Brown, 1976, Kvalstad and Dahlberg, 1980,
come under this category (Sankar, 1990).
PRESENT EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
Among the various methods that has been adopted for
inducing the cyclic loading effects, the methods based on
pneumatic systems are more promising, since many
commercially available standard industrial products and
equipment can be made use of. Also, the control of these
standard pneumatic products can be achieved by well
I64
known techniques and the maintenance required for them
is minimal. In view of the above, a pneumatic based
simulation and control of the cyclic loading is adopted in
this set-up.
The three basic parts of the present experimental set up for
inducing the cyclic loading effects on the soil sample are :
1. The basic triaxial testing unit consisting of the loading
fiame, triaxial cell and lateral pressure assembly.
2. Suitable pneumatic system for applying the cyclic
loading to the soil sample (consisting of double acting
pneumatic cylinders, solenoid valves, electronic timers,
compressed air supply and other accessories).
3. Electronic instruments and Data Acquisition facilities
for the me~urementof the soil parameters (consisting
of Load cells, pressure transducers, LVDT, Signal
conditioners and a Data Acquisition unit)
The block diagram for the present experimental set up is
shown in Fig. 1. The basic technique of applying the
cyclic loading effects to the soil samples is detailed below.
Pneumatic AL
cylinder - Solenoid - F B L
valve
L
'nit - compressor
Signai
Load Cell _____I Conditioner - System
SignaI
1 -cOnditicmer--
L!J '
11%11
Fig. 1 Block Diagram of the Test Set Up
Simulation of Cyclic Loading
On the conventional triaxial testing loading frame, a
double acting pneumatic cylinder is mounted. Depending
on the direction of air flow, the piston rod of the
pneumatic cylinder will be moving up and down. The
piston rod of the pneumatic cylinder and the loading
plunger of the triaxial cell is connected by means of
suitable couplings, springs etc. to make it an integral unit.
On activating the pneumatic cylinder, repetitive loads
can be applied to the soil sample.
In order to activate the p n e ~ a t i c cylinder, a 5 port, 4
way double Solenoid valve is used, which in turn is
controlled by an electronic timer. The compressed air
supply to the cylinder is made available from an air
compressor. A Filter - Regulator - Lubricator unit is
provided in the compressed air supply line for
maintaining filtered and lubricated air supply to the
system, which ensures the smooth operation of the
different pneumatic units.
For applying different cyclic load intensities to the soil
samples, double acting pneumatic cylinders of different
bore diameters and stroke lengths are used. The cyclic
loading intensity can be varied either by using pneumatic
cylinders of different piston diameters or using a specific
cylinder and varying the air pressure. The desired
loading frequency (ie. wave period) can be achieved by
changing the timer settings.
Measurement of Soil Parameters
The soil parameters that have to be measured during the
cyclic testing of the soils are the cyclic load, cyclic
deformation and cyclic pore water pressure. The cyclic
deviator load is measured using a strain gauge type Load
Cell, the porewater pressure using a strain gauge type
Pressure Transducer and the deformation is measured
using a coil type Linear Variable Differential Transducer
(LVDT).
In the present setup, the load cell is introduced in between
the piston rod of the pneumatic cylinder and the plunger
rod of the triaxial cell assembly by means of suitable
couplings and springs. The pressure transducer is
connected to the pore pressure drain of the triaxial cell
assembly by suitable couplings and connectors. Since the
porewater pressures are measured near the bottom of the
soil sample, for the rapid development and equalisation of
the pore pressure, the methods and techques such as
top, bottom, radial filters as suggested by Bishop and
Henkel (1962) are used. The cyclic deformations are
measured using the LVDT which is attached to the
plunger rod of the triaxial cell by means of an extended
arm.
Data Acquisition And Control
In order to convert the analog signals coming from
the above instruments to digital ones, they have to be first
filtered of the noise and then sufficiently amplified and
Signal Conditioners are used for the same.
The amplified signals from these instruments are then
acquired by a suitable Data Acquisition unit. Basically it
consists of a PC/AT 486 with a 12 bit Analog to Digital
(AD)conversion card. The data is acquired at desired
intervals by developing suitable software for the purpose.
In addition to the above, to monitor the various soil
parameters throughout the test duration, Digital Panel
Meters are connected to each of the measurement units.
165
Data Capturing And Analysis
For capturing the data from the test setup at desired
intervals, suitable software is developed in house. This
is achieved by programming the A/D card and its
capabilities to the required levels. Again, for the filtering
and the analysis of the captured data, software techniques
are employed. The software has been developed in Turbo
c++, incorporating Assembly language routines, for the
following tasks.
1. To capture the data from the unit at desired sampling
rates and sampling duration
2. To display the dynamic variation of all the .three soil
parameters such as the deviatric load, porewater
pressure and the cyclic deformation.
3. To subject the captured data for further analysis as
required.
EQUIPMENT / INSTRUMENT DETAILS
The salient features and specifications of the various
equipment /instruments used for developing the present
experimental set-up are given in Table 1 along with their
approximate cost. It may be noted that, the equipment /
instrument used are all of good quality Indigenous
products confirming to standard specifications suitable
for research setups. All the equipment and the
pneumatic components and accessories used are
suitable for a maximum working pressure of 100 kPa.
CONCLUSIONS AND REMARKS
The testing facility described in the previous sections has
been set up and commissioned and several series of
cyclic loading studies on different marine soils have been
carried on the same. The total cost of the setup comes to
Rs. 3.40 Lakhs. In this case, the data acquisition software
has been developed in house and if such software are
purchased commercially, the overall cost will go up to Rs.
3.70 Lakhs. Moreover, the total cost of a test setup as
described above will vary by f 20 % depending on the
quality of the components used. With some additional
components and using the D/A facility in the A/D card
and with suitably developed software, this type of set up
can be converted into a completely computer controlled
cyclic triaxial testing unit.
It may be noted that the testing unit discussed here was
setup during the period 1995-96, and at that time the cost
of Computers, peripherals and add-on cards were quite
high. If the same test setup is attempted now, for the Data
Acquisition and Control purposes, an entry level Pentium
PC will be quite sufficient, the cost of which will be much
lower than the cost of PC/AT 486 used in this setup.
Moreover, the cost of add-on cards and other peripherals
have also come down substantially. Thus there can be a
reduction of about Rs. 50,000/- in the cost of the unit.
6

9
.
Table 1. Equipment / Instrument Details

Equipment / Instrument

Basic Triaxial Testing unit : 30 speed, 50 88,000

kN load frame, Triaxial cell, self
comDensatin~lateral messwe assemblv
Double acting Pneumatic Cylinders : of 3,800
different bore diameters and stroke
lengths
Double Solenoid valves : with 4 way 5 2,000
port configuration, 240 V coil voltage
and with manual override
Filter-Regulator-Lubricator Unit : With 1,800
double stage cleaning and filtering action.
Two stage Air Compressor : reciprocating 25,600
type, max. working pressure 125 Wa,
tank capacity of 160 litres
Electronic Timer : of 0-30 sec range with
___ potentiometer controls, accuracy : f 1 %
7 Load Cell : precision strain gauge based 8,500
- universal type of 2000 kN capacity
Pressure Tmnsducer : precision strain 7,400
gauge type of 100 kPa capacity
___ LVDT : Coil type, range : f 20 mm
10 Signal Conditioners : IC based, circuit 16,800
~
with variable user adjustable gain - 3 No.
11 Digital Panel Meters : 3 112 digit LED 2,500
- type, It 2V m e ~ ~ e m erangen t - 3 Nos.
12 A D Card : 12 bit A/D card with built in 25,800
700

4,900
Allowing for a marginal increase of about Rs. 10,000/- in
the cost of other equipment used for the test setup, a net
reduction of about Rs. 40,0001- in the cost can be
expected.
Thus at present, a Cyclic Triaxial Testing Unit of the
above nature can be set up for about Rs. 3.00 Lakhs.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The present setup has Seen developed in connection
with a research project funded by the Ministry of Human
Resource Development (Department of Education), India.
The authors wish to acknowledge the MHRD and their
parent institute REC, Calicut for the facilities extended.

REFERENCES
Anderson, K.H., Pool, J.H. and Brown, S.F. (1980). Cyclic
And Static Laboratory Tests in Clays. Jl. of
Geotech. Engg. Divi., ASCE, 106:5:499-529.

Anderson, K.H., Kleven, A. and Hein, D. (1988). Cyclic

Soil Data for Design of Gravity Structures. Jl. of
Geotech. Engg. Divi., ASCE, 1145517-539.
Bishop, A.W. and Henkel, D.J. (1962). Measurement of
Soil Properties in Trimial Test. Edward h o l d
Ltd., London.

Sankar, N. (1990). Strengt~And Defo~mationg e h ~ ~ i o u r

of Indain Marine Clays Under Cyclic Loading.
Ph.D. thesis submitted to IIT,Madras.

S/H suitable for 16 bit PC/AT bus, 16

channel single ended or 8 channel
differential ended inputs, DA through
DMA support (with EWC for 4 years) I
13 Data Acquisition unit : PC1AT 486, 4 75,000
MB RAM, 270 MB HDD, SVGA
monitor and all standard accessories
- (EWC for 4 years)
14 24 Pin Dot matrix printer 22,000
15 U n ~ t e ~ p t ePower
d <Supply : 1 KVA 36,000
caDacitv with 1 hour batterv backur,
16 Mechanical and pneumatic accessories 7,000
llke couplings, connectors, Brass tubes,
pressure lines and other fabricated
co~po~ents
17 Electrical and Electronic accessories like 7,000
wires. cables. socket connectors etc...
~

18 Tools and other measuring instruments

- 5,000
Total Rs. 3.39.800 = 3 . d 1 Lakhs

166
G E 0 $&%&,lnternat~onatconferen~eon Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnjca~Engine~ring~~ e ~ m b23,
USE OF CONE PENETRO~ETERIN EXPLORING ALLUVIAL BENGAf
Som Shankar De Dalal
Research Oficer (Soil Mech.), River Research Institute, W.B.,
HRRI
Synopsis
static cone penetration test is used to deterinhe the relative density or consistency of in-situ soils. The
sounding gives a continuo~record of strata. Results of investigations at some sites in the alluvial southern part
of West Bengal are assembled and correlations are developed with an aim at using the sounding data for
better i n t e ~ r e ~ i of
o nthe subsoils.
INTRODUCTION
Static cone penetration test is widely used in
exploring alluvial and marine deposits in many countries
includ~gIndia. The test gives a thorough picture of the
bearing and frictional resistance of the strata without
sampling and laboratory test. The sounding results can
reliably be utilised in the design of substructures, shallow
and deep. So at some difficult sites the penetration test
may be used as an alternative to other exploration
methods. It may also be utilised in conjunction with other
methods to lessen the workload of an exploration
programme-
The mantle cone may be used with and without
jacket. In the first case the cone penetration resistance or
bearing is recorded and the values of bearing and fiiction
are obtained in the other. The cone resistance / bearing is
related to the relative density or angle of shearing
resistance in sands and to the consistency or undrained
shear s t r e n a in clays. Unit skin friction, the other
parameter, obtained from the jacket fkiction relates
similarly. The fiiction ratio i.e. the ratio between the unit
skin fiiction and the cone penetration resistance has been
found higher in cohesive soils in comparison to granular
soils. Hence the fiiction ratio may help in getting some
idea of the type of soil encountered. Thus the deficiency
of the penetration test may be filled up to some extent
and the use of the apparatus, a fast exploration device,
may be extended to different subsoil investigation
programmes.
BACKGROUND
Begemann ('65 - Ref. 1) after a study on the soils of
different parts of Holland has found that the values of the
ratio of skin fiiction to cone resistance are more in finer
soils compared to coarser soils. Percent finer than .016
mm. has been chosen as a key for denoting different
types of soil in the plots. In ano$er study the friction
ratio values have been found to range from 0.5 - 2% in
e r I999
- Mohanpur, Nadia 741 246, India
sands, more than 5% in insensitive clays and between
2 - 5% in intermediate soils (Schmertmann '67)
fn the attempt to get a plot of qJ N (qc - cone
penetration resistance and N - blow count in SPT)
against DSO ,the median grain size, in log scale Kasim et.
al. ('86 - Ref, 5) (have observed that the test points
conform to the curve suggested by Robertson and
Campanella ('84) for soils with low fines.
There are limitations in classi&ing different soils
ranging fiom granular to plastic with the use of a single
indicator, still due to similarity in origin of soils i.e.
parent rocks, soil formation and stress history of a
particular region, such indicator may be adopted to utilise
a database in having some tentative solutions of
otherwise unsolved problems.
To interpret the relative behaviour of 65 old
homogeneous dams in the western U. S. Sherard et. al.
(P-156 & 243 - Ref. 12) have arrived at certain findings
with the use of the median grain size, Dso. A similar
endeavour in analysing the engineering properties of
soils of dams in the western districts of W. B. has
produced some results (Ref. 3).
SOILS OF ALLUVIAL BENGAL AND USE OF
PENETROMETER
The Bengal delta plain is subdivided into three
regions viz. moribund, mature and active. There are some
erosion occurrences on the river banks, but overall the
alluviation process is going on, p~icularlyin the south.
The average value of the median grain size of the bed
material of the Bhagirathi, the non-tidal upper reach of
the Ganga in W. B., is .21 mm. and that of the Hooghly,
the tidal reach, is ,13 mm.(Ref. 2). The banks consist of
fine sand-silty fine sand overlain by clayey silt-silty clay.
The depth of the clay layer varies fiom place to place and
at some places it is zero. Grain sizes gradually decrease
as the river travels d o ~ s ~ e a mThe. avg. value of the
16T
effective stress parameter, @', of sand is 35". The avg.
value of the undrained shear strength of the Bhagirathi
clay is 52 kPa and that of the Hooghly clay is 42 kPa
(Ref. 2). The depth of the clay layer is greater in the
south.
Evidences of two environments of deposition viz.
The Flood Plain or Backswamp environment and the
Meander Belt environment are noticed in the Bengal
basin (Ref. 4). One was conducive of deposition of clay
and silt and the other caused choking of the palaeo-
channels by coarser fiactions brought by the river force
from upstream. The sequential change like course shift
etc., a common feature of the river systems in a deltaic
plain, was the cause of alternate layers of sand and clay
at a particular site. Where deposits in the flood plains
were exposed to hot climate, the result was
preconsolidation and continuous deposition under calm
water resulted in normally consolidated deposit.
Several subsoil investigations on the riverine tracts
of the alluvial Bengal have been performed by River
Research Institute, W. B. (RRIWB) in connection with
the construction of sluices, cross-drainage structures,
river protection works, bridges etc. Undisturbed samples
are collected fkom the boreholes pushing open drive
samplers (inner dia 76mm. and length 300 mm). The
holes are bored using auger boring and wash boring
method at some sites. But the major part of the works are
done by the static cone penetrometers, manually operated
FIG. 1. Typical Penetration Resistance Plots at
168
or engine-dnven. The penetrometers are Holland-make
(N. V. Goudsche Machinefabriek - Gouda, manual - 2t),
AIMIL - make (manual - 3t) and HEICO - make
(engine driven - 10 t). Excepting one ( ~ g a n-j Fig.
2) all the data of this discussion have been obtained using
the Dutch apparatus.
Other penetrometers have a base hole dia. 38 mm. to
guide the mantle tube of outer dia. 36 mm. while the
.Dutch apparatus has a base hole dia. 92 mm. and it
provides a unique facility. A sampler unit with a cutter
(mouth locked initially) of inner dia. 32.5 mm. and
length 200 mm. can be attached to a hollow mantle tube.
After completion of a penetration test' the apparatus can
be shifted to a distance about 300 mm. adjusting the
channels and fly-nuts at the same test seat. Adding more
mantle tubes to the sampler assembly it can be gradually
pushed to the desired depth, unlocked and pushed further
to collect the soil in the cutter. It is then sheared and
lifted up. The area ratio of most of the soil cutters is high,
soils are not of good quality and are taken mainly for
identification purpose. Such soil locations are marked
within the plots (Fig. 1). Sampling is done upto 10 m.
depth generally or more occassionally. Very soft clay or
clean sand below g. w. t. can not be sampled in this
process.
The results of probing by the penetrometer upto
different depths (max. 20m) at the sites in the alluvial
Bengal are similar to those of other investigators
I CI t
Different Sites in Deltaic and Coastal Areas.
exploring by other methods. It has been observed that the
top soils of a few metres are preconsolidated possibly by
wet and dry cycles and human activities. The deposits are
either clays with sand pockets or sandy strata intercalated
by clayey layers. Clays with varying clay percentages are
either normally consolidated or preconsolidated, stress
being light to medlum. Sands are mostly silty fine sand -
fine sand of low to medium relative density. Finer and
softer soils of greater depths are encountered in the
south.
Typical penetration plots at some sites are given in
Fig. 1 and 2. Figure 1 presents the test results at the sites
in the estuarine tracts criss-crossed by the tidal creeks in
the active delta. In Fig. 2 are presented the plots showing
the bearing and fhction values at two different sites, one
in a non-cohesive deposit in the moribund delta
(Murshidabad) and the other in a cohesive deposit in the
active delta (South 24 Parganas). The sandy deposit
shows higher values of both bearing and fiction
compared to those of the clayey deposit, but the ratio of
fc and qc is hgher in the latter compared to the former
deposit.
FIG. 2. Typical Bearing and Friction Plots.
169
OTHER EXPERIMENTS AND CORRELATIONS
The soil samples obtained by the Dutch apparatus
are more or less Qsturbed and used for determination of
index properties mainly. The undisturbed samples
collected fiom the boreholes are used in consolidation
and permeability test. The test results of the undisturbed
samples of 0.7 to 6.9 m. depth are used in this discussion.
Constant head permeability test is performed on 76 mm.
dia., 25.4 mm. thick samples. Grain size analysis is done
by sieving 01; pipette method and sieving conjointly on
sandy and clayey soils. The median grain size is obtained
from the grain size distribution curves.
Correlations between qc and critical hydraulic
gradient for sandy, silty and clayey soils have been
drawn by Kmdu et. al. (Ref. 6). In the present paper two
correlations have been tried, one between the friction
ratio and median grain size in the semilog plots and the
second between the permeability co-efficient and median
grain size in the log-log plots (Fig 3 and 4). Linear
equation is fitted in the plots due to limited number of
data points.
REMARKS
In the alluvial deposits, geologically new, low (less
than 1500 kPa) or high (more than 3000 @a) values of
qc ,cone penetration resistance, may render a rough idea
of the soil type, but the friction ratio may help in getting
a more rational idea. The correlations may give a more or
less workable profile of the subsoils without sampling
operation. However such correlations should be moQfied
for a particular region.
The penetrometer gives a detailed view of in-situ
strength of the subsoils and the test records help in
estimating safe bearing capacity, static pile capacity,
settlement etc. required for design.
FIG. 3. Variation of Friction Ratio with Median Grainsize.
170
There are certain sites where it is difficult to explore
with heavy macluneries e. g. the estuarine / marine tracts
subject to inundation twice daily and the tidal range is of
the magnitude 4 - 6 m. in spring tide. Light-weight
manually operated penetrometer may successfully be
used there because the penetration test at a point may be
completed within a period of 2 hours or so. Certain
modifications may ease the penetration process. Mantle
tubes of uniform diameter are found to be difficult in
pushing through stronger soils viz. Stiff clay, sand of
medium to high density. Non-uniform tubes (Fig. 5 ) have
been found very effective when the penetration is done
manually.
 --_.-- 1'---------
'SOl
I w 7-----7-
!

I -

Same ThroujLout 1

FIG. 5. Uniform and on-uniform Mantle Tubese

171
A c ~ o w l e d g e ~ e-
n tThe author expresses his gratitude
to Sri. M. De, Deputy Director
(Statistics), RRIWB for his help in
computations.
References
1 . Begemann, H. K. S. PH. (1965). The Friction Jacket
Cone as an Aid in Determining the Soil Profile,
Proc. Of tithICSMFE (Toronto), Vol. I.
2. Das, S. C. and Parua, P. K. (1990). Erosion and
Unstability of Bhagirathi-Hooghly River Banks,
River and Estuarine Hydraulics, Proc. of 56&
R & D Session, CBIP, Vol. I.
3. De Dalal, S. S., Nath, A. and Chakraborty, R (1993).
Engineering Properties of Soils of Dams in
Western Districts of West Bengal, Soils and
Materials, Proc. of 58& R & D Session, CBIP.
4. Ghosh, P. K. and Gupta, S. (1972). Subsoil Character
of Calcutta Region, Proc. of 3rdSymposium on
Application of SMFE in Eastern India, Calcutta.
172
5 . Kasim, A. G., Chu, M. Y. and Jensen, C. N. (1986).
Field Correlation of Cone and Standard
Penetration Tests, JGE, ASCE, March.
6. Kundu, N. K. and Chakraborty, R. (1986). In-Situ
Determination of Critical Hydraulic Gradient of
Soils, Proc. of 53rd R & D Session, CBP,
Vol. 111.
7. Lmbe, T. W. and ~~~~, R. V. (1983). Soil
Mechanics, Wiley Eastern Ltd.
8. River Research Institute, W. B. (1989). Rtver Systems
of W. B.
9. Saha, H. L. and DasGupta, P. I(.(1967). Some Studies
with the Static Cone P e n e ~ o m e ~S~ r~, p ~ s ~ u m
on Site Investigation for Foundations, CBRI,
Roorkee.
10. Sanglerat, G. (1965). Le Phetrometer - et la
Reconnaissance des sols, Dunod, Paris.
11. S c ~ e ~J. aH. (1970).
~ , Static Cone to Compute
Static Settlement over Sand, J. SMED, ASCE,
July.
12. Sherard, J. L., Woodward, R. J., Gizienski, S. F. and
Clevenger, W. A. (1963). Earth and Earth -
Rock Dams, John Wiley and Soas, Inc.
 International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

CORRELATIONS AMONG pi,, su,AND INDEX PROPERTIES FOR OFFSHORE CLAYS

Don J. DeGrootl, Siren Knudsen2and Tom Lunne2
'Unive&y of Massack~settsAmherst, Amherst, Mffssffchusetts,USA 01003
' N o ~ e Geotecknical
~ a ~ i~stitute,RO. Box 3930, Ullevaal ffageby,N-0806 Oslo, Norway

SYNOPSIS
This paper presents results of a pilot study investigating correlations between index tests and soil design parameters for
offshore clays. An important objective of the study is to develop a database consisting of high quality laboratory data from
tests conducted in a consistent manner. The database includes ten sites from locations in the Atlantic Ocean, North Sea,
Norwegian Sea, Caspian Sea and two onshore sites. Analysis of the database found a trend between preconsolidation stress
and liquidity index but with considerable scatter as the liquidity index decreases below O S . A strong linear relationship was
found between preconsolidation stress and undrained shear strength for triaxial compression, triaxial extension, and direct
simple shear modes of shear. Recommendations are given for use of these relationships together with the preconsolidation
stress - liquidity index correlation for estimation of in situ undrained shear strength.

INTRODUCTION Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). The sites selected

Empirical correlations between simple and inexpensive
index tests and more costly engineering tests can serve a
valuable purpose in design of offshore structures. This is
particularly the case for preliminary design at early stages
of projects where little information is known about the soil
properties, for small projects with limited budgets, and
international projects at locations where advanced
laboratory tests performed to international standards are
not available. However, the usefulness of any correlation is
strongly dependent on the reliability of the database that is
used to develop the correlation. Mixing data fi-om a variety
of sources can often result in significant scatter and a
decrease in the reliability of the orr relations because of
differences in measurement techniques and the quality of
the data used. This is particularly a problem for offshore
soils since obtaining high quality undisturbed samples is a
significant challenge, especially for new deep-water sites.
This makes it impo~antto develop new correlations tailor-
made to the conditions and requirements of the offshore
industry.
The purpose of the project described in this paper is to
explore the possibility of developing new empirical
correlations between index tests and engineering
parameters based on high quality laboratory tests for
offshore clays. The index properties being considered
include water content and Atterberg Limits. While the
project is investigating many engineering parameters, the
focus of this paper is limited to the development of
correlations among the preconsolidation stress, undrained
shear strength, and index properties of clays. The paper
gives a brief review of the literature followed by a
description of laboratory test procedures used at the
for this study and the development of the database are
described. Results from the correlations investigated are
presented and recommendations for use of the corre~ations
in practice are given.
PREVIOUS WORK
The geotechnical engineering literature contains many
correlations relating index properties with soil design
parameters (e.g., NAVFAC 1982, Kleven et al. 1986,
Mitchell 1993). The most common index properties
include, water content, plastic limit, Iiquid limit, plasticity
index (Ip), and liquidity index (LI). A brief review is given
here on some published empirical correlations for
preconsolidation stress (p'J and undrained shear strength
@")*
Precons~iidationStress
Skempton (1970) showed that for normally consolidated
clays there is a unique relationship between the in situ
vertical effective stress (dvo)and LI. However, most clays
do not exist in a truly normally consolidated condition. The
potential existence of such a relationship for
overconsolidated clays is often observed empirically, i.e.,
lightly overconsolidated clays often have water contents in
the range of the liquid limit (LI = 1) while heavily
overconsolidated clays often have water contents in the
range of the plastic limit (LI = 0). However, it is only for
the case of removal of overburden would it be expected
that overconsolidated clays might also exhibit a unique
relationship between pic and LI like that for normally
consolidated clays. Other factors such as weathering,
ageing, diagentic bonding and other physico-chemica~

173
processes also change a clay's stress state (Stas and
Kulhway 1984). As a result, the relationship between ptc
and LI can become weaker and exhibit an increase in the
scatter of the data.
In spite of these difficulties, most empirical correlations for
preconsolidation stress use the liquidity index (e.g.,
NAVFAC 1982, Wroth 1979, Stas and Kulhway 1984).
NAVFAC (1982) presented a relationship between plc and
LI that makes use of the sensitivity to refine the
correlation. Stas and Kulhway (1984) reviewed data for
clays with sensitivities ranging from 1 to 10 and suggested
the following expression for estimating pfc
where Pa = atmospheric pressure. Contrary to NAVFAC
(1982), Stas and Kulhway (1984) found no influence of
sensitivity on the ptc - LI correlation. Ladd and DeGroot
(1 992) also reported a relationship similar to Equation 1 for
Arctic clayey silts in the Beaufort Sea, offshore Alaska.
Undrained Shear Strength
While the literature reports numerous examples of a very
good correlation between LI and the remoulded undrained
shear strength sur(e.g., Terzaghi et al. 1996), correlations
for the in situ undrained shear strength typically focus on
su normalised by either CT', or plc. Skempton (1957) first
suggested a correlation between S , / C T ' ~ ~and I, based on
field vane shear strengths for normally consolidated marine
clays. However, Bjerrum and Simons (1960) showed that
this ~lationship did not work well for normally
consolidated sensitive Norwegian marine clays. Mesri
(1975, 1989) analysed field and laboratory data and
concluded that the mobilised undrained shear strength
(SJmob for stability problems (e.g., embankments, footings
and excavations) is related to pfcas
independent of I,. Larrson (1980) proposed a similar
relationship with s, independent of I, for inorganic clays.
Ladd (1991) and Terzaghi et al. (1996) present data on the
variation of s, n o ~ a l i s e dby the laboratory consoli~tion
stress dVc (or sU/ptcif overconsolidated)with I, as measured
in triaxial compression (TC), direct simple shear (DSS),
and triaxial extension (TE) for normally to lightly
overconsolidated clays. These data show no trend in
s,(TC)/ot,o with I, while there is some increase in
s,(DSS)/r',, and s,(TE)/a', with an increase in I,.
174
LABORATORY TEST PROCEDURES
One of the major objectives of the pilot study is to
investigate empirical correlations using high quality
laboratory data tested in a consistent manner. Data used for
this study are from tests conducted mainly at NGI. The
basic test procedures used are described in the following
sections. For determination of the liquid limit, NGI uses
the fall cone procedure.
Oedometer Tests
The oedometer equipment and procedures used at NGI are
described by Sandbaekken et al. (1986). The basic test
procedure consists of using cylindrical specimens with a
cross-sectional area of 20 or 35 cm2and a height of 20 mm.
Specimensthat may have a high negative pore pressure are
mounted with dry filter stones to prevent specimen
swelling. Water, of the correct salinity, is added to the filter
stones when a vertical stress high enough to prevent
swelling has been applied. For incremental loading tests,
the vertical stress is increased in steps. For continuous
loading tests the specimen is compressed at a constant rate
of strain (CRS). For CRS tests, the specimen is allowed to
drain freely at the top, but is undrained at the bottom. The
rate of strain is selected such that the pore pressure
measured at the bottom preferably shall be less than about
5% of the total applied stress.
Triaxial Tests
Berre (1982) describes the triaxial equipment used at NGI.
The cross-sectional area used varies for samples taken by
different samplers, i.e., 23cm2for the NGI 54 mm sampler
and 40 cm2 for standard offshore 75 mm (3") samples.
Specimens that may have a high negative pore pressure are
mounted with dry filter stones to prevent specimen
swelling. During saturation, water of the correct salinity is
flushed through the filter stones. Increments of back
pressure are applied until the B value is at least 0.95.
Thereafter the specified anisotropic consolidation
increments are applied until the final axial stress is equal to
CT',,~ and the final radial consolidation stress is equal to
&dvo where & is the value of the coefficient of earth
pressure at rest. K, is estimated using the empirical
relationship among &, OCR, and I, developed by Brooker
and Ireland (1965). Undrained shear is conducted at a
constant rate of strain of about 1 to 2 percent per hour. For
compression tests (CAUC or TC in this paper), the total
axial stress is increased whilst the total radial stress is kept
constant. For extension tests (CAUE or TE in this paper),
the total axial stress is decreased whilst the total radial
stress is kept constant.
Direct Simple Shear Tests
Direct Simple shear (DSS) is conducted using the
equipment described by Bjermm and Landva (1966).
Cylindrical specimens with cross-sectional areas of 20, 35
or 50 cm2, and a height of 16 mm are placed within a wire
reinforced rubber membrane that prevents radial
deformation but allows the specimen to be deformed in
simple shear. Specimens are consolidated in increments to
the final axial (vertical) effective stress which is typically
equal to dv0. At approximately 50% of dv0 the filter stones
are saturated with water of the correct salinity. Undrained
shear is conducted by applying a horizontal shear stress at a
constant rate of shear strain equal to 5% per hour.
Undrained conditions are simulated by keeping the volume
constant during shear by increasing or decreasing the axial
stress.
DATABASE DEVELOPMENT
Ten sites were selected for development of the database:
eight offshore and two onshore (Table 1). The two onshore
sites are the focus of research at NGI on sample
disturbance and were included because tests were
conducted on high quality block samples fiom these sites.
For all sites, a standardised format was developed for entry
of the data from each site into a master spreadsheet.
Entered data includes detailed i n f o ~ a t i o nfor all samples
collected and results of all laboratory tests conducted.
All data used were screened to exclude results from tests
conducted on samples that suffered excessive sample
disturbance and to use s, data from tests that used the same
laboratory consolidation procedure. The effects of sample
disturbance on ptcand s, are well known and described in
other NGI publications (e.g., Lunne et al. 1997, 1998). For
the current database, all selected ptcand s, values are from
tests where the volumetric strain cVo at dv0during
laboratory recompression was less than 4%. Furthermore,
only s, values from recompression tests conducted with
anisotropic consolidation conditions and a final laboratory
consolidation stress daC within the range 0.95 < dac/~’,, <
1.05 were included.
The resulting database covers a wide range of in situ
conditions and soil properties. Typical water depths for all
sites range from 60 m to 370 m. Depths of soil sampling
range from seafloor up to 150 m below seafloor. Natural
water contents range from 10 to 80 % with a majority of
the values being in the range of 20 to 50%. The plasticity
index ranges from approximately 10 to 80% and most of
the liquidity index values are in the range of - 0.2 to 1.5.
The Atterberg Limits for all sites are plotted in Figure 1.
Most of the data plot above the A-line indicating
predominately clay type soils. The corresponding Unified
Soil Classi~cationSystem (USCS) designations are mainly
low plasticity clay (CL) and high plasticity clay (CH).

Site

1
Table 1 Tests Sites and Locations

Location
Atlantic Ocean
West of Ireland
water
Depth (m)
370
uscs
CL&CH
n 8o t 0

0
site2
Site3
site4 A
I I

2 1 N o ~ S e a - D ~ s h S e c t oI r
I L
60
I

I CL&CH 1
1 North Sea
No~e~ianSector
330 CL&CH

;
North Sea
309 CL&CH
Norwegian Sector
5
~
Norwegian Sea
North Sea
Norwegian Sector
Caspian Sea
~ ;;;
312 CL
:CL&CH~
CL, CH
Azerbajan Sector and MH 0 20 40 60 80 100
Norwe~ianSea 362 CL&CH I
c
Liquid Limit, WL, [%]
9 On shore-Norway CL
10 On shore-Scotland - CH&MH
Figure 1 Plasticity Chart for soils in database

175
CORRELATIONS were studied. However, these data also showed significant
scatter and a general lack of correlation.
Preconsolidation Stress
From these analyses, it is apparent that the s, data must be
Figure 2 plots pfc (as determined using Casagrande analysed in a foimat that takes into account stress history.
construction) versus LI for the sites. The data indicate a One way to do this is to compare s, values with their
trend with a decrease in plc as the LI increases, although corresponding pfcvalues. Figures 3 to 5 plot these data for
there is considerable scatter for LI below 0.5. Following the TC, DSS, and TE modes of shear. The data show a
Stas and Kulhway (1 984), a least squares regression to the strong Correlation between s, and pfc for each mode of
data results in shear and suggest a linear relationship between s, and plc
with a zero intercept. Linear regression to the data results
plc = 1o(2.90 - 0.96LI) in the following equations
(3)

with the number of data points n = 120 and the coefficient s,(TC) = 0 . 3 0 ~ ' ~ n = 64, r2 = 0.92 (4)
of determination r2 = 0.64. Additional. analysis of the data
considering other factors such as ofvoand sensitivity (based s,(DSS) = 0 . 2 2 ~ ' ~ n = 47, r2 = 0.96 (5)
on fall cone measurements) did not help to improve the
correlation. Converting ptcvalues to overconsolidation ratio s,(TE) =0.17~'~ n = 8, r2 = 0.91 (6)
(OCR) also did not result in an improved correlation.
with all three modes of shear having relatively high r2
values. These results are consistent with the known
x 2000 anisotropy of clays, where for the same stress state
H+ Stel
typically, s,(TC) > s,(DSS) > s,(TE).

0 Site2
0 Site3

io+
0 Site4
n

ui
A Site5 m 300
U)
m x X Site6 B
Y 250
5 1000
.-
%
0 0
fi

f i a
-&
D
Site7
Site8 200 L:* X

150

100
U
D .-E
0.0 0.5 1 .o 1.5
E
c
-U 50
Liquidity Index, LI [ - ] 3

Figure 2 Preconsolidation Stress vs Liquidity Index 0

0 200 400 600 800 1000
Preconsolidation Stress, plc [kPa]
Undrained Shear Strength
Figure 3 Triaxal Compression Undrained Shear
Initial investigation of the undrained shear strength data Strength vs Preconsolidation Stress
' ~ ~ I, for TC, DSS and TE modes of
focused on ~ , , / oversus
shear. These data, however, showed little to no correlation.
Since OCR has a significant effect on S , , / O ' ~ ~much
, of the Equations 3 to 5 do not include a measure of the index
variation in these data may be due to differences in OCR properties of the clays as expressed through I, or LI.
For the different sites and within a given site. Since the Inspection of the sets of individual sU/ptcvalues versus I, or
liquidity index is often believed to be an indication of the LI for each mode of shear show a considerable amount of
werconsolidation state of a soil, the s,/o,' data versus LI scatter and none indicate a strong trend between s,/p', and

176
I, or LI. Therefore, the most practical conclusion from The average anisotropy ratio for all pairs of TC & TE tests
these data is that sU/plcis independent of I, and LI for each and TC & DSS tests are
mode of shear.
K, = s,(TE)/s,(TC) = 0.65 n = 13 (7)

and

250 1 0
0
Site2 (nodab)
Site3
i
K, = s,(DSS)/s,(TC) = 0.77 n = 24

with no correlation found between K, and I, or LI. This

(8)

lack of correlation is consistent with the finding that s,/p',

is independent of I, for all three modes of shear.
Site7 (nodata)

APPLICATION OF RESULTS

The strong relationships found between pfcand s, suggest

Equations 4 to 6 can be used with confidence for
estimating soil parameters. Unfortunately, both s, and p',
are design parameters which defeats the purpose of using
empirical correlations. One approach to resolving this
problem is to use the correlation found between p', and LI
(Equation 3) to estimate s,. This can be done by first
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Preconsolidation Stress, plc [kPa]
estimating plc based on LI using Figure 2. Once a value of
p', is selected then estimates of s, can be made for each
mode of laboratory shear using Equations 4 to 6.
Figure 4 Direct Simple Shear Undrained Shear
Strength vs Preconsolidation Stress The potentially weak link in the above approach for
estimating s, is the reliability of the ptc - LI correlation.
Where possible estimates of p', should be evaluated based
150 on knowledge of site geology and estimates of dv0.Values
+ Site1
of pfcinterpreted from in situ tests should also be used as a
0 Sib2(nodaka) guide. It is possible that future analysis of the database
125
0 Site3 considering the geology of the sites may result in different
0 Sb4(nodab) and possibliy stronger correlations.
A Sib5(nodsia)
100 x Sib6(nodata)
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Sib7(nodala)
D Ste8
75 0 Sib9(nodab)
A database of soil properties from ten sites was developed
4 SibIO(nodata) to study empirical correlations between index tests and soil
design parameters for offshore clays. A key factor in
50 development of the database was inclusion of only high
quality laboratory data from tests conducted mainly at
NGI. The resulting database covers a wide range of
25 properties from soft clays to stiff clays. Analysis of the
database found a trend between p', and LI but with
considerable scatter as the LI decreases below 0.5. A
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 strong linear relatiorship was found between s, and p', for
Preconsolidation Stress, plc [kPa] TC, DSS, and TE modes of shear. The resulting s,/p', ratios
are independent of I, and LI. These relationships can be
used together with the p', - LI correlation for estimation of
Figure 5 Triaxial Extension Undrained Shear s,. Future expansion of the database with new sites and
Strength vs Preconsolidation Stress consideration of site geology in the analysis may help to
improve these correlations.

177
Acknowledgements
The Authors acknowledge the support of Statoil, Saga, and
Norsk Hydro who sponsored the pilot study this work is
based on. A Research Council of Norway Guest
Researcher Fellowship also provided financial support to
the first Author.
References
Berre, T. (1982). “Triaxial Testing at the Norwegian
Geotechnical Institute.” Geotechnical Testing Journal, Vol.
5, NO. 1, pp. 3- 17.
Bjerrum, L. and Simons, N.E. (1960). “Comparison of
Shear Strength Characteristics of Normally Consolidated
Clays.” ASCE Research Conference on Shear Strength of
Cohesive Soils, Boulder, pp. 71 1-726.
Bjerrum, L. and A. Landva. (1966). “Direct Simple Shear
Tests on Norwegian Quick Clay.” Geotechnique, Vol. 16,
NO.1, pp. 1-20.
Brooker, E.W., and Ireland, H.O. (1965). “Earth Pressures
at Rest Related to Stress History.” Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 1-15.
Kleven, A., Lacasse, S., and Andersen, K.H. (1986). “Soil
Parameters for Offshore Foundation Design.” Parts I and
11, NGI Internal Report No. 400013-34.
Ladd, C.C. (1991). “Stability Evaluation During Stage
Construction.” Journal of Geotechnical Engineering,
ASCE, Vol. 117, NO. 4, April, pp. 540-615.
Ladd, C.C. and DeGroot, D.J. (1992). “Guidelines for
Geotechnical Experimental Program for Foundation
Design of Offshore Arctic Gravity Structures.” Research
Report No. R92-33, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 435p.
Larsson, R. (1980). “Undrained Shear Strength in Stability
Calculations of Embankments on Soft Clays.” Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 591-602.
Lunne, T., Berre, T. and Strandvik, S. (1997). “Sample
disturbance effects in soft low plastic Norwegian clay.”
Symposium on Recent Developments in Soil and Pavement
Mechanics, Rio de Janeiro, June, pp. 81- 102.
Lunne, T., Berre, T. and Strandvik, S. (1998). “Sample
disturbance effects in deep water soil investigations.”
Proceedings of OHshore Soil Investigations and
Foundation Engineering,London, pp. 199-220.
Mesri, G. (1975). “Discussion of ‘New Design Procedure
for Stability of Soft Clays.” Journal of Geotechnical
Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 101, No. GT4, pp. 409-412.
Mesri, G. (1989). “A Re-evaluation of s,(mob) = 0.220’~
Using Laboratory Shear Tests.” Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 301-309.
Mitchell, J.K. (1993). Fundamentals of Soil Behaviour.2nd
Ed., John Wiley and Sons, New York, 437p.
NAVFAC (1982). Soil Mechanics DM7. I . Naval Facilities
Engineering Command, Alexandria, 355p.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, NGI (1996). Optimal
Use of Soil Data from Deep Water Sites. Analysis and
Recommendation Report. Report No. 521676-5, 25 July
1996.
Sandbaekken, G., Berre, T., and Lacasse, S. (1986).
“Oedometer Testing at the Norwegian Geotechnical
Institute.”ASTMSTP 892, pp. 329-353.
Skempton, A.W. (1957). “Discussion of ‘Planning and
Design of New Hong Kong Airport’,” Proceedings
Institution of Civil Engineers, Vol. 7, June, pp. 305-307.
Skempton, A.W. (1970). “The Consolidation of Clays by
Gravitational Compaction.” Quarterly Journal of the
Geological Society of London, Vol. 125, pp. 373-412.
Stas, C.V. and Kulhawy, F.H. (1984). “Critical Evaluation
of Design Methods for Foundations Under Axial Uplift and
Compression Loading.” Report EL-3 771, Electric Power
Research Institute, Pal0 Alto, 198p.
Terzaghi, K., Peck, R.B., and Mesri, G. (1996). Soil
Mechanics in Engineering Practice. John Wiley and Sons,
New York, 549p.
Wroth, C.P. (1979). “Correlations of Some Engineering
Properties of Soils.” Proceedings of 2nd International
Conference on Behaviour of Ofl-Shore Structures, London,
pp. 121-132.
GEO -, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

CORRELATION STUDY FOR GODAVARI DELTA

Ravi Kumar, R.K. Ghanekar and A.K. Singh
Institute of Engineering and Ocean Technology, India

SYNOPSIS
Considering the possibility of future oil exploration and production activity in Eastern Offshore of India and
the fact that no geotechnical correlation study is available from this area, a correlatjon study on various soil
engineering parameters has been performed concentrating on data of cohesive soils from Godavari Delta. The
correlations presented are compared with those reported in literature. The clays display possible under consolidation
and require special attention in future during sampling, in-situ and laboratory testing and evaluation of design
parameters for better assessment of their behaviour. The correlations establish trends only and no concrete relations
could be arrived at.
INTRODUCTION consistency and reliability in view of the lateral
variability of the soils encountered worldwide.
In many practical situations a geotechnical engineer is
faced with a problem where either the soil data available ONGC's offshore exploration and production efforts have
is inadequate andor is of low quality. The situations largely been concentrated in the western offshore. A
include - large amount of geotechnical data of western offshore is
available and some correlation studies have been
0 Low budget projects where scope of soil performed by ONGC's Geotechnical consultants from
investigation is limited time to time during 1980-1990.
No such studies were performed for eastern offshore and
0 The so called 'Fast Track' projects where hence it was felt necessary to perform such studies for
reasonably accurate design parameters are required the eastern offshore. For this study, data from .48
to be assessed before the results of complete soil locations from 4 areas namely Godavari delta, Pennar,
investigation become available Port0 Novo and Palk Bay (Figure 1) has been used for
0 Deep Waters where quality of sampling is correlations. Majority of the data is from Godavari delta
seriously affected due to the large stress relief of as can be seen from Table 1.
samples, sample disturbance due to presence of gas
etc.
In these situations correlations help the engineer to arrive
at a decision which is neither too conservative nor too
unrealistic. These correlations also help the engineer to
assess the quality of the data by comparing the test
results with the correlations, giving him timely warning
in case of marked deviations. An important additional
benefit of such studies is that a large amount of data gets
compiled in a form which could be updated and used for
other useful studies in future.
Correlations of the Index soil parameters with some of
the soil design parameters have been reported in
literature, however, the information is scattered, soil or
area specific and inadequate in terms of the range of
relevant design parameters. Only a very few correlations
are reported for Indian offshore area.
These correlations are not to be taken as substitutes for a
complete soil investigation but only as a guideline
against which various test results cah be judged for their

179

which data has been used
Godavari Delta
3 I
I PortoNovo 1 5
I No data is available from consolidation tests and
I PalkBay I 3
I be used in the study. Tn cases where normalized shear
Table 1: Data Used for Correlation Study
PARAMETERS AND METHODOLOGY USED
Parameters like Water Content, Undrained Shear
Strength (UU), Plasticity Characteristics, Carbonate
Content and Sensitivity are chosen for the study as it is
observed that the Godavari delta, from where most of the
data has been picked up, has predominantly clayey
profile.
For storing and processing the data, LOTUS- 123 has
been used. A major part of the time and effort was spent
to examine each individual report and to select and pick
out and fill the required data from the reports to the
LOTUS worksheets. MACROS have been written to
perform calculations on this raw data wherever required
and then to extract the data in appropriate data files as per
the type of correlations envisaged. These data files have
been then used in software GRAPHER to present the data
in graphical form for different correlations.
The data used for interpretation of soil profile and the
correlations consisted of the following soil parameters
directly picked up from the soil investigation reports:
Undrained Shear Strength from Unconsolidated
Undrained Triaxial Tests
Undrained Shear Strength from Index Shear
Strength Tests (Tor vane, Motorvane and Pocket
Penetrometer)
Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit
Carbonate Content
Total Unit Weights
Water Content
Other parameters calculated from the above data, used in
the correlation study are:
Plasticity Index
Liquidity Index
Effective Overburden Pressure
Shear Strength normalized with Effective
Overburden Pressure
Sensitivity
For correlation between any two given parameters
.only that data has been selected where both the
parameters are available from tests on the same
sample, considering the inherent inhomogenity of the
soil.
consolidated triaxial tests and hence the same could not
strengths have been used only the results from UU tests
have been used.
SOIL CONDITIONS OF GODAVARI DELTA
The soil conditions of Godavari delta, from where most
of the data is obtained, indicate predominantly a clay
profile. Clays are present from mudline continuously
upto a depth ranging between 70.0 to 99.0 m. Sand layers
are observed in the depth range of 70.0 m to 118.0 m,
some times interbedded with clay layers. Below this
depth range again clay exists.
Clays in general are silty with occasional sildsand
partings, sildsand pockets and shell fragments. The
carbonate contents are less than 20 percent. The clays are
generally highly plastic and medium active. The clays
are very soft to soft upto 20.0 m and become firm below
upto 40.0 m and stiff by the depth of 80.0 m. Deeper
layers show the clays to be very stiff to hard. The
strength generally is increasing with depth and also the
variation of the water contendunit weights reflects the
variation of undrained shear strength.
The normalized strength gives an indication of the stress
history of the clays. It is obsei-ved that many upper clay
layers show normalized shear strength to be less than 0.2
giving an indication that these clays may be under
consolidated. Some times the depths of these layers go
upto 100.0 m in line with a similar observation made by
Gulhati (1 990). Low normalised shear strength could
also be a result of poor sample quality due to sampling
disturbance. No measurements of in-situ pore pressures
are available to confirm the possible underconsolidation.
Deeper layers are in general normally consolidated.
The sands encountered are in general fine to coarse,
medium dense to dense with carbonate contents less than
20 percent and are generally uncemented.
CORRELATIONS STUDIED
Undrained Shear Strength Vs Water Content
The behaviour of cohesive soils depends on its water
content and many researchers have attempted to assign
unique shear strength values at the liquid and plastic
limits of the soils. In general it is expected that the
increase in water content should indicate, atleast
qualitatively, a reduction in undrained shear strength.
The trcr test results plotted against water content on a
linear scale and logarithmic scale are presented in
Figures 2 and 3. It is seen that a clear trend of decreasing
shear strength with increasing water content exists. A
more pronounced linear relationship exists as can be seen
from logarithmic scale plot.
The trend is similar to the remoulded strength indicating
low sensitivity. In general the sensitivity values are in the
range of 1 to 2 for top soft layers where the liquidity
index is close to 1. This may be due to sample
disturbance caused during sampling and sample handling.
Insitu tests could give much more reasonable estimate of
strength in such cases.

I I t11111 I I I I Ill1 I I 1 1 1 1 1
I I I I I Ill I I I I II l l
I I I I I Ill I I I II Ill I I I IIll

2!- I

I I I I I Ill1

I I I I ll.III I I f I IIIII I I I I I Ill

-3.5 I0 100 IOW
Woter Content (a)

Figure 2: Water Content Vs Shear Strength (sd

Unconsolidoted Undrained Remoulded Sheor Strength

Figure 4: Remolded Shear Strength Vs Liquidity

Index
1.5
1 I I IIIIIO I I I IIIIII I I I I1111
- .I I I101l1 I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I II1l.Il
1 I I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I I11111

1w -I I
I
I 1 1 l l 1 1 1
I I111111
I
I
I
I
l 1 1 1 1 1 1 ,
I 1 1 1 1 1 1
I
I
I I l l
l 1 1 1 1 1 l
Woter Content (a) -0.5 I I I I I IIII I I I l i l l t l I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 100 1WO

Figure 3: Water Content Vs Shear Strength Unconsolldated Undroined Shear Strength (5.) kPa

Figure 5: Shear Strength VS Liquidity Index

Undrained Shear Strength Vs Liquidity Index
Skempton & Northey (1953) and Wroth & Wood (1978)
observed that a decreasing trend of remoulded shear
strength with liquidity index is observed.The remoulded
shear strength plotted against the liquidity index is
presented in Figure 4. For comparison, the undrained
shear strength vs liquidity index is presented in Figure 5.
Undrained Shear Strength from UU Triaxial Vs Index
Shear Strength Tests
The index shear strength tests like Torvane, Motorvane
and Pocket penetrometer are basically performed to get a
preliminary and quick assessment of the undrained shear
strength. In some cases where either sample recovery is
inadequate or the sample is too soft for it to be handled

181
and prepared for triaxial tests these tests are useful. 'l'he form of cementing agent, even in small quantities could
plots of UU shear strengths vs the index shear strengths markedly alter the behavior of cohesive soils. In the area
presented in Figures 6,7 & 8 show reasonable agreement of study no cemented clays were encountered and from
between the two, though scatter appears to increase with the data presented no trends could be observed.
increase in shear strength. Pocket penetrometer results
show large scatter. This scatter appears to be due to the
inhomogenity of soil like laminations, silthand pockets
etc. Also the index strength tests are more influenced by
these inhomogenities as only a small portion of the
sample is used for testing.

I x i

Unconsolidated Undroined Shear Strength (S,) (kPa)

- - -I _ - _ _ _ Figure 7: UU Triaxial Vs Motorvane Shear

Strengths

U n c 5 n ~ o ~ i dUndroined
~e~ Shear Strenqth (5,) (kpa)

Figure 6: UU Triaxial Vs Torvane Shear Strengths

Normalized Shear Strength Vs Plasticity:

Normalized shear strength (Ratio of undrained shear
strength and effective overburden pressure) is useful for
characterizing the undrained shear strength of cohesive
soils. Correlation between normalized shear strength VS
Plasticity was proposed by Osterman (1 959) for marine
clays and Skempton (1957) for normaliy Consolidated
clays. The data plotted (Figure 9) for East Coast shows
no &finite trend and plots below the above relations
probably due to the under consolidation observed in
many clay layers.
Normalized Shear Strength Vs Carbonate Content: Unconsolidated Undroined Shear Strength (S,) (kPa)

Carbonate content affects the engineering behavior of
soils. Attempts have been made to correlate the
normalized shear strength to the carbonate content by
many researchers. The data presented in Figure 10 shows
lot of scatter. Gulhati (1990) has suggested that rather
than the amount of carbonate, the form in which it is
present is important. In the range of silt and clay size
particles where susceptibility to crushing is not
important, carbonate existing in the form of inert
particles should not contribute in altering the engineering
behavior of cohesive soils. However carbonate in the
Figure 8: UU Triaxial Vs Pocket Penetrometer
Shear Strengths
Liquidity Index Vs Sensitivity:
The liquidity index indicates the relative consistency of a
cohesive soil in natural state, it should well correlate with
sensitivity. It has been observed by Wroth & Wood
(1978) that in many natural deposits of soft normally
consolidated clays with natural water content close to
liquid limit the soil is sensitive, while overconsolidated
clays having natural water contents close to plastic limit

182
 0.1
5
I
rlF [ I
100
L - - l - - l - ~ - ~ - + - + - ~ - ~ - l - - l - ~ - ~ - + - + -
0.6 --------__-_________________
r - -1--1- -1- J - 1 - L - L -1- _ I _ _ I _ _ I - -!- L - L -
TJ
--I_-I- -1- 1- 1 - L - r -1- -1- -1- 1-1 - I - L -
-0
-
N - -I_-I- -1- -!- 1 - I - 1 - L -1- -1- 1-1 - L - L -
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
0.4
z

0.2

X . 1

4-o
o.0 50 ' I 100 150
Plasticity Index I&)

Figure 9: Normalized Shear Strength Vs Plasticity

Index
show little sensitivity. Bjerum (1954) proposed a linear
relationship between liquidity index and sensitivity on a
semi-log plot. The data studied plots below the relation
proposed by Bjerum (1954) and in general is in
agreement with the relation but shows much scatter as Li4idity Index
presented in Figure 11. Figure 11: Liquidity Index'Vs Senstivity
I I
I I 100
I I I I
I / I

--I
41 I I I
-1
I 0 I I I
I
I I I I
I
I
-_I -- 80 --r--
L I I I I I I I
I
I
I
60 -- I- -_
I
X
I
T) I
-
2
;. 40
-U
a

I
20
--r---r--
I I

Carbonate content B
O P I ! 20
' I I I I
40 I I 60
" [ ' 80
I I I
Figure 10: Normalized Shear Strength Vs Carbonate Carbonate content B

Content Figure 12: Plasticity Index Vs Carbonate Content

Plasticity Index Vs Carbonate Content:

The plasticity characteristics of a soil are influenced by

the presence of carbonate content as demonstrated by
Beringen et.al. (1982) and Fugro .( 1985). Fugra (1 985)
has observed that the plasticity index decreases with

183
CON~LUS~ON~
The correlations presented generally appear to be
reasonable, displaying expected trends of inter-
relationships between correlated soil parameters. Varying
degree of scatter has been observed in the presented data,
which in most cases should be attributed to inhomogenity
of the soils and sample disturbance due to. sampling
operations and handling of samples.
In Godavari delta, many clay layers display possible
under consolidation and may require special attention in
future during sampling, insitu testing, laboratory testing
and evaluation of design parameters for better assessment
for their behavior.
The study resulted only in e~tablish~ng trends and no
concrete correlations could be established, mainly due to
low quality and inadequate amount of data. It is
recommended that as more data becomes available the
correlations be updated and also use of results of insitu
tests for establishing correlations be also attempted.
184
Beringen F.L., Kolk H.J. and Windle D.L. (1982): "Cone
Penetration and Laboratory Testing in Marine Calcareous
Sedirnents" Geotechnical Properties, Behavior and
Performance of Calcareous Soils, ASTM, STP 777.
Bjerum L. and Simons N.E. (196O):"Comp~ison of
Shear Strength Ch~actersistics of N o ~ a l l y
Consolidated Clays" Proc. Res. Conf. On Shear Strength
of Cohesive Soils, ASCE.
Fugro B.V.Consulting Geotechnical Engineers
(1 985):"General Report, Soil Investigation, West Coast
India" Report NON-238 1/G 1
Gulhati S.K.(1990):1'Geot~chnicaiAspects of the Indian
Offshore Envir0nment"~ndi~ Geotechnical Journal, Vol
20, No.1
Nambiar M.R.M.(!982): "Nature and Engineering
Behaviour of Fine Grained Carbonate Soils". PhD.
Thesis, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
, 1959):"Notes on the Shearing Resistance of
O s t e r m ~J.(
Soft C1ays"Acta Polytechn~caScandinavica, No 263,
Skempton A.W. and Northey R.D. (1953): The
Sensitivity of Clays" Geotechnique, 3( 1)
Skempton A.W. (1957): Discussion on-Grace H&Henry
J K M . "The PIanning and Design of the New Hong
Kong Airport". Institution of Civil Engineers.
Proceedings, Vol. 7
Wroth C.P. and Wood D.M. (1978):"The Correlation of
Index Properties with some Basic Engineering Properties
of Soils" Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol 15, No.2.
 International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

PROPERTIES OF OIL CONTAMINATED SANDS

Vijay K. Puril, Sanjeev Kumarl and Eun C. Shin2
'Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Carbondale, IL 62901 USA
'University of Inchun, South Korea

SYNOPSIS: This paper presents the results of an investigation conducted to study the effect of crude oil
contamination on engineering behavior of sand. The effect of oil contamination on coinpaction characteristics,
shear strength, and one-dimensional compression characteristics was investigated. The results presented indicate
that the compaction characteristics of oil contaminated sands are generally similar to sand with water in the pore
spaces. The angle of internal friction of oil contaminated sand decreases due to presence of soil within the pore
spaces. The constrained modulus of soil contaminated sands was observed to decrease with increase in degree of
saturation of oil in sand.
INTRODUCTION shore, a study was initiated at Southern Illinois University-
Carbondale to investigate various aspects dealing with the
Off-shore oil spills frequently present environmental effect of oil contamination on the engineering properties
and ecological problems. They also have an adverse effect and behavior of soils. Results of an investigation related
on the engineering properties of soils. When the off-shore to properties of oil contaminated sands is presented.
oils spills reach the shore lines, they will contaminate the
soil which in turn may reduce its strength. This could EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS
result in possible slope failure and other problems in some
critical situations. In general, the effect of oil The sand used in the study was obtained from a
contamination on the strength behavior of soils does not nearby river. The grain size distribution for the sand used
seem to have received adequate attention. Some recent is shown in Figure 1 . The index properties of the test sand
investigations have shown that engineering properties of are given below.
soils are strongly influenced by chemical contamination.
Sherard et al. (1972) have discussed the effects of pore Effective Size, Dlo = 0.150 min

water chemistry on the susceptibility of soil erosion. Specific Gravity, G, = 2.67

Anderson (1982) observed that the hydraulic conductivity Uniformity Coefficient, C, = 2.07

of clay soils altered as a result of prolonged contact with
organic liquids.
Relatively little attention seems to have been given
to the influence of chemical contaminants on the strength
and deformation characteristics of soils. Lukas and
Gnaedinger (1972) discussed the case of failure of
foundation on an industrial complex resulting from the
chemical reaction with spilled chemicals. They also
observed considerable reduction in the standard
penetration values after the chemical contamination as
compared to those before contamination. Shridharn et al.
(1981) presented a case history of extensive cracking
damage to a light industrial building in a fertilizer complex
due to chemical contamination of soil. Kumpaley and
Ishola (1985) observed a decrease in shear strength of
clayey soil as a result of chemical contamination from
industrial wastes.
In view of recent emphasis on detailed studies
addressing all aspects of disposal ofJ1azardou.s wastes, and
the problem created by accidental oil spills on- and off-
Maximum Void Ratio, ema1 = 0.786
Minimum Void Ratio, emln = 0.53
Unified Soil Classification = SP
Crude oil was used as the soil contaminant for this
study. The specific gravity of the crude oil as determined
in the laboratory was 0.918 at 23°C. The viscosity of the
crude oil was observed to be 427 MPa at 23°C. The
following laboratory tests were performed:
Standard Proctor Coinpaction Tests
Direct Shear Tests
One-Dimensional Compression Tests
Standard Proctor ('ompactron 7i.sts
Standard Proctor tests were performed on oil
contaminated sand as per the procedure recommended in
ASTM Test Designation D-698. The tests were repeated
on similar soil samples using water instead of oil to assess
the effect of crude oil contamination on the compaction
Characteristics.

185
 Table 1. Test Parameters used for Direct Shear and
One-Dimensional Compression Tests

Name of the Test 1 Test Parameters

Initial Relative Density, Dr, (%) I 40,60,85

Degree of Oil Saturation, So (%) 0 - 28

Total Normal Pressure kPa 34.5 - 172.5

One-Dimensional Compression Tests:

These tests were performed to determine the effect

"1.0 0.9 0.3 0.1 0.05 0.03 0.01
Grain size (inin)
Figure 1. Grain Size Distribution Curve of Test Sand
ilireci shear Tests:
The shear strength parameters of crude oil
contaminated sand were determined from direct shear tests
on specimens of size 62.5 mm x 62.5 mm x 25 mm
(height). The effects of presence of oil in the pore spaces
on the strength deformation behavior, and the angle of
internal friction were investigated. The shear tests were
conducted on dry sand, as well as on soil samples prepared
using different amounts of oil. The amount of oil used
was defined in terms of degree of saturation of oil in sand.
So.Degree of saturation is defined as:
of oil contamination on the load-deformation
characteristics and constrained modulus of sand. These
tests were conducted in a hollow cylindrical steel mold
having an internal diameter of 135 mm and height of 290
mm, with a steel plate at the base. The test samples were
prepared in the mold at predetermined relative densities
and degree of crude oil saturation. A loading plate, 133.O
mm in diameter was placed at the top of the sample. The
mold assembly was placed in triaxial device and was
loaded from the top of the sample. An axial strain of 0.25
m d m i n was used in all tests. The applied load and
corresponding deformation of the sand sample were
measured. The test parameters of the tests are shown in
Table 1.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Clonzpaction Characteristics:
The results of the compaction tests are plotted in the
form of dry unit weight versus the degree of oil saturation
Figure 2. It is seen from Figure 2 that a maximum dry unit
weight of about 17.4 kN/m3 is achieved when the degree
of oil saturation is about 63%. The corresponding value of
the oil content is about 12%. Oil content may be defined
as:

s =c:1x100% W O =%x100%
ws
" b-),
where where

l~:) = Volume of oil w, = oil

content
6, = Volume of voids W, = weight of oil
W, = weight of solids

The test parameters of the direct shear tests are

shown in Table 1. All test were performed in an
undrained condition using a constant rate of horizontal The compaction behavior using water as the pore
displacement of 0.25 mdminute. fluid is also shown in Figure 2.

186
 17
16
I I
20 40
Degree of saturation, S,
Figure 2. Dry Unit Weight versus Degree of Saturation of Oil in Sand
The maximum dry unit weight achieved with water
as the pore fluid is about 16.45 kN/m3 when the degree of
saturation is about 62% (water content = 13.45%). The
maximum dry unit weight obtained with the same
compactive effort is about 6% higher when crude oil is
used for compaction as compared to water. This is
probably due to the fact that oil is more effective in
reducing the friction between the sand grains thus helping
them to occupy closer configuration resulting in higher dry
unit weights.
Shear Strength Characteristics:
The data from the direct shear tests conducted in the
laboratory was used to obtain shear stress versus
horizontal displacement for the samples of dry sand, and
also for crude oil contaminated sand samples. Figure 3
shows typical shear stress versus horizontal displacement
plots for sand at an initial relative density of 65% and at a
total normal stress of 103.5 kN/m2. It may be observed
from this figure that the peak shear stress for dry sand is
about 92 kN/m2. When the degree of oil saturation is
9.5%, the peak shear stress decreases to 74 kN/m2. In
general, the peak shear stress was found to decrease as the
degree of oil saturation increased. The peak shear stress is
I
60 80
only about 63 kN/m2 when the degree of oil saturation
becomes 28.5 percent. Another interesting fact observed
from Figure 3 is that the magnitude of horizontal
displacement required to mobilize peak shear resistance
increases sharply with an increase in the degree of oil
saturation. The peak shear resistance for the case of dry
sand (Figure 3) is mobilized at a horizontal displacement
of about 1.2 mm. The amount of horizontal displacement
for mobilizing peak shear resistance is about 3 mm when
the degree of oil saturation is 9.5%, and increases to 5 mm
as the degree of oil saturation increases to 28.5%. The
order of horizontal displacement for mobilizing peak shear
stress in these tests with oil as pore fluid is thus 3-5 times
the value obtained for the case of dry sand.
The angle of internal friction 4, (based on total stress
condition) also decreases due to the presence of oil in the
pore spaces. The variation of the- angle of friction with
degree of oil saturation is shown in Figure 4. For tests at a
relative density (D,) of 85%, the angle of fhction is about
41" for dry sand and its value decrease to about 30" when
the degree of oil saturation increases to about 19.5%. For
tests at a relative density of 40%, the angle of friction for
dry sand decreased from 35" to about 29" as the degree of
oil saturation increased to about 19.5%. The observed
 I I I I

Norm1 stress = 103.5 kN/m2

1 I I I
e l 2 3 4 5
iiorizoiital displaceiiieiit (111111)

Figure 3. Typical Plots of Shear Stress versus Horizontal Displacement

I I 1

' \\ Relative density, D, =

5 10 15 20
Degree of saturation, S, (%)

Figure 4. Variation of Angle of Internal Friction with Degree of Saturation of Oil in Sand

188
decrease in the angle of friction is a function of the initial
relative density of sand and the degree of crude oil
s a ~ a t i o n . Within the range of parameters studied, the
percentage of decrease in the values of angle of friction
ranged from 17.6%to 25% as compared to its value at the 19.0%
same relative density in the dry state. For a given degree
of oil saturation the decrease in angle of friction is more
for sand at a higher relative density.
9.5%

Typical results from one-dimensional compression 0%

tests on oil contaminated sand samples atan initial relative
density of 60 percent are shown in Figure 5. Figure 5
shows that presence of oil in the soil mass had an adverse
effect on the one dimensional compression characteristics
of sand. It must be mentioned here that these were
constrained one-dimensional compression tests on
partially saturated sand under undrained conditions. This
trend of results was observed for all tests conducted as part
of this study. Figure 6 shows the variation of constrained
modulus, E,, with a degree of oil saturation for any given
strain level. The value of E, decreases with an increase in
degree of oil saturation for all strain levels used in the
tests. The test results reflect the behavior of oil I I
contaminated sand when the applied loads are small. 5 10 15
Also, the loads were applied only for small duration of Axial stress (kN/xn2)
time. The decrease in contaminated modulus clearly
indicates that se~lementof an existing structure can Figure 5. Axial Stress versus Axial Strain from One-
increase as a result of contamination with crude oil. Dimensional Compression Test (D, = 60%)

OO
~ 5 30 15 20 25 30

Degree of oil saturation (%)

Figure 6. Constrained Modulus versus Degree of Saturation of Oil in Sand

189
CONCLUSIONS
From the limited data obtained during this study the
following conclusions may be drawn:
Compaction characteristics of the test sand with oil
as the pore fluid are generally similar to the
compaction characteristics of sand with water as
pore fluid. The maximum dry unit weight for a
given compaction effort occurred at approximately
the same degree of saturation both for the case of
water or oil as pore fluid.
The shear strength parameters of sand are adversely
affected by oil contamination. A reduction of
approximately 18 to 26 percent in the value of the
angle of internal friction was observed for oil
contaminated sands compared to its value for dry
sand, i.e., zero oil contamination.
For small axial loads and undrained condition, the
constrained modulus decreases with the presence of
crude oil in the soil mass.
190
REFERENCES
Anderson, D. (1982). Does Landfill Leachate Make Clay
Liners More Permeable. Civil Engineering, ASCE,
September, pp 66-69
Lukas, R. G. and Gnaedinger, R.J., Jr. (1972). Settlement
Due to Chemical Attack on Soils. Proc. ASCE
Specialty Con$ on the Performance of Earth and
Earth Supported Structures, Purdue University,
Lafayette, Indiana, pp 1087-1 104.
Sherard, J.L., Decker, R.S., and Ryker, N.L. (1972).
Piping in Earth Dams of Dispersive C1ays:Proc.
A X E Specialty Conf on the Performance of Earth
and Earth Supported Structures, Purdue University,
Lafayette, Indiana, pp 589-626.
Sridharan, A, Nagraj, T.S., and Suvapulliah, P.V. (1981).
Heaving of Soil Due to Acid Contamination. Proc.
lothInt. Conf on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering, Stockholm, Vol. 2, pp 383-386
Kumapley, N.K. and Ishola, A. (1985). The effect of Soil
Contamination on Soil Strength. Proc. Z2'h Znt.
Conj.' on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering, San Francisco, Vol. 3, pp 1199-1201
GE 0&,' lnternat~onalConference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
CYCLIC LAEORATORY TESTS ON CLAY FROM TAPTI FIELD OF WESTERN INDIAN
OFFSHORE
R.K. Ghanekax;", Ravi Kumarl, K.P. Babul and E.G. Kalsnes'
' ~ € OONGC,
~, ~ a ~ v e lN, a ~~ ~ ~ 420 222,
~ ~ n ~ i 2NGI,
a ? a ~0~~i
SYNOPSIS
Results of cyclic laboratory testing performed ona clay from Tapti field of western Indian offshore are presented.
The results of static triaxial and DSS testing are also presented. The results of cyclic laboratory testing have been
compared with the extensive Drammen clay database. To the best of authors' knowledge, these cyclic soil
parameters have been evaluated and presented for the first time for an Indian offshore clay.
INTRODUCTION
Foundations of offshore structures are required to be
designed for cyclic wave loading. Bearing capacity and
displacements are two of the major aspects where effect of
cyclic loading on behaviour of foundation soil needs to be
investigated. Static and cyclic shear strength and
deformation properties under cyclic loading are important
soil parameters required for foundation analysis.
A project was taken up during the Institutional
Cooperation programme between IEOT and NGI to study
the feasibility of appIication of Bucket Foundations in
Indian offshore. Tapti field in the western Indian Offshore
was chosen for the study. Soil testing was planned and
performed to obtain static and cyclic parameters required
for foundation analysis and design.
The paper presents the results of the cyclic laboratory
testing for a Clay from Tapti field. To the best of authors'
knowledge, for an Indian offshore soil, such a testing
programme and evaluation of cyclic parameters have not
been carried out and presented before.
CYCLIC LOADING AND STRESSES IN THE SOIL
The soil below an offshore structure is subjected to a
static load due to the submerged weight of the structure
and cyclic load due to wave action, which causes cyclic
horizontal, vertical and moment loading.
The stress conditions in the soil beneath a structure
subjected to cyclic loading are complex. The soil elements
follow various stress paths and are subjected to different
combinations of average and cyclic shear stresses ( T ~and
zcY respectively)' All these combinations can not be
simulated in the laboratory, however, triaxial and DSS
tests simulate some of the impokant soil elements. These
191
rests, when run with various combinations of z, and z,!,
can provide reasonable understanding of the soil
behaviour. A simp~~fiedrepresentat~on of the shear
stresses in some of the typical soil elements along a
potential failure surface is given in Fig. 1 (Andersen,
1988). The symbol 'z' represqnts shear stress along a
horizontal plane in DSS tests and on a 4.5' plane in triaxial
tests. The average shear stress is a combination of the
initial shear stress in the soil prior to the installation of the
structure due to the overburden pressure, additionaj shear
stress caused by the submerged weight of the structure
and an additional average shear stress due to the cyclic
loading. It is important to note that the initial shear stress
acts under drained conditions while the additional shear
stress acts under undrained conditions for clays for all
practical purposes.
The cyclic shear stress is caused by the action of waves
and varies continuously from wave cycle to wave cycle
since wave height and period keep varying from cycle to
cycle.
TESTING P R O G ~ ~ ~ E
General Soil Conditions
The soil profile in the top 40.0 to 50.0 m in theTapti field
is predominantly clayey in the area from where a number
of borings were selected. The borings were selected, after
review of the available field reports. Similarity of soil
properties, proximity of the borings and availability of
"undisturbed samples" were the criteria for selection. Top
20.0 m of the soil profile was considered significant for
the analysis and design of the Bucket foundations and the
testing was focussed on samples from top 20.0 m of
various borings. The profile, in the borings considered,
consists of a highly plastic, very soft to firm clay in the
upper 20.0 m. From the results of Oedometer tests the
clay appears to be normally consolidated. Clay content
measured ranged between 52 to 67 %. The plasticity index
was on an average 50%.
Laboratory Testing Programme
The laboratory testing programme included, besides the
normal classifiction testing, oedometer tests, static &
cyclic DSS tests and static & cyclic triaxial tests.
The triaxial tests were run on 72 mm diameter samples of
approximately 140 mm height. The DSS tests were run in
the NGI DSS device on samples with 35 cm2 area and
about 16mm height The cyclic tests were run stress-
controlled with various combinatjons of average and
cyclic shear stresses. The load period was 10 seconds. The
cyclic loading was sinusoidal with amplitude kept
constant for each test. All samples were consolidated to
the best estimates of effective in-situ stresses before start
of shearing.
The testing programme and results are summarized in
Table 1 for DSS and Table 2 for triaxial tests
STATIC SHEAR STRENGTH'
The results of static DSS and triaxial tests are summarized
in Table 1 and Table 2 respectively. The best estimates of
the variation of strengths with depth are presented in Fig.
2. The strength anisotropy is clearly observed withtriaxial
compression strength being the highest, triaxial extension
strength being the lowest and DSS strength being in
between the two.
CYCLIC SHEAR STRENGTH
The cyclic shear strength, qCy, is defined as the sum of
average and cyclic shear stresses that cause failure after a
given number of cycles ( Andersen, 1988)
zi.c\ = t x a + G>)F
For a given clay, the cyclic shear strength is a function of
stress path, OCR, average and cyclic shear stress levels
and number of load cycles.
Figures 3 and 4 present two failure interaction diagrams
for Tapti clay which summarize the number of cycles to
failure for different combinatjons of average and cyclic
shear stresses for triaxial tests (Fig. 3) and DSS tests (Fig.
4). Contours of equal number of cycles to failure are
included. The results are presented with za and zcy
normalized with static DSS or triaxial strength. For DSS
tests the static strength used for normalization was the
static strength measured on part of the same sample on
which cyclic test was performed. For triaxial tests the
strength used for normalization was the best estimate at
192
that depth since cyclic and static tests were performed on
different samples. Failure was defined as either large
cyclic shear strain (?icy = 15%') or Large average shear
strains (7,T= I.%).
Points on curves with same combination of cyclic and
average shear strains at failure are shown joined by dotted
lines. For DSS tests, failure will be due to large cyclic
shear strains for small to moderate values ofz, and large
average shear strains as z,approaches the static strength.
For triaxial tests, failure will be due to large cyclic shear
strains for small to moderate values of za and large
average shear strains for Za approaching the static
compression or extension strength. The curves have been
drawn to intersect the horizontal axis atz$S, = 1.O i.e. at
an average shear stress equal to the staticundrained shear
strength. This is an approximation since the intersection
and location of curves, for z, ap~roachingstatic undrained
shear strength, will be influenced by undrained creep
depending on the duration of application OfTa (Andesen,
1988 & Kleven and Andersen, 1992).
The cyclic shear strength as a function Ofia is presented in
figs 5 & 6 and has been established byreplotting the data
of figures 3 and 4. The numbers along the curves indicate
number of cycles to failure, Nf. Points with the same
combination of average and cyclic shear strains at failure
are shown joined by dotted lines. Use of the diagrams for
calcu~ationof cyclic bearing capacity has been described
by Andersen & Lauritzen, 1988 and Andersen et al., 1992.
The procedure to construct these diagrams has been
explained by Andersen, 1983. It is to be noted that fair
amount of interpolation and extrapolation is required
while drawing the curves. This is due mainlyto limited
number of tests performed. In the present case, and
influence of soil inhomogenity on tests results was also a
major factor speisially as the samples from different
borings were used. The presented results are proposed to
be updated in future with further testing.
The diagrams in figures 3 to 6 are valid whenz, and zcy
both are constant during the cyclic loading which is not
the case in an actual storm. The strength under an actual
storm loading needs to be predicted from results of tests
performed keeping za and zcy constant. Strain
accumulation procedure (Andersen, 1983) which applies
either average or cyclic shear strains as memory of the
effect of cyclic loading far this purpose, requires theso
called 'strain contour diagrams'. The procedure is used to
arrive at Nes - equivalent number of cycles - which will
give the same accumulated cyclic behaviour as that under
a given actual storm.
Strain contour diagrams were plotted using the test
results. The diagrams present the development of average
shear strain, y, or cyclic shear strain, ycy, for a constant z,
level, as function ofTcyand number of cycles. Figures 7
and 8 present typical strain contour diagrams forDSS and
triaxial tests respectively. These diagrams were also used
for inte~olation/extrapolation while establishing the
diagrams presented in figures 3 to 6.
The results have been compared with the results published
for Drammen cfay (Fig. 9) with OCR = 1 (Andersen et al.,
1988). Clay from Drammen, which has been a research
site of NGI for a long time, has been extensively tested
and cyclic test results on it are comprehensive and
established as standard of reference. The comparison
shows that the Tapti clay displays slightly higher cyclic
strength compared to Drammen clay. Plasticity has been
known to influence the cyclic behaviour of clays . days
with higher plasticity showing a trend of higher cyclic
strength. Tapti clay has a higher plasticity index (Ip - loading are presented. Although the testing was p e r f o ~ e d
-
50%) compared to Drammen clay (Ip 29%) and the
comparison fits with the general trend.
DEFORMATION PROPERTIES
General
The stress-strain behaviour under cyclic loading is a
function of za & zcyand stress direction. The stress-strain
behaviour of clays under various cyclic loading conditions
is explained in figure 10 (Andersen et al., 1988 and
Andersen & Hoeg, 1991).
In case of s y m ~ e ~ i ccyclic
al loading in DSS tests, the
cyclic shear strains will be relatively symmetrical (fig. 10-
a). The difference in loading and unloading curves
indicate hysteretic damping in the soil. The cyclic shear
strain amplitude increases and the secant shear modulus
decreases with increasing number of cycles. If the loading
is not symmetrical, average shear strains may become
predominant compared to the cyclic shear strains with
increasing number of cycles (fig. 10-b).
In case of triaxial tests there should be average shear
strains even if the applied shear stress is s y m ~ e t r i c a ~
about zero. (fig. 10-c). This is due to the fact that static
compression strength is higher than the extension strength
and symmetrical loading will lead to higher degree of
strength mobilization on extension side than on the
compression side.
Average and Cyclic Shear Strains
To understand the development of shear strains during
cyclic loading, the test results were used to establish
diagrams which are presented in figures 11 and 12. The
figures present the average and cyclic shear strains as
fun~tionsof normalized cyclic sheat stress zCyIS, and
193
..ormalized average shear stress z$S, after 1, 10 and 100
cycles for triaxial tests and 1, 10, I00 and 1000 cycles for
DSS tests. The diagrams show that for DSS tests the
cyclic shear strain, ycy, is mainly a function of zcy with
relatively small influence ofz,. In case of triaxial tests the
influence of z, is larger compared to DSS tests.
These diagrams can be used to calculate cyclic
deformations, cyclic displacements and equivalent soil
spring stiffness. The procedure to calculate these
parameters is described in details by Andersen, 1983.
CONCLUSION
Results of cyclic laboratory testing ona clay from Tapti
field of western Indian offshore ~ ~ c i u static
d ~ ~and
g cyclic
shear strengths and deformation properties under cyclic
to study the feasibility of application of Bucket
foundation, the results can also be used for analysis and
design of other foundation systems under cyclic loading.
These results are proposed to be updated with further
testing in future.
REFERENCES
Andersen, K.H. ( 1983). "Strength and Deformation
Properties of Clay Subjected to Cyclic Loading", NGX
Internal Report No. 52412 - 8, July, 1983.
Andersen, K.H. (1988). "Properties of Soft Clay under,
Static and Cyclic Loading". Invited Lecture. Proc.,
International Conference on Engineering Problems of
Regional Soils, pp. 7-26, Beijing, China.
Andersen, K.H.; Dyvik, R.; Lauritzsen, R.; Heien, D.;
Harvik, L. and Amundsen, T. (1989). "Model Tests of
Gravity Platforms : Interpretation". Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 115, No. 11, pp.
1550-1568.
Andersen, K.H.; Dyvik, R. and Schroder, K. (1992).
"Pull-out Capacity Analyses of Suction Anchors for
Tension Leg Platforms". Proc. of the Sixth International
Conference on the Behaviour of Offshore Structures,
BOSS '92, Vol. 2.
Andersen K.H. and Hoeg, K (1991)- " ~ e f o r m ~ t i oof
n
Soils and Displacements of Structures Subjected to
Combined Static and Cyclic Loads". Proc. of X ECSI'vfFE,
Vol. 4, pp. 1147-1158.
Andersen K.H.; Kleven, A. and Heien, D. (1988). "Cyclic
Soil Data for' Design of Gravity Structures". Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 114, No. 5 , pp.
Andersen, K.H. and Lauritzsen, R. (1 988). "Bearing
Capacity for Foundation with Cyclic Loads". Journal of
GeotechnicaI Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 114, No. 5, pp.
540-555.

"Dimensioning of Bucket Foundation for Indian Offshore

: Design Soil Parameters", IEOT Report No. IEOT-
N~I/Geot~ch/WP4/1/97, Part 11, 1997.

Kleven A. and Andersen, K.H. (1991). "Cyclic Laboratory

tests on Storebaelt Clay Till". Proc., First Seminar on
Design of Exposed Bridge Piers, Copenhagen, Denmark.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors gratefully acknowledge the help rendered by

colleagues at IEOT during the testing programme.

Table 1 :S u ~ of Direct
~ a SimDle
~ Shear Tests

LEGEND
b.stat Before Static Test
cy Cyclic Test
U, Uf Pore Pressure at failure
yf Shear Strain at Failure
Zh Static Shear Strength
CCV Consohaarea constant Volume Static Tests
N Number of Cylces at Failure
? a , ycy Average and Cyclic Shear Strain
z a ,zcyAverage ,i'yclic Shear Stress

I94
LEGEND

bstat Before Static Test c Compression Test

e Extension Test cy Cyclic Test
p.cy Post Cyclic Static Test B Degree of Saturation
CAU Consolidated Anisotropic Undrained Tests N Number of Cylces at Failure
Su Static Shear Strength U, Uf Pore Pressure at failure
&a, Axial ,Cyclic Strain during Cyclic Test Ef Strain at Failure during Static Test
E,., E,I Axial, Volumetric Strain during Consolidation za ,zcyAverage ,Cyclic Shear Stress
Consolidation Stresses
C T ',cT~'
~

195
 Undrained Shear Strength S, (kPa)
IS,”

I P I

Fig 1 : Simplified Load Conditions for Some

Elements Along a Potential Failure Surface

--
Figure 2: Recommended Static Strength Profiles

T A “
Figure 3 : Failure Interaction Diagram for Triaxial Tests
(Number of Cycles to Failure)

196
 ~~

4.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.R 1.0

E&
Figure 5: T U C Shear Strength ae a funcyon of a and
umber of Cycles (For Cyclic Tr~axialTests)

Figure 4 : Failure Interaction Diagram for DSS Tests

(Number of Cycles to Failure)

Figure 6: Cyclic Shear Stren as a function of T.

and Number of C y c ! (For Cyclic DSS Tests)

197
 1.o 1.o

0.9 0.9

0.8 0.8

0.7 0.7

0.6 0.6
m

0.5 E 0.5
t;
h
0.4 0.4
Q)

c
v)

-.-
0

0
0.3

0.2
0.3

0.2
U
h

0.1 0.1

0.0 0.0
1 10 100 1000 1 10 100 1000
Number of cycles N Number of cycles N
F'igure 7: Typical Strain Contour Diagram Figure 8: Typical Strain Contour Diagram
(DSS Cyclic Tests) (Riaxial Cyclic Tests)

1.A;

Fig 9: Cyclic Shear Strength tests on Drammen Clay as function

of T~and no.of Cycles for Normally Consolidated Clays
a DSS Tests
b Triaxial Tests

198
b, . Shehr stress.

40

20

0.0 0.S 11.6 0.9

Shear slrain, y ("Io)

c) Shear stress,
t T(kPa)

Shear strain
Y PO.)

Luao

Fig 10 Examples .of Stress-Strain Behavior of Clays

Under Various Cyclic Loading Conditions
a Symmetrical DSS Loading
b Non-symmetrical Triaxial Loading
C SymmetricalTriaxial Loading
(After Andersen et.al 1988)

199

The consolidation test is an indirect permeability test in
which a sample of soil is compressed in a rigid ring at
various vertical stress levels, with drainage facility at both
top and bottom of the sample. The h y ~ a u co~ductivity
~~c is
calculated using Terzaghi's theory of one ~ e n s i o n a l
consolidation using the following expression:
k = cvmvyw ...................................... "...............
where c, is the coefficient of consolidatioq m, is the
coefficient of volume compressibility, and yw is the unit
weight of water. In Eq. 9, cv can be obtained either by
conventional J; or Iog(t) relationships for the soil. Olson
(1986) has shown that the calculated hydrauiic conductivity
values from Eq.9 are almost always less than the measured
values, and the calculated h y d r a ~ cconductivity values
from & method are more close to the measured values
than the log(t) method. As such J; method is used in this
study for estimation of cv and hence the hydraulic
conductivity of the soil.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The scaling relationship for hydraulic c o ~ d u c ~between
vi~
1-g tests (denoted by suffix p) and centrifuge tests (denoted
by suflix m) can be written as:
2k = N X
k, ..~..~*.....l.*....~~..~~....~....~...-.*.......
(10)
where x is a scale factor whose value has to be ascertained
with the he$ of various 1-g and centrifuge tests. To
evaluate the values of x, Eq.(lO) can be written in the
folrowing form:
Using Eq.(ll), the scaling factors for hydraulic
c o n ~ u c t i v ifor
~ ~ different g vatues, with respect to I-g
laboratory tests have been evaluated and some of the results
are presented in Table 4. In this table k, is hydraulic
c o n ~ u c t i v iin~ centrifuge models, kpt and kp2 are the
hydraulic conductivities obtained in consolidation tests and
oedometer falling head tests respectivily at the appiied
pressures equivalent to those generated in the c e n t r i ~ ~ate
the requisite g-levels, kp3 and kpl are the hydraulic
conductivities obtained in the conventional and oedometer
fsing-head tests respectiviiy without applying any
a d ~ t i pressure;
o ~ XI, x2, x3, and are the scaling factors
corresponding to kpl kp2 kp3 and respectinly. It can be
noticed that, in general, these scaling factors are close to
unity. In other words hydraulic conductivity in a centrifuge
is N times that of the 1-g tests. This observation is
consistent with the scaling relationship obtained in Eq.(6).
This study demo&rates the use of a geotechnical centrifuge
(9) for modelling hydradic conductivity of compacted soils. It
can be seen that the hydraulic ~ n ~ u c ~ i vini taygeotechnical
centrifuge is N times greater than that obtained from the
conventional laboratory tests. Study also satisfies the
theoretical scaling relations~pfor hydraulic conducti~ty"
Time taken to test a soil sample in a centrifuge is quite less
as compared to the bench tests. As such, a centrifuge can be
used efficiently to obtain the hydraulic conductivity of fine-
grained soils. Since the prototype stress conditions can be
created in a geotechnical centrifuge, the obtained
permeability values are more near to in-situ values. Further,
there is a good agreement between hydraulic conductivity
values obtained fiom various I-g bench tests.
REFERENCES
Alem', M.H., Neilsen, D.H., and Biggar, J.W. (1976).
" ~ t e the~ h yg~ a u l ~conductivity
c of soi1 cores by
. f ' Sci. Soc. Am. J.,40,212-218.
~ n ~ g a t i o n Soil
Arulanandan, K., Thompson, P.Y., Kutter, B.L., Meegoda,
N.J., M ~ e e t h ~ a K.K.,
n , and Yogach~dran,C. (1888).
"Centrifuge modelling of transport processes for pollutants
in soils." ASCE, Jr. Geotech. Eng., 114(2), 185-205.
Mtchelf, R.J. (I994a). "A flexible, no lateral strain
apparatus for clay liner-leachate testing." Cenrrifige 94 by
hung, Lee, and Tan (eds.), Bdkema, Rotterdam, 351-355,
Mtchell, R.J. (1994b). "Centrifuge techniques for testing
clay &er samples." Can, Georech. f.,31,577-583.
261
GEO -, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

THE USE OF VIBRATING WIRE STRAIN GUAGES IN GEOTECHNICS

V.M. Sharmal, M.D. Nairl and Stephen Meller?.
' ~ v a n c e Technolo~
d 6 En~neeringServices IA Division of A M L Ltd.), Naimex House, A-8 M o h n Co-operafive~ n d ~ s tEstate,
r~l
Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044, India
*Gauge T e c h n I~n~t e~~ 2 a t w Ltd.,
~ l U.K.

SYNOPSIS - Vibrating Wire Instruments meet the two most important requirements of geotechical i n s ~ ~ e n t a t i o n ,
namely the reliability namely the reliability and the long term durability. However, there are precautions to be taken
during installation, to ensure their proper functioning. The paper briefly describes the operating principles of the
Vibrating Wire Instruments and the care to be taken dwing installationof embedment type strain gauges.

THE F O R ~ U L A
The most i m p o ~ req~ement
t of ~ ~ e ~ ~of t i The o nrequired measurement is derived €i-om the Vibrat~g
geotechnical structures is that they should be reliable, Wire Equation. This equation is applicable to all vibrating
simple and robust to be able to stand the rough terrain and wire transducers. Different manufac~ers may quote
the test of time. The technology to provide for these different versions of this basic equation.
requirements has gone through several stages, passing
through electrical resistance type, hydraulic, mechanical, Change, in engineering units = (F: - F); x Gauge Factor
pneumatic, bonded strain gauges and finally the vibrating Where,
wire types. The advancements in this direction seem to Gauge Factor is that quoted by the m a n ~ a c ~ e r
have stopped as the need apparently is fulfilled. The F1 is the initial or datum fiequency, and,
vibrating wire technology seems to have provided the F2 is a subsequent measured frequency.
answer.
The ~ ~ s ~ r e mRe ~n ot ~ u t i o ~
The popularity of vibrating wire type of instruments has
c o ~ e dthis. However, there are several issues Resolutio~is the smallest measurable change. It should
regarding the design and installation of vibration wire not be confused with the accuracy of a transducer or a
~ s ~ e n ~ t system
i o n which must be understood to m~asure~ent system.
make them more effective.
The fiequency output from a vibrating wire device is
THE OPERATING PRINCIPLE analogue, and the resolution is infinite. However, the
readout unit generally has a digital display. Therefore, the
When a length of piano wire is held in tension, and combined resolution of the system is the smallest change,
plucked, it vibrates at its natural frequency. A small in engineering units, for a least significant digit change in
relative movement of the end fixings causes a change in the &splayed reading.
the measured frequency of vibration. The wire can be
used in a strain gauge, or in other types of transducer that The resolution varies over the frequency range of the
respond to a small movement, such as loadcells, transducer, and is related to the readout used.
piezometers and crackmeters.
THE VIBRATING WIRE EQUATION
Readout Units usually measure the Period, Frequency or
Linear Value of the vibrating wire element in the The natural frequency (0,of the vibrating wire in hertz, is
~ ~ u c eArm. e a s ~ ~ e nint ,e n ~ e e units,
~ g such as given by the ~ u a t i o nfor simple harmonic motion,
microstrain, kN or millimetres, is calculated by comparing
two readings from the transducer. A datum reading is
usually taken soon after the transducer is installed. (1)
Subsequent readings can then be referred back to the
original datum reading.

201
Where,
L = the vibrating wire length, or Gauge hngth
t~ = the stress (tension) in the wire
g = the accelerationdue to gravity
p = the density of the wire
Notethat for the same ~ s d u c e r the, constant, (GF)in
n g length and the wire density are taken to
The ~ b ~ t i wire equation (4) and the constant, (C) in equation (5), would
be constant for a particular vibrating wire transducer. The be different by a factor of 1000. Some manufactufers of
small change in the length of the wire, over the operating vibrating wire transducers call the term F2/1000 a “digit”
range of the transducer, is considered negligible compared of ‘‘linear” reading and quote a gauge factor with the
with the original gauge length. appropri~te units. Readout e ~ ~ p m e nfrom t different
m ~ u f a may c ~ display
~ ~ m ~ ~ e in~ units e nof ~ ~
Therefore, f a: lfor F2/1000, fiequency in hertz or period in seconds.
f thou^ generally tr~sducers and readouts fiom
The modulus of elasticity of the wire (E) is the ratio of different m ~ ~ c t u r are ~ s comp~tible and
stress in the wire over the strain (&). i n t ~ ~ ~ ~ g e use
a b lthe
e , quoted gauge fhctor with care to
avoid errors by a factor of 1000.
Therefore, CT = EE
To CaIculate a Changes in Engineering Units
i ntwo
~ o ~ b i nthe ~ equations, Equation (4)can be written in terms of Period (T) as
follows,
f CK: lfEe

This can be re-written as,

where k is the gauge constant for the transducer.

The main advmtages of ~ ~ ~ tWire i n type
g Embedded
The period of vibration, (t) in seconds, is the inverse o€ Strain gauges are the robust construction, long term
frequency. Therefore, equation (2) may be rewritten as, stability with minimal &a., easy to install, simple fa&
finding, unaffected by cable lengths as long as 2
E = k/t2 (3) kilometers and the suitabili~for datalogging. Whereas
the limi~tionsare the relatively large size and restricted
This discussion relates specifically to a vibrating Wire use in reading high frequency dynamic strains.
strain gauge, and the gauge constant would have units of
microstrain per fiequency squared. If a vibrating wire APPLICATIONS
sensing efement is used in another type of transducer, an
individual calibration usually derives the d u e for the Typical a p p l i c ~ t iinclude
~~ ~ e a s ~ e m e noft strains in
constant. This units for k would depend on the parmeter tunnel linings, bridges, test piles, raft foun~tions,h,
measwed by the transducer, such as movement in temporary works and concrete creep tests.
~ i l l i m eor~ load , kN.
~ ~ in
~ ~ ~ A U TO ~ BEI TAKEN
~ N ~DURING
The Vibrating Wire Equation I O~MBERMENT
I ~ ~ T A ~ L A TOF ~ VIB~TING
Most vibrating wire transducers respond to a relative WIRE STRAIN GAUGES
change in the physical parameter measured. Equation (2), Vibrating wire ~ m b e strain ~ ~ are suppiied
~ e gauges
e= kh!, is usually given in one of two basic €orins, tensioned and sealed, complete with the appropriate
lengths of cable. Some gauges moni~ortemperature using
Change, in
the change in plucking coil resistance. Other gauges have
engineering Units = (F: - F;) x Gauge Factor (4) a t h e ~ s t~ r e ~ sensor.
~ Yet ~ another
e type of
Where, gauges have a thermistor temperature sensor together with
F1 is the hitid or d a m fkquency, in hertz a parallel resistor.
FZis the current measured fkequency, in hertz.

202
 Mark out the gauge positions. If possible, support the cage
The gauge barrel has two lengths of silicone rubber sleeve horizontally clear of the ground for easy access to the full
to cushion it when tying the gauge in position. circumference. If plastic or concrete spacers are used on
the reinforcement, arrange to have them secured close to
It is recommended that the strain gauges are mounted on the gauge positions, but ensure they will not cause any
two square-section support bars. damage if they move or become detached.
The strain gauges and connecting cables may be damaged
Check that all the steelwork within about I metre of the
while lifting the reinforcement, when placing it in the
gauges and near cable runs is secure and unable to move.
lining and during concreting. It is important to liase with
Add extra ties or welds as necessary The cage may bend
the Engineers with Contractors on site to determine the
considerably when it is lifted from the horizontal to the
specific site procedures before starting the strain gauge
vertical and any loose steelwork may case damage
installation.
Figure 1 & 2 show a typical system for a concrete pile.
SUGGESTIONS FOR PROTECTING THE
INSTALLATION
GENERAL NOTES ON RUNNING CABLES
All steelwork in the reinforcement cage and any cutting to
Start with the gauges at the toe of the reinforcement and
length should he complete before starting the strain gauge
run the cables longitudinally along the reinforcement,
installation. It is preferable to fix all extra protective steel
picking up cables from other gauges on the way. Avoid
before fitting the gauges and running cables. If possible
running cable circumferentially around the cage. Do not
weld, rather than tie, the extra steel in place.

203
 Using Eq.(ll), the scaling factors for hydraulic
c o n ~ u c t i v ifor
~ ~ different g vatues, with respect to I-g
laboratory tests have been evaluated and some of the results
are presented in Table 4. In this table k, is hydraulic
c o n ~ u c t i v iin~ centrifuge models, kpt and kp2 are the
hydraulic conductivities obtained in consolidation tests and
oedometer falling head tests respectivily at the appiied
pressures equivalent to those generated in the c e n t r i ~ ~ate
the requisite g-levels, kp3 and kpl are the hydraulic
conductivities obtained in the conventional and oedometer
fsing-head tests respectiviiy without applying any
a d ~ t i pressure;
o ~ XI, x2, x3, and are the scaling factors
corresponding to kpl kp2 kp3 and respectinly. It can be
noticed that, in general, these scaling factors are close to
unity. In other words hydraulic conductivity in a centrifuge
The consolidation test is an indirect permeability test in is N times that of the 1-g tests. This observation is
which a sample of soil is compressed in a rigid ring at consistent with the scaling relationship obtained in Eq.(6).
various vertical stress levels, with drainage facility at both
top and bottom of the sample. The h y ~ a u co~ductivity
~~c is
calculated using Terzaghi's theory of one ~ e n s i o n a l
consolidation using the following expression:
This study demo&rates the use of a geotechnical centrifuge
k = cvmvyw ...................................... "............... (9) for modelling hydradic conductivity of compacted soils. It
can be seen that the hydraulic ~ n ~ u c ~ i vini taygeotechnical
where c, is the coefficient of consolidatioq m, is the centrifuge is N times greater than that obtained from the
coefficient of volume compressibility, and yw is the unit conventional laboratory tests. Study also satisfies the
weight of water. In Eq. 9, cv can be obtained either by theoretical scaling relations~pfor hydraulic conducti~ty"
conventional J; or Iog(t) relationships for the soil. Olson Time taken to test a soil sample in a centrifuge is quite less
(1986) has shown that the calculated hydrauiic conductivity as compared to the bench tests. As such, a centrifuge can be
values from Eq.9 are almost always less than the measured used efficiently to obtain the hydraulic conductivity of fine-
values, and the calculated h y d r a ~ cconductivity values grained Since the
soils. where
At any point the cahles
prototypeare stress conditions
particularly can be
nilnerahle.
from & method are more close to the measured values created a geotechnical
the @Ugeinidentitv centrifuge,
should he repented. It maythebe obtained
possible
than the log(t) method. As such J; method is used in this permeability values
to repair hroken areifthe
cable moregaugc
near toidentities
in-situ values. Further,
arc known.
study for estimation of cv and hence the hydraulic there is a good agreement between hydraulic conductivity
conductivity of the soil. values
Protectobtained fiom
the cables various
where thevI-gexit
bench
fromtests.
the concrete with
a short lengh of plastic duct. The exit position should be
considered with regard to anv future work on the stnicture
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ;and akmed with the lingincer. Excess cahle should he put
run cables across the diameter of the cage. Keep cables in a plastic bag and tied safely out of the wav.
REFERENCES
inside
The anv circumferential
scaling relationship forsteelwork.
hydraulic c o ~ d u c ~between
vi~
1-g tests (denoted by suffix p) and centrifuge tests (denoted Take a M.H.,
Alem', set of readings
Neilsen, immediately before, and
D.H., and Biggar, J.W.after, the
(1976).
by suflixshould
Cables m) canbebe strapped
written as:to the reinforcement at least ~ t is poured.
"concrete e the~ h yg~ a u l ~conductivity
c of soi1 cores by
every 30040flmm with plastic cable ties. Cables should . f ' Sci. Soc. Am. J.,40,212-218.
~ n ~ g a t i o n Soil
be run2k =within
N X the line of the vertical (longitudinal)
k,
reinforcement. Cables..~..~*.....l.*....~~..~~....~....~...-.*.......
must not encroach into the wvcr(10) or Arulanandan, K., Thompson, P.Y., Kutter, B.L., Meegoda,
he on the inside face towards the centre of the structure. N.J., M ~ e e t h ~ a K.K.,
n , and Yogach~dran,C. (1888).
This will
where x is ahelp
scaletofactor
protect thevalue
whose cables
hasfrom
to be the lining.
ascertained "Centrifuge modelling of transport processes for pollutants
dropped
with theconcrete
he$ ofand the tremie
various 1-g pipc
and centrifuge tests. To in soils." ASCE, Jr. Geotech. Eng., 114(2), 185-205.
evaluate the values of x, Eq.(lO) can be written in the
folrowing
The cables form:
should not be run diagonally or unsupported
Mtchelf, R.J. (I994a). "A flexible, no lateral strain
through the reinforcement. but should follow the h a n in apparatus for clay liner-leachate testing." Cenrrifige 94 by
long straight runs. Where there is likely to be any hung, Lee, and Tan (eds.), Bdkema, Rotterdam, 351-355,
movement in the reinforcement, use extra ties and leave a
link slack in the cables. Keep the cables away from any Mtchell, R.J. (1994b). "Centrifuge techniques for testing
sharp edges such as at lap joint. clay &er samples." Can, Georech. f.,31,577-583.

261
204
 SESSION
I11

Model Testing Related to

Various Geotechnical Problems

205
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
 International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

MODEL TESTING APPLIED TO VARIOUS GEOTE~H~ICAL

PROBLEMS
M. Fahey and D. Bruno
Centre for Ofshore Foundation Systems, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6907, Australia

SYNOPSIS: Physical model testing has always played a crucial role in geotechnical engineering, both in research of
fundamental mechanisms of foundation response and in derivation of design rules and design methods. In this paper, model
tests are classified into a number of categories, based primarily on the methods used to reproduce the required stress state in
the model. The growing use of centrifuge modelling is discussed, and three examples of where centrifuge modelling have
been used for offshore or nearshore geotechnical problems are presented. Some of the potential problems with centrifuge
modelling are then discussed, with some of these problems being common to all types of small-scale modelling.

INTRODUCTION
Model testing has always been fundamental to the
development of geotechnical engineering analysis and
design methods, and is still very widely used where new
foundation systems, or new applications of existing
systems, are being investigated. In a conference on offshore
and nearshore geotechnical engineering, a session on model
testing is very relevant, due to the often novel aspects of the
problems being considered offshore (either novel aspects of
a foundation type, for example; or even when foundation
types commonly used onshore are involved, the novel
properties of the soils found offshore).
At the time of writing this review, five papers had been
assigned
- to the session. These are:
Pore pressures during cyclic loading of superpile
anchors, by B. Singh, M.Datta and SX. Gulhati;
Response of model piles under lateral loading, by R.D.
Purkayastha and S. Basack;
Behaviour of metal piles in soft clay under static and
cyclic loading, by S.S. Gupta and M. Datta;
Accelerated modelling of hydraulic conductivity of a
compacted soil, by A.K. Gupta and D.N. Singh;
Liquefaction studies on model ground in a laminar box,
by S.K. Prasad, and I. Towhata.
This paper presents a brief review of various types of model
testing, and discusses various categories of model tests,
based pri~arilyon the method used to establish the required
stress state. In this review, some comments relevant to the
papers in this session will be given, but only to illustrate
some general points about modelling. Some examples of
centrifuge model testing carried out at The University of
Western Australia (UWA) for offshore and nearshore
projects will be presented, to illustrate the versatility of
modern model testing.
TYPES OF MODEL TESTING IN GEOTECHNICAL
ENGI~E~NG
In this review, the discussion has been confined to physical
model testing, but of course numerical modelling of many
foundation problems is also possible. This is the topic of
another session at this Conference, and will not be
discussed further here.
There are plenty of examples of what could be termed
reduced-scale modelling for offshore geotechnical
problems, in which the scale of the model test .is still much
larger than could be attempted in the laboratory. Two
examples relevant to offshore Western Australia (WA) are
the model ploughing work carried out prior to development
of a plough for the North Ranking ‘A’ trunkline on the
North West Shelf of WA, and the large-scale drilled and
grouted tests performed on-land as part of the design
studies for the Goodwyn Platform on the North West Shelf.
For the pipeline ploughing, the plough that was eventually
used was some 400 tonnes in weight, of the order of 10 m
long. The on-land reduced-scale tests were carried out
using two ploughs, one a 1/20 scale model, and the other
113 scale. The reduced-scale drilled and grouted tests were
carried out on-land at Overland Corner in South Australia
(Fahey et al, 1992). The final diameter of the piles used for
the Goodwyn Platform was 2.5 m. The reduced-scale tests
at Overland Corner were on pile elements that were 400
mm, 940 mm and 2000 mm in diameter, with lengths six
times the diameters (6D) for the two 400 mm and 940 mm
sections, and 3D for the 2000 mm section. A single section
400 mm diameter and 15.6 m long was also tested.
An example of what might be termed intermediate scale
modelling is provided by Andersen et al. (1992), who
describe pull-out tests on 4 interconnected suction caissons
with diameters of 914 mm embedded to a depth of 820 mm
in a soft clay bed.

207
Since this type of reduced-scale model testing is much too
elaborate to be routine, it is outside the scope of this review.
In general, the strength and stiffness of soil depend on
effective stress level. Thus, reproducing the correct stress
level, and the correct variation in stress level, within the
model is an essential pre-requisite for good model testing in
geotechnical engineering. Laboratory model testing in
geotechnical engineering can therefore be characterised by
the extent to which the correct effective stress level and
stress variation is reproduced, and by the method of
achieving this. According to this classification, model tests
can be:
(a) carried p t with no attempt to achieve the correct
effective stress level; small-scale footing tests in sand
would be an example of such modelling;
(b) carried out in a preconsolidated (or precompacted)
clayey soil, where no attempt is made to impose boundary
stresses to the sample during the model test, but where soil
suction resulting from the preconsolidation (or
precompaction) of the sample is assumed to maintain an
elevated effective stress level, and hence maintain a certain
undrained shear strength and stiffness;
(c) carried out at elevated stress level, but with no
attempt made to reproduce the variat~u~in stress level
applicable to the prototype problem; a pile test in sand
carried out in a so-called calibration chamber would be an
example of such a test;
(d) carried out in a geotechnical centrifuge, where both
the correct stress level, and the correct variation in stress
within the soil is achieved.
It is noted that of the five papers assigned to this session,
three deal with model tests that could be classified as
category (b) above, one deals with liquefaction studies
using testing that could be classified as category (a), and
one deals with centrifuge testing (category (d)), but where
the test is not strictly a model test.
Category (a) Tests
Tests in category (a) (and to a lesser extent in category (b))
should not be thought of as being model tests of any
particular large-scale prototype, but rather are just small-
scale prototype experiments in their own right. Thus, for
example, a 50 mm diameter rigid footing placed on the
surface of a bed of sand, and loaded to failure, should not
be taken to correctly model the behaviour of any larger-
scale footing.
At very low effective stress levels, cohesionless soils can
show very high effective friction angles, due to the very
high dilation rates that apply at such low stresses. Thus,
soil strength is not a linear function of absolute stress level.
In addition, soil stiffness is also not a linear function of
effective stress level. Therefore, direct extrapolation of the
results of such tests to large-scale prototypes is not usually
208
reliable.
This is not to say that this type of test may not be useful -
for example for calibrating a numerical model, or a method
of analysis, but in both of these cases the calibration or
verification provided by such small-scale models is no
substitute for calibration and verification against either
more appropriate model tests, or full scale field tests.
Category (b) Tests
The small-scale tests denoted category (b) above involve
using unconfined samples of clayey soil that have been
prepared by consolidation or compaction before the test, but
are not subjected to total stress confinement during the test.
A model test carried out using this type of sample may still
provide very useful results. For example, it may provide
the relationship between a failure load of a foundation
element and the undrained shear strength of the soil, but the
shear strength assumed for the soil in this case will have to
be that measured on the sample in its unconfined state, and
not that inferred from the stresses and stress history used to
consolidate the sample.
In this context, the assumption is sometimes made that for
fine grained soils, when the total consolidation stresses are
removed and provided the sample is not exposed to free
water, the (average) effective stress is maintained constant
by suctions in the sample. Hence, the undrained shear
strength should be the same as that prior to the removal of
the total stresses.
Where suction is relied on to maintain effective stress, it
must be realised that suction tends to equalise within a
sample, and hence the effective stress equalises. It may
therefore be very difficult to deal with anything other than
samples with u n i f o ~
shear strength profiles.
There are a number of cases quoted in the literature
detailing strength tests carried out on samples prior to and
following total stress removal. For example, Thomas et al.
(1999) show strengths of kaolin samples obtained using a
T-bar test (Stewart and Randolph, 1991) at 1OOg on a
geotechnical centrifuge, compared to a test at lg, carried
out shortly after stopping the centrifuge. The latter strength
profile was significantly lower than the former. A similar
example is provided by Davies and Parry (1982), who
showed vane shear strengths of a kaolin sample when tested
‘in flight’ at lOOg on a centrifuge, and much lower strengths
obtained i ~ e d i a t e l after
y stopping the centrifuge.
This reduction in strength can be attributed to a number of
possible causes. For example, Davies and Parry attributed
it to availability of water around the sample, which allowed
the suction to reduce between the time of removal of the
total stress and carrying out the test at lg. However, in the
tests of Thomas et al. (1999) this could not have occurred.
Therefore, it appears as if the suction is not capable of
maintaining a constant effective stress.
This could be due to a general reduction in suction with
time in the main body of the sample. However, it could
also be a local effect, applying only to the shear zones
around the test device. If the former, then the strength
determined by the test device is probably the correct
strength to use in interpreting the model test. However, if
the strength reduction is due to local effects around the test
device, then the strength determined by the device may be
different to the strength relevant to the model test. This
applies if the shearing pattern in the model test is different
from that in the strength test - for example, if global,
diffuse, shearing applies in the footing test, compared to
more concentrated shear planes around a rotating vane.
A very important feature of seabed soil mechanics is the
high ambient pore pressure that applies, which is analogous
to high backpressure in triaxial or other tests. Even if the
loading of the foundation element tends to reduce pore
pressure, this will probably not result in negative absolute
values. However, if the pore pressures in the soil in the
model test are already negative due to the way in which the
sample has been prepared, the pattern of pore pressure
change due the loading of the model footing may produce
results that are different from that in the high back pressure
environment of the seabed case.
Even if this does not have any effect on the results, any
situation where the initial pore pressure is negative leads to
some considerable difficulty in measuring pore pressure
changes in the subsequent model test. Pore pressure
transducers perform best in a high positive pore pressure
environment (due to reduced de-airing and response time
problems); if the ambient pore pressure is negative, it may
be very difficult to obtain meaningful measurements from
standard transducers.
It can therefore be said that model tests in this category may
be useful in determining some aspects of behaviour of
foundation systems, and relating failure loads to the
undrained shear strength of the soil. However, because of
the factors discussed above, direct extrapolation to full-
scale prototype problems may not be possible.
Category (c) Tests
Category (c) tests involve carrying out model tests in a soil
sample subjected to elevated confining pressures. This is
often done using a so-called ‘calibration chamber’, because
much of the original use of such chambers was for
calibration of in situ testing devices. A useful review of the
early development of such chambers was provided by
Parkin (1988).
These types of chambers allow the state of stress at some
point below the ground surface to be applied, with the only
variation in vertical stress being due to self-weight of the
209
sample. Thus, if the vertical boundary stress applied at the
base of the chamber is equivalent to the in situ effective
vertical stress at a depth of (say) 20 m, and the chamber is
1 m high, then the sample represents the in situ soil over the
depth interval 19 m to 20 m. Such chambers can therefore
apply a stress level to the sample equivalent to the stress
level at any depth, but not the variation in stress level from
the surface to that depth.
In addition to calibration of cone penetrometers,
dilatometers and other in situ testing devices, these
chambers have been used for modelling various types of
foundation elements, particularly piles. They are
particularly useful for determining the shaft friction
behaviour over a unit length of a model pile, and even the
end bearing resistance of a pile at a particular depth (stress
level). A major consideration for all model tests is to
ensure that the boundaries of the sample do not affect the
behaviour of interest. Thus, for CPT testing, a minimum
ratio of sample diameter to cone diameter might be
specified, and this will depend on the density of the sample.
At UWA, small-scale calibration chambers (of the order of
0.4 m diameter by 0.8 m high) have been used to study the
performance of drilled-and-grouted piles and grouted driven
piles in calcareous soils. Examples of this work are
reported by Joer and Randolph (1998).
Category (a) Tests
Centrifuge model testing in geotechnical applications has
developed to the stage where it is now very widespread.
Though the original ideas were proposed by Phillips (1 869)
in the last century, and considerable work was done in the
USSR in the 1920s and onwards, it was probably the work
of Schofield and others in the UK that brought centrifuge
testing to the attention of the broader world geotechnical
community. The maturity of this form of model testing can
be gauged by the success of the series of international
conferences on centrifuge testing, held in Paris in 1988,
Boulder, Colorado in 1991,Singapore in 1994 and Tokyo
in 1998. Perusal of the proceedings of any of these
conferences shows the very wide range of problems that are
now being modelled in geotechnical centrifuges, and the
enormous range of ingenious equipment that has been
developed to carry out these tests and to monitor the
behaviour in the tests.
The main attraction of centrifuge testing over all other sorts
of model testing is the ability to correctly model the stress
level and distribution of stress. For example, if a layer of
soil 30 cm deep is subjected to an acceleration of 100 times
earth’s gravity (lOOg),the stress distribution in that layer
will be homologous to that in a 30 m deep layer of the same
soil at lg. Thus, model tests carried out in the centrifuge
can be directly related to the behaviour of the equivalent
full-scale prototype, using well-defined scaling laws.
Only one other modelling technique - the hydraulic
gradient technique (Zelikson, 1963, 1991) - is capable of
achieving the same stress similitude, but this technique can
only be applied in some limited cases.
Scaling laws for centrifuge testing have been discussed at
length in many publications (e.g Schofield, 1980, Taylor,
1995). Since stresses are the same in model and prototype,
and linear dimensions are scaled by N, then forces (stress
times area) are scaled by N2. The time for diffusion
(consolidation) events depends on the drainage path length
d, and hence time is also scaled by Nz. Note however, that
the centrifuge is not some sort of magic ‘time machine’ -
the scaling of dif’fusion time in a centrifuge test is simply
due to the reduced dimensions of the sample, just as the
time for consolidation of a small sample of soil in an
oedometer is much faster than the time for consolidation of
a thick layer of the same soil in situ.
In the following section, some examples of centrifuge
model testing at UWA in offshore engineering applications
will be presented. From these examples, some issues
regarding scale effects and scaling laws will be discussed.
CENTRIFUGE MODEL TESTING AT UWA FOR
OFFSHORE AND NEARSHORE APPLICATIONS
Two geotechnical centrifuges have been installed at The
University of Western Australia (UWA), and both of these
are used by the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems
(COFS)for various offshore and nearshore applications.
The first, installed in 1989, is a ‘beam centrifuge’, an
Acutronic Model 66 1. It has a maximum payload of 400 kg
at up to lOOg, decreasing to 200 kg at an acceleration of
2OOg (340 rpm). The swinging platform, which is at a
radius of 1.8 m in operation, has a useable area of 500 mm
by 700 mm, and a maximum package height of 500 mm, but
in the central area, the maximum height for actuators etc is
950 mm. A full description of this facility has been
provided by Randolph et al. (1991). Since installation, this
centrifuge has been used for a very wide range of both
onshore and offshore projects, in foundation engineering,
soil and rock slope stability, stability of underground
openings, pipelines, anchoring systems, and pollution
migration studies. (The proceedings of the Centrifuge 98
Conference in Tokyo contains 7 papers on modelling on
this centrifuge).
More recently, a new ‘drum centrifuge’ has been installed
and commissioned at UWA. This has been described in
detail by Stewart, Boyle and Randolph (1999). The drum is
1.2 m in diameter, with maximum acceleration level of
485g. Whereas samples in the beam centrifuge are placed
in a container with maximum dimensions of about 390 mm
by 650 mm in plan, and about 300 mm high, the sample in
210
the drum is placed in a circular channel that is 1.2 m in
diameter, 300 mm wide (measured vertically) and 200 mm
deep (measured radially). At this depth of sample, the
diameter is 0.8 m, giving a total length of soil sample
surface of 2.5 m, compared to only 650 mm in the beam
centrifuge.
The most important feature of this centrifuge is that the
central tool table can rotate independently of the drum. In
normal operation, it is locked to the drum via a differential
motor, which can be controlled so that the tool table rotates
slightly faster than, or slightly slower than, the drum. Thus,
any foundation element, or penetrometer, can be moved to
any desired test location around the drum circumference by
using this differential motor. It can also be used to apply
monotonic or cyclic lateral loads to any foundation element.
If this differential motor is completely disengaged, the
central tool table and shaft may be brought to a standstill.
In this state, the tool table can be accessed to allow
changing of tools (mounting different penetrometers, or
foundation elements etc) while the drum keeps spinning. A
separate motor then spins the tool table back to the same
speed as the drum, and the differential motor re-engages,
locking them together again.
Because of this feature, and the large area of soil sample
surface available for testing, a large number of different
tests can be performed on the one sample without stopping
the rotation of the drum. This makes it a very efficient
machine for parametric studies of foundation elements. To
date, tests on jack-up spud cans, and tests on drag anchors
in layered soils, have been carried out in this centrifuge.
In the following sections, three applications of centrifuge
model testing in the beam centrifuge will be discussed.
Modelling of suction caissons
Development of the Laminaria and Corallina fields in the
Timor Sea (between Australia and Indonesia) involved
installation of a large FPSO at the site. Anchoring of the
FPSO is achieved using suction caisson anchors located
radially around the FPSO location. These anchors were
required to resist quasi-horizontal loads at the seabed, due
to the use of long catenary anchor lines. The prototype
dimensions of the caissons are 5.5 m diameter, 12.7 m
emkdment, with the anchor chain attached at a depth of
8.1 m below the seabed.
The soils at the site consist of very fine grained calcareous
silt and mud, with a significant content of high-plasticity
clay. The soil therefore has many of the characteristics of a
soft clay. The undrained shear strength at the site increases
approximately linearly with depth at a rate of about 2
kPa/m, with an apparent strength intercept at the surface of
about 10 kPa.
As part of the design studies for this project, centrifuge
modelling of the suction anchor caissons was carried out at
UWA on behalf of the joint venture partners: Woodside
Petroleum, Shell, and BHP Petroleum. A full description of’
the centrifuge modelling for this project is provided by
Randolph et al. (1998). The tests were carried out in soil
dredged from the seabed at the site. The test samples were
prepared by slurrying the material, and reconsolidating it in
the centrifuge ‘strongboxes’ fitted with extensions. Two
samples were prepared, one with a normally consolidated
profile, the second with an overconsolidated profile, giving
a strength intercept at the surface of 15 Wa. The latter
involved partial consolidation in a large consolidation press
before completing consolidation on the centrifuge. Due to
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of test setup
the low coefficient of consolidation of the soil (less than 1
mz/yr), about 7 days of continuous spinning on the
centrifuge was required to complete the consolidation. track the vertical, horizontal and rotational movements of
the caisson. Loading was applied using a pleated wire
A section through the model caisson is shown in Figure 1. chain, which had the correct dimensions to model the
Both model dimensions and prototype dimensions are prototype anchor chain. The chain was tensioned using a
shown (the tests were run at 120g). The top cap was pulley, as shown in Figure 2. During installation, the
perforated, because an initial design of the prototype anchor chain was tied to the side of the caisson, being cut
caissons envisaged that, following ins~llationby suction, free just prior to applying the chain load. As the load was
the top caps would be removed from the caissons. (This applied, the chain cut through the soil to form the typical
was not actually implemented; the top caps of the caissons inverted catenary shape through the soil.
actually installed did not have removable top caps). In the
centrifuge tests, the caissons were installed by jacking Some of the results presented by Randolph et al. (1998) are
rather than by suction, since it was the load-carrying reproduced here as Figures 3 to 5. Prototype units are used
performance, rather than the installation process, that was in all the plots. Figure 3 shows the chain load versus
of concern to the designers. horizontal anchor displacement for one monotonic and one
cyclic test in the normally consolidated profile. Figure 4
A schematic diagram of the test setup is shown as Figure 2. shows the development of horizontal displace~entwith
An LVDT and laser displacement transducers were used to cycle number, and Figure 5 shows the development of
rotation of the anchor.
The interesting feature of the monotonic response in the
normally consolidated profile is the softening that occurs

Figure 3. Response of caisson in normally

Figure 1. Section through a model suction caisson consolidated soil

211

Figure 5. Relative rotation and displacement of
caisson
after the peak of just under 9 MN is reached. This sudden
softening corresponds to the point where a gap forms at the
rear of the caisson, resulting in a loss of suction on the back
face of the caisson. No such behaviour was observed in the
overconsolidated profile, because a gap opened up behind
the caisson right from the start of loading in this case.
For the cyclic loading of the caisson in the normally
sample, 100 cycles were applied from zero up to
(nominally) 4 MN, 200 cycles from zero to about 6 MN,
and about 30 cycles from zero to about 7 MN. Figure 4
shows that only 0.45 m of horizontal movement resulted
from this cyclic loading.
These tests were used by Randolph et al (1998) to verify an
upper bound method of determining failure load, and for
examining the effect of cyclic loading. The results were
212
also used directly to predict the response of the suction
caissons for the Laminaria and Corallina FPSO.
Modelling of pile driving in dense sand
Bruno and Randolph (1999) describe a series of centrifuge
model tests involving driving model piles in dense sand in
the centrifuge, followed by static loading of these piles.
The aim of the work was to investigate the link between the
dynamic driving performance, as determined by stress wave
measurements during driving, and the subsequent static
loading behaviour. The impetus for this work was the
experience with driving piles in the very dense sands found
in parts of the North Sea.
For this application, a pneumaticall y-operated model pile
driving hammer was developed, as described in detail by de
Nicola and Randolph (1994). This hammer correctly
simulates a prototype drop-hammer with a ram mass of 28
tonnes, such as would be used for an equivalent prototype
pile. The hammer may be operated continuously, or with
single blows to permit stress wave measurement.
At lOOg, the model piles used represent prototype piles of
0.95 m diameter, with 0.05 m wall thickness and a
maximum embedment length of 20 m. The pile surface was
lightly sandblasted to produce a lightly-roughened surface ,
with a pile roughness R determined to be equivalent to a
centre-line average (CLA) of 2.5 pm.
The ratio of pile surface roughness R to mean particle size
(d5o) is an important consideration in model testing, as will
be discussed later, and ideally, the normalised pile
roughness (Wdjo) of the model should match that of the
prototype. For this reason, fine silica flour, with a d5o of
45pm and dlo of 6 pm, was used in the modelling, instead
of more ‘normal’ silica sand, where the mean particle size
would typically be an order of magnitude greater. A series
of constant normal stiffness (CNS) direct shear tests was
carried out on this silica flour, and when the results were
compared to ‘normal’ silica sand, it was concluded that the
silica flour had the same frictional and dilational
characteristics as the silica sand. The well-graded nature of
the silica flour (with coefficient of uniformity, C, = d6o/d,o
of about 9.5) meant that high densities could be achieved by
vibration. For all samples, a CFT test was carried out prior
to pile testing.
Some of the model tests were carried out with an
uninstrumented pile with just one set of axial strain gauges
located near the pile head to provide force measurement
during pile driving and total bearing capacity during static
testing. Tests were also conducted using an instrumented
pile, which had 7 levels of axial strain gauges along its
length to provide the distribution of axial force along the
pile in the static load testing. These were driven both open-
ended and closed-ended. In the former case, an internal
 0 1000
----
Cum~€ative

-
2000
hammer blows
3000

-
4000 5000

I rn hammer drop height, (dh) used

during pile installation
6000
2s
i
1

Open-ended
.I/ (dh= 1 m)

5 ! I I , I I , , , ,
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 I
Pile headdisplacement I Plle diameter
Open-enc
(dh = 1.7 m) ' Figure 7. Typical static load test data

Figure 6. Driving record for open and closed-ended

Typical dynamic measurements for one hammer blow (at a
piles
pile penetration of 7.15 m) are shown in Figure 8. A
follower was used to monitor the position of the soil plug discussion on these data, and the way in which they are
during driving and during subsequent static testing. analysed to provide estimates of dynamic bearing capacity
Because of the small scale of the tests, it is very difficult to is outside the scope of this paper, but a full discussion is
use accelerometers to measure pile head velocities in the provided by Bruno and Randolph (1999). They used three
pile, which are required for dynamic analysis. This problem methods to analyse the data: a simple method based on
was overcome using a technique known as a Hopkinson Bar fundamental energy balance, a modified Case method, and a
(IZelikson, 1991). Space limitations here do not permit a numerical method that models the stress wave travel in the
full description of the principle of this technique. pile (this method is incorporated into the computer program
IMPACT, Randolph, 1994).
Because of the high wave-speed in model piles (around
5 W s ) and the small scale of the piles, a high-speed data When the dynamic capacities obtained using these methods
acquisition system, manufactured by Bakker, was used to
30
capture the stress-wave data at intervals of about 2.5 ps.
As already stated, the pile hammer represented a 28 t 25
prototype drop hammer. For driving the model piles, the
(prototype) drop height was set at 1 m for the first 5 m of 20
driving, increasing then to 1.7 m until ultimate pile
penetration. In some cases, the drop height was increased 15
w
to achieve further pene~ation.
Figure 6 shows typical driving records for both open-ended
2 10
&
and closed-ended piles. For two open-ended cases shown,
E 5
one was driven all the way using a drop height of 1 m,
requiring 5,000 blows to reach a penetration of 18 m, while 0
the other, with a drop height of 1.7 m, reached the same
penetration in about 2,000 blows. A slightly higher blow -5
count was required to drive the closed-ended pile to the I R,(Case*) = 5.8 MN Ii
same penetration* -10 ! I I I I

Typical static load test curves are presented in Figure 7. 0 5 10 15 20 25

These tests involved compression loading, followed by a Time (ms)
cycle of tensiodcompressiodtension loading. For the case,
shown, these tests were carried out at pile pene~ationsof Figure 8. Typical stress-wave data from a closed-
7.15 m, 12.05 m and 18.60 m. ended Dile, deDth 7.15 m

213
 'O
16
1 IMPACT (all data)
8141 -Rs=Qs
d This problem is clearly a dynamic problem, where there is a
$12 -
210-
'g
-t
.II
8 -
E:
PB 6-
f 4-
2-
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Measured static pile capacity, Qs fnau)
Figure 9. Comparison between measured pile static
capacity and calculated ME ACT)
were compared to the measured static capacities, it was
found that the numerical analysis using IMPACT provided
the best estimates of static capacity. A comparison between
the measured capacity and that predicted using IMPACT is
shown in Figure 9. With the other methods, the agreement
was quite poor for low drop heights, but improved
somewhat for drop heights greater than 1.7 m.
This example illustrates the degree of sophistication
required to achieve realistic m ~ e l l i n gof pile driving on the
centrifuge. By correctly modelling the operation of the
offshore pile driving hammer, and being able to carry out a
complete pile driving analysis, followed by static load test
to failure, it was possible to carry out a very detailed study
of methods of pile driving analysis under very carefully
controlled conditions.
Modelling of ship impact on sand bank
The third example of centrifuge modelling presented
concerns the impact of a ship on a submerged sand bank.
The question to be answered was how far would the ship
travel after hitting the sandbank before coming to a halt,
and what would be the pattern of surface heave in the bank
in front of the ship's bow. The s ~ d b of~ interest
k is to
be located in a busy harbour in front of a building of
considerable significance, and is to act as protection for
this building in the event of an accident (the ship
running off course as it enters the harbour). The
sandbank is to be constructed to just under the water
level in front of the building.
The 'design ship impact' to be considered consists of a
40,000 DWT ship, with a bulbous bow, striking the
submerged bank at a speed of 8 knots at an angle of
incidence of 65". The bank was to be constructed at an
angle of 35" to the horizontal from the harbour bed to just
below the water surface.
good chance of mobilising the undrained shear strength of
the sand. Unless the sand is in a loose state, the undrained
strength would be considerably higher than the drained
strength, providing considerably extra resistance to ship
penetration. This is similar to the experience with offshore
pipeline ploughing in sand, where very large forces can be
required for ploughing because of the dilational response of
the sand generating negative pore pressures.
In this case, it might have been possible to model the
dynamic problem explicitly. The key consideration would
i8 be to model the time for the ship to come to a halt properly.
Thus, if the ship slowed from 4 d s (about 8 kn) to zero in a
distance of (say) 20 m, the total time required would be of
the order of 10 seconds. This scales to 10/(200)2seconds
(2.5 x 104 s) at 200g if no change was made to the soil or
pore fluid (the tests were to be carried out at 200g).
However, by using a finer soil (such as the silica flour
described in the previous example) and using silicon oil
(with viscosity 100 times that of water), this could be
increased easily by three orders of magnitude or more, to a
total time of just under a second. This would have been just
about feasible with the actuators available at UWA.
However, in this case, it was reasoned that sufficient
(though perhaps conservative) information for the designers
would be obtained by treating the problem as drained. The
purpose then was to determine the force- netr ration
behaviour of the ship, and to determine the extent of ground
heave in front of the ship. This could be carried out in slow
monotonic loading. The force-penetration curve could then
be used to determine the penetration distance required to
dissipate the kinetic energy of the ship.
The ship impact was modelled on the centrifuge using the
1:200 scale model of the ship's bow shown in Figure 10.
The model was constructed by first making a wooden model
of the bow, then using this to produce a mould, which was
then filled with epoxy, with an aluminium insert to provide
reinforcement, and to allow attachment to the loading leg as
shown.
The soil used in the mod~llingwas a local coastal fine to
medium grained calcareous sand, with d50 of just over
0.2mm. The embankment was constructed to the correct
profile and correct angle to the longitudinal axis of the box.
The ship model was mounted on a loading actuator parallel
to the longitudinal axis of the box. Figure 11 shows the
embankment prior to mounting the actuator, and Figure 12
shows an overall view of the test package mounted on the
swinging platform of the centrifuge. The vertical tower
mounted on the sample strong box is the loading actuator
214
 Figure 10. Model of ship's bow, attached to loading
leg
used to push the ship model into the bank.
Prior to each test, a CPT profile was determined (at ZOOg),
showing the qc profile to increasing approximately linearly
from the surface to about 12 MPa at a (prototype) depth of
18 m below the grwnd surface (the depth to the level U €the
toe of the slope).
The model penetration tests were conducted by first
r ~ p i n gup to 50g, at which stage the model was flooded
slowly from underneath to just below the top of the
e ~ b a n ~ e n(The
t . ~ m b a n ~ e was
n t not fully covered with
water so that the d e f o ~ a ~ ~ of
o nthe
s grotand surface could
be monitored more easily during ship penetration). The
centrifuge was then ramped up to 200g, with sufficient time
being left for equilib~umof stresses and pore pressures to
be reached. The penetration was carried out at a (model)
speed of 0.2 d s . At this speed, the netr ration was
Figure 11, Sand embankment with displacement
transducers in place
215
Figure 12. Test package mounted on the centrifuge
ready for testing
estimated to be fulIy drained.
During penetration, sampling of all transducers was carried
out at a rate of 1 Hz. Transducers measured the
displacement, the vertical and horizontal force and the
torsion on the ship (the torsion resulting from striking the
embankment at an angle of 65"). Non-contact laser
transducers were used to measure the ground deformations
ahead of the ship. On completion of each test, the water
level was slowly lowered to below the base, before stopping
the centrifuge. The surface was then carefully mapped, and
the e ~ b sectioned,
~ ~ to ~revealt the compMe
deformation pattern due to the penetration of the bow. The
soil was fine enough to be kept together by suctions during
this process.
The results were obtained as plots of horizontal force and
vertical force versus penetra~ondistances for two different
slope profiles, and for different depths of first impact befow
the embankment surface Typically, the horizontal force
was three orders of magnitude greater than the vertical force
for each case. The horizontal force-penetration behaviour
was approximateIy linear from the point of first impact. In
one test, for example, the horizontal €urce reached about
130 MN at 30 m penetration. Assuming the ship to be
40,000 t, travelling at an initial speed of 8 knots (- 4 d s ) ,
gives an initial kinetic energy of 320 MJ. From this linear
force-penetration behaviour, a penetration of about 12 rn
would be required to dissipate this energy as work done in
penetration.
The pattern of surface deformation ahead of the at the end
of each test was determined by tracking a laser
dis~laceme~t ~ ~ s d u cacross
e r the surface in a grid pattern,
and then contouring the resulting data. This showed that
heave extended a significant distance in front of the hull.
Carehl dissection of the model after each test affowed the
detailed pattern of deformation to be determined, and this
was extremely useful in determining the mechanisms of
deformation during penetration, allowing upper bound
methods to be used to extend the results to other cases.
PROBLEMS WITH ~ E N T ~ ~ UMODELLING
GE
The three examples presented in the previous section
illustrate the versatility of centrifuge model testing, and the
complexity of the problems that can be modelled.
However, there are a number of potential problems with
centrifuge testing that can affect the results obtained. Some
of these problems are common to all types of small-scale
model testing.
The technique known as ‘modelling of models’ is often
used to determine the extent of any scaling. This involves
modelling the same prototype problem at different scaling
ratios. Thus, for example, the behaviour of a 5 m diameter
raft on a layer of sand could be modelled using a 100 mm
diameter raft at 50g, a 50 mm raft at lOOg, or a 25 mm
diameter raft at 200g. If all three experiments predict the
same prototype behaviour, then this is said to prove that the
scaling laws apply. This technique of course can only test
within a certain range of model sizes (a certain range of
scaling ratios), and hence, while it is a valid and useful
procedure to carry out, it is not conclusive in all cases.
Under the heading of ‘scale effects’, Taylor (1995)
discusses some of these issues, including variation in the
gravitational field, construction effects, and particle size
effects. Another very i m p o r t ~consid~ration
t in modelling
many offshore foundations is the loading rate required to
model undrained or partially drained loading events such as
cyclic loading in storms.
Variation in gravitationfield
Under this heading, Taylor (1995) considered two effects.
The first is due to the fact that since the acceleration applied
to the soil depends on the radius from the centre of rotation,
the acceleration varies from the top to the bottom of the
sample. In the UWA centrifuge, with a radius to the base of
the sample of 1.8 m and a sample depth of (say) 300 mm,
the acceleration (which is equal to r d ) would be 83g at the
top of the sample when it is lOOg at the base. This must be
kept in mind in interpreting the results of the tests.
Because of the radial acceleration field, there is a variation
in the direction of the acceleration relative to the vertical
with distance across the width of the model. This
effectively leads to a horizontal component of the
acceleration, which varies with distance from the centreline.
For a model with a half-width of 0.15 m in a centrifuge with
an effective radius of 1.5 m, this horizontal acceleration is
about 15% of the vertical acceleration at the edge of the
model. Potential problems due to this effect can be avoided
by carrying out the most impo~anttests along the centreline
216
of the model.
A further problem can arise with Coriolis acceleration,
which is developed when there is movement of the model in
the plane of rotation. This effect is seen, for example, when
soil is dropped from a hopper to construct embankments in
flight. However, apart from earthquake studies, and studies
of the cratering effects of blasting, there are not many
instances when Coriolis acceleration plays any major part.
~ o ~ s t r u c t ~effects
on
In many prototype situations, the construction method and
the sequence of construction has an effect on behaviour (for
example the behaviour of a retaining wall is affected by the
sequence of excavation and installation of ground anchors).
Proper modelling of such situations would require that the
method and sequence of construction be modelled
explicitly. However, this is not always feasible. Thus, the
method used to model construction will have some
influence on the applicability of the results to the prototype
situation. For example, piles installed by jacking in a
centrifuge are not likely to have the identical load-
deflection behaviour as piles driven using a correctly-
modelled pile driving hammer. Similarly piles installed at
lg prior to centrifuge tests do not have the same
performance as piles installed ‘in flight’.
This problem is gradually being overcome by the use of
more and more sophisticated test equipment, capable of
mimicking all the construction sequence. Perusal of the
proceedings of the most recent conference on centrifuge
testing (Centrifuge ‘98,Tokyo, Balkema, Rotterdam) shows
the progress that has been made with this type of
equipment.
Particle size effects
Particle size effects arise from using the same soil in the
model as in the prototype problem. Problems due to
particle size effects arise not just in centrifuge testing, but
also in any small-scale model tests that use the normal (field
scale) sand in the model. Thus, if the soil in the prototype
is (say) a medium to coarse sand with dso of 0.6 mm, proper
scaling of particle size in the centrifuge model would
require a soil with dj0of 6 pm at 1OOg. If the prototype soil
is used in the model, the particle size being modelled is
effectively60 mm.
In order to determine the effect of scaling the particle size
in centrifuge model tests, Bolton and Lau (1988) carried out
basic strength testing on a Chatalet flint grit, and a silica
flour, with grading curves of practically identical shapes,
but with a size difference of about 50 between them (i.e. d50
of about 0.5 mm and 0.01 mm for the flint and silica flour,
respectively). Micrographs of the two soils at appropriate
magnifications showed that the particle shapes of the two
were practically identical also. The maximum packing
density of the two soils was also found to be practically
identical (a void ratio of 0.55). Though the two soils had
identical critical state friction angles when tested at high
confining pressures in triaxial tests, the peak friction angle
of the silica flour was some 4"to 5" higher than that of the
flint at the same void ratio and confining pressure. This
extra strength comes from the stronger dilational behaviour
of the silica flour. This arises because of the higher
crushing strength of the finer soil; crushing strength
depends on absolute particle size, with crushing becoming
progressively more difficult as particle size reduces.
This example shows that scaling of the model particle size
is not necessarily guaranteed to produce the correct
behaviour.
When the prototype soil is used directly in the model, it is
sometimes claimed that there is no particle size effect
provided the linear dimension of the element being tested
(for example, the diameter of a pile, or the diameter of a
footing) is more than about 15 times the d50 of the soil
(Taylor, 1995). By this criterion, the pile tests of Bruno and
Randolph (1999) discussed earlier would have correctly
modelled the behaviour of full scale piles in sand up to
particle size of about 0.6 mm (the model piles used in this
case were just over 9 mm diameter) even if the field-scale
sand was used.
However, Foray et al. (1998) state that where the behaviour
is governed by a localisation of deformations in shear
bands, either within the soil mass, or at the interface
between soil and structure, then scale effects will be
observed if the field-scale sand is used, because the
thickness of the shear bands depends mainly on the average
size of the grains. During pile loading in sand, the
mobilisation and magnitude of the ultimate shaft friction is
controlled by the shearing of a thin band of soil that forms
around the pile shaft (Tatsuoka et at, 1991). The mean
thickness of the shear band, e, has been reported by Desrues
(1991) among others, as being around 5 times d50 for
smooth piles and as high as 10 times d50 for rough piles.
Since the thickness of the shear band depends on the mean
grain size, the width of the shear band along the side of a
pile is considerably larger (relative to the pile diameter) in
the model than in the prototype (Foray et al., 1998).
In order to assess any scaling disparity, Foray et al. (1998)
conducted centrifuge pile tests on medium and coarse
Hostun sands with d30 of 0.32 mm and 0.7 mm,
respectively, with the same mineralogy and same coefficient
of uniformity (Cu= 1.4). By testing piles of different
diameters, they found that the smallest pile mobilised up to
3 times the shaft friction mobilised by the biggest pile. They
examined the results in terms of the ratio of pile diameter to
shear band with (D/e),where e was taken to be nominally
10 times 4 0 . For a given stress level (or depth), a scale
effect factor was derived from the data, as the ratio of shaft
217
friction for a given D/e to the asymptotic value of shaft
friction measured for Dle equal to 20 (i.e. the scale effect
vanishes for Dle > 20).
According to this criterion, the tests of Bruno and Randolph
(1999), with D of 9.5 mm, and d50 for the silica flour of 45
l m , the D/e ratio would be 21, would exhibit no scale
effect.
In this case, the silica flour was about an order of
magnitude finer than the field scale sand, and Bruno and
Randolph report that control strength testing showed very
similar peak strengths for the two soils.
The interface friction angle 6 for piles in sand depends on
the roughness of the pile surface compared to the mean
particle size of the soil - this is expressed as the normalised
roughness Wd50. As already mentioned, Bruno and
Randolph (1999) showed that by lightly sandblasting the
model pile surface, a normalised roughness of 0.048 was
obtained, compared to typical prototype normalised
roughness values of about 0.027 to 0.06. These latter values
are obtained for prototype piles with surface roughness
values of 8 to 12 pm, in soils of d50 of 0.2 to 0.3 111111.
Thus, by a combination of reducing the particle size of the
model soil (but not so much that major difference in
mechanical properties result), and a careful determination of
the shear band effect and normalised surface roughness,
Bruno and Randolph (1999) concluded that their tests
would not have suffered from particle size effects.
This type of detailed evaluation of possible scale effects is
always required in model testing with granular soils.
Loading rate effects
Where the prototype event of interest can be considered to
be fully drained, it is relatively easy to determine the
appropriate loading rate to apply in a model test of this
prototype to ensure that a fully drained condition is
achieved. However, problems can arise with modelling
prototype events that are undrained or partially drained. In
the model caisson tests described earlier, the prototype
loading (in a storm) would definitely be almost completely
undrained, because of the size of the prototype caissons and
the very low coefficient of consolidation of the in situ soil
(- 1 m2/yr). Fortunately, with such a low coefficient of
consolidation, undrained conditions could be maintained in
the centrifuge tests even if the same absolute cyclic rate as
would apply in the prototype tests (about 0.1 Hz) was used.
Finnie (1993) carried out centrifuge modelling of shallow
foundations in calcareous sands and silts. He used a time
factor:
r,=cvt
D2
where D is the footing diameter and t is the time for
loading, to determine if the footing penetration was drained
or not. According to Rowe and Craig (1979), fully drained
conditions prevailed if T, for the loading was greater than
10-5. On this basis, Finnie derived a normalised loading
velocity v,:
VD
vn =-
C”
where v is the absolute penetration velocity and D is the
footing diameter. Using this relationship, he was able to
classify his tests into drained, partially drained, and
undrained, and showed a logical progression in footing
behaviour from one extreme to the other. The transition
from fully undrained to fully drained occurred over a U,,
range of about 0.01 to 10.
In silty or sandy soils, undrained or partially drained
conditions often apply for full-scale offshore structures,
where the relevant length scale for drainage can be of the
order of over 100 m (for a gravity platform, for example).
If the characteristic time of interest for storm loading is
taken as the wave period (of the order of 10 seconds), then
at lOOg, the period would have to be reduced by a factor of
100’ to correctly model pore pressure generation and
dissipation effects, implying a period of 1 ms, or a cyclic
frequency of 1 kHz. Even if it were possible to apply
loading at this frequency, it is very likely that the behaviour
would be severely influenced by dynamic effects, and
perhaps also by inherent strain rate or viscous effects in the
soil.
Correct modelling of time effects can sometimes be
achieved by changing the pore fluid from water to a fluid
with a higher viscosity. At UWA, a silicon oil, with a
viscosity of about 100 times that of water, is routinely used
when modelling problems in silts or fine sands. Stewart,
Chen and Kutter (1998) discuss this issue, and describe the
use of an alternative - a solution of hydroxypropyl
methylcellulosein water - to achieve the same result.
If using pore fluid with a viscosity 100 times that of water,
the permeability is reduced by a factor of 100, and thus the
loading rate must be scaled by a factor of 100 rather than
1002 (when operating at 1OOg) in order to achieve the
correct modelling of dissipation events. This is technically
feasible, and is somewhat less likely to lead to problems
with dynamic effects.
Watson (1999) carried out monotonic undrained DSS shear
tests on some of the fine-grained silty materials, saturated
with silicon oil, that he used for his work on suction
caissons. These tests were conducted at shear displacement
rates of 0.05%, OS%, 5% and 50% per second, and found
only minor ‘differences in the stress-strain response at these
rates. He also compared the stress-strain behaviour obtained
with similar tests on the same soil mixed with water, and
found that substituting silicon oil had no effect on the
218
behaviour. However, the effect of cycling at 10 Hz
compared to 0.1 Hz was not investigated.
CONCLUSION
Physical modelling has always played, and will continue to
play, an integral part in the development of methods of
analysis and design in geotechnical engineering. In some
circumstances, there is value in small-scale laboratory
model tests carried out at lg. However, in many cases,
there is a necessity to use higher stress levels than are
obtained by gravity alone, in order to correctly model the
effect of stress level. In some cases, this can be achieved
using a calibration chamber, and such chambers are now
used widely for model testing. The use of centrifuge
modelling in geotechnical engineering research and design
has grown dramatically over the past couple of decades. A
very wide range of very sophisticated testing is now being
carried out worldwide using geotechnical centrifuges.
Three examples of centrifuge modelling in offshore and
nearshore engineering projects have been discussed. As
with all forms of model testing, a number of issues, which
are related mainly to the reduced size of the models, must
be considered before applying the results to the prototype
situation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper has drawn extensively on research carried out
within the Special Research Centre for Offshore Foundation
Systems (COFS), established and supported under the
Australian Research Council’s Research Centres Program.
REFERENCES
Andersen, K.H.,.Dyvik, R. and Schrgder, K. (1992). Pull-
out capacity analyses of suction anchors for tension leg
platforms. Proc. BOSS ’92 Conference, London (paper
republished in NGI Publication No. 189, Contributions to
the BOSS ’92 Conference).
Bruno, D. and Randolph, M.F. (1999). Dynamic and static
load testing of model piles driven into dense sand. Jour.
Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering,
ASCE, to appear (Nov).
Rolton, M.D. and Lau, C.R.(1988). Scale effects arising
from particle size. Proc. Centrifuge ’88, Paris, 127-1 3 1,
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shear strength of clay cakes in the centrifuge using a
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de Nicola, A. and Randolph, M.F. (1994). Development of
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473-478, Balkema, Rotterdam.
Desrues, J. (1991). An introduction to strain localisation in
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sediments. Predictive Soil Mechanics: Proc. Wroth
Memorial Symposium, Oxford, UK, 261-278, Thomas
Telford, London.
Finnie, I.M.S. (1993). Perfomnce of shallow foundations
in calcareous soil. PhD Thesis, The University of
Western Australia.
Foray, P. (1991). Scale and boundary effects on calibration
chamber pile tests. Proc. I"' Znt. C o n . on Calibration
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grouted piles in calcareous sediments. Proc. Th
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(1991). Establishing a new centrifuge facility. Proc.
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Geomechanics Society, Canberra, Australia.
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for ofsshore structures. PhD Thesis, The University of
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This Page Intentionally Left Blank
 International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

BEHAVIOUR OF METAL PILES IN SOFT CLAY UNDER STATIC AND CYCLIC

LOADING
S.S. Gupta' and Manoj Datta2
'Assistant Professor, College of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Technology,Panfnagar, U.P.263 145, India
'Professor, IZT Delhi, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT, New Delhi 110 016, India

-
SYNOPSIS This paper presents the results of a laboratory study undertaken to understand the behaviour of statically and
cyclically loaded metal piles in soft clay (Kaolinite). The behaviour of metal piles i.e. movement and variation of cyclic
stiffness with number of cycles under one-way (tension only) and two-way (compression-tension) cyclic loading has been
studied and compared. Critical cyclic load levels, beyond which piles fail, have been identified and the mechanisms of
failure of metal piles under one-way and two-way cyclic loading are discussed.

conditions, where the load reaching the pile is essentially

INTRODUCTION
Pile foundations, used for offshore structures, are subjected
to static and cyclic loads during ocean storms. The loads
may be static (pullout or compression), one-way cyclic
(tension) loads as in tension leg platforms or two-way cyclic
loads as in fixed platforms. In one-way cyclic loading, the
maximum and minimum cyclic load levels are of the same
nature i.e. tension, whereas in two-way cyclic loading the
load reverses from compression to tension in each cycle.
The behaviour of piles installed in soft clays under static and
cyclic loading is a subject of interest to offshore engineers.
In the present study the behaviour of metal piles in soft clay
under static and cyclic loading has been investigated through
laboratory based model tests.
BEHAVIOUR UNDER STATIC LOADING
Static tests are essentially of two types i.e. stress-
controlled and strain-controlled. The behaviour of piles
under static loading has been studied by Ali (1968), Khan
(1992) and Karlsrud and Haugen (1985a). A review of
literature indicates that :
(a) a-values (adhesion factor) were observed to be in the
range of 0.2 to 0.5 for metal piles.
(b) No investigator has compared the effect of nature of
static load i.e. pullout or compression.
(c) Further need was felt to verifL the a-values obtained
from pile load test to direct shear test (metal plate-soil
assembly).
BEHAVIOUR UNDER CYCLIC LOADING
For design of pile foundations for TLPs and fixed offshore
platforms, stress-controlled cyclic tests simulate the field
stress-controlled in nature. In stress-controlled tests, the
applied load is cyclzd between pre-specific load limits and
the resulting displacement of pile is measured with number
of cycles of applied loading.
Pile behaviour under cyclic loading of piles installed in clay
has been studied through laboratory model tests by
Holmquist and Matlock (1976), Poulos (1981), Steenfelt et
al. (1981), Matlock et al. (1982), Khan (1992), Chen et al.
(1993) and Steensen - Bach et al. (1994) and through field
tests by Grosch and Reese (1980), Krafl et al. (1981), Puech
(1982) and Karlsrud and Haugen (1985b). A review of
literature indicates that :
(a) A comparison of accumulated displacement under one-
way (tension) and two-way (compression - tension) cyclic
loading has not been undertaken in any study. However,
Holmquist and Matlock (1976) have compared the
movement under one-way (compression) with two-way
cyclic loading. The total accumulated displacement for one-
way and two-way cyclic loading was observed to be 1.0%
and 0.5% of pile diameter respectively, as long as (two-way)
pile did not fail. However, symmetric two-way cyclic
loading was not included in this study.
(b) No investigator has quantitatively compared the variation
in cyclic stiffness under one-way and two-way cyclic
loading. However, under one-way cyclic loading, Karlsrud
and Haugen (1985b) have reported that cyclic stiffhess
remains unaffected with number of cycles of loading until
failure occurs. Under two-way cyclic loading a reduction
of 15-20% in cyclic .stifThess has been observed by
Poulos (198 1).
(c) Various investigators have identified cyclic load levels
beyond which failure of pile occurs under cyclic loading.
Such threshold levels have been described as "Critical
Cyclic Loads". However, there is a wide variation in the
component of cyclic load identified by various investigators

221
as being critical.
(i) Under one-way cyclic loading, Puech (1982), Karlsrud
and Haugen (1985b) and Khan (1992) identified critical
cyclic load level in terms of the normalized maximum cyclic
load and observed critical maximum cyclic load in the range
of 60-70%.
(ii) Under two-way cyclic loadiig, Steedelt et al. (1981)
identified the critical load level in terms of the normalized
maximum cyclic load and observed critical maximum cyclic
load of 75%. Poulos (1981) identified the critical cyclic load
level in terms of normalized cyclic load amplitude and
observed critical cyclic load level in the range of 5560%.
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION
Model piles made of aluminium (smooth surface) were
chosen for the study. The soil used for model tests was
Kaolinite having liquid limit of 48%, plastic limit of 25%
and plasticity index of 23%. The water content used for tests
was approximately 34%.At this water content the undrained
shear strength of soil &er 7 days (allowed for thixotropic
gain) was 0.007 N per sq. mm, indicating that the soil was
‘very soft’ in it’s consistency. Model pile anchors having
outside diameter of 5 cm and length of 30 cm were used.
Circular steel tanks of 30 cm internal diameter and 50 cm
height were used as model test tanks. Piles having a
detachable cone tip were installed in the test tank by slow
static pushing. The tip of the pile was completely detached
prior to the test to eliminate tip resistancekip suction
during testing.
Before undertaking cyclic tests on model piles, some static
pullout and compression tests were conducted to assess the
static behaviour of model piles. In static tests, a loading
fiame capable of strain-controlled as well test was used for
applying load. Also direct shear tests on soil-metal plate
assembly were conducted to find out a-values. A pneumatic
system was used for applying cyclic loads. The details of
test set-up are shown in Fig. 1 and described in detail by
Datta et al. (1990). The load and displacement were
measured at the top of pile by means of a load cell and
LVDT respectively. The time period of cyclic loading was
set to 4 seconds and a total of 2000 cycles were applied in
each cyclic test.
The testing programme comprised of 6 direct shear box (soil
and aluminium plate assembly) tests, 2 static and 26 cyclic
tests. The following were the test variables in cyclic tests :
Number of cycles in each test : Upto 2000
Type of cyclic loading : One-way and two-way
Normalized cyclic load level (%)
(a) In one-way tests : min. + 10 to + 50, max. + 30 to +90
(b) In two-way tests :min. - 30 to -70, max. + 30 to + 70
(+ve sign indicates tensile loading; -ve sign indicates
compressive loadiig.)
TERMINOLOGIES USED
The following terminologies have been used in the text :
(a) Ultimate static capacity of pile : maximum resistance
offered by the pile under static tests.
(b) Maximum cyclic load level :the maximum load applied
during each cycle of loading [tensile (+ve) for both one-way
and two-way loading].
(c) Minimum cyclic load level : the minimum load applied
during each cycle of loading [tensile (+ve) for one-way and
compressive(-ve) for two-way loading.
(d) Mean cyclic load level :half the sum of maximum cyclic
load level and minimum cyclic load level.
(e) Cyclic load amplitude : half of the difference of
maximum and minimum cyclic load level.
(0 Normalized cyclic load level :the ratio of cyclic load to
the ultimate static capacity of pile.
(g) Cyclic displacement : the difference of pile movement
Corresponding to maximum and minimum cyclic load level
for a particular cycle.
(h) Cyclic displacement amplitude : half of the cyclic
displacementfor a particular cycle.
(i) Accumulated displacement of pile : the permanent
displacement of pile, at the end of particular cycle,
corresponding to minimum cyclic load level (+ve for
upward movement and -ve for downward movement of
pile).
(j)Cyclic stiffness : the ratio of cyclic load amplitude to
cycle displacement amplitude for a particularcycle.
RESULTS OF STATIC.TESTS
Fig. 2 shows the load-displacement behaviour of metal pile
under stress-controlledpullout and compression tests. In all
tests, the influence of tip resistance was eliminated by
lowering the detachable cone at the pile tip just prior to
starting the test by a distance larger than the estimated pile
movement. The figure reveals that a-values and failure
strain are similar for pullout and compression tests. a-value
is observed to be in the range of 0.35 to 0.42 which are also
verified by direct shear box test results. Failure strain is
observed to be about 2% of pile diameter for both types
of tests.
RESULTS OF CYCLIC TESTS
Movement of Piles
Figs. 3 & 4 show movement of piles with number of cycles
for one-way cyclic loading and Figs. 5 and 6 showing
movement of piles with number of cycles for two-way cyclic
loading. One can observe’thefollowing from these figures :
(a) Three types of pile behaviour are observed namely : (i)
piles which do not fail in 2000 cycles and which show
negligible rate of movement after 2000 cycles (ii) piles
which fail suddenly in first few cycles by rapid
accumulation of movement and (iii) piles which do not fail
in initial few cycles but which fail after few hundred cycles
after appearing to be stabilized in the initial stage.
(b) For piles which do not fail, the movement increases with
number of cycles but rate of movement decreases with
number of cycles for both types of loading. In all such
cases, accumulated displacement after 2000 cycles is
observed to be smazler in the case of two-way loading, in
comparison to one-way loading.
(c) For piles which fail, the accumulated displacement prior
to failure is smaller in two-way loading, in comparison to
one-way loading.
(d) Under one-way loading, failure of pile results in rapid
upward movement of pile whereas under two-way loading
the failure of pile results in rapid upward or downward
movement depending on whether the mean cyclic load is
+ve or -ve.
Cyclic Stiffness
Figs. 7 and 8 show variation of cyclic stiffhess with number
of cycles for one-way loading and Fig. 9 shows variation of
cyclic stiffness with number of cycles for two-way loading.
One notes the following fkom these figures :
(a) For piles which do not fail, cyclic stiffness increases with
number of cycles, both in one-way and two-way cyclic
loading. In some cases cyclic stiffhess stabilizes after a few
hundred cycles.
(b) As long as a pile does not fail, cyclic stiffhess is
observed to be lower for two-way cyclic loading, in
comparison to one-way cyclic loading.
(c) For piles which fail, the cyclic stiffness decreases with
number of cycles, both for one-way and two-way loading.
Critical Cyclic Load
An analysis was undertaken to find out which component of
cyclic load governs the failure of piles (represented by rapid
movement of pile). Three com~nentsof cyclic load level,
namely normalized cyclic load amplitude, normalized mean
cyclic load and normalized maximum cyclic load were
chosen and plotted against accumulated disp~acement of pile
after 2000 cycles. The analysis reveals the following :
(a) Under one-way cyclic loading, it was observed that the
movement of pile was uniquely controlled by the maximum
cyclic load as shown in Fig. 10. No such unique correlation
was observed between accumulated displa~mentand cyclic
load amplitude or mean cyclic load, showing that the
maximum cyclic load governed the failure. For one-way
223
cyclic loading the critical normalized maximum cyclic load
was observed to be 70% of the ultimate static capacity
beyond which piles were observed to fail.
(b) Under two-way cyclic loading, it was observed that the
movement of pile was uniquely controlled by the cyclic load
amplitude as shown in Fig. 11. No such unique correlation
was observed between accumulated displacement and with
maximum cyclic load or mean cyclic lad showing the cyclic
load ~ p l i ~ governed
d e the failure. For two-way cyclic
loading the critical normalized cyclic load amplitude was
observed to be 47% of the ultimate static capacity beyond
which piles were observed to fail.
Mechanism of Failure
The study of mechanism of failure reveals that under one-
way cyclic loading failure occurs when accumulated
displacement becomes large and lies in the range of 1-00to
1.20 mm even though the cyclic stiffiess is high and lies in
the range of 700 to 1000 N / m . In contrast during
symmetric two-way cyclic loading failure occurs when
accumulated displacement is only 0.0146 mm because cyclic
stiffhess attains a low value of 50 N / m . For n o n - s ~ e ~ c
two-way cyclic loading failure occurs when accumulated
displacement and cyclic stiffiess is about 0.0146 mm and
100 N / m respectively.
From these observationc;it can be summarised that :
(a) Piles subjected to one-way cyclic loading, are observed
to fail on account of large accumulated displacement.
(b) In contrast, piles subjected to symmetric two-way cyclic
loading, fail due to loss of stiffness even though the
accumulated displacement is very small.
(c) Piles subjected to non-symmetric two-way cyclic loading
appear to fail on account of a comb~ationof the two factors
listed above.
ONC CL US IONS
The present investigation indicates that :
(a) a-values are observed to be in the range of 0.35 to 0.42
for static pullout and compression tests which are also
verified by direct shear box test results.
(b) Behaviour of piles under one-way and two-way cyclic
loading is distinctly different.
(i) Accumulated displacement prior to failure is higher in
one-way cyclic loading, in comparison to two-way cyclic
loading.
(ii) Cyclic stiffhess prior to failure under two-way cyclic
loading is lower than that under one-way cyclic loading.
(iii) The mechanism of failure in one-way cyclic loading is
distinct from that in two-way cyclic loading. Under one-
way cyclic loadw failure occurs on account of large
a c c ~ u l a t e d ~splacement whereas in two-way cyclic
loading it occurs on account of loss of stiffhess at low
a c c ~ u l a t e ddisplace~ent.
(c) Failure under one-way and two-way cyclic loading is
governed by different components of cyclic load. Under
one-way cyclic loading, failure is governed by the maximum
cyclic load the critical level is observed to be 70% of
ultimate static capacity of pile. Under two-way cyclic
loading, failure is governed by the cyclic load amplitude the
critical level is observed to be 47% of ultimate static
capacity of pile.
(d) The results of the model tests can be considered to
simulate the response of a small pile element in soil clay
subjected to cyclic loading. In design of offshore
foundations subjected to cyclic loading it may be noted that :
(i) if a pile element is likely to be subjected to one-way
(tension) cyclic loading (as in the case of TLPs), the
m~~~ cyclic load level must be restricted to lie below
the critical cyclic load level to avoid the possibility of
failure; (ii) if a pile element is likely to be subjected to two-
way cyclic loading (as in the case of fixed jacket type
structures), the cyclic load ~ p l i t u d emust be restricted to
lie below the critical cyclic load amplitude to preclude the
possibility of failure.
References
Ali, M.S. (1968). Pullout Resistance of Anchor Plates and
Anchore Piles in Soft Bentonite Clay, M.S. Thesis,
Duke University, Durham, N.C., U.S.A.
Chen, Z.C., Wang, J.X. and Ye, B.Q. (1993). Behaviour of
Shaft Capacity of Pile under Cyclic Axial Loading in
Clay, Proc. of 3"' Inter. Offshore and Polar Eng. C o d ,
Singapore. 479-485,
Datta, M., Gulhati, S.K. and Achari, G. (1990). Behaviour
of Plate Anchors in Soft Cohesive Soils under Cyclic
Loading, Indian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 20, No. 3,
206-224.
Grosch, J.J. and Reese, L.C. (1980). Field Test of Small
Scale Pile Segments in a Soft Clay Deposit under
Repeated Axial Loading, Proc. of 12' Offshore Tech.
Conf., Houston, Vol. 4, OTC 3869,143-151.
Holmquist, D.V. and Matlock, H. (1976). Resistance -
Displacement Relationship for Axially Loaded Piles in
Soft Clay, Proc. of 8* Offshore Technology Conf.,
Houston, OTC 2474,553-569.
Karlsrud, K. and Haugen, T. (1985a). Axial Static Capacity
of Model Piles in Overconsolidated Clay, Proc. of 1 l*
Inter. Cod, on Soil Mech. and Found. Eng., Son
224
Franciso, Vol. 3,1401-1406.
Karlsrud, K. and Haugen, T,(1985b). Behaviour Of Piles In
Clay Under Cyclic Axial ~Oad~g-Results of Field
Model Tests, Proc. of 4* Inter. C o d on Behaviour of
Offshore Structures,Amsterdam, 589-600.
Khan, N.U. (1992). Pullout Behaviour of Pile Anchors in
Soft Saturated Clay, Ph.D. Thesis, I.I.T., Delhi, India.
Kr&, L.M., Cox, W.R. and Venter, E.A. (1981). Pile Load
Tests :Cyclic Loads and Varying Load Rates, Journal
of Geotech. Eng. Div., ASCE,Vol. 107, No. GTI, 1-19.
Matlock, M., Bogard, D. and Cheang, L. (1982). A
Laboratory Study of Axially Loaded Piles and Pile
Groups Including Pore Pressure Measurements, Proc.
of Inter Conf. on Behaviour of Offshore Structures,
105-121.
Poulos, H.G. (1981). Cyclic Axial Response of Single Pile,
Journal of Geotech. Engg. Div., ASCE, Vol. 107, No.
GTI :41-58.
Puech, A.A. (1982). Basic Datas for Design of Tension
Piles in Silty Soils, Proc. of Inter. Conf. on Behaviour
of Offshore Structures, 141-157.
Steenfelt, J.S.; Randolph, M.F. and Wroth, C.P. (1981).
Instnunented Model Piles Jacked into Clay, Proc. of
10' Inter. Conf. on Soil Mech. and Found. Eng.,
Stockholm, Vol. 2,857-864.
Steensen-Bach, J.O., Bouckovalas, G., ~agonstopoulos,A.
and Steenfelt, J.S. (1994). Cyclic Loading Response
of Model Anchor Piles in Clay, Proc. of XIII ICSWE,
New Delhi, Vol. 2,673-676.
Fig. 1. E x p e ~ m e nset-up
~ static mcl
for conduct~~g
cyclic tests.
 Norm. cyclic load level (*/o)
min max.
0 -30 30 33.48
x -50 50 34.20
o -70 70 33.76
---- Displacement corresponding to
failure in static test
1 Rapid movement
1 Compression test
+--Q

O0l I
5
I
10 15
I I
20
I
25 2 1
Displacement (m m 1 2.0k

Fig. 2. Load-displa~ement
behaviour under static tests.

12 or
Norm. cyclic load level (*Id
min. may. min. max. -L.Ob
a. 10 30 e I0 70 I
b. 10 LO f. 10 80
c. 10 50 9. 10 90
U -6.0t
m d. 10 60
_____
c

isp placement corresponding

t o failure in static test
Fig. 5. M o v e ~ eof
~ tpile with number of cycles
1 (two-way loading)
ir
Rapid movement

L.0
10.0
Norm. cyclic load level (*Id
4 min. max. min. max
2.01 6 -30 50 0 -50 30
8 ,O -30 70 X -70 30
-50 70 o -70 50
00 b -.- Displacement corresponding
0 LOO 800 1200 1600 2000 6.0 10 failure in static tests
Rapid movement
Number of cycles
Fig. 3, Movement of pile with number of cycles
.-#
(one-way loading)

14.0 - Norm. cyclic load level ("10

min max min max
a. 50 60 f. 30 50
, ~ O i i : b 50 70 g 30 CO
E. 50 80 h 30 70
d 50 90 i. 30 80
30 20 j. 30
Displacement corresponding
to failure in static tests i"
-6.0

-8,0--

-10.0
--

Fig. 6. ~ ~ v of pile ~ numb^

~ with e n of cycles
~
Number of cycles
(two-way loading)
Fig. 4. Movement of pile with number of cycles
(one-way loading)

225
 Norm. cyclic load level (‘/o)
min. max. min. max.

Norm. cyclic load level P/.)

min. max.
0 10 30 -30 50 t -70 30
x 10 40
B 10 50
o 10 60
o 10 70
10 80 Failed in 2 cycles
10 90 Failed in 1 cycles

0
Number of cycles
Fig. 9. Variation of cyclic stiffhess with number of cycles
(two-way loading)
24.0rt Rapid movement A

20 .o 1
f

Fig. 7.
2oo
OO-, Number ot cycles

Variation of cyclic stifbess with number of cycles

(one-way loading)
a
cyclic
load level=70%
d

4.0[---r-&
0.o
, ,
0 20 60
CO 80 100
Normalizedmax. cyclic load level (O/O)

Fig. 10. Normalized max. cyclic load vs. accumulated

dishcement (one-way loading)
20.0
t Rapid movement d
164
m
0 01

-2 12.0

- U

U
.~rit?acy:lic
amplitude - 47%
~

,” a.o
V
W

L.0
n
U
d
I

E 0.0
-
c

C
W

-C.O
-n
0
0
Ln

En -8.0
-
01
0 LOO
I
800
I
I200
I
1600
I
2000 $ 7
Number of cycles
y -12.0

Fig. 8. Variation of cyclic stiffhess with number of cycles

(one-way loading) -16.0 8
Fig. 11. Normalized cyclic load amplitude vs. accumulated
displacement (two-way loading)
226
'G International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

RESPONSE OF MODEL PILES UNDER LATERAL CYCLIC LOADING

R.D. Purkayasthal and S. Basack2
'Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Jadavpur University, Calcutta 700 032, India
'Senior Research Fellow, Civil Engineering Department, Jadavpur Universify, Calcutta 700 032, India

SYNOPSIS : In many cases, the pile joundations are subjected to significant lateral loads. Specially, the environment
prevalent in the ocean necessitctes the piles supporting offshore structui-es to be designed against lateral cyclic loading. In
order to conduct small scale model tests on piles under literal cyclic load, a new appratus is fabricated at Jadavpur
Llniversity. Using the apparatus, a nutnber of experiments are pet$ortned. Some typical test results with their reasonable
interpretation are presented in this paper and relevant conclusions are drawn therefrom.

INTRODUCTION
Offshore structures, namely, jetties, tension leg platforms, oil
drilling platforms, quay and harbour structures, etc, are usually
supported on pile foundations. Besides usual superstructure loads,
these piles are subjected to continuous lateral cyclic loading due to
wave action. The nature of this lateral cyclic load may be one-way
(i.e., alternating between zero and a certain optimum value ) or two
-- way (i.e., alternating in either direction about a certain mean
value), Also. these lateral cyclic loads vary sinusoidally with time.
Application of such loading induces remarkable deterioration of the
pile-soil interactive perfomiance. This obviously r&ults in
reduction in pile-capacity and increase in pile-deflection.
Amongst various research works in this field, the major
contributions are made by, Mudock (1970), Itlriss et trl (1978).
Poulos (1981 & 1982) Recsc et al(1981) . Vucetic et at (1988) and
hirkqwstha n cil (1996 - 1998). Some of these works and
theoretical and some are experimental . A brief review of these
works indicates that the degradation of pile-soil response under the
effect of lateral cyclic loading mainly depends upon the following
parameters : number of cycles,frequency (cycles per unit time ),
cyclic load level (ratio of cyclic load aniplitude to lateral static pile
capacity ) and cyclic displacement level (ratio of cyclic
displacement amplitude at pile head to the external pile diameter).It
is also found that two-way loading produces much severe
degradation as compared to one--way loading (as per Poulos,
1981). The degradation of the pile-soil interactive perforniance is
mainly due to partial dissipiation of excess pore water pressure
developed during cyclic loading and destruction of interparticle
bond with particle realinement .
The work reported herein is aimed towards conducting model
tests on piles under two-way lateral cyclic loading and to
investigate its post cyclic static response. For this purpose, a new
apparatus, associated with motor-gear and other mechanical
components, was designed and fabricated at Jadavpur University.
The detailed description of lhe apparatus is reported elsewhere
(Purkayustha et nl, 1997 d 1998). With the help of this apparatus,
a number of model tests, both in load-controlled mode and
displacement-controlled mode, are carried out. Sonic typical test
results with their analyses are presented in this payer and relevant
conclusions are drawn therefrom
EXPERIMENTAL SET UP
As stated earlier, the apparatus, fabricated indigenously
specially for two-way lateral cyclic loading on piles, is basically a
mechanically controlled system. The detailed descripLion of the
entire set up has been reported elsewhere (Pztrkayaslho ef al. 1997
& 1998). A representative photographic view is presented ill Fig.1.
It consists of the following components : Test tank, central motor
gear system, static loading device and cyclic loading device. The
cyclic loading device is further classified into two parts, viz., load -
controlled unit and displacement-controlled unit.
With the help of static loading divice, the pile head is pushed
laterally at a constant rate of displacement of 4mm/minute. From
the load-deflection curve obtained therefrom, the failure load can
be estimated.
By means of displacement controlled unit of the cyclic loading
device, a symmetrical sinusoidal deflection is applied at the pile
head, as shown as Fig.2(a). The number of cycles and frequency
can be adjusted from the motor-gear system and the cyclic
displacement can be varied by altering the cam-shaft of the
displacement controlled unit.
With the load controlled unit of the cyclic loading device, a
symmetrical alternating lateral load is applied on the pile head.
Ideally, this applied cyclic load should vary sinusoidally with time,
which occurs in case of wave loading on offshore structures. But
due to machanical interaction between various components of the
unit, a slight variation from sinusoidal loading is observed. The
measured variation of cyclic load with time is shown in Fig. 2(b).
In each test, a particular number of cycles is applied at a
particular frequency with a particular cyclic displacement level or
cyclic load level. By varying these parameters, different sets of
tests can be performed. After completion of cyclic loading, the pile
is allowed to fail statically. Only one test can be performed on one
test bed, Hence, for each test separate soil bed is to be prepared.
The static and the cyclic loading devices are connected to the
pile head by means of Pile Heud Connector, which can provide
both the fiee and the fixed pile head conditions. The sketch of the
connector is presented in Fig. 3. The pile passes through the collar
and clamped by four clamping screws with balls attached at their
ends, which provide lateral fixity of the pile without eliminating its
vertical Freedoin. The collar is capable to swing around two
swinging screws. Two fixing plates are welded to the collar at
right angle to the swinging screws, through which the fixing screws
pass. Thus. when the two fixing screws are detached, the collar
 Fig.1. Photographic view of t h e a p p a r a t u s .

Legend : (1) External Frame. (2) C o l l a r .

( 3 ) Clamping Screw w i t h b a l l s a t ends.
t ( 4 ) P i l e . (5) Swinging screw. (6) Fixing
6, = maximum c y c l i c p i l e head d e f l e c t i o n .
Screw. (7) Fixing p l a t e f o r holding fix-
i n g screws. (8) Male t h r e a d for holding
T = t i n e p e r i o d f o r c y c l i c l o a e i n g = l/f. load cell.
f = frequency .
Fig.3. Sketch of t h e F i l e FIead Connector.

(and hence the pile head) is fiee to rotate and the pile head becomes

t free. On the other hand, when the fixing screws are attached. the
rotation of the collar is eliminated and the pile behaves as a fixcd
headed pile.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Hm = maxinun c y c l i c load a p p l i e d a t t h e
p i l a he ad.
--- S l n u s o i d a l variation.
- Actual variation,
(b)
Fig.2. T y p i c a l v a r i a t i o n of ( a ) p i l e he3.d
d e f l e c t i o n with t i m e for displacement-
c o n t r o l l e d test; (b) a p p l i e d c y c l i c l o a d
w i t h t i m e f o r l o a d - c o n t r o l l e d test.
Model Pile
A stainless steel pipe of 3Umm external diameter and 5nlm
wall thickness is used as the model pile. The depth of embedment
was 6OOmn-1 and the lateral load was applied at a height o r 1 OOmni
above the prepared soil surface. The pile head connector was
adjusted according to the required head condition. In order to push
the pile easily through the soil medium, a conical shoe of stainless
steel is permanently fixed at the pile tip.
Soil
Soft marine clay deposit collected from a depth of 12m from
the dockyard of Visakliapatiiam was used for preparing the soil
bed. It consists of 59.5% clay, 27% silt and 13.5% sand. The
liquid limit, plastic limit and shrinkage limit of the soil was
reported as 89%, 47% and 16% respectively. From proctor
compaction test, the maximum dry density was found to be 1.43
t/m3 at an optimum moisture content of 32%. A limited number OF
chemical tests is also perfonned. These tests indicate that the

228
marine soil consists of pH of 7.2, organic matter content of 7.24%,
cation exchange capacity of 30.8 meqil OOgm, exchangeable
ferrous ion of 0.005% and carbonate content of 22.63%. In order
to investigate the mineralogical property of the soil, the X-ray
diffractioii test is perfonned, which indicates that the soil is
basically microcystalline. It mainly contains clay ininarals like
swelling chlorite, kaolinite, illite, etc. and some non-clay minerals
like quartz, feldspar, etc.
Preparation of Test Bed
The air dried sample of marine clay is first of all ground finely
and intimately niixed with water at a moisture content of 54%. The
homogeneous mixture of soil and water is placed in the tank by
hand packing. After the botton~segnient of the tank is filfed, it is
compacted by a specially manufactured compacting device. Next,
the second segment is bolted over the top of the bottom segment
and filled up and compacted in the same manner. The first segment
is then fixed. filled and compacted similarly.
The conipacting device is shown in Fig.4. It consists of a
wooden circular plate of 59@11ii diameter and 40inm height, with
steel plates of 3mm thickness mounted on its top and bottom. 7
holes with female threads are punched on top ofthe device. Out of
these, 6 holes are situated at a distance of 295nirn from centre and
are equally spaced. The 7-tli hole is situated at the centre. After
the device i s placed on the hand packed soil surface, two steel rods
each of 6 0 ~ 1 1 1length and threaded at their ends, are attached with
any two oppositely placed holes (e.g., A & B i i i Fig.4). Next, a 5kg
weight is allowed to fall fi-eely from a height of 550 mm,
alternatively at A and 8;the total number of blows in A or B being
five. The same procedure is repeated for C & D and E & F.
Lastly. the central hole G is subjected to five blows.
229
Fig-5, Variation of vane shear strength of test
bed along its depth.
The vane shear strength of the prepared soil bed is nieasured at
different depths and an avorage value of 1.78 t/m2 was obtained.
The variation of vane shear strength with depth i s shown in Fig.5.
Installation of Model Pile
For installation of model pile, a specially designed pile driving
device is used. It consists of a tripod stand with rack piaion
niachanisni attached at the top. After the soil bed is prepared, the
device is bolted on the top of the tank and the pile is fixed with a
collar welded to the rack. Then, by slowly rotating the pinion
handle, the pile is allowed to penetrate through the soil medium
upto the required depth of embedment. The pile installation is
followed by allowing a time period of half an hour before
commencement of experimentation.
Test Results
By varying the number of cycles, frequency, cyclic load level,
cyclic displacement level and pile head condition, a total I08 nos of
cyclic tests are perfonned. A typical pre-cyclic and post-cyclic
static load-deflection response of the pile is shown in Fig.6. Tllc
experimental static ultimate loads for free headed pile and fixed
headed pile were found to be 85kg and 178kg respectively. For
cyclic response, thc concept of deyradatian factor is inuoduced.
which is defined as the ratio of cyclic to static pile capacities, as
defined by P u ~ k ~ ~ u&s tDei~
~ f (1989}.
f The values of exp~rimeiilal
degradation factors, as obtained from all the tests, are presented in
Table - 1. A typical plot of de~radationfactor versus number of 0.90 J 1
cycles is depicted in Fig.7. Similarly, a plot of degradation factor Cyclic disptacernent
= 3.33 s
versus frequency is shown in Fig.8. The variation of degradation
factor with cyclic displacement level and cyclic load level are
presented in Figs.9 & 10. respectively

Analysis and Interpretation

During static tests (pre-cyciic and post-cyclic) , it is observed
that, as the applied load is increased to fajlure, a have is produced
on the soil surface at the front of the pile and a gap at the back.
The failure is associated with development of cracks on the soil Frequency =
surface adjacent to the pile along the pile diameter p e ~ e n d i c u l ato~ o o o o n 10 c.p.m.
a m 25 c.p.rn.
35 c.p.rn.
QPQAQ
TTITITl I I I I I I I 1 1 1.1 I 1 1 I I I 1 1 111
1 260 400 600 800 1000 1200
.U NUM~EROF CYCLES

DO

F'icj.7. Typicol variation of ~:leqradat.ion factor w i t h

nrimber ot cycles in case of- ( 0 ) Displacement contrnlled
te:<t; fb) Load controlled test.

---1

Condition I ofcycles - Frequency(in c.p.m.) Frequency(inc.p.m.) Frequency(inc.p.m.)

I0 25 I 35 10 25 35 10 25 1
100 0.845 0.879 0.889 f 0.821 0.854 0.866 0.805 0.836
0.780 0.810 0.820 0.746 0.763 0.774 0.700 0.736
0.755 0.782 0.790 0.702 0.731 0.740 0.691
0.892 0.899 0.902 0.866 0.899 0.912 0.850
0.803 0.834 0.844 0.764 0.794 0.805 0.742 0.770 0.781
0.765 1 0.796 0.807 1 0.724 0.752 0.762 0.698 I 0.726 I 0.7_35
(B) Load Controlled Tests.
Cyclic Load Level
15.00% 22.35% 30.00%
Frequency(inc.p.m.) Frequency(in c.p.m.) I Frequencytinc.p.rn.1
10 , 25 35 10 25 35 ! 10 I 25 ~ 35
Free 100 0.898 1 0.918 0.932 0.868 0.906 0.920 0.842 1 0.881 0.896
Headed 500 0.851 i 0.889 0.904 0.804 0.841 0.855 0.766 10.802 0.815
Pile 1000 0.830 1 0.868 0.883 0.778 0.815 0.828 0.719 I0.753 01765
Cyclic Load Level
7.16% 10.67% 14.33%
Frequency(inc.p.m.) Frequency(inc.p,m.) Frequency(in c.p.m.)
10 1 25 I 35 10 25 1 35 10 25 35
Fixed 100 0.930 1 0.957 0.966 0.91 8 0.941 1 0.951 0.905 0.929 0.938
Headed 500 I 0.908 I 0.933 0.942 0.941 0.909 1 0.918 0.869 0.904 0.918
Pile 1000 I 0.898 1 0.922 0.932 . 0.884 0.895 1 0.904 0.854 0.894 a909 1

230
 Number of cycles =
~ !100 !
500
1000 Frequency = 10 c.p.m.

FREQUENCY (c.p.m.) CYCLIC LOAD LEVEL ( a )

(a> Fig. 10. Typical variation of degradation factor with
cyclic load level.
0.95
I

the applied lateral load. The load-deflection responses are

observed to be approximately hyperbolic. As seen from Table- 1,
the experimental degradation factors are found to attain almost
equal values for free headed pile and fixed headed pile, at a
particualr number of cycles, frequency and cyclic load or cyclic
displacement; the values for fixed headed pile being on the higher
side. This is quite understandable because, inspite of the fact that
Nurnbsr of cycles =
the soil surrounding the fixed headed piles are subjected to larger
strain at any particular cyclic displacenient (or load) as compared to
the free headed pile, the greater amount of cyclic degradation of
Cyclic locid level -= 15 %
soil is compensated by its higher static capacity. From Fig.7, it is
observed that the degradation factor gradually reduces with number
of cycles. Initially, the reduction is perceptible, but slowly there is
a tendency of stabilisation. This is mainly because the degradation
of the subsoil surrounding the pile exponentially reduces with
t.ig.8. Typical variation of rlegrodatiori foctor w i t h increasing number of cycles, as verified by Idriss et a1 (197~9).
trequency i n case of (a) DispIocement corrtrolled From Fig.8, the degradation factor is found to increase with
test; (b) Load controlled test.
frequency and asymptotically tends to a constant value. The most
probable reason lying behind this observation is that, the strength
and stiffness of the subsoil increases lineraly with logarithm of
strain rate, as per Poulos (1982)’. From Figs.9 & 10, it is observed
that the degradation factor decreases non -- linearly with increasing
cyclic displacement level or cyclic load level.

CONCLUSION
The major conclusions drawn from the entire work is briefly
summarised below.
The failure of tlie soil-pile system under static loading is
associated with formacion of heave at the front of the pile and gap
at the back of the pile. Cracks are observed as well on the soil
surface adjacent to the pile along the pile diameter perpendicular to
the applied load.The load-deflection response of thc pile is
approximately hyperbolic. At any particular number of cycles,
- o%%!LEF 100
frequency, cyclic load level or cyclic displacement level, tlie
I h
a
- 500 degradation factor for free headed pile and fixed headed pile arc
Qpeeo 1000 Frequency = 10 c.p.m.
almost equal.The degradation factor gradually reduces with
o
(D
-
I l l 1 1 1 1 1 I , ! I l l ) I , I I l l I I I I f I I 1 1 1 ) I I I ) I II
increasing number of cycles, with a stabilising tendency. The
degradation factors asymptotically increase with increasing
frequency. ,The degradation factors decrease non linearly with
increasing cyclic load level or cyclic displacement level.

231
ACKNOW-LEDCEMENT
The fabrication of the apparatus is done under a financial grant
received for a project sponsored by All India Council for Technical
Education. The work is carried out in the Civil Engineering
department of Jadavpur University. The Senior Research
Fellowship of the second author of this paper is funded by the
Council o f Scientific and Industrial Research.

REFERENCES
Idriss. 1.M.. Dobry, R. and Singh, R.D.(1978). Non - linear
behaviour of' Soft Clays during Cyclic Loading. Jnl. Of
Geolech Eiigg, Div;, ASCE, vol. 104, No. GT - 12.
Matlock, 11. (1 970). Correlations for Design of Laterallty Loaded
Piles in Sotl Clay. Second Anriiiril offshore Techniccil
C'u/&wtice. Houston, Texas. Paper No. OTC - 1204.
Poulos, H.G. (1 98 1 ). Cyclic Axial Response of Single Pile. Jd. of
G'eotech. Efigg. Dh..ASc'E, vo1.107 No. GT - 1.
Poulos, H.G. ( 198.2). Single Pile Response to Cyclic Lateral Load.
. h l . of GeotecJi. Engg,Dill., ASCE, vol. 103 No. GT - 3.
Purkayastha, R.D., Basack, S . and Patra, N.R. (1997). An
Apparatus for Two Way Lateral Cyclic Loading on Piles.
Proc., I d i c i n Ceolech, Cot$, Baroda.
Purkayastha, R.D., Basack, S. and Laxniipathi Rao, L.V. (1998).
Cyclic Stress Controlled Tests on Piles in Marine Clay.
Pruc., Imliuii Geotech. Con$, New Delhi.
Purkayastha, R.D. and Dey, S . 0989). Degradation of Soft Clay
under Axial Cyclic Load on Piles. Proc.. Indian Geotech.
C&$, V i sakIiapatnam.
Purkayastha, R.D., Dey, S. and Basack, S . (1996). Analysis of
Piles under Lateral Static and Cyclic Loading. Proc.,
Itillian Geotech. Col$, Madras.
Reese, L.C., Long, J.H. and Hargrove, J.Q. (1981). Lateraly
Loaded Piles in Layered Soils. Anriual ofshore Tech.
Con$, Houston, Texas.
Vucetic, M. and Dobry, R. (1 988). Degradation of Marjne Clays
under Cyclic Loading. Jnf. qf Geotech. Engg.. ASCE.
~01.114,No. 2.

232
GEO S!EEL lnte~ational~onferenceon Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Enginee~ng,December 2-3,1999

MODEL TESTS ON SUCTION PILE IN CLAY

Sabu I? Varghese
Exec. Engineer (Civil), IEOT, ONGC Panvel, Navi Mumbai 410 221, India

SYNOPSIS: Behavior of suction piles in clay, under vertical monotonic pullout loads, was studied by means of
model tests. Pullout tests were performed under drained and undrained conditions. Pullout capacity of suction pile versus
the conventional pile was investigated. Negative excess porepressure was generated inside the suction pile during pullout.
This significantly increased the pullout capacity. The increase in negative excess porepressure generated inside the pile was
proportional to the increase in applied pullout load. A possible failure mode is presented and explained with the help of the
test results. Components of the ultimate pullout capacity were identified.

INTRODUCTION Load Carrying Capacity

Exploration of hydrocarbons from the deep-water areas of
the oceans requires production facilities such as Tension
Leg Platform (TLP), Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) systems
etc. The foundations of these structures are different from
that of the conventional jacket Structures in that, these
structures transfer tensile load to the foundation instead of
compressive load. Further, these foundations will have to
be installed in much greater water depth. The
conventional pile foundations are not attractive in deep
water due to their prohibitive cost and extensive
installation operations. This turned the attention of
offshore engineers to a new concept called suction pile.
Method of Installation
This type of foundation can carry the compressive loads
over a large bearing area in addition to the load transferred
through side wall and tip. During tensile loading a pressure
reduction occurs inside the top of the cell and generates a
significant uplift resistance. This reduced pressure is
maintained until the water seeps through the soil inside the
pile to negate the suction. This pressure drop keeps the soil
plug inside the pile, increasing the dead weight of the pile.
Side shear and dead weight of the pile contributes to the
uplift resistance. Since the passive suction can not be
maintained inside the pile forever, the suction capacity can
not be relied on for long term tensile loading. However
short term tensile load caused by waves can be resisted by
the suction effect inside the pile.

Suction pile derives its name from its method of
installation. A suction pile consists of hollow steel or
concrete cylinder having a diameter of 5-10 m and length
10-20 m with an open bottom and closed top. The pile will
be launched from an installation vessel and will be allowed
to penetrate the seabed under the self-weight. at er f?om
the inside will be let out through the valves on the top.
After the self-penetration is stopped, an underpressure is
created inside the cylinder by means of a pump placed on
top of the pile or on the installation vessel. The differential
pressure thus created across the outside and inside of the
pile generates the driving force to push the pile into the
soil to its target penetration.
The failure mode of the suction.pile is generally regarded
as a reverse bearing capacity problem (Finn and Byrne
(1972), Anderson et. al. (1993), Clukey et. al. (1 993)).
Applications and Advantages
The above mentioned concept of foundation has been used
in a variety of areas. This includes gravity base structures
(GBS), Tension leg platforms (TLP), Subsea Production
System Template, Single Buoyant Mooring system anchor
piles and Jacket Platforms. This concept is applicable in
clayey as well as sandy soils.
Suction piles have several advantages over the
conventional pile foundations. They are easy to handle,
installation is ‘simple and rapid compared to the pile

233
driving operations and requires lower deployment time for
the marine spread.
Though there had been attempts to study the behavior of
the suction piles in sand and clay a complete understanding
of the same is not yet arrived at. This paper presents a
series of pullout tests performed on a model suction pile in
clay.
EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
Results of the direct shear tests are presented in Fig. 2. The
SJp,' ratio obtained from these tests varied from 0.40 to
0.85 and an average value of 0.60 was used for the
analyses.These values were significantly higher than those
observed for normally consolidated clays. This was due to
the very low consolidation stresses used.
Effective Overburden Stress (kPa)
00 05 10 15
0

Experiments were performed on an instruinented model

pile in clay. In all, results of six tests are presented here. -&- Test02

Clay Sample
-
E
E
100

v
5
Q
The clay samples used for the tests were prepared by 0"
consolidating a slurry of kaolinite in a container having 60 200
cm diameter and 1 m height. The slurry was prepared by
mixing the kaolinite at a water content of about 130%. The
container was provided with a filter system at the base
through which a suction pressure could be applied to the 300
slurry. The filter system comprised of a layer of clean sand
of 25mm thick covered by a geosynthetic fabric. Once the Figl. Effective Stress Distribution of Samples
container is filled with the slurry, a suction pressure of 1
bar was applied to the base of the container. This induced a

i
downward seepage pressure in the slurry causing it to
consolidate. Consolidation of the 90 cm high slurry was
complete in about 7 days. Before the pile installation,
_ ; Sulpo'

unconsolidated clay in the form of slury at the top was - 0.8

removed from top and the container was filled with water
A
so that the model pile would be submerged during the 0
entire duration of the test.
A
- 0.6 .
0
Q

v)
A
The strength of the sample was estimated from the 4-
effective stress and the SJp, ratio. The effective stress
e- 0.4
distribution was determined from the water content profile. A

After each test samples were taken using a 6 cm diameter

0
25 cm long thin wall piston sampler to collect samples. 0 1 2 3 4
The effective stress distribution for all the test samples are Consolidation Stress, PO' (kPa)
presented in Fig. 1.
Fig 2. Results of Direct Shear Tests
A series of direct shear tests was performed to relate the
strength of the clay to the effective stress. The tests were Model Pile
performed in a special direct shear test cell, which was
developed to measure the shear strength at very low The model pile consisted of two concentrically placed thin
normal stresses. Kaolinite samples were consolidated in wall cylinders, connected rigidly to a top cap. The outer
this cell at different consolidation pressure and sheared wall was provided with a pile shoe, the outer surface of
using a direct shear testing machine. which was flush with the outer surface of the pile.The

234
walls could act independently under axial loads. The pile negative excess pressure increased as the penetration
had an overall length of 25 cm and the inner and outer increased and was maximum at the end of the penetration.
diameters of the composite section were 13.2 cm and 13.9
cm respectively. The pile was instrumented to measure Pullout
pore pressures at the inside and outside the pile. There
were three pore pressure transducers mounted on to the
inner wall, two on to the outer wall and one on the top cap
The pullout load was applied through the hydraulic ram. In
to measure the pore pressure changes at inside top of the each test a constant rate of loading was used. Summary of
pile. There are six strain gage sets, three each on each wall the pullout tests is given in Table 1.
to measure the load carried by each wall at various
elevations.

Installation and Pullout Test Penetration Loading Maximum Displace-

(mm) rate Pullout ment at
Two modes of installation were used in the tests, suction (N/mm) Load (N) Maximum
installation and pushed-in installation. Before the
'
Pullout
installation of the pile, the container was filled with water Load
so that the pile will remain submerged throughout the (mm)
entire duration of the test. For suction installation, the pile TestAl 198 9.1 204 2.5
was placed on the clay surface and allowed to penetrate Test 1 210 63.6 313 4.8
Test 2 190 90.8 122 1.3
under the self weight. Suction pressure was then applied
Test 3 210 4.1 129 9.65
inside the pile causing the pile to penetrate further into the
Test 4 183 8.6 50 25.4
soil. In pushed-in installation, the pile was pushed into the
Test 5 183 18.2 388 1.5
clay using the hydraulic loading ram.
The maximum pullout load has a large variation. For
For pullout, tensile load was applied on the pile top at a closed-top pullout tests it varied from 122 to 388 N while
constant loading rate using the hydraulic loading ram. for the open-top pullout tests it was 50N. Clearly the
During pullout, it was possible to allow drainage into the closed-top pullout tests yielded a much larger pullout
pile through an open port located on the top cap. This capacity compared to the open-top pullout tests.
prevents the development of any suction pressure inside
the pile and the pile will act like a conventional pile. Such
tests were termed as open-top pullout tests while those
tests in which no drainage was allowed were termed A A A A A
closed-top pullout tests. Except Test 4, all tests were
TestAI
closed-top pullout tests. Results of six tests are presented A Test1
here. + Test2
Test3

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 0 + Test4

m x Test5
m
Installation
+ + +
In all the tests presented here except Test A l , the d1I
installation of the pile was performed using suction. A 0 10 20 30 40 50
suction pressure of 1 kg/cm2 was applied to create the Displacement (mm)
negative pressure inside the pile. However the pressure
Fig 3 Load - Displacement Curves
drop occurred inside the pile was much less than the
applied suction pressure. There was no general trend in the
The load - displacement curves obtained are presented in
variation of excess pore pressure on the outside. Inside the
Fig. 3. It was observed that the maximum pullout
pile the excess negative pore pressure was higher near the
resistance developed at a very small displacement and
top cap and decreased towards the tip of the pile. The
once the peak load was reached the pile displaced very

235
quickly, resulting in a catastrophic failure. The
displacement at ~ a x i m u mload in closed-top pu~louttests
varied from 1% to 7% of the pile diameter while it was
18% in the open-top pullout test.
It was observed that in all the closed-top pullout tests, the
soil plug remained inside the pile even after the pile was
pulled out of the soil while in the open-top pullout test, soil
plug did not remain inside the pile.
Given in Table 1 is the loading rate used for the pullout
tests. It is seen that ,the rate of loading did not have any
signi~canteffect on the m ~ i m u mpullout Ioad.
Pore pressure data
There were four pressure transducers measuring the pore
pressure inside the pile, one located on the top cap while
the other three were located at different elevations - lower,
middle and upper - on the inner wall. As the pullout load
on the pile was increased, the negative excess pore
pressure inside the pile increased. The distribut~onof the
excess pore pressure was almost uniform inside the pile. A
plot showing the typical variation of the porepressure
inside the pile during pullout is given in Fig 4. From the
plot of variation of the excess pore water pressure with the
I
applied load, it was observed that the negative excess pore
pressure increases linearly with increase in applied load
and at some point the failure occurs abruptly. This linear
increase in excess negative pore pressure was also
observed by other researchers but the occurrence of the
peak point at which the failure occurs was not observed.
Strain gauge data
There were strain gauges located near the top cap on the
outer and inner walls to measure the load transferred to the
respective walls. The load transferred to the outer wall
comprised of the externai side shear and the suction
pressure acting on the pile shoe while the load transferred
to the inner wall is the side shear exerted by the soil plug
inside the pile. From the measured external side shear, the
mobilized average unit side shear (T,,,),was estimated.
Average unit side shear (7,) was also computed from the
effective stress, in a manner similar to the conventional
open pipe piles, ~ s u m i n gan SJp,' ratio of 0.6 anda = 1.
Comparison of the two values is given in Table 2, A good
agreement exists for the closed-top pullout tests 01 and 05
and the open-top pullout test 04.For the other three closed-
top pullout tests the mobilized unit side shear was about
50-65% of the computed value. So it can be concluded
that the external side shear could be estimated by means of
methods used for conventional piles.
Table 2
Measured and Computed ~ o b i l i z e dSide Shear

0.0

Failure Mode
-0.5
4p! -1.0
A possible failure mode was investigated and is presented
3 here. Given in Figs. 5 (a) and (b) are the Eree body
U)

-1.5
diagrams of the pile and the soil plug during the pullout.
p!
Q.
3 -2.0 From the fi-ee body diagram of the pile, the applied load
8 Q is resisted by the following:
G -2.5
i) the submerged weight of the pile (W,)
-3.0 ii) submerged weight of the soil plug inside the pile
0 20 40 60 80 100 (WJ
Load (N) iii) side shear acting on the outer wall (F,)
iv) suction force acting on the gross area of the pile
Fig. 4 Variation of Excess Pore Pressure inside the Pile
base @base *
During- Pullout - Test 5
Near the outer wall, there was no significant variation in For
the pore water pressure during the pullout.
Q

236
 250 400
Measured + measured
200
300
+ computed
150
200
100

100

-
50

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (min) Time (min)
(a) TestA1 (b)Test I

150
- Measured
,+Computed - + Computed
100 -

100

50

0 0
0 I 2 3 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Time (min) Time (min)
(c) Test 2 (d) Test 3

400

+ Computed 350
300
250
o o l
50 200
150
100
50
I

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 5 10 15 20 25
Time (min) Time (min)
(e) Test 4 (0 Test 5
Fig 6.Comparison of Measured and Estimated Loads

237
Forces acting on the soil plug are,
i) the submerged weight ofthe soil plug (W,)
ii) suction force (ptop* Ai) acting at the top of the pile
iii) suction force @base* A,,) acting at the base
iv) side shear (Fi) between the inner wall and the soil
Plug
Fig 5 Free Body Diagram of Pile and Soil Plug
For the equilibrium of soil plug,
which yields,
ws = Plop * Ai - Pbase * Ai -k Fi (3)
so the expression for pullout load Q becomes,
The components inside the square brackets were the loads
transferred to the outer and inner walls respectively and
measured b the strain gauges near the top cap.
Then the sum of
i) the submerged weight of the pile, (W,)
ii) loads measured by the strain gages near the cap
iii) the product of the negative excess
porepressure at the top(p,,,) and the inside
area of the pile (Ai)
should add upto the total measured pullout load.
238
A comparison of the pullout loads, measured by the load
cell and computed based on equation (4) was made and is
presented in. Figs. 5 (a)-(0. It can be seen that very good
agreement exists between the measured and the computed
loads. This supports the validity of the failure mode
presented above.
From equation (1) it can be concluded that, the pullout
load comprises of
i) the submerged weight of the pile
ii) submerged weight of the soil plug
iii) side shear on the outer wall
iv) suction force acting at the pile tip
Among the above components, i) and ii) can be computed
easily. The side shear on the outer wall can be estimated
using the methods used for the conventional piles. The
estimation of the suction pressure is now the main concern.
From the pullout tests it was found that 60% to 80% of the
pullout capacity is the suction component.
CONCLUSIONS
The model tests helped to understand various components
of the pullout capacity. The pullout capacity consists of
the external side shear, weight of the pile and internal soil
plug and the suction pressure at the tip of the pile. The side
shear acting on the outside wall can be estimated by means
of the methods used for the conventional open piles. The
estimation of the suction pressure at the tip is not very well
established. It may be computed as the uplift pressure on a
footing located at the level of the pile tip assuming the
reverse bearing capacity failure.
REFERENCES
1. Andersen, K.H.; Dyvik, R.; Schroder, K.; Hansteen,
O.E.; and Bysveen, S.(1993), "Field Tests of
Anchors in Clay" ASCE Jnl. of Geotechnical
division, Vol. 110, No.10, pp1532-1549
2. Clukey, E. C. and Morrison M. J.(1993),"A
Centrifuge and Analytical Study to Evaluate Suction
Caissons for TLP Applications in the Gulf of
Mexico", Design and Performance of Deep
Foundations, Piles and Piers in Soil and Soft Rock,
ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication No. 38
3 Finn, W.D. Liam; Byrne, P.M.(1972), "The
Evaluation of the Breakout Force for a Submerged
Ocean Platform", Proc. of Offshore Technology
Conference, OTC 1604
GE 0 &8&, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, I999

PORE PRESSURES DURING CYCLIC LOADING OF SUPERPILE ANCHORS

Baleshwar Singhl, Manoj Datta2 and Shashi K. Gulhati2
'Senior Project Manager, Consulting Engineers Corp., Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi 110 048, India
'Professor, Civil Engg. Dept., I.I.T., Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110 016, India

SYNOPSIS: Several new anchoring systems are being developed for anchoring tension le platforms (TLPs) to the seabed.
The superpile anchoring s stem is one such new system. This paper presents the results o?laboratory tests to study the pore
water ressures that deveLp during vertical cyclic loading of model superpilesembedded in soft cla . At the top of the soil
i l l suction is generated in the imtial few cycles and it remains constant with number of cycles for all maxmum cyclic
!k&s levels. At the bottom of su erpiles, the developed negative pore water ressure becomes less negative with number
of cyc!es indicating upward dispyacement of the superpile. The suction at h e top ensures that the soil plug inside the
superpile anchor remains in place thereby enhancing the breakout capacity of the anchor. The resistance at the bottom of
superpile anchors gives added uplift capacity and ensures that any sudden failure does not occur.

INTRODUCTION Literature on the cyclic pullout behaviour of superpile

d
The tension .leg. platform (TLP is one type of compliant
structure which is being adopte at several deep water sites
in the offshore environment for the recovery of petroleum
resources. After the successful installation and operation of
the Hutton TLP with piles as anchor foundations, numerous
other TLPs have been proposed for deep water sites with
different anchoring systems. The superpile anchorin s stem
is one such system pro osed by Albert et al. (1686). A
su erpile anchor differs From the conventional long tubular
pip, in three ways :
(i) The superpile is a large-diameter short pile with a
closed to whereas the conventional pile is a much
smaller Jameter long pile with an open top.
(ii) On account of the closed to of the superpile, soil
within the pile is visualize! to remain there and
function as a soil lug to resist pullout loads. The
breakout force is su&stantiallyenhanced on account of
the dead-weight of the large quantity of soil within
the pile.
(iii) Conventional pile anchors are installed by driving
whereas superpile anchors are installed with the help
of a suction system at the top of the superpile.
Based on the concept of su erpile anchors, three new
anchoring systems have been Lveloped and they are:
Steel superpiles (Albert et a1.(1989)),
[E] Concrete foundation templates (Stove et al.( 1992)),
and
(c) Steel skirted mudmats (Cottrill (I 992)).
Investigations have revealed the presence .of si @cant
etroleum reserves off the east coast of India in the krishna-
bodavari basin. The watet depths at these locations are
more than 200 m and the soil profile consists mainly of very
soft to soft clay. On account of the large water depths and
soft soil deposits, fixed 'acket ty e structures may be
expensive and tension ieg plat8rms may be more
appropriate.
anchors embedded in clay is scarce. No laboratory model
tests have been re orted. A few field model tests have been
reported by Dyvil! et al. (1993). Details of the same field
tests have also been reported by Andersen et al. (1993). In
these tests, pore water pressures have been measured both at
the top and bottom of model superpiles. Pure vertical
loading has not been studied and there is lack of clarity in
the reported data. The influence of embedment ratio and
water content of soil on the p,ore water pressures has not
been investigated.
This paper describes the results of a laboratory-based
experimental investi ation conducted to study the ore water
pressures that devefop during vertical cyclic gadin of
model su e ile-anchors embedded in soft clay, particufarl
to !dent& '1Re influence of maximum cyclic stress level
ratio of pile length to diameter and water content of soil.
COMPONENTS OF BREAKOUT LOAD IN A
SUPERPILE SYSTEM
The components of breakout load for a superpile anchor
(Fig. I) are:
Self-weight of the anchor
Weight of the ballast and grout (if any)
Weight of the soil plug
Skin friction along the external anchor wall
Bottom resistance beneath the anchor on account of
reversed bearin capacity failure, and/or
[i!) development oFnegative pore water pressure.
In laboratory model testing, no ballast in used on top of the
model supe ile and no grout is placed above the soil lug
inside the ppe. There is only. water between the. top .orthe
soil plug and the top of the ile. The overall equilibrium ot
the superpile and the equili&ium of the plug are shown in
Fig.2.

239
 where S , =Suction above the soil plug

R% =Resistance at the bottom of the model

superpile
Fin, =Skin friction on the internal pile wall
The resistance at the bottom can be computed as:
Rbt =st - ws, (4)

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION
Model supe iles were installed in soft clay. in model. test
tanks and sur&ected to cyclic pullout tests using a s ecially
designed and fabricated mechanical-pneumatic poading
frame. Figure 3 shows the model cyclic test arrangement.
The soil used in the model tests was Dhanauri clay, a river
bed cla deposit having a. li uid limit of 45% , plastjc l@it
ot 2 8 d and {lasticity injex of 17%. The rain size
distribution of t e.soil was 36% clay size, 63% s i t size and
1 % sand size particles.
Circular steel tanks of 55 cm internal diameter and 45
cm height were used as model test tanks. Model superpiles
and model open-to piles, made of erspex having an
internal diameter of? 11 cm wall thichess of 5 mm and
lengths of 16.5 cm and b.3 cm were used. A model
superpile had two outlets at the to . At one outlet, a
pressure transducer could be attacfed for pore water
pressure measurement (Fig.4). The other outlet was used as
an air vent during installation of the model su erpile and
closed thereafter. In the model open-top iles, 8 u r equally
spaced through-holes were provided at t i e pile top as air
vents which remained open during pullout.

Fig.2. Overall Equilibrium and Plug Equilibrium

6
For overall e uilibrium Fig.2(a)), the following equation
describes the ?orce equili rium:
p,, =w, +ws + w w +Fe,, + Rb,
where P, =Breakout load
W,, =Weight of the model superpile
Ws =Weight of the soil plug
Ww =Weight of water above the soil plug
Fe,, =Skin friction on the external pile wall
%, =Resistance at the bottom of the model
superpile
Resistance at the bottom can be computed as:
Rb, U‘= - w ~ p - ws - w~ - (2)
For plug equilibrium . Fige.2(b)), the following equation
describes the force equi ibrium: i
S , =Ws + ~q - Fint (3) Fig.3. Testing Arrangement for Cyclic Tests

240
Pore water pressure was measured at two locations - above
the soil plug in the model supe ile and at the bottom of the
model superpile as shown inFig.3. For measuring ore
water pressure above the soil lug, a ressure transicer
was mounted on to the top
e ! of
€ t modefsuperpile ensuring
that the diaphra m of the transducer was in contact with the
water above tEe soil plug. For measuring pore water
pressure ay the bottom, a measuring system comprising of
the following three components was designed:
(a) a piezometer tip placed at the bottom of the model
superpile,
(b) an incompressible piezometer tube connecting the
piezometer tip inside. the soil .to the pressure
transducer placed outside the soil on top of the
model test tank, and
(c) a pressure transducer for measuring the pore water
pressure.
A coarse porous stone was used as a piezometer tip and the
tip was located at the centre of the soil mass at the level of Fig.4. Sectional View of a Model Superpile
the bottom of model superpile. For a pl ing cyclic loads,
a pneumatic loading system described %y hatta et al. (1 990)
was used. A square wave pattern tension cyclic loading was RESULTS
ap lied between pre-specified maximum and minimum
pufout load limits at a pre-set t h e period. Displacement with Number of Cycles
For each model test, about 125 kg of dry soil was mixed The pullout behaviour of model superpiles under vertical
with water in a large PVC container and kneaded c clic loadin has been. reported. in detail by Singh et
thoroughly. The soil-water mixture was left undisturbed for
24 hours after covering the container with plastic sheets.
€8
ar(I996,b). ure 5 depicts a typical plot of ermanent
displacement of model su erpiles with number ofcycles. It
After 24 hours, the mixture was kneaded again. To break can be noted that the dispicement increases with number of
down any lumps of soil, the mixed wet soil was passed cycles. It is possible to define a critical maximum cyclic
through a 10 mm aperture size sieve after which it was stress level beyond which a supe ile will fail in cyclic
ready for placement in the test tank. The procedure for
filling up the test tank and installation of the model 3
loading due to rapid accumulation U ward displacement.
The critical maxnum c clic stress L e 1 ap ears to lie
supe ile along with the ressure transducers has been between to (W+Fe + O S { and (W +F,,,+&%R,, for
descsed by Singh et a1.(19$6 a). In all model tests, pullout both L/Dratxos an8 waterkntents.
loading was ap lied after ailowing the soil to remain
Undisturbed for ?days.

Model superpiles
L/D=1-5
to, failure AW -W. c 34.0 */*
Testing Programme
The influence of the following variables was studied:
(a) Cyclic stress levels (one-way tension)
(minimum) (maximum)
Of the order of model
superpile weight, W, ( =0.8 Kg) W
0.8 Kg W +OS0 Fe,,
0.8 Kg w +Fe,,
0.8 Kg w +Fa, + o z R,,,
0.8 Kg w +Fat 4-03 Rb,
0.8 Kg W +Fat +050 R,,
0.8 Kg W +F, +0.66 ~4
where W =Wsp +W,+W, 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Number o f cycles
(b) Ratio of pile length to diameter (L/D): 0.75 and 1.5
FigS. Permanent Displacement of Model Superpiles
(c) Water content of soil (w.c.): 34.0% and 40.5% with Number of Cycles

241
Table 1: Changes in Pore Water Pressures at the Bottom of Model Superpiles and at the Top of Soil Plug in Model
Superpiles after 1000 Cycles

S.No. L/D Water Maximum cyclic stress level Change in pore water Change in pore water
ressure at the bottom ressure at the top
%Yen' fmaximum cyclic stress level/
minimum cyclic stress level)
fmaximum cyclic stress level/
minimum cyclic stress level)
after loo0 cycles after 10oO cycles
(Kg/cm2) (K /cm2)
- (4) (6) 6)
1 1.5 34.04 W 3.6 -0.023/-0.020 -0.008/-0.006
2 34.14 W +0.5 Fext 5.3 -0.032/-0.023 -0.011/-0.008
3 I' 33.96 W +Fext 7.0 -0.041/-0.028 -0.02 1/-0.015
4 34.19 w +Fe,, +0.25 R b l 10.7 -0.0451-0.043 -0.044/-0.03 1
5 " 34.03 W +Fe,, +0.33 R,, 11.9 -0.06 1/-0.06 1 -0.053/-0.034
6 " 33.98 W +Fext+0.50Rb, 14.4 -0.080/-0.080 -0.070/-0.037
7 I' 34.15 W +Fe,, +0.66Rh, 16.8 Model su e ile came -
out after 86;Pcycles
8 0.75 33.95 W 1.9
9 34.08 2.9
10 ;: 34.04 Fe,,

+0.25
3.9
8.0
11 33.91
12 I' 34.1 1 +0.33 9.3
13 I' 34.05 +OS0 12.1
14 " 34.10 +0.66 14.8 Model su e ile came
out after P7a)cycles
15 0.75 40.51 W 1.8
16 I' 40.32 W + O S Fe,, 2.4
17 40.43
40.40
40.45
:F::+0.25 R,,
W +Fe,, +0.33 R,,
3.O
416
5.2
40.36 W +F.. +0.50 R,, 6.3 -0.046/-0.046
40.39 W +FLi: +0.66 R,, 7.3 Model su er ile came
out after kdcycies

Pore Water Pressure at the Bottom

Figure 6 highlights the difference in. displacement under
cyclic loading between a model su erpile and a model open-
top pile. It can be seen froms!lt figure that for model
open-top iles, when the maximum c clic stress level is
equal to e!t weight of the pile and 9{% of the .total skin
triction, there IS sudden failure without any warning due to
slippage. In contrast, when the top of the pile is closed as in
the case of model superpiles, there .is very little
displacement even when the maximum cyclic stress level i s
equal to the sum of the weights of the model superpile, soil
plug and water above the soil plug.
Pore Water Pressures with Number of Cycles
During cyclic loading, the measured pore water pressures at
the bottom of mode superpiles and at the to of the soil
plug in model superpiles were observed to &e cyclic in
nature. The maximum and minimum values of the measured
pore water pressures were in hase with the maximum and
minimum values of the ap$ied stress levels. It may be
noted that the iezometer tip at the bottom is not moving up
with the moder superpile and is actually measurin the ore
water pressure at a position lower than the superpife tip.$he
changes in pore water ressures at the bottom and top of
inodel superpiles after ~ 0 0 0cycles have been tabulated in
Table 1.
Figure 7 shows a t pica1 plot of the change in pore water
pressure correspon&ng to the same m i m u m cyclic stress
eve1 at the bottom of model superpiles for different
maximum cyclic stress levels. One notes that the pore water
pressure attains a peak negative value in the initial few
cycles and thereafter, it becomes less negative with number
of cycles. At high maximum cyclic stress levels, the eak
negative value is of a hi h magnitude and the rate at wiich
the pore water ressure%ecomes less negative is also high.
In contrast, at h w maximum cyclic stress levels, the eak
negative value is of a low magnitude and the rate at wtich
the pore water ressure becomes less negative is negligible
after some cycis.
Figure 8 depicts the variation of pore water pressure
amplitudes at the bottom for the same L/D ratio and water
content as in Figure 7. It can be seen that the amplitudes are
fenerally low and comparable for all maximum cyclic stress
evels at the beginnin of cyclic loading. At high maximum
cyclic stress levels, tfe amplitude decreases suddenly once
the model superpile moves away from the piezometer tip.
This is because at low maximum cyclic stress levels, the
amplitude remains almost constant throughout the test.
Similar trends of the change in ore water ressure at the
bottom were observed when the f / D ratio an{ water content
were changed.

242
 LID=is - 0.1 8
Avr.w.c.r 34 .O% Model superpiles
Displacement of model superpile for L/D =IS
max. cyclic stress Level =(wt,of pile Avr.w.c.d4.0%
+ %it plug+ water above soil plug)+ N -0.14
To 100% of skin friction E
d tlmodd
Displacementof
open-top $Le
0.8 -1 6.8 kg

I!ofkLevel
o r max. cyclic stress
= w t. of pit e +go *A
skin friction
0.8-1 4.4 ka

0 " ' " ' " " J

' 0 lOP200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Number of cycles
Fig.6. Comparison of Pullout Behaviour of Model
Superpiles with that of Model Open-top Piles
Number o f cycles

Fig.7. Variation of Pore Water Pressure at the Bottom

ot Model Superpiles with Number of Cycles
Pore Water Pressure at the Top
Figure 9 shows a typical plot of the change in pore water Model supetpiles
ressure corresponding to the same mnunum cyclic stress L/D=1.5
revel at the top of the soil plug in model su erpiles for -0.10 Aver.w,c. E 3 4 . 0 . / .
different maximum cyclic stress levels. One oiserves that 1. 0.8-3.6 kg
the pore.water pressure attains a maximum negative value -0.08
in the initial few cycles and thereafter, it remains constant
throughout the test. The magnitude of this maximum
;->
5 -0-06
3. 0.8-7.0 kg
4. 0.8-10.7 kg
negative pore water ressure IS reater for a higher 4 E 5. 0.8-1 1.9 kg
maximum cyclic stress Pevel..Fi ure 70 shows the variation 32 6 . 0.8-1 4.4 kg
ot ore water pressure amplitufes at the to for the same -z -Oeo4

L / 8 ratio and water content as in Figure 9. can be noted 2

that at all maximum cyclic stress levels, the am litude is
almost constant with number of cycles. Furher, this
5n ,-0.02
amplitude is greater for a higher maximum cyclic stress 0
level. The above trends of the change in ore water pressure 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
at the top were also observed to be simiir for both the L/D Number o f cycles
ratios and water contents.
Fig.8. Variation Of Pore Water Pressure Amplitude er
Corn arison of the Pore Water Pressures at the Two c cle at the Bottom of Model Superpiles wit1
LocalPions d u b e r of Cycles
Figures 11 and 12 show typical plots for comparison of the
nature of change in pore water pressure at the bottom with
that at the top. From Fig.11, it can be noted that at a hi h Model super piles
maximum cyclic stress level, in the first few cycles, tfe .M L/D=1-5
decrease in pore water pressure at the bottom is greater than
d
U Avr. W.C. = 3 4 . 0 */*
that at the top. The pore water pressure at the bottom
continues to become less negative with number of cycles
whereas that at the top remains constant with number of
cycles. The pore water pressure am litude at the bottom is
small and decreases to zero after a Few hundred c cles. In
contrast, the pore water pressure amplitude at txe top is
large and remains almost constant throughout the test. 0.8-16.8kg
.
% I
From Fig. 12, one notes that at a low maximum cyclic stress
level, the decrease in pore water ressure at the bottom in .- - -0.02 -
CO,
1,
'4
the first few cycles is higher than &at at the top. Thereafter,
the pore water pressure at the bottom becomes less negative P! \ 3-2
for some more cycles and becomes almost constant with
number of cycles. In contrast, the pore water ressure at the Number of cycles
top remains constant throughout the test. d e pore water
pressure amplitudes at both the bottom and top are Fig.9. Variation of Pore Water Pressure at the Top of
comparable, and they remain almost constant throughout the Soil Plug in Model Superpiles with Number of
test. Cycles

243
i-4- M ode1 superpiles CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR DESIGN
E0
-c,
Q,
L/D=I -5
At the bottom of superpiles, when the maximum cyclic
1. 0.8 -16.8 kg stress level is low, the developed negative pore water
n
%a
2. 0.8 CY 4.4 kg
0 3, 0.8 -11 99 kg
pressure levels remain almost constant with number of
cycles indicating stable . conditions and. negligible
&J

displacement of the superpile. At high r n a x cyclic ~ ~

stress levels these pore water pressure levels become less
negative w'ith number .of cycles ind~cating upward
displacement of the supe ile. The development of negative
pore water pressure at the%ottom confirms the development
of resistance below the superpile. The pore water pressure
at the to attains a maximum ne ative value in the initial
few cyc?es indicating that fulf suction is developed.
Thereafter, the cyclic pore water pressure levels at the to
remain almost. constant with number of ,cycles ..for !a
rnaxmmn cyclic stress levels thereby ensuring that the soil
P n n plug remains in place.
"0 100 200 300 COO .SO0 600 700 800 900 1000
In the actual field condition, the superpile (or a group of
Number o f cycles superpiles) is connected to a template and ballast placed
Fig.10. Variation of Pore Water Pressure Am litude per over it. If the p e ~ i s s i b l edisplacement is low, the
superimposed loads due to static pretension and c clic
Cycle qt the Top of soil Plu in MO&
Superpiles with Number of tycles * enviro~entalloads should not exceed the sum
submerged weights of the tem late, ballast, superpile and
07
the
soil plug, and the external wall giction. The resistance at the
Model superpiles bottom exists but it cannot be relied U on to resist cyclic
-0.16- loads as a large dis lacement is required!or its mobilization.
The only beneficia7,effect of the bottom resistance is that it
prevents sudden failure as observed in the case of large-
---Changeat max.cycl ic stress fevel
diameter piles with open tops.
-Change a t min.cycticstress Level For s a t i ~ f a c t operformance
~ of the soil plug in the field, the
efficacy of the soil-wall contact inside the su erpile has to
- be ensured. All voids at this interface should &egrouted,
$
3
-0.10 A t bottom
CI

g -0.08- ---- --- --- REFERENCES

n. - I - _ . ---3-

Albert, L.F.,Holtz, R.D. and Magris E. (1989 . Supe ile

S stem: A Feasible Alternate Foundation for 'kensionyeg
Pyatforms in Deep Water, Marine Geotechnology,
8~2~33-158.
-0.0 2 1 Andersen, K.H., D vik R Schroder, K., Hansteen, O.E.
and Bysveen, S.4993). geld Tests of Anchors in Clay.
01 ' 1 1 ' 1
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
' I t I 11:. Predictions and Inte retation, Jnl. of Geotech. Engg.
Div., ASCE, 119: 10:15T2-1549.
Number o f cycles
Cottrill A. 1992). Skirt Plate to Sup ort Europipe Jacket,
Fig.11. Comparison of Variation of Pore Water Pressure Ofidore kngineer, Oct. 1992,41-&.
at the Bottom with that at the Top of a Model
Superpile During Cyclic Loading Datta, M., Gulhati, S.K. and Achari, G. (1990 . Behaviour
3
of Plate Anchors in Soft Cohesive Soils nder Cyclic
Loading , Indian Geotechnical Journal, 20: 3 :206-224.
Model superpi4es
LID=
15; w.c.= 33.96% Dyvik R., Andersen, K.H. Hansen, S.B. and
Ch~stophersen,9.P. (1993 . Field Tests of Anchors in
X
Y
Cyclic stress levels! 0.8 kg.CC(W+Fext.) Cla I: Descri tion, Jnl. o)Geolech. Engg. Div., ASCE,
90.08
I,, ---Change at max. cyclic stress l e v e l
119!f0:1515-1!31.
Sin h, B Datta, M. and Gulhati S.K. 1996,a). Pullout
8ehavkk.w of Supe ile Anchors in Soft h a under Static
Loading, Marine &!oresources and Geotechology, Vol.
12, NO. 4, pp.217-236.
-0.02 --------------I-- Singh, B., Patta, M. and Gulhati, S.K. 1996,b). Behaviour
of Cyclical1 Loaded Superpile anchors, Proc. of
o*0 ' ' ' L ? f
At topV
' ' I ~ ~ ~ e ~ n ~ t i o n a ~ ~ oinnOcean
Dec. 1996.
f ~ r e Engg.,
n c e 1.f.T. Madras,
100 200 300 COO 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Number of cycles Stove, O.J.,
Bysyeen, S. and Christo hersen, H.P.(1992).
Fig.12. Comparison of Variation of Pore Water Pressure New Foundation Systems for &orre Development,
at the Bottom with that at the Top of a Model Proc 24th shore Technology Conference, Houston,
Superpile During Cyclic Loading OTC' 6882:%-83 .

244
 GE 0 m,International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
EFFECT OF ANCHOR SHAPE ON PULL-OUT RESISTANCE IN SOFT CLAY
N. Santosh Raol and Manoj Datta2
'Research Scholar, 2Professor, Civil Engg. Dept., Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India

SYNOPSIS - A series of strain controlled model pull-out tests were conducted to study the effect of shape of anchor (in elevation)
on the pull-out resistance of anchors embedded in kaolinite clay. Anchors of three different shapes (in elevation) namely circular
plate, sphere and dual cone were chosen for the study. The parameters studied were pull-out force, breakout force and suction
force and their variation with depth of embedment.

INTRODUCTION explore the behaviour of the suction force.

The uplift capacity of anchors has been a subject of study for

nearly four decades. Initial studies involved field experiments
which were conducted on large anchors (a few meters in size)
which therefore tended to be costly and hence fewer in
number. Over the years, the studies shifted focus to laboratory
experiments as well as analytical procedures, which were
cheaper, less time consuming, gave reliable and acceptable
results and in addition greater flexibility in designing of
experiments/ analysis.

Majority of the laboratory experiments and theoretical

analysis have concentrated on the uplift capacity and
behaviour of plate anchors. However, anchors can be of
various shapes, in plan and in elevation. The anchor shapes
can vary fiom plates (i.e. flukes). to cylinders (i.e. piles,
superpiles) and various other intermediate shapes. Therefore,
it is necessary that the effect of anchor shape in plan and in
elevation be studied., so as to extend the results of earlier
studies, to anchors in general.
Towards this objective, it was proposed to study the effect of
anchor shape in elevation, on the behaviour/ capacity of
anchor plates. The model anchors used in the present
laboratory model study are circular plate, sphere and dual
cone anchors (fig. 1). It should be noted that the anchor shape
in plan for all the three anchors is circular, as only the anchor
shape in elevation is varied for the present study.
In majority of the earlier studies, the base of the anchor was
vented. In some of the studies where the base of the anchor
was not vented, it was found that the force developed beneath
the base, termed the suction force, was significant.Therefore,
in the present study both the above types of tests namely tests
with and without base venting were conducted so as to form
an extension of the earlier studies and at the same time
a. circular plate b. sphere c. dual cone
Fig.1 :Types of Model Anchors
TERMINOLOGY
As mentioned earlier, for a given set of tests conditions two
tests, one with base vented and one with base not vented were
conducted. For all tests where the base is not vented, the
measured uplift force is termed the pull-out force (Fb)
implying that this will be the force required to cause pull-out
of the anchor, when extending the results to field conditions.
For all tests where the base is vented, the uplift force is
termed the breakout force (Fb)implying that this will be the
force required to cause pull-out of the anchor after ensuring
breakage of the suction developed beneath the base of the
anchor. The suction force (F,) is determined as the difference
of the pull-out and breakout forces measured at corresponding
displacements,for identical test conditions, except in terms of
presence/absence of suction force beneath the base.
For this study, the pull-out, breakout and suction forces at
failure were converted to pull-out (NJ, breakout (Nb) and

245
suction (N,) factors AS given below.
Where s, = undrained shear strength of the clay (kPa)
A = projected base area of the anchor in plan (m*)
w, = weight of anchor and anchor rod (N)
Similarly, the depth of embedment (D) was converted to
embedment ratio (DIB) by dividing it by the diameter (B) of
the anchor. The results of the test were hence expressed for a
given embedment ratio @/B).
LITERATUIIE: REVIEW
Laboratory model studies on circular plate anchors embedded
in clay, have been reported by Vesic (197 1), Nhiem (1979,
Davie & Sutherland (1977), Das (1978), Baba (1984), Datta
et.al. (1990), Kumar (1993), Khing et.al. (1994), Das et.al.
(1994) and Datta & Suryanarayana (1994). Suction was
eliminated in almost all the studies conducted.
In the studies where suction has been eliminated, the variation
of the breakout factor with embedment ratio were reported.
It was generally found that the breakout factor increases with
increase in embedment ratio and reaches a constant maximum
value beyond a certain e m b e ~ e n ratio.
t This e m b e ~ e n t
ratio beyond which the breakout factor becomes constant lies
in the range of 3 to 4.
Some authors have reported results of studies where suction
has not been eliminated. The reported results indicated that
the pull-out factors increase with embedment ratio and tend to
become constant beyond a certain embedment ratio. This
embedment ratio beyond which the pull-out factors tend to
become constant lies in the small range of 2 to 2.5.
Some studies wherein suction had been determined, reported
that the suction factors generally decrease with increase in
embedment ratio. However, one of the studies (Kumar, 1993)
does show an initial increase, with a peak suction factor at an
embedment ratio of 2. It can, therefore, be stated that the
suction force behaves differently as compared to the breakout
and the pull-out forces, in that the suction force is highest at
shallow depths of embedment and lowest at large depths of
embedment of the anchors, while the opposite is true for the
breakout and pull-out forces.
It is to be noted that there have been no studies to show the
effect of shape of the anchors on their behaviour. It is,
therefore, necessary to study this effect and thereafter, if
possible to extend the results of the earlier studies to different
anchor shapes.
246
EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP
The proposed laboratory model tests involved performing
strain controlledpull-out tests on the chosen types of anchors,
embedded in soft clayey soil, while simultaneouslymeasuring
the displacementsof the anchor and the corresponding uplift
forces. For each set of test conditions, two types of tests, one
with suction not eliminated and one with suction eliminated
were conducted.
The test tank was a cylindrical perspex tank measuring
19Omm in diameter. The size of the anchors was 38mm in
diameter, with the cone angle for the dual cone kept at 60".
The anchors were made of perspex. The anchor rod was a
hollow brass tube 4 m in diameter. For tests, wherein suction
beneath the base was eliminated the anchor used had 5
ventholes in the base (one in the centre and four holes equally
spaced towards the periphery, as shown in the fig.2). These
ventholes were connected to the hollow anchor rod, which in
turn was vented to the atmosphere at the other end. In
addition, a very thin plastic sheet of approp~atesize and
shape was also placed below the base of the anchor, so as to
eliminate any adhesion that may develop.
All the tests were conducted at a displacement rate of
1 . 2 d m i n . The uplift force was measured using a load cell,
while the displacement of the anchor was measured using an
LVDT (Linearly varying displace~enttransducer). The
experimental set-up is shown in the fig.3. The depth of
embedment of the anchor was varied for all the three types of
anchors and was kept at 0.5,1,2,4 and 6 times the diameter of
the anchor respectively.
The soil used for the experiments was Kaolinite clay, having
liquid limit (wL)= 53%, plastic limit (wp)= 24% and plasticity
index (I,) = 29%. The water content of the soil was
maintained at around 40%. At this water content the
undrained shear strengths obtained were in the range of 5.0 to
6.5 kPa.
Pre-mixed soil was used in all the tests. The pre-mixed soil
was placed in the test containers by hand, using kneading
compaction, taking care to ensure the removal of any
entrapped air bubbles. While filling the test container, when
the base level of the anchor was reached, the anchor was
clamped in position and further placement of the soil around
the anchor and above it was continued until the desired depth
of embedment was obtained. The surface of the soil was then
covered with a wet jute cloth and a plastic sheet was tied
tightly over the test container to prevent any loss of moisture.
The test was conducted after an interval of three days fkom the
time of placement of the soil, to ensure regain of the shear
strength of the clayey soil.
 out, breakout and suction forces vs displacement of the
anchor, can be drawn. A typical plot is shown in fig.4. It can
be seen from the typical plot (fig.4) of uplift forces vs
displacement, that slopes of the curves change almost
continuously with increase in the displacement of the anchor.
Additionally, in most of the tests no peak force was observed
even upto displacements of the anchor of magnitude equal to
the diameter of the anchor. This means that there is no well-
defined failure point.

80 -j

60
h

t
Q) 40
2

20 _,........*- - - -pull-out force I

displacement (mm)

Fig.4a :Force vs Displacement Curves for Circular Plate

20 .,......_...--------..--------
-.-......_____.
-pull-out force
Fig3 :Experimental Set-up breakout force

0 I0 20 30 40
FAILURE CRITERION displacement (mm)

For a given set of test parameters (i.e. anchor type and depth
of embedment), a single plot which includes curves of pull- Fig.4b :Force vs Displacement Curves for Sphere

247
 80 Table.1 : Comparison of Failure Criteria
-pull-out force
breakout force
_ _ _suction
_ _ . force I I Force at Failure (N)
I I Circular Plate I Sphere I DualCone 1
n
6o I D/B

t
a, 40
2
2
20

4(v) 34.7 28.0 30.3 24.5 34.7 31.5

0 6(n) 53.1 53.0 54.3 52.5 46.7 45.0
0 10 20 30 40 6(v) 38.2 29.5 35.8 29.0 31.8 28.0
I - at displacement of anchor = 0.15B
displacement (mm) I1 - by double tangent method
(n) - base not vented
Fig.4~:Force vs Displacement Curves for Dual Cone (v) - base vented

As the suction force is determined as the difference of the RESULTS OF TESTS

pull-out force and breakout force at identical displacements,
it was felt that force at failure be defined as a force
corresponding to a given displacement of the anchor. The
choice of the displacement at which failure is deemed to have
occurred, was arrived at by averaging the range of
displacements corresponding to forces at failure defined by
the double tangent method, for the various tests conducted.
The double tangent method is very widely used for the
determination of failure load in plate load tests, which are
similar to the tests conducted in the present study except in
that the direction of application of forces are different
The results of the tests are presented in the form of plots of
the force factors vs embedment ratio for all types of anchors.
Fig.5 shows the plot of pull-out factor vs embedment ratio for
all three types of anchors. It can be seen that for all types of
anchors, the pull-out factors increase with increase in
embedmentratio upto an embedment ratio of 2 and are almost
constant at hgher embedment ratios. The pull-out factors are
of a similar order of magnitude for all three anchors.

It was found that the average displacement of the anchor NfJ

corresponding to the force at failure as determined by the 0 2 4 6 8 10
double tangent method was approximately equal to 15% of
the diameter of the anchor. Thereafter, a comparison of forces
at failure as obtained by the Double Tangent method against
1
the forces at a displacement equal to 15% of the diameter of
the anchor was made and is given in Table. 1. It is seen that the
comparison is good. Hence, for all tests, the force at a 2
displacement of the anchor equal to 15% of the diameter of
the anchor was deemed to be the force at failure. A e
displacement/diameter ratio based failure criterion ensures n3
that the displacements are within acceptable and realistic
values, when extending the test results to similar field 4
conditions.
5
It is, however, important to note that in almost all the studies
reported in literature, the ultimate force (i.e. other than 6
displacement based) is termed the force at failure and the
same had been used in determining the various force factors. lFig.5 :Variation of Pull-out Factor With Embedment Ratio

240
The plot of breakout factors vs embedment ratio for all three with increase in embedment ratio. The suction factors are of
types of anchors is shown in fig.6. As shown, the breakout the same order of magnitude for all three types of anchors.
factors increase with increase in embedment ratio and attain
an almost constant maximum value at embedment ratios ANALYSIS
greater than 4. This is true for all the anchor types. The
breakout factors are similar for all three types of anchors, at It is apparent that all the three types of anchors show similar
all embedment ratios. trends in the variations of the force factors with embedment
ratio. The trends observed are similar to those repoeed in
Nb literature.
0 2 4 6 8 10
0 The breakout factors increase with increase in embedment
ratio because the depth of soil above the anchor increases and
t offered by an increasing
hence the resistance to b r e ~ o uis
1 mass of soil. However, beyond a certain embedment ratio
(which in the present study is 4) m y additional depth of soil
2 added above the anchor does not affect the breakout
resistance. This is because this additional depth of soil lies
e 3 outside the zone of influence of the anchor.
c1
As the breakout force forms the major part of the pull-out
4 force for the types of anchors studied, the variation of the
-circular plate pull-out factor with e m b e ~ e nratio
t is similar to the variation
in breakout factor with embedment ratio, except in that the
+dual cone plot for the pull-out factor has a steeper initial slope than the
breakout factor and that the maximum value of pull-out factor
is reached at an e m b e ~ e nratio
t of around 2. This difference
Fig.6 :V ~ a t i o nof Breakaut Factor With E m b ~ e nRatio
t is clearly on account of the suction factor which is ~ ~ i m
at an e m b e ~ratio ~ tof 2.
The suction factors vs e m ~ ~ eratio n t have been plotted for
all three types of anchors in fig.7. For all the anchors, the The suction factors show a trend different fkom the other two
S ~ ~ tfactors
i o ~first increase with increasein embedment ratio factors, in that they first increase and then decrease with
and attain a maximum value at an embedment ratio of 2, For increase in embedment ratio, with a peak at an embedment
embedment ratios greater than 2, the suction factors decrease ratio of 2. However, it is to be noted that as both pull-out and
breakout factors become constant at large embedment depths,
the suction factor too will reach a constant but ~ n i m u m
value
Ns at large e ~ b ~ ~depths.
e n t
0 2 4 6 8 10
COMPARISON WITH EARLIER STUDIES
0
To reinforce the acceptabili~of the results of the present
2 study, a c o m ~ ~ ofs the~ nresults of the present study with
earlier studies was made. For making such a comparison, it is
2 necessary to determine the force factors using the peak force
or the force at a. displacement equal to 100%of the anchor
diameter. This exercise was conducted for the results of tests
e3
D on plate anchors as all the earlier results were for plate
anchors. The comparison was compiled in the form of plots of
4 the force factors (Np,Nband N,) vs e m ~ e ~ eration t (fig.8).

5 CONCLUSIONS

The present study indicated that the shape (in elevation) of the
6 anchor has no significant effect on the pulCout resistance of
.
the anchor Therefore, it can be safely concluded that the

249
results of studies on circular plate anchors can be extended to
apply to other similar anchors which differ in shape in
elevation only. However, this is subject to the limitation that
the the shape in elevation does not deviate much fiom the
rounded or conical shapes on account of the specific nature of
-speed
Kumar (1993),
= 0.3mm/min
the' present study.

NP
0 4 8 12 16
0

Kumar (1993),
2 3 speed = 0.3mdmin
- Kumar (1993),
, Fig& : Comparison of Variation of Suction Factor
speed = I.bmm/min
4 Kumar ( I 993),
speed = 8mdmin

5
--- Das et.al. (1994)
I
I

--- present study I Das, B.M. (1978), 'Model tests for uplift capacity of
I
foundationsin clay', Soils And Foundations, 18:2:17-24.
6 I I .

Fig.8a : Comparison of Variation of Pull-out Factor Das, B.M.et. al. (1994), 'Suction force below plate anchors in
soft clay', Marine Georesources and Geotechnology,
Nb
12:71-8 1.
0 2 4 6 8 1 0 1 2 Datta, M. et. al. (1990), 'Behaviour of plate anchors in soft
cohesive soils under cyclic loading', Indian
GeotechnicalJournal, 20:206-224.

Datta, M. & Suryanarayana, C.V. (1994),'Elimination of

suction beneath plate anchors in model tests - a
comparison of two methods', 4th Int, S'm. On qffshore
4 And Polar Engg., 456-461,
m - Vesic (1971), Bentonite clay

1
\
n Davie, J.R.& Sutherland, H.B. (1977),'Uplift resistance of
cohesive soils', Journal of Geotechnical Engineering,

11I:::::::::
A.S.C.E.,103:9:935-952.
8

I0
-

--
:;:
present study
~~~~~e
- Kumar (1993), Kaolinite clay

Fig.8b :Comparison of Variation of Breakout Factor

cla{

1 Kumar, P. (1993), 'Development of suction during uplift and

compression of plates in soft clays', M.Tech thesis,
Indian Institute of Technology,New Delhi.

Nhiem, T.V. (1979, 'Uplift reistance of anchor slabs in soft

clay', Proc. of Soil Mechanics and Foundation
REFERENCES Engineering Con$, Istanbul, 2: 114-123.

Baba, H.U. (1984),'Suction effects in pullout resistance of Vesic, A.S. (1971), 'Breakout resistance of objects
plate anchors in soft clays', M.Tech thesis, Indian emebedded in ocean bottom', Journal Of Soil Mechanics
Institute of Technology,New Delhi. And Foundation Engineering, A S . C.E., 97: 1183-1105.

250
GEO international Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3,1999

LIQUEFACTION STUDIES ON MODEL GROUND .INA LAMINAR BOX

S.K.Prasadl and 1. Towhata2
'Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, S.J. College of Engineering, Mysore, India
2Professorof Civil Engineering, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

SYNOPSIS : Over years liquefaction has been considered as one of the common causes for damage to geotechnical facilities
during earthquakes. However, studies on the phenomenon of liquefaction are still not complete, particularly because of the
difficulties in,pderstauding the ground behavior during shaking. This paper discusses the studies on model ground made of
either fine sand or gravel under salurated condition in a lamina box. The insttumentation for the study included a sena of
accelerometers in a vertical array. Deformation characteristicswere evaluated from the response of accelerometers placed in a
vertical array during shaking. h s e sandy ground showed progressive degradation in stiffness, increase in damping and
deamplification in acceleration in addition to the increase in excess pore water pressure with the number of cycles exhibiting
onset of liquefactionwhile dense sand and gravel did not liquefy.

INTRODUCTION

Geotechnical facilities such as retaining walls,

embankments, quay walls commonly suffer severe damage
during earthquakes. Liquefaction being one of the main
causes for such a damage, its ill effects were very well
exposed during the recent earthquakes of Northridge (1994)
in USA and Hyogoken Nanbu (1995) in Japan. Since the
earthquakes of Niigata and Alaska in 1964 considerable
amount of research has been carried out in the area of
liquefaction. Seed and Lee (1966), Seed (1979), Hushmand
et. al. (1988), Koga and Matsuo (1990) and Ishihara (1993)
are among a few researchers who have performed extensive
experimentation and proposed simplified methodologies in
liquefaction studies over years. Liquefaction of gravely
ground is a hot topic of discussion. Observations from past
earthquakes suggest the liquefaction of gravely layer below
the ground surface (Ishihara (1985), End0 et. al. (1988),
Yegian et. al. (1994)). Very little study on gravel has .been
reported so far due to the difficulty in experimentation on
such large particles as gravel.

Experimental study in the area of earthquake geotechnical

engineering can be broadly classified in to the following
four broad groups, namely,

a) Studies from element tests such as Torsional Shear test,

Triaxial shear test, Ring shear test, Resonant Column test
etc.
b) Model studies using 1-G models on shaking tables
c) n-G model studies using centrifuge, and Fig.1 Layout of Laminar Box
d)Studying the response of ground during actual
earthquakesmonitored by field instrumentation.

251
Since data from field are rather very few, most
experimental studies include element tests. Though it is
possible to maintain perfect quality control in such studies
they fail to simulate field condition such as inertia and
frequency effects perfectly. In addition, it is necessary to
ensure whether they actually simulate field behaviour, for
which model studies become vital. Also, model studies
provide many valuable information such as pore pressure
variation at different locations and instants and provide an
opportunity to test gravel.
MATERIALS & EXPERIMENTAL SET UP
Laminar box mounted on a shaking table under normal
gravitational environment was used to study the behaviour
of saturated model ground made of loose or dense sand and
gravel when subjected to one dimensional harmonic
shaking. The box was 1 m long, 0.5 m wide and 1 m deep
as shown in Fig. 1. Sophisticated bearing system between
layers minimized the friction and rotating side walls
allowed the walls to deform to the shape of soil, thus
providing pure shear condition. Effect of wall boundary on
soil behaviour was therefore negligible which is essential in
soil dynamics involving large deformations. The material
used for the preparation of model ground included Toyoura
sand which is a commercially available Japanese standard
sand often used in geotechnical studies in Japan. It is
classified as uniform fine sand with emu,= 0.597, e,,,= =
0.977 and D50 = 0.19 mm. It consists of subrounded to
subangular particles composed of 75 YO quartz, 22 %
feldspar and 3 % magnetite. Gravel used was a locally
available material, fine and angular with about 1 YOfines
and D50of 3.054mm.
Model sandy ground was prepared by the methods of water
sedimentation, wet or dense tamping. While water
sedimentation provided a relative density of around 25 %,
wet tamping and dense tamping produced relative densities
of around 0 % and 60 % respectively. Gravel ground was
prepared by dry deposition method. The method of water
sedimentation consisted of allowing water to the box up to a
known height (10 cm) and dropping sand freely from a
certain height (again 10 cm) through a sieve assembly. The
heights of water level and sieve assembly were
progressively increased till the box was completely tilled.
Wet tamping produced very loose ground. In this method,
moist. sand with around 5 % water was prepared the
previous day and was loosely placed in the box. Two to
three tamping were given from a tamping tool of flat bottom
with a free drop of around 10 cm. Surface was gently
pressed by hand to allow collapse of soil, if any. In order to
ensure better saturation, CO2 was passed through the model
ground for a period of about two hours. Heavier CO2
252
Fig.2: Typical layoutof Tmmducen
replaced air and easily dissolved in water. Dense tamping
included tamping each layer of 10 cm rigorously with a
drop of around 10 cm from a tamping rod, thereby
increasing the density. Water was allowed at the end to
create saturation. Dry deposition in gravely soil was
possible because of its high permeability. Dry gravely
ground was initially prepared in layers of 10 cm to a
previously targeted density and water was allowed from
base for saturation.
Once the model ground was made, instrumentation included
a series of accelerometers in a vertical array at an interval of
20 cm and a series of pore pressure transducers also in a
vertical array at an interval of 10 cm. A displacement
transducer was placed at the ground surface to record the,
settlement time history. All transducers were placed inside
the ground as it was observed that such an arrangement
provided better results. The layout of transducers used in
the present experiments is shown in Fig. 2. The model
ground was subjected to harmonic excitation at various
frequencies (5, 10, 15 and 20 Hz.) and amplitudes (100,
200 and 500 gals) and response of ground at different
elevations was evaluated.
EVALUATION OF DEFORMATION CHARACTERISTICS
Acceleration time histories at different elevations in a
vertical array were used to evaluate shear stress and shear
strain in the ground which in turn were available to
compute deformation characteristics of ground, namely
Shear modulus and Damping ratio. When the ground was
subjected to shaking, accelerometers at different elevations
recorded the ground motion due to the vertical propagation
of shear waves. Assuming the model ground to be made of
several layers with the acceleration at the middle of each
layer being known, the inertial force in each layer can be
considered to be resisted by shear stresses at its top and
bottom. If uf,u2, u3, ........, U, represent accelerations at the
middle of layers I, 2, 3, ........, n, then the total shear stress
at the base of layer n is given by,

Here, p represents the mass density of model ground and H

is the height of each layer. In the present analysis H is the
vertical spacing between the transducers which was
maintained equal to 20 cm. As an uniform ground with
constant density was prepared each time, p remained
constant over the entire mass. Shear strain in a layer was
considered to be uniform by assuming the displacement to
vary linearly in a layer. Since the thickness of the assumed
layer was small, such an assumption is reasonable.
Displacement at any depth was obtained by double
integration of acceleration record. Error in such a
calculation is negligible since a harmonic wave form was
considered and the interest was in evaluating the cyclic
portion of displacement only. If df, d2, d,, ........, d,
represent accelerations at the middle of layers 1,2,3, ........,
n, n+l, then the total shear strain at the base of layer n is
given by,
Fig. 4 : Time histories of Excass Pore Water Pressures Ratio in a vertical array
Shear modulus and Damping ratio were estimated by
standard methods (prasad, S. K. (1996)) by pIotting the
stress - strain loops.
RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Liquefaction and Cyclic mobility behaviors of soil are well
established in laboratory conditions under static cyclic and
monotonic loading conditions. However, to ensure that such
phenomenon are observed in field under dynamic loading,
model studies become essential. In the present paper,
emphasis is placed on observing generation of excess pore
water pressure at different elevations and evaluation of
shear stress - strain histories at a typical elevation for the
model ground. When a saturated ground is subjected to fast
loading, it is difficult for pore fluid to escape to free surface
resulting in the development of excess pore water pressure.
When excess pore water pressure is high, effective stress in
soil reduces, thereby causing stiffness degradation. The
development of excess pore water pressure depends on
factors such as rate of loading, particle size and
permeability characteristics of ground etc.

Fig. 3 shows the generation of excess pore water pressure

with time at different elevations for loose and dense Sandy
ground. In loose ground, it can be seen that the excess pore
pressure suddenly shoots up to a level of initial confming
pressure at all elevations. The rate of increase of pore
pressure was nearly the same at all elevations. As long as
the shaking continued the magnitude of excess pore
pressure was maintained, particularly close to the surface.
Near the bottom some dissipation was observed because of
the drainage facilities at the base of the box. The dynamic
Fig. 3 : Generation of Excess pore water pressurewith time
portion of excess pore pressure was higher at the base than

253
at the surface indicating that more work had to be done by an extent that the shear wave length was smaller than the
particles of soil for same relative movement at higher spacing between the transducers the present method of
confining pressure. The rate of dissipation at all elevations analysis provided erroneous result (Prasad, S. K. (1996)).
was nearly the same, though it was slightly slower near the The shear modulus appears to be negative. The stress strain
surface. At all elevations complete dissipation of excess behavior in dense sand and gravel were completely different
pore pressure took place at the same time. showing dilatancy characteristics.There was no decrease in
stiffhess with the increase in tlie number of cycles. It is also
Fig. 3b shows the generation of excess pore water pressure interesting that gravel experienced large magnitude of strain
with time at different elevations in dense sandy ground with and loose sand suffered the least. In a level loose sandy
a relative density of 85 %. It may be observed that excess ground, degradation of stiffhess resulted in very little energy
pore water pressure at each level was around 50 % of initial being transferred to the top during the upward propagation
confining pressure, It was observed that the dynamic of shear wave causing very low magnitudes of stress and
portion of excess pore water pressure was very high strain. However, gravel and dense sand ground possessed
compared to that of loose ground (not seen in the figure sufficient siffhess to experience large magnitudes of strain
because of filtering the data) and excess pore water pressure and stress. The stress path consisting of effective normal
was retained only till the shaking continued. Rate of stress in the horizontal axis and shear stress along the
development of excess pore water pressure was higher at vertical axis is plotted in Fig. 7 for loose sandy ground at an
deeper elevations compared to shallower levels. Also excess elevation of 0.4 m below ground level in a typical
pore water pressure dissipated almost suddenly and experiment. It may be observed that there is a good
simultaneously after reaching peaks at all levels. similarity with that obtained from element tests. The model
ground which had certain initial effective stress at the
Fig. 4 presents the time histories of excess pore water
pressure ratio at different elevations in loose gravely
ground. It may be observed that excess pore water pressure
ratio was the highest near the middle of gravely ground,
being smaller both at top and bottom because of free
drainage facilities at these places. The peak was around 70
% of the initial confining pressure at 0.4 m below ground
level. The dynamic portion of excess pore water pressure
was high as in case of dense sandy ground. It was also
observed that in these cases excess pore water pressure
cycled at twice the frequency as that of input, the behaviour
reported even in element tests. It indicates the dilatancy
behavior of ground wherein during shaking, the soil
particles are sheared on either side, tending to displace from
stable configuration. But, the rate of loading being much
faster than that of dissipation resulted in the generation of
excess pore water pressure in both direction at double the
frequency of input frequency.

Fig. 5 presents the stress strain loops at an elevation of 0.4

m below ground surface during shaking for three different
cases namely, loose sand, dense sand and gravel. In loose
sandy ground, degradation of stiffness with the increase in
number of cycles due to the development of excess pore
water pressure can be observed. The ground was reasonably
stiff initially and with the increase in the number of cycles
the strain level increased and the stress level decreased
thereby reducing shear modulus and increasing damping
ratio. The same can be observed in Fig. 6 which shows the
decrease in effective stress or initial confming pressure,
corresponding decrease in shear modulus and increase in
damping ratio with the increase in the number of cycles in a
typical test with loose sand. When the stiffness degraded to Fig. 5 : Stress - Strain behaviour in different soils

254
specified elevation undergoes loss in effective stress and at
the later stage it appears that the stress path converges to a
point at very low effective stress and shear stress. Shear
stress is seen to be reducing because of the deamplification
in acceleration when the ground softened. Such an
DI.9.m..

... .
..
observation is different .from that in element tests. m

Saturated loose Sand

CONCLUSION eo = 0.868

It was possible to demonstrate that the liquefaction and

EL - 0.4 m
Input 180 gal, 20 Hz ..
cyclic m o b i l i ~ph~omenonwhich are observed under
cyclic and rponotonic loading conditions in element tests .. 'asem

can be repeated in a model ground. Hence, it is possible that

such a phenomenon can occur in the field under earthquake
loading. In the present study, it was e s t ~ ~ s h ethat
d the
relative density was a major factor for the ground to exhibit
. .a

1
9.
..
the two different behaviors, namely, contractive behavior
and dilative behavior. It was seen that loose ground
experienced complete liquefac~io~ with the level of excess
pore water pressure reaching the magnitude of initial
confming pressure. The rate of development of excess pore
water pressure was almost the same at all elevations and the
dissipation started from the bottom. In dense sandy ground
and gravel the developed excess pore water pressure was
well below initial confiing pressure and dissipation was
almost immediate. Once the shaking stopped, dense sand
and gravel regained strength. Free drainage at the base was
responsible for gravel not to exhibit complete liquefaction.
Hence, for the gravel to liquefl in the field, absence of
drainage, low permeability owing to fmes filling the voids
and very large magnitude of shaking for a long duration are 4 8 12 16 20 24
necessary. Number of Cycles
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Fig. 6 : Variation of Deformation Characteristics
with Number of Cycles
The authors express their gratitude to Tokyo Gas Company,
Japan for providing their facilities to carry out experiments,
to Mr. Mizutani, T. and Mr. Kumajima, A., former under
graduate students at the University of Tokyo, Japan for their
assistance during experiments

REFERENCES

Endo, K., Tohno, I., Chiba, T., Shamoto, Y. and Sangawa,

A. (1988). Liquefaction phenomenon discovered in a
archeological excavation site at lake Biwa, Proc. Annual
Meeting, Japanese Society of SM & FE, 255-256. (in
Japanese)

Hushmand, B., Scott, R. F. and Crouse, C. B. (1988).

Fig. 7 : A typical Stress Path of sandy ground
Centrifuge liquefaction tests in a laminar box,
Geotechnique, 38:2:253:262

255
lshihara, K. (1985). Stability of natural deposits during
earthquakes, Theme Lecture, Proc. XI ICSMFE., V2 :
321-376.

Ishihara, K. (1993). Liquefaction and flow failure during

earthquakes, Geotechnique,43:3:351-415.

Koga, Y.and Matsuo, O., (1990). Shaking Table tests of

embankments resting on liquefiable sandy ground, Soils
& Foundations, 30:4: 162-174.

Prasad, S. K. (1996). Evaluation of Deformation

Characteristics of I-G model ground during shaking in a
laminar box, Ph. D thesis submitted to Unv. of Tokyo,
Japan.

Seed, H. 'B.and Lee, K. L. (1966). Liquefaction of

saturated sands during cyclic loading, J1. of SM & F
Dvn., ASCE, 92:SM6:105-134.

Seed, H. B. (1979). Soil liquefaction and cyclic mobility

evaluation for level ground during earthquakes, Jl. of
Geotech. Engg. Dvn., ASCE, IOS:GT2:201-255.

Yegian, M. K., Ghahraman, V. G. and Harutiunyan, R. N.

(I 994). Liquefaction and Embankment failure, Case
Histories, 1988 Armenia earthquake, JI. of Geotech.
Erzgg. Dvn., ASCE, 120:GT3:581-596.

256
G E 0 m,~ntema~ionalConference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3,1999
ACCELERATED MODELL~NGOF HYDRAULIC C O N ~ U C T OF I ~A~
COMPACTED SOIL
Ashok K. Guptal and Devendra N. Singh2
'Senior Lecturer, Wept. of Civil Engg., North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology, Nirjuli 791 109,
Arunachal Praiiesh, India
'Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engg., Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Mumbai 400 076, India
SYNOPSIS: Movement of liquid pollutants in the subsurface is of prime importance to geotechnical engineers for designing
the remediation systems or 'carrying out environmental impact assessments. For such situations, hydraulic conductivity
studies can provide valuable i n f o ~ a t i o nabout movement of groundwater, spread and grcwth of the pollutant pIume(s), and
t remedial strategies to be adopted. More emphasis is being given, in recent years, to
effectiveness of various c o n t a i ~ e nand
use geotechnical centrifuges to understand and simulate transport mechanisms through soils under accelerated gravity
environments? This paper presents the results of various permeability tests, which include: centrifuge tests, conventionat
falling head tests, oedometer falling head tests and consolidation tests. It has been shown that the scaling relationship
between Ig and centrifuge test results can be modelled adequately as per the theoretical scaling laws.

INTRODUCTION model with no loss of generality (Arulanandan et al., 1988).

The main objective of modelling exercise is to simulate or
predict a phenomenon or mechanism. Centrifbge modelling
can provide valuable ~ o ~ a t i regarding
on the movement
of groundwater, the spread and growth of pollutant plumes,
and the effectiveness of various containment and remedial
strategies to be adopted. The movement of contaminants in
underground flow systems is often predicted by using
mathematical models in which the processes under
simulation are modelled by a set of governing equations that
are solved using either analytical or numerical methods.
Prediction of movement of contaminants by numerical
models is difficult because some governing parameters vary
in time and space in highly nonlinear fashion. Further, field
validation of numerical models is often ~ p r a c t i c abecause
~ mention~dabove, are also being conducted to estimate the
actuaI transport processes take very long time and hence
adequate field data is not available; also simulation costs for
numerical models are very high.
In the past, either controlled field experiments or 1-g
laboratory tests have provided most of the experimental
data for transport mechanism in soils. Controlled field
experiments facilitate incorporation of complexity of the
real life situation. However, these tests are costly, time
~ o n diBcult s ~to perform
~ and generally offer little
direct control over the bound^ conditions. On the
contrary, laboratory tests are generally inexpensive, not
much time consuming and relatively easy to perform;
however, these tests are of limited value due to their
inability to model realistic prototype conditions.
In such a scenario, the potential of a geotechnical centrifiige
has been recognised to understand and simulate transport
mechanisms in soils in accelerated gravity environments.
Such simulations are required to validate existing
mathematic^ models. It has been shown that the prototype
effective stress regime can be simulated in a c e n ~ ~ g e .
257
To understand and assess the migration of contaminants and
designing barriers for their containment, determination of
hydraulic conductivi~of geotechnical materials is required
either in the laboratory or in-situ. However, due to the
extreme heterogeneity of the natural soil deposits, their
structure and stress conditions, the real field conditions can
not be simulated in the laboratory for a soil, and hence the
obtained results can not corroborate to the field conditions.
Typically, the hydraulic conductivity of soils in the
laboratory is measured by different types of permeameters
such as: oedometer cell permeameters, compaction mould
permeameters, triaxial cell permeameters and indirectly
f%om ~nsolidation test results. Centrifuge tests, as
hydraulic conductivity of geotechnical materials under
accelerated gravity conditions (Alemi et al. 1976; Nimmo et
al. 1987; Mitchell, 1994a and 1994b). A geotechnical
centrifuge can be used to generate a pressure gradient
driving flow in a permeability test. The main advantage of
this method is the recreation of prototype vertical effective
stresses in the soil samples.
This study presents the usefulness of a geotechnical
centrifuge in determining the hydraulic conductivity of a
fine-grained soil. In this paper some centrifbge test results
are presented on hydraulic conductivity of a silty sand at
various initial stages of compaction and water contents. The
hydraulic conductivity of the soil was also determined by
using some other laboratory methods viz. conventional
falling head, oedometer falling head and consolidation tests.
An attempt has been made to establish the scaling
relationship between Ig and centrifuge test results for
hydraulic conductivity.
CENTRIFUGE MODELLING can be rewritten as:

In centrifuge modelling, a soil model with linear dimensions Kpg,

scaled down by a factor of N experiences the same km - P -gm -N
magnitude and distribution of self-weight stresses as those k, Kpg, g,
of the prototype, when subjected to a centrifugal P .................................... (5)
acceleration N times greater than that due to the Earth's
gravity, g. The soil model in centrifuge has a fiee unstressed or km=Nkp ...................................................... (6)
upper surface and within the soil body the magnitude of
stress increases with depth at a rate related to the soil i.e. the hydraulic conductivity in a centrifuge model is N
density and the strength of the acceleration field, Ng. If the times greater than that of the same soil in 1-g environment.
same soil is used in the model as in the prototype and if a
careful model preparation procedure is adopted ensuring Other Scaling Relationships
that the packing of the soil particles is 'replicated, then for
the centrifuge model subjected to an inertial acceleration Arulanandan et al. (1988) derived general scaling laws
field of N times Earth's gravity, the vertical stress at depth using dimensional analysis. The basic assumption involved
h, will be identical to that in the corresponding prototype at in the derivation of these scaling laws is that the interstitial
depth h,, where suffixes m and p refer to the model and the fluid as well as the soil grains are incompressible. A
prototype respectively i.e. vertical stress a, at depth h, in summary of other relevant scaling relationships is presented
the model is given by: in Table 1.

o,=p!Ngh, ................................................... (1) Table 1: Scaling relations for centrifuge experiments

and in the prototype:

op=p'gh, ...................................................... (2)

where a, is vertical stress in the prototype at depth h,, p' is

Mass-density 1
mass density of soil. Thus if an,=apr then h,,,=h,N-', hence
Force l/Nz
the scale factor; model to prototype for linear dimensions is
Stress 1
UN.Since the m?l\d.Iis a linear scale representation of the ~

Strain 1
prototype, then displacements will also have a scale factor
of 1/N. It therefore'follows that strains have a scale factor
of 1 and so the part of the soil stress-strain curve mobilised
in the model will be identical to the prototype.

Scaling Hydraulic Conductivity EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS

In this paper, the constant, k (cds), relating the average
flow velocity, v, to the hydraulic gradient, i, in Darcy's law:
........................................................
v=ki
has been referred to as the hydraulic conductivity. This
constant is dependent on the unit weight (pg, where p is
fluid density), the absolute viscosity, p, and the intrinsic
permeability, K (cm') of the flowing fluid, where
k=- KPg
p ..................................................
Intrinsic permeability, K, is independent of the fluid
properties and is a property of the porous medium (such as
shape, size and packing of the soil grains) only. If the same
pore fluid is used in model and prototype then Equation (4)
Soil Properties and Sample Preparation
Locally available silty sand was selected for the testing
program. This soil was then subjected to a series of tests to
(3)
identify its basic properties viz., specific gravity,
gradational characteristics, Atterberg limits, and
compaction characteristics. The various physical properties
of the soil are shown in Table 2. The compaction
characteristicsof the soil are shown in Fig 1.
To prepare soil samples oven dried soil was mixed with
(4) predetermined quantity of water and stored in polythene
bags for at least 24 hours to ensure proper mixing and
maturing and final water content of matured soil was also
determined thereafter. Such a matured soil was used for
preparing soil samples to conduct various tests. Soil
samples, representing the compaction states as shown in

258
*Table3 were tested for hydraulic conducti~ty. TabIe 3: Compaction states of soil samples

I Sample I Moisture content 1 Dry density 1

Table 2: Physical properties of the soil

Specific gravity 2.79

Particle size ch~acte~stics:

Coarse (4.75-2.0 mm.) 3.7%

Medium (2.0-0.420 mm.) 17.7%
I Fine (0.420-0.074 mm.) 27.8%
Fines
Silt size ~ 0 . 0 7 4 - 0 . 0 0 2 ~ . ) 35.9%
Claysize. (<0.002mm.) 14.9%
Consistency limits:
Liquid limit 41%
Plastic limit 28%
Soil classification(USC) ML
StandardProctor Compaction:
Optimum moisture content 20.55%
M ~ u dry m density 1.702 &m3
Modified Proctor Compaction:
~ pmoisturet content ~ ~ 14.03%
Maximum dry density 1,942 g/cm3

2.00

1.95

1.90

1.85

5.1.80
h

,M
1.75

1.70

1.65

1.60

1.55

8 12 16 20 24 28
Fig. 2: The centrifuge test set-up

Moisture Content (%)
Fig. 1: Compaction characteristics of the soil
Centrifuge Tests
A small geoteclmical centrihge having a maximum outer
radius of 315 mm was used for the present study. The
centrifuge can generate a maximum acceleration of 300g.
Centriiiige tests were performed in a cylindrical perspex
container of inner diameter 66.1 mm (Fig. 2). Samples of 30
mm tluckness were prepared by coinpacting the soil directly
into the cylindrical container at coinpaction states as
presented in Table 3. The samples were saturated by
applying a positive hydraulic gradient of four from bottom
of the sample for 6 to 16 hours and then subjecting the
sample to vacuum saturation for about 1 to 2 hours before
starting the centrifuge tests. This set-up, when spun in a
geotechnical centrifuge, simulates a falling head test in an
accelerated e n ~ r o ~ n e nThe
t . hydraulic conductivity of the

259
model, km, can be detennined by the following expression
which is similar to the conventional falling head test:
where L is height of the soil sample, t is the time of
centrifugation, hl and h2 correspond to the initial and final
heads respectively. The hydraulic conductivity of soil
samples was measured at four different acceleration levels:
SOg, lOOg, 1506, and 200g.
Pressure acting in ceittr~€ge
Pressures acting on a soil sample in an accelerated
n t are presented in Fig 3. The pressure
e n ~ r o ~ e (Ng)
acting at the middle of the sample of height L, caused by an
average water head of h, at centrifugal acceleration Ng is
equal to (h.N.7, +ysilt.L/2.N). Hence, pressure on the
centrifuge model, at various g-levels, is equal to 1.01 times
the N value (e.g. pressure at 50g and lOOg corresponds to
50.5 and 1.01.O kN/m2 respectively).
Fig. 3: Pressures acting on a centrifuge mode1
Valid@of Darcy ’s law
The validity of Darcy’s law for fluid flow in the model is
checked by Reynolds number, &, given by:
Re= pvd f p ....................................
where d is the characteristic microscopic length such as
particle size. €&represents the dynamic s ~ l ~oft fluid y
motion, which can be established by ensuring that the ratio
of inertial forces to viscous forces in the fluid remain
invariant in the centrifuge model and p r o ~ o respectively.
~e
But, since flow velocities are scaled in a centrihge model,
it is not possible to m~ntain& constant, if identical soils
are used in model and prototype. However, in most of the
cases encountered, with respect to the seepage flow, the
inertial forces are negligible in comparison to the viscous
resistance (i.e. &<I). In such cases, the condition that the
Reynolds number remains invariant can be waived, and
Darcy’s law can be used to describe the fluid motion. In the
present study, the maximum value of Reynolds number is
6.02~10”which corresponds to Sample S1 at 200g, taking
Dto (=0.002 mm) as effective particle size taking. This
indicates the validity of Darcy’s law for fluid flow in
centrifuge models.
Other l g Tests
f ~ i i i i i g - ~ €rests
~unvent~onai e~d
The samples for falling head tests were prepared in a rigid
mould of 79.8 mm. in diameter and 60 mm in height by
compacting the required amount of soil directly into the
mould to get the initial compaction parameters as shown in
Table 3. Soil samples were saturated in the mould by
applying a hydraulic gradient of four for 24 hours and using
a vacuum pump, The degree of saturation of soil samples
was observed to be 97% to 100%.
~edometer
faiii~ig-i~ea~
tests
The oedometer permeameter is a standard fixed ring
oedometer modified to permit the ~ e ~ u r e m eof
n thydraulic
conductivity. The set-up of oedometer falling-head test is
shown in Fig. 4. The soil samples were one dimensionally
consolidated to an applied vertical effective stress. A
differential seepage pressure was applied across the sample
and hydraulic conductivity measured by falling head
method. Soil samples were prepared in an oedometer ring
of 75 mm diameter and 25 mm thickness for various
compaction states of the soils. Falling head permeability
tests were conducted, using a calibrated burette conqected
to the base of the oedometer. Porous stones were placed
both on the top and bottom of the sample to provide
uniform flow of water. The tests were conducted at 0.0,
50.0, 100.0,150.0, and 200.0 kPa nonnal pressures.
tests
Consolid~t~un
.......... (8) To simulate the pressure acting on the middle of the sampIe
length when it is spun in a centrihge as discussed earlier,
consolidatio~tests were performed on the soil samples at
vertical pressures of 50.0 kPa, 100.0 kPa and 200.0 kPa
respectivily. For this purpose, soil samples of 75 mm in
diameter and 25 mm in thickness were used in a standard
consolidation test.
260

The consolidation test is an indirect permeability test in
which a sample of soil is compressed in a rigid ring at
various vertical stress levels, with drainage facility at both
top and bottom of the sample. The h y ~ a u co~ductivity
~~c is
calculated using Terzaghi's theory of one ~ e n s i o n a l
consolidation using the following expression:
k = cvmvyw ...................................... "...............
where c, is the coefficient of consolidatioq m, is the
coefficient of volume compressibility, and yw is the unit
weight of water. In Eq. 9, cv can be obtained either by
conventional J; or Iog(t) relationships for the soil. Olson
(1986) has shown that the calculated hydrauiic conductivity
values from Eq.9 are almost always less than the measured
values, and the calculated h y d r a ~ cconductivity values
from & method are more close to the measured values
than the log(t) method. As such J; method is used in this
study for estimation of cv and hence the hydraulic
conductivity of the soil.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The scaling relationship for hydraulic c o ~ d u c ~between
vi~
1-g tests (denoted by suffix p) and centrifuge tests (denoted
by suflix m) can be written as:
2k = N X
k, ..~..~*.....l.*....~~..~~....~....~...-.*.......
(10)
where x is a scale factor whose value has to be ascertained
with the he$ of various 1-g and centrifuge tests. To
evaluate the values of x, Eq.(lO) can be written in the
folrowing form:
Using Eq.(ll), the scaling factors for hydraulic
c o n ~ u c t i v ifor
~ ~ different g vatues, with respect to I-g
laboratory tests have been evaluated and some of the results
are presented in Table 4. In this table k, is hydraulic
c o n ~ u c t i v iin~ centrifuge models, kpt and kp2 are the
hydraulic conductivities obtained in consolidation tests and
oedometer falling head tests respectivily at the appiied
pressures equivalent to those generated in the c e n t r i ~ ~ate
the requisite g-levels, kp3 and kpl are the hydraulic
conductivities obtained in the conventional and oedometer
fsing-head tests respectiviiy without applying any
a d ~ t i pressure;
o ~ XI, x2, x3, and are the scaling factors
corresponding to kpl kp2 kp3 and respectinly. It can be
noticed that, in general, these scaling factors are close to
unity. In other words hydraulic conductivity in a centrifuge
is N times that of the 1-g tests. This observation is
consistent with the scaling relationship obtained in Eq.(6).
This study demo&rates the use of a geotechnical centrifuge
(9) for modelling hydradic conductivity of compacted soils. It
can be seen that the hydraulic ~ n ~ u c ~ i vini taygeotechnical
centrifuge is N times greater than that obtained from the
conventional laboratory tests. Study also satisfies the
theoretical scaling relations~pfor hydraulic conducti~ty"
Time taken to test a soil sample in a centrifuge is quite less
as compared to the bench tests. As such, a centrifuge can be
used efficiently to obtain the hydraulic conductivity of fine-
grained soils. Since the prototype stress conditions can be
created in a geotechnical centrifuge, the obtained
permeability values are more near to in-situ values. Further,
there is a good agreement between hydraulic conductivity
values obtained fiom various I-g bench tests.
REFERENCES
Alem', M.H., Neilsen, D.H., and Biggar, J.W. (1976).
" ~ t e the~ h yg~ a u l ~conductivity
c of soi1 cores by
. f ' Sci. Soc. Am. J.,40,212-218.
~ n ~ g a t i o n Soil
Arulanandan, K., Thompson, P.Y., Kutter, B.L., Meegoda,
N.J., M ~ e e t h ~ a K.K.,
n , and Yogach~dran,C. (1888).
"Centrifuge modelling of transport processes for pollutants
in soils." ASCE, Jr. Geotech. Eng., 114(2), 185-205.
Mtchelf, R.J. (I994a). "A flexible, no lateral strain
apparatus for clay liner-leachate testing." Cenrrifige 94 by
hung, Lee, and Tan (eds.), Bdkema, Rotterdam, 351-355,
Mtchell, R.J. (1994b). "Centrifuge techniques for testing
clay &er samples." Can, Georech. f.,31,577-583.
261
 Using Eq.(ll), the scaling factors for hydraulic
c o n ~ u c t i v ifor
~ ~ different g vatues, with respect to I-g
laboratory tests have been evaluated and some of the results
are presented in Table 4. In this table k, is hydraulic
c o n ~ u c t i v iin~ centrifuge models, kpt and kp2 are the
hydraulic conductivities obtained in consolidation tests and
oedometer falling head tests respectivily at the appiied
pressures equivalent to those generated in the c e n t r i ~ ~ate
the requisite g-levels, kp3 and kpl are the hydraulic
Sa-
- -
N
Table 4. Hvdraulic conductivities a .d scaling
conductivities
~~

--- 1CtOrsin the conventional and oedometer

obtained
k, kP1* kP2 kPfsing-head tests X1respectiviiy
3 k p2 x2 without
x3 x4 applying any
mple
s1
-- (cds> (cds)
50 5 . 6 1 ~ 1 0 7~. 5 5 ~ 1 06.51~10“ ~
(cds) (c da s) ~ -
d ~ t (icpressure;
od s) - - XI, x2, x3, and
1.101 1.13s
- scaling factors
are the
corresponding to kpl kp2 kp3 and 0.977 0.908
respectinly. It can be
100 8 . 4 5 1~O4 5.28~10“ 3 . 6 2 10‘ ~ 1 . 2noticed
310”
~ 1.6 1 x 1 0‘5 1.102 1.184 0.918
that, in general, these scaling factors 0.860 are close to
150 1 . 0 4 1~0-3 4.34~10“ 2 . 7 4 ~ 10‘ unity. In other words 1.093 1.185 conductivity
hydraulic 0.886 0.832in a centrifuge
The consolidation test200 is an 1.3 indirect
1 x 1 0-3 permeability
3.39~10“ test10“
1.86~ in is N times that 1.124
of the 1.235
1-g 0.881This
tests. 0.830observation is
which a sample - of -
soil is compressed in a rigid ring at - --
s 3 50 1.19x 1O4 1.98x10“ 2.61~10“ consistent with the1.047 scaling0.976
relationship 0.842 in Eq.(6).
1.003obtained
various vertical stress100
levels, with drainage facility at both 2.35~10“
1 . 8 4 104 ~ 9.35xlO-’ 1.81x 10“ 4 . 4 2 ~10“ 1.147 1.004 0.947 0.810
top and bottom of the 150
sample. The h y ~ a u co~ductivity ~~c is 1.146 1.05C 0.936 0.810
2 . 5 6 ~ 1 08.22x10’
~ 1.33~10‘
calculated using Terzaghi's theory
200 3 . 1 5 104 of one ~ e n s i o n al
-
consolidation using the- ~
following expression: 7.08~10-~ 8 . 4 9 I~o - ~ 1.151 1.117 0.924 0.805
- __ - -
S6 50 1 . 4 0 1~0-5 2.38xlO-’ 2 . 1 5 1~0-7 This study demo&rates the 1.042 1.068
use of1.006 0.917 centrifuge
a geotechnical
100 2.57~10” 1 . 7 0 10-l 2.73xlO-’ 3 . 8 8 1~0-7 1.090 1.126 0.987 0.91 1
k = cvmvyw ...................................... "............... (9)
~ 1.44~ 10’ for modelling hydradic conductivity of compacted soils. It
150 3 . 6 2 1 ~0” 1.37~10-~ 1.2ox10-7 can be seen that the1.113 hydraulic1.139 ~ u c ~0.905
~ n 0.975 i vini taygeotechnical
200 1.144 1.16C 0.964 0.898
where c, is the- - 4.5of
coefficient 1x 10” 1 . 0 510-’
consolidatioq ~ m9.65x10-’
, is the centrifuge is N times - -than
greater - that -obtained from the
S8 50 1 . 1 3 105
~ 1 .
coefficient of volume compressibility, and yw is the unit9 5 ~ 1 0 1.41
~ x 10-7 conventional laboratory 1.038 1.121 1.025 0.999
tests. Study also satisfies the
weight of water. In Eq. 1009,2.1 cv1xcan 105be1obtained
. 4 4 10-l 1.07~10-~
~ either by 2.05~10’ theoretical scaling1relations~p
2.27~10-~ .OS3 1.147 for 1.006 0.984 conducti~ty"
hydraulic
150 relationships
conventional J; or Iog(t) 2.79~10” 1.19x for the 10-’soil. Olson
9.52~10“ Time taken to test a1.OS9 1.134 in0.981
soil sample 0.960 is quite less
a centrifuge
(1986) has shown
-- that200
the calculated
3 . 4 2 ~ 1hydrauiic
09~ . 4 8 ~ conductivity
1 08.34x
~ 1 o-8 as compared to the 1.111
bench
----
1.136As0.966
tests. such, 0.947
a centrifuge can be
values from Eq.s10
9 are almost
50 1.2gX always 1o 5less than the measured
2.35xlO-’ 2.27~10’ used efficiently to obtain the hydraulic
1.024 1.033 1.010 0.918 conductivity of fine-
values, and the calculated
100 2h. 2y7d~105 r a ~ c1.68xlO-’
conductivity values
1 . 6 31~0-7 grained 3soils.
. 5 6 1
~ Since
0-7 the
1.065 prototype
1.072 stress
0.981 conditions
0.902 can be
from & method are 150 more3close ~to the
. 1 2 10” 1 . 3measured
~ 1.33~10-~
3 107 values created in a geotechnical 0.965 0.893the obtained
1.OS9 1.OS9 centrifuge,
than the log(t) method.200
--
As 3.8such 1xJ; 10”method
9.88x10-’ is used in this
1.04~10-~ permeability values1.124
--
are more1.114near0.950
-
to in-situ
0.882 values. Further,
study for estimation of cv and hence the
M 2 50 3 . 4 7 ~1O 5 6 . 4 9 1~0-’ 5.6 1x 10-’ hydraulic there is a good agreement
1.017 1.054 0.998 0.980 conductivity
between hydraulic
conductivity of the soil.100 5.56~10” 4 . 4 8 1~0-7 4 . 0 1 ~ 1 0 ~ values obtained 7.50~10-~ fiom various
1.047 1.07I-g
1 bench
0.950 tests.
0.935
150 7.73x 10” 3 . 4 4 10’ ~ 3.1Ox 10-7 1.OS 1 1.101 0.939 0.925
200 8.56~10” 2.39~10-’ 2 . 0 2 10-~ ~ 1.110 1.142 0.907 0.894
RESULTS AND - -
DISCUSSIONS ---
M3 50 2.12x 10” 3 . 9 5 1~0-73 . 5 5 10-7 ~ 1.018 1.045 1.004 0.958
REFERENCES
100 4.18~10-~ 4 . 9 9 ~10-7 1.073 1.096 0.982 0.944
The scaling relationship for3.85
hydraulic o ~ d u c ~2.48x10-’
x 1O 5 c2.76~10-~ between
vi~
150 5 . 3 6 10”
~ 1 . 9 0 10-7
~ 1.76~1 0-7 1.126 1.141 0.969 0.933
1-g tests (denoted by suffix p) and centrifuge tests (denoted Alem', M.H., Neilsen, D.H., and Biggar, J.W. (1976).
200 6.60~10” 1 . 0 5 ~ 1 09.9OX10’ ~ 1.218 1.227 0.955 0.922
by suflix m) can
__be written
- as: " ~ t e the~ - c - of soi1 cores by
h yg~ a u l ~conductivity
M4 50 1 . 3 2 10+ ~ 2 . 2 3 10’ ~ 2.1OX 10-~ ~ n ~ g a t i o n Soil . f '1.043 1.05Am.
Sci. Soc. 8 1.024 0.916
J.,40,212-218.
2k = N X
100 2 . 3 4 ~ 1 01~. 2 710-’ ~ 1 . 1 2 1~o - ~2.40~1o - ~3 . 6 6 1~0-7 1.133 1.160 0.995 0.903
k, 150 3 . 2 5 1~0-5 1.1ox 1o - ~9.1ox 10’
..~..~*.....l.*....~~..~~....~....~...-.*....... Arulanandan, K., Thompson,1.135 1.173 0.980
P.Y., 0.895
Kutter, B.L., Meegoda,
(10)
200 4.01 x 105 9.39x10-’ 7.07~10“ N.J., M ~ e e t h ~ 1.143
a n , 1.197
K.K., and 0.966 0.886 C. (1888).
Yogach~dran,
-- - -
M6factor
where x is a scale 50whose
8 . 5 2value
10‘
~ has 1 . 3to210-7
be 1.34~ 10-7
~ ascertained "Centrifuge modelling 1.065 1.061 1.021
of transport 0.924for pollutants
processes
with the he$ of various100 11-g. 4 6and
10-5 9.42x10-’ tests.
~ centrifuge in soils."2 .ASCE,
To 1.57~10”
9.70x10-’ ~ Jr.1.095
2 9 10-7 Geotech. Eng.,
1.OS9 114(2),
0.984 185-205.
0.902
150
evaluate the values of x, Eq.(lO) ~ can7.87~10’
1 . 9 9 10-5 be written 7.67~10’
in the 1.104 1.109 0.966 0.891
folrowing form:- - 200 2 . 4 10” ~ ~ 6.3 1x10’ 6.00~10“ Mtchelf, R.J. (I994a). 1.128 1.137"A flexible, no lateral strain
0.955 0.884
- -
apparatus for clay 1.052 liner-leachate
1.031 testing." Cenrrifige 94 by
~

M9 50 8.75x 10“ 1 . 4 31~0-’ 1 . 5 5 10-’ ~ 1.018 0.971

100 1 . 5 8 105
~ 9.22x10-’ 1.11~10-~ hung, Lee,
1.63~10-~ 1 . 9 6and
107 n (eds.),1.077
~ Ta1.117 Bdkema,
0.993Rotterdam,
0.953 351-355,
150 2.1OX 10-~7 . 6 2 1~O-* 8.1ox 1o 7 1.121 1.109 0.970 0.933
200 2.59~10-~ 6.01~10’ 6 . 4 3 10“~ Mtchell, R.J. (1994b).
1.145 "Centrifuge
1.132 0.957 techniques
0.922 for testing
- clay &er samples." Can, Georech. - f.,31,577-583.

261
262
 SESSION
IV

Soil-Structure Interaction and Foundation Design

263
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
GE 0 international Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

FOUNDATIONS IN CALCAREOUS SOILS AND ON SOFT GROUND

Madhira R. Madhav
Professor of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, h p u r 208 016, India

SYNOPSIS - Geotechnical engineers working on coastal structures have to deal with two distinctly different types of soils,
.viz. terrestrial and biogenic. The former hug the coastline and can extend to considerable distance on either side of the
shoreline. On the other hand biogenic calcareous soils are present in the near and offshore environment. The paper presents
a brief overview of some of the studies on calcareous soils and granular pile reinforced ground. The relatively high
compressibility of the former precludes use of shallow foundations. The outer skin resistance on pipe piles is very low
while plugging is often observed inside. Granular pile treatment is appropriate and very common for improving the
response of soft shore line deposits.

INTRODUCTION
One of the most significant developments in the recent
times has been the great attraction towards coastal areas, i.e.
shores, for human activities. The population of the world is
likely to be six billion at the turn of the century. Out of this,
about 70% population is expected to live within fifty
kilometres of the coastlines. A striking example of this
development is the super-mega city stretching <fromTokyo
to Hiroshima in Japan which accounts for the most
significant proportion of the country’s population and of its
activities. Similar growths patterns are discernible in many
developing nations, e.g. Bangladesh, China, India,
Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, etc.
Coastal areas have an uniqueness in that the three main
components of the earth system, the land, the sea and the
atmosphere come together. These areas are subject to many
natural hazards such as tides, floods,
cyclones/typhoons/storms, storm surges, tidal waves
(tsunamis), etc. These events are not isolated but involve
strong coupling between the oceans and the atmosphere and
are related to the topography. Apart from the natural
disasters, the coastal areas are subject to problems created
by human activities. Notable amongst these are the
subsidence of ground and intrusion of salt water into fresh
water aquifers due to increasing withdrawal of groundwater
and rise in sea level due to global warming.
Developmental objectives for coastal lowlands encompass
reclamation of land, provision of access and infra-structural
facilities for the promotion of human activities such as

Fig. 1 Distribution of Near-shore Terrigenous and Offshore Calcareous Sediments (after Jewel1 1993)

265
Fig. 2 Comparison of Compression Curves for Silica and
Calcareous Soils (after Le Tirant 1993)

agriculture, industry, housing and recreation. In furtherance

of the increasing demand for fossil fuel, near and off - shore
areas are also being exploited. The geotechnical engineers Fig. 3 Isotropic Compression Curves for Cemented
have thus been given great challenges to develop the coastal Calcareous Soils (after Carter et al. 1988)
and near shore sites and to design foundations for the
facilities being constructed on them.
Jeweil (1993) presents an excellent summary on the
~ I S T ~ B ~ IOF
OSOILS
N formation, dis~butionand characteristics of calcareous
deposits. The formation and distribution of calcarwus near
Geotechnical engineers working on coastal structures have shore deposits depends primarily on the rate of organic
to deal with two distinctly different types of soils, viz. activity and the amount of clastic sediments present. The
terrestrial and biogenic. Fig. 1 presents the distribution of carbonate percentage is a function of temperature and
the two types of soils. The former hug the coastline and can pressure in the sea water. High carbonate concentrations are
extend to considerable distance inland and pr~ominantly found in the shallow warm waters near the equator.
consist of alluvial and/ or marine soils. These soils are
formed from the sediment load transported by major rivers McClelland (1988) identifies four major grain types, viz.
and deposited in the deltas and in the seas. They are often
very soft, highly compressible and sensitive giving rise to
problems of low bearing capacity and large settlements. In
addition, some sites undergo large settlements due to
withdrawal of groundwater. Differential settlements are
attributed to the variations in the occurrence of sand and silt
lenses within the compressible layers.

CALCAREOUSSOILS

On the other hand biogenic calcareous soils are present in

the offshore environment in the latitude range of 30' N to
30' S where the organic activity is high in warm and
shallow waters though high carbonate sediments have been
observed to be accumulating in the latitude range of 32' S
and 40' S off southern Australia. Clastic sediments from the Fig. 4 Typical Response of Shallow Foundation on
alluvial rivers could often blanket the carbonate deposits. Calcareous Sand (after Randolph et al. 1993)

266
 . . 45 1 I I I

--1
0 I= I - I - I I I
0 40 80 120
Ernbcddcd pile lcrigtlt (in)

Fig. 7 Measured Shaft Resistances for Driven Piles in

Fig. 5 Bearing Capacity of Foundations on Calcareous and Calcareous Soils (after Abbs et al. 1988)
Silica Sands (after Randolph et al. 1993)
for silica and detrital carbonate sands; 0.01 to 1.0 for shelly
skeletal particles (remains of marine organisms which are and coralline carbonate sands and >1.0 for algal carbonate
often hollow and may be either intact or broken; pellets sands.
(finer particle possibly faecal in origin); ooliths or coated
grains (small core of either calcareous or non-calcareous The degree of cementation influences the compressibility
material coated chemically by calcium carbonate deposited and strength behaviour of calcareous soils. Fig. 3 shows
from solution); and detrital or clastic particles (broken typical isotropic compression curves for undisturbed
grains from preexisting limestone formations, rounded and samples from a depth below 120 m (Carter et al. 1988). The
without intra-particle porosity). Calcareous sediments are break in the slopes is very similar to the observed transition
classified based on (i) carbonate content, (ii) grain size from O.C. to normally consolidated behaviour of cohesive
distribution, (iii) in situ unit weight or void ratio and (iv) soils or the breakdown of structure in case of sensitive soils.
degree of cementation. Uncemented calcareous soils have a very high friction
angle, the critical state values being larger than 40’ but the
For the same range of grain sizes, the behaviour of the peak strength is mobilised at very large strains. The
calcareous soils contrasts with that of other types of soils response of these soils becomes stiffer with increasing
because (i) carbonate particles are soft and brittle and hence degree of cementation. The following effects have been
break easily; (ii) the grains are extremely angular, hollow listed by Poulos (1988) as arising out of increasing degree
and platy resulting in very high inter and intra- void ratios,
particularly in case of biogenic materials, and large
reductions in .volume due to compressive andor shear
stresses; and (iii) cementation at particle contacts due to
precipitated caicium carbonate. Fig. 2 is classic example of
the differences in the compressibilities of silica and
carbonate sands. The cornpressibility of these soils
increases with stress level and attain a limiting value in the
stress range of 500 to 800 @a. Typical ranges (Le Tirant
1993) for the limiting compression indices are 0.01 to 0.04

Fig. 6 Punch-through Failure of Cemented Crust (after Fig. 8 Limiting Shaft Friction Values as Function of
Finnie 1993, from Randolph et al. 1993) Compressibility Index (after Nauroy et al. 1988)

267
 i
-- ---- the values predicted by classical bearing capacity theories
k using high friction angles measured for silica soils p u t t
/-
Manche (Dense) -I and Ingram 1988). The risk of ‘punch-through’ failure (Fig.
I- I/,--- - 6 ) is very likely due to the existence of variable
A M a n c h e (Loose) ,---
3m-- ------- I
’ / /
cementation in different layers. Also, the possibility of
liquefaction under cyclic loading exists due to high
G$ / /’
compressibility of these deposits. Large settlements and
lateral movements are to be expected as a result. Skirting or
4 Quiou (Dense) jacketing the foundation may reduce or obviate some of
these problems.

Pile Foundations

Driven piles in calcareous soils have been shown to exhibit

of cementation of calcareous soils, viz., increases in peak
strength, cohesion and stifkess and decreases in axial strain
at peak strength, volume contraction at failure and the value
of Poisson’s ratio.
FOUNDATIONS IN CALCAREOUS SOILS
very low external frictiona1 resistance (McClelland 1988)
who also reports a number of examples of piles
experiencing free fall during driving. The peak external
skin friction values as low as 5.0 to 15.0 kPa have been
reported. From pull-out test on conductor on driven piles,
Abbs et al. (1988) report (Fig.7) peak external friction
values less than 20 kPa and 5.0 kPa for piles 60 and 100 m
long respectively. Nauroy et al. (1988) present data (Fig.8)
depicting the decrease in the unit shaft resistance values
with increasing compressibilityof calcareous soils.

Shallow Foundations
The load - settlement response of footings (Fig. 4) appears
to be controlled by compressib~lity and the cavity
expansion theory (Vesic 1973) is more appropriate for these
soils. The bearing capacity of smaller sized footings (spud
cans of jack-up rigs) is very much less (Fig. 5) compared to
In contrast, the internal skin friction values are larger by an
order of magnitude (Randolph et al. 1990, Murff et al.
1990) leading to complete piugging of the piles and
mobilisation of end bearing resistance of driven open ended
piles.
End bearing resistance of driven piles significant (Fig.9)
only if the piles have been driven through uncemented or
lightly cemented calcareous soils to rest on dense deposit.
For cemented soil, Houlsby et al. (1988) correlate end
bearing resistance, qb, with the uncon~nedcompressive
strength, qC,as

where pa is the atmospheric pressure. The phenomenon pile

plugging influences the amount of bearing resistance
developed. Interestingly, piles which do not plug during
driving {dynamic loading) may often behave as if they are
plugged during subsequent static loading (Fahey 1993).

SGI: Shallow Gr. Impr., RSS: Replace the Sft Soil; B: Blasting?;
IPSS: Improve Properties of Soft Soil; BRM: Blast Repl. Method; IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES FOR SOFT
USM: Use of Special Material; C: Cement andor Lime Stabilisation;
GROUND
RS: Reinf. the Soil?, L: Light-Weight Material; MRM: Mech. RepI.
Method, G Geosynth. Reinf.; RCM. Roller Compaction Method;
LWF: Light Weight Fill and Pm - Pre-mixed Soil The term soft ground encompasses deposits consisting of
fine grained soils with high water content, peats and loose
Fig. I0 Selection of Shallow Ground Improvement sand deposits near or under water. Table 1 facilitates
Techniques (after Ramon and Bergado 1991) identification of soft ground conditions for different

268
Table 1 Identification of Soft Ground (Kamon and of 25 kPa or less, SPT N values less than 4 or point
Bergado 1991) resistance values qc, from CPT less than 125 kPa, can be
- considered for identifying such soils. Kamon and Bergado
Structure Soil N- (1991) present selection procedures for shallow (Fig.10)
Condition and deep (Fig.11) ground improvement techniques for soft
Value ground. For shallow or near surface ground improvement is
achieve by replacement, preloading, cement andor lime
[SPT) treatment, near surface reinforcement with sheets, grids or
-
Road A: Very <2 < nets, light weight fills, etc.
Soft 125
B: Soft 2-4 A large variety of techniques are available for improving
125 - thick deposits of soft soils. Both static and dynamic
:: Moderate 4-8 250 methods of improvement are commonly practised. Vertical
250 drains (sand, prefabricated, plastic or natural fibre band-
- 500 shaped), reinforcement with stone columns/granular piles,
-
Express A: Peat sandgravel compaction piles, vibro-compaction methods,
Highway B: Clayey heavy tamping, deep mixing methods, grouting, etc. are
C: Sandy some of the alternatives available in this case. Since it is not
Railway (Thick. Of possible to cover all the commonly used ground
Layer), m improvement techniques within the space provided, only
>2 stone columns/granular piles would be covered in this
>5 report.
> 10
Bullet A < GRANIJLAFt PJLES
train B 200 - Granular piles or stone columns are cylindrical elements
200 -
500 introduced in to soft ground often by displacement method.
River A: Clayey In some countries, they are know as sand or gravel
dike B: Sandy compaction piles. They are composed of densified gravel or
Fill Dam sand or a mixture of both. Granular piles derive their
strength and stifhess from the confinement from the
surrounding soil. Of late, granular piles are being reinforced
infrastructure projects. Unconfmed compression strengths by layers of geogrids or are being encased in a geosynthetic

I Dwo Ground lrnprovamrnl I

Fig. 11 Selection of Deep Ground Improvement Techniques (after Kamon and Bergado 1991)

269

Fig. 12 The Cased-borehole Method of Granular Pile
Installation (after Datye and Nagaraju 1975)
to increase their carrying capacity and stiffness.
Because of their strength, stiffhess and relatively high
permeability, granular piles contribute to the overall
strength and stiffness by reinforcement, drainage and
30
Vesic (1972)
IBergadoBt al., 1991 (b)
35 40
Angle of Shearing Resistance, 15'
Fig. 13 Composite Bulging - Pile Failure Mechanism (a)
Stresses on Granular Pile and (b) Comparison of Predicted
and Measured Values
~ormalizedbulging capacity. qi,,/qup
1 2 3
8 '
0
nf. N y O 1 2 3 4 5
tVa=20
Nine. of reinf. layers
t . I . 1
Fig. 14 (a) Geogrid Reinforced Granular Pile and (b)
Variation of Bulging Capacity with Number of
Reinforcement Layers
consequent reconsolidation leading to densification o f the
surrounding soil. Granular piles and the surrounding ground
act together as a composite medium. Granular piles
installed in loose sand deposits reduce the possibility if
liquefaction following a seismic event.
Granular piles are installed by vibro-techniques (vibro-
compaction, vibro-replacement), compozer (Aboshi and
Suematsu 1985), or by the cased-bore hole (Fig.12, Datye
and Nagaraju 1975) methods. The latter method utilises
indigenous equipment, is relatively of low cost but time
consuming and inapplicable in case of sensitive soils due to
the disturbance caused during ramming. Granular piles
transfer the load through pile mechanism, i.e. through shaft
and base resistances, their load canying capacity is often
limited by the bulging capacity. Madhav and Miura (1994)
have established (Fig. 13) a composite bulging - pile failure
1 mechanism to predict the capacity of a single granular pile.
Consideration of %I1 mobilisation of undrained cohesion of
-0- Predicted
f
45 NO. of reinf.,Nr
I Fig. 15 Comparison of Predicted and Measured (a) Bulging
Capcity and (b) StifiFness of Geogrid Reinforced Granular
Pile
270
 Shear modulus r a t i o (Stone columnilmproved soi1)Gt
0 5 6 8
0.01'
1
I "
2 3
" "
4
1 ' " '
7
" I
Fig. 16 Variation of Shear Modulus ratio with Depth (after
Baez and Martin 1995)
the soft soil along the granular pile perimeter, leads to
better agreement of the predicted -and measured bulging
capacities of a singIe granular pile.
REINFORCED GRANULAR PILE
Since bulging limits the capacity of granular piles,
reinforcing them with geogrids (Madhav et al. 1994)
enhances both their load carrying capacity (Fig.14). The
bulging capacity normalised with respect to that of
unreinforced granular pile increases with the number of
reinforcement layers attaining a value of three for five
layers at a spacing of d, the diameter of the granular pile.
The proposed theory has been verified both with respect to
normalised bulging capacity and normalised stifhess
(Fig. 15). Results clearly indicate that reinforcement of
granular pile forces the bulging to occur at depth thereby
increasing its overall performance.
I 11I I L IP? I 1 1 1i
(c) elemental stresses
Fig. 17 Consideration of Dilation of%ranular Pile - (a) Unit
Cell, (b) Elemental Stresses and 0 Settlement Reduction
9
' a ' 101
Fig. 18 Model for (a) Load Test on Granular Pile and (b)
Unit Cell for Reinforced Ground
Based on shear wave velocity measurements, Baez and
Martin (1995) establish non-homogeneity (a linear increase
in the shear modulus) of the stone columns with depth
(Fig.16). In the companion paper to this conference
(Shanna et al. 1999) present some of the results obtained
while considering the above effect.
GRANULAR PILE REINFORCED GROUND
Granular piles are used in small groups below isolated
footings or in large numbers either in triangular or square
patterns, as below liquid storage tanks, abutment
foundations or embankments in which case the ground
becomes a composite m e ~ u m .The analysis for the latter
case is simplified as only a unit cell consisting of the
granular pile surrounded by soft soil need be considered.
The effective diameter, D,, of the unit cell, is related to
spacing, S, between the granular piles as
where c = 1.05 and 1.13 for triangular and square
arrangements respectiveIy. A large number of approaches
are summarised in Bergado et al. (1996). Most of these
approaches do not include the effect of dilatancy of
granular material on the overall response. Van Impe and
Madhav (1994) quantify the contribution of dilatancy on
the settlement response of granular pile reinforced ground
through the unit cell approach. Even half to one percent
dilation can reduce the settlement of the ground
significantly (Fig. 17).
In spite of the availability of many methods for predicting
the settlement of granular pile reinforced ground, the
variability of ground conditions leads to some uncertainties.
To obviate such limitations, Sharma et al. (1998) propose a
method for predicting the settlement of reinforced ground
Erom results of in situ load tests. Using the subgrade
271
 L. IP-F-7
d /d=3, d, /d=4.0 Center
Edge
-
..........
1 '

I
01
I I
10 30 50 70 100 "b
G:
Bearing (b)
S t r a t urn (d)
Fig. 19 Variation of Settlement Factor, SF, at Centre and EbfJb
Edge of Unit Cell with Gt - Effect of & Fig. 21 Two, Three and Four Pile Groups

modulus approach for the analysis of a plate load test and of
the unit cell (Fig.l8), the settlement ratio, SF, defined as the
ratio of granular pile reinforced ground (unit cell) to that of
the tested plate, can be estimated (Figs 19 and 20) as a
function of the relative stiffness, & (= EJD) of the
granular pile, relative stiffness, G,* (=G,.H.&a2) of granular
pad on top, rejative sizes of the plate, %Id, and of the unit
cell, dJd, where Egp is the modulus of deformation of
granular pile, D - the constrained modulus of soft soil, Gt
and H - respectively the shear modulus and thickness of the
granular pad, 4, d, and d - the diameters of the plate, unit
cell and the granular pile respectively.
be estimated based on Poulos and Davis (1980) approach
which was developed for relatively stiffer reinforced
concrete or steel piles in soil and using the principle of
supe~osition.To ascertain, the validity of the approach,
Sharma (1999) investigated pile group interactions for
compressible (granular) two, three and four pile groups
(Fig.21). For two pile groups, the results match closely
(Table 2) with those of Poulos and Mattes (1971) for both
Tabie 2: Comparison of Results for Two Granular Pile
Groups

Interaction C
GRANULAR PILE GROUPS Floating GP
Granular piles in small or finite groups, are also provided to Parameters Poulos Present
carry column loads. Presently, settlement of pile groups can & Study
Mattes
* (1971)
c,=10
-50
-
..........
i Lid = 10, v, =
0.5, sld = 3.0

K,
and
= 100
0.37 0.367

Lld = 10, v, = 0.43 0.429

0.5, sld = 3.0
and
K, = 1000
Lld = 25, v, = 0.405 0.404
0.5, s/d = 2.0
0' I and
1 2 3 K, = 100
dpJd Lld = 25, v, = 0.595 0.594 ~ 0.055 0.0548
0.5, sld = 2.0
Fig. 20 Variation of Settlement Factor, SF, at Centre of Unit and
Cell with q d - Effect of dJd K, = 1000

272
 - - - - - a

Rigorous Analysis
With Superposition (q=2a) ,,..............

0.2
10
' 100
I
400 I0
KgP
100 400
KgP
Fig. 22 Comparison of Results of Rigorous and Fig. 25 Variation of Interaction Coefficient, a.,,with Kgp
Superposition Analyses, Three Pile Group & Lid = 10 and Wd - Floating Granular 2
' Pile Groups

1
- Rigorous Analysis J floating and end-bearing granular piles.
With Superposition (a3=2a)
0.9 The principle of superposition appears to be valid (Fig.22)
only for large spacings (dd 1 5.0) of granular piles in case
of three pile groups. For normal ranges of spacings (std = 2
0.8 to 5), the differences between the rigorous and approximate
4 methods increase (Figs 23 and 24) with both relative
0.7 granular pile stifmess. &,and the length to diameter ratio,
Ltd for both floating and end-bearing pile groups. As can be
anticipated, the differences are significantly much more
0.6 (1Fig.s 25 and 26) in case of four (2') pile granular pile
groups.
n c
U.J
10 100 400 CONCLUSIONS
KgP

Fig. 23 Variation of Interaction Coefficient, a,,with %, Coastal areas have an uniqueness in that the three main
and L/d - Floating Granular Three Pile Groups components of the earth system, the land, the sea and the

0.6
.. I I
....................................... ,........
lligorous Analysis --
0.5

............................
0.4
........
4 .._.
....
0.3 ........
0.25 - .....................................
............I .........I
-....................... ................. 5 -
..........
I1 1
U.6 0.15
10 100 406 10 100 400
%P
KSP
Fig. 24 Variation of Interaction Coefficient, a3,with E;gp Fig. 26 Variation of Interaction Coefficient, ad,with Kgp
and L/d - End-bearing Granular Three Pile Groups and L/d - End-bearing Granular 22Pile Groups

273
atmosphere come together. These areas are subject to many
natural hazards such as tides, floods,
cyclonesltyphoonslstorms, storm surges, tidal waves
(tsunamis), etc. Geotechnical engineers working on coastal
structures have to deal with two distinctly different types of
soils, viz. terrestrial and biogenic. The former hug the
coastline and can extend to considerable distance on either
side of the shoreline. On the other hand biogenic calcareous
soils are present in the near and offshore e n v i r o ~ e n t
Pipe piles are the most commonly adopted form of
foundations in case of calcareous soils in offshore
environment. The skin friction values on the outer surface
of the piles can be very low, often in the range of 20.0 to
5.0 kPa for piles 60.0 to 100.0 m in length. In contrast, the
skin resistance on the inner surface of the piles can be
significant enough that these piles get plugged and mobilise
bearing resistance over the total base area instead of on just
the pipe cross sectional area.
Granular piles or stone columns are one of the most
commonly adopted ground treatment methods especially in
India for improving the response of soft coastal deposits.
The dilation of the granular material, if considered, leads to
further reduction in settlement of treated ground.
Reinforcement of granular soils either by skirting or
reinforcement with geogrid layers increases their bulging
capacity and forces bulging to occur at greater depths than
otherwise. Group interaction factors for granular
(compressible) pile groups have been obtained. The
principle of superposition valid for relatively
incompressible piles, does not appear to hold good for
compressible piles.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The help of Sri K.Ramu, Doctoral Student, in the drafting
of the paper is gratefully acknowledged.
References
Abbs, A.F., Waterton, C.A., Bell, R.A., Khorshid, M.S. and
Jewell, R.A. 1988. Evaluation of Pile Friction fiom
Conductor Load Tests. Proc. Int. Con$ on Calcareous
Sediments ed. by R.J. Jewell and M.S. Khorshid,
Balkema, Vol. 2, pp.607-616.
Aboshi, H and Suematsu, N. 1985. Sand Compaction Pile
Method: State of Art paper. Proc. Yd Int. Geofech.
Sem. on Soil Improvement Methods, NTU, Singapore.
Baez, J.I. and Martin, G.M. 1995. Permeability and Shear
Wave Velocity of Vibro-replacement Stone Columns.
274
Soil Improvement for Earthquake Hazard Mitigation,
ed. by R.D.Hryciw, Getech. Spl. Publ., ASCE:49:66-
81.
Bergado, D.T. and Miura, N. 1994. Improvement
Techniques for Soft and Subsiding Ground. In
LowIanA- Development and Management, ed. by
NMiura, MR.Madhav and K.Koga, Balkema,
Rotterdam:1~3-133.
Bergado, D.T., Anderson, L.R., Miura, N. and
~alasubramaniam, A.S. 1996. Soft Ground
Improvement in Lowland and Other Environments.
ASCE, New York, NY,USA:186-233.
Carter, J.P., Kaggwa, W.S., Johnston, LW., Novello, E.A.,
Fahey, M. and Chapman, G.A. 1988. Triaxial testing
of North Rankin Calcarenite. Proc. Int. Con$ on
Calcareous Sedi~entsed. by R.J: Jkwell and MS.
Khorshid, Balkema:2:5 15-530.
Datye, K.R. and Nagaraju, S.S. 1975. Instal~ationand
Testing of Rammed Stone Columns. Proc. Spl.
Session, 51hARC on SMFE, Bangalore, India:101-104.
Dutt, R.N. and Ingram, W.B. 1988. Bearing Capacity of
Jack-up Footings in Carbonate Granular Sediments.
Proc. Int. Con$ on Calcareous Sediments ed. by R.J.
Jewell and D. Cdndrews, Balkerna: 1:291-296.
Fahey, M. 1993. Selection of Parameters for Foundation
Design in Calcareous Soil. Int. Seminar on Regional
Soils, Kagoshima '93:71-134.
Fookes, P.G. and Higgenbottom, I.E. 1975. The
Classification and Description of Near-Shore
Carbonate Sediments for Engineering Purposes.
Geotechnique:25:406-411.
Golightly, C.R. and Nauroy, J.-F. 1990. End Bearing
Capacity of Piles in Calcareous Sands. Ofshore
~ e c h n o l oCon$,
~ Houston, Paper OTC:6239:345-
356.
Jewell, R.J. 1993. An Introduction to Calcareous
Sediments. Int. Seminar on Regional Soils, Kagoshima
'93 :1-45.
Kamon, M. and Bergado, D.T. I99 1. Ground Improvement
Techniques. Prof: PIh Asian reg. Con$ on Soil Mech.
And Found. Engrg., Bangkok:2:521-548.
Le Tirant, P. 1993. CUROM Design Guide: Foundations
 in Carbonate Soils. Publ. by Editions Technip, Paris. 13IhSEAGC, Taipei, Taiwan:421-426.

Madhav, M.R. and Miura, N. 1994. Stone Columns - Panel Sharma, J.K., Madhav, M.R. and Chandra, S. 1999.
Report. Proc. 14th ICSM&FE, New Delhi:5:163-164. Consideration of Non-Homogeneity of a Granular Pile
on Settlement. Int. Con$ on Ofshore Engrg.,
Madhav, M.R., Alamgir, M. and Miura, N. 1994. GEOSHORE,Mumbai, (in press).
Improving Granular Column Capacity by Geogrid
Reinforcement. Sh Znt. Conf on Geotextiles, Van Impe, W.F. and Madhav, M.R. 1992. Analysis and
Geomembranes and. Related Products: Settlement of Dilating Stone Column Reinforced
Singapore:1:35 1-35 5 . Ground. Osterreichische Ing. Und Arch.-
Zeitschrifr:137:114-121.
Murff, J.D. 1987. Pile Capacity in Calcareous Sands - State
of the Art. J. of Geotech. Engrg., ASCE:113:5:490- Vesic, AS. 1972. Expansion of Cavities in Infinite Soil
507. Mass. J. Soil Mech. & Found. Div.,
ASCE:98:SM3 :265-290.
Murff, J.D., Raines, R.D. and Wdolph, M.F. 1990. Soil
Plug Behaviour of Piles in Sand. Proc. 22"d Annual
Offshore tech. Conf, Houston, Paper OTC642 125-32.

Nauroy, J.-F., Rrucy, F. and Le Tirant, P. 1988. Skin

Friction of Piles in Calcareous Sands. Proc. Int. Conf
on Calcareous Sediments ed. by R.J. Jewel1 and MS.
Khorshid, Balkema:1:239-244.

Poulos, H.G. 1988. The Mechanics of Calcareous

Sediments. Australian Geomechanics: Spl. Issue in
Association with 51h A and N Z Conf on
Geomechanics, Sydney:8-41.

Poulos, H.G and Davis, E.H. 1980. Pile Foundation

Analysis and Design. John Wiley & Sons, New York,
NY,USA, 397p.
Poulos, H.G. and Mattes, N.S. 1971. Settlement and Load
Distribution Analysis of Pile Groups. Aust. Geomech.
J.:G2:No.l:ll-20.

Randolph, M., Finnie, I. And Joer, H. 1993. Performance of

Shallow and Deep Foundations in Calcareous Soil. Znt.
Seminar on Regional Soils, Kagoshima '93: 169-220.

Randolph, M.F., May, M., Leong, E.C., Hyden, A.M. and

Murff, J.D. 1990. Soil Plug Response in Open-ended
Pipe Piles. J. Geotech. Engrg., A X E 1 18:5:743-759.

Sharma, J.K. 1999. Analysis and Settlement of Granular

Pile($ - Single, In Group and with Raft. Doctoral
Thesis, I.I.T., Kanpur, India.

Sharma, J.K., Madhav, M.R., Chandra, S . and Miura, N.

1998. Prediction of Settlement of Stone Column
Reinforced Ground 6om Results of In Situ Load Test.

275
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
GE 0 &%%, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
NONLINEAR SOIL-STRUCTURE-INTERACTION ANALYSIS OF DIAPHRAGM
WALL
A.V. Ranga Raol and R. Sundaravadivelu2
'Project Engineer, National Institute of Ocean Technology, IIT Campus, Chennai 600 036, India
2Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai 600 036, India

SYNOPSIS: Diaphragm wall is a vertical face type berthing structure and classified as cantilever or tie back system. The
diaphragm wall is subjected to large lateral loads due to berthing and mooring of vessels in addition to active earth
pressure. The structure is modelled using beam element and soil is modelled using spring element. The spring stiffness is
modelled using p-y curves. This paper describes the incremental procedure used to include the nonlinear behaviour of soil
and the procedure for developing p-y curves for diaphragm wall in sandy soil by modifying the failure wedge considered
by Reese et al. (1974). This paper also presents a case study on a cantilever diaphragm wall.
INTRODUCTION procedure recommended by API RP 2A (1993), for
developing p-y curves for piles in sandy soil is based on
Diaphragm wall is a vertical wall structure classified as a the theory presented by Reese et al. (1974). However this
cantilever or tie back system. The tie back system can be procedure can not be used for diaphragm walls because
a tie rod with a deadman or a combination of vertical and the failure wedge (Fig.1) assumes an angle a for piles.
raker piles or only vertical piles. Since the diaphragm wall is long and continuous in one
Diaphragm walls are subjected to earth pressure in direction, the failure wedge is modified by equating a to
addition to k g e lateral forces due to berthing and zero, as shown in Fig. 2.
mooring of vessels. These lateral forces are to be resisted
by vertical piles, raker piles or deadman diaphragm wall.
The lateral resistance offered by the soil for a diaphragm
walVpile under lateral load is significant near ground
level. The nonlinear behaviour of soil near ground line
under lateral loading makes it necessary to relate
structure-soil deformation to soil resistance. American
Petroleum Institute (API Rp 2A, 1993) has recommended
p-y curves for piles based on the results of Matlock
(1970) for soft clay, Reese and Cox (1975) for stiff clay
and ONeill and Murchinson (1983) for sand. Clayey soil
having undrained shear strength greater than 96 H a is
classified as stiff clay by API (1993). Based on angle of Fig. 1 Failure Wedge
internal friction sand is classified as very loose sand (Q 5 for Piles
29'), loose sand (30 > Q > 29'), medium sand (36 > Q
>30'), dense sand (40 > I) > 36') and very dense sand
(45>@40') (API RP 2A, 1993).
The nonlinear behaviour of soil under lateral load is
represented by p-y curves. For piles the p-y curves can
be obtained using different approaches such as (i) API
recommendation, (ii) Back calculations from bending
moment diagrams and (iii) Hyperbolic model.
p-y CURVES

The procedure for developing p-y curves for piles in

clayey soils as per API RP 2A (1 993) can also be used for
developing p-y curves for diaphragm walls. The Fig. 2 Failure Wedge for
Diaphragm Wall

277
Based on the Fig. 2 the p-y curves for diaphragm wall are The point P,, y. is given by the following equation:
constructed using the following procedure.
y, = 3B I 8 0 (6)
Ultimate soil lateral resistance near ground surface,
P, = AP, (7)

where A is the value to be selected from Fig. 4, for a

particular non-dimensional depth.
+ K,H tanp tang sinp - K,B The point y,, P, is given by the following equation:

Ultimate soil lateral resistance well below the ground y, = Bl60 (8)
surface,
P, = B,P, (9)
Pcd = K,ByH(tan8P - 1)+ KoByH tang tan4p (2)
where Where B, is the value to be selected from Fig. 5, for the
B = width of the diaphragm wall in mm particular non-dimensional depth and for static load case.
K, = Coefficient of active earth pressure

Sin2(UV + +)Cos6 2.0

K,= (3)

Sin(a, -6)Sina,
where
a, = inclination of diaphragm wall with horizontal = 90" 2 5 . 0 , A n0.88
6.0
6 = angle of internal friction
2 Fig. 4 Nondimensional
6 = angle of wall fiction (=-g )
3
p = 45+- 2 + (4)
Coefficient A

Coefficient of earth pressure at rest, K, = 0.4

Critical depth H, is given by the following equation: 2.0

K,B tan'p + KoB tang tan4 p - ~ 4.0

5.
+ tanp tan+ sing *.O, 8, ~0.5
6 .O

If the depth at which p-y curve is required is less than H, Fig. 5 Nondimensional
then, equation 1 shall be used otherwise equation 2 shall Coefficient B,
be used. A typical p-y curve is shown in Fig. 3. The following parabola shall be fitted between points k
and m,
I
I
I
I
! 1
The parabola between points k and m shall be fitted as
follows:
The slope of line between points m and U is given by

- -Pm
Y
Y. -Ym
Fig. 3 A Typical p-y Curve

278
The power of parabolic section is given by
C shall be obtained as follows:
The coef~c i~nt
Y:
The point yk shall be determined ushg the following
equation:
where
kelative density for submerged sand in N/nsm3.
x=depth below the ground Ievel in mm.
Reese et al (1974) recommended the value of k as
5540x10-6 N/mm3 for loose sand, 1662Ox10" N / ~ 3 f o r
medium sand and 34630x10~N / m 3 for dense sand. The
number of points on the parabola shalI be computed using
equation 10. Any number of p-y curves can be developed
by repeating the above steps for each depth desired.
The analysis shall be carried out for each load
increment and the deflection (5,) in spring
element is calculated and the cumulative
deflection (y) is used to calculate the spring
stiffness (slope of p-y curve at deflection y) and
earlier spring stifkess shdl be replaced by the
calculated spring stiffness.
The analysis is carried out for next load
increment with the modified spring stiffness.
Steps (ii), (iii) and (iv) shall be repeated till total
load is attained.
The nodal displacements, rotations, axial forces,
shear forces and bending moments corresponding
to each load increment are used to obtain final
nodal displacements, rotations, axial forces, shear
forces and bending moments corresponding to
total load.
The flowchart of the subroutine NLINEAR i s given in
Fig. 6.

~ONLIN~~-SOIL-STRU~T~-INT~~C~~ON
The diaphragm wall can be analysed using standard finite
element analysis packages like STAAD 111, SAP 90,
SAPIV etc. Zn general fixity depth analysis or linear and moments
spring analysis are carried out for diaphragm walls.
However for any realistic analisis nonlinear behaviour of
soil shall be considered. A computer code NINSAP
(Nonlinear INcremental Structural Analysis Program) has
been developed (Ranga Rao (1998)) by modifjmg
SAP IV (Structural Analysis Package Program), which
was developed by Bathe et al. (1973). The structure is
idealised with beam elements and the nonlinear behaviour
of soil is idealized using springs which in turn are
modelled by p-y curves.
In order to i n c o ~ r a ~thee non~inear soil-structure
interaction analysis of berthing structures, the SAP W
program has been modified. The spring elements are
modified to include the no~inearbehaviour of soil using
p-y curves. A s u b r o u ~ e
~~ has been developed
using ~ n c r e m ~ nprocedure
~l to include the nonlinear
behaviour of soil, as given below: Output nodal displacements,member
forces and moments
(i) The analysis can be carried out for a p ~ c u l a r
load case or a load combination.
(ii) The load is applied in equal increments. Fig. 6 Flow Chart of Subroutine NLINEAR

279
CASE STUDY -2Sm * 3.3
I.... 37 ( 1 . L l l KNI

A case study has been carried out on a cantilever 36 114.9KNl

diaphragm wall using "SAP to study the influence of 35 120.692KNl
nonlinear-soil-structure-interactionanalysis. A typical
cross section of the diaphragm wall considered in the case 34 133.068KNl
2.0m
study is shown in Fig. 7. The top level of diaphragm wall 1 33 (4S.CLCKNI
is assumed as +2.5m and founding level as -15.Om. The . 3 4L....
m
soil is assumed as medium dense sand with angle of
internal cction as 30'. Uhit weight of 18 kN/m3 and a
submerged unit weight of 8 kN/m3 are considered in 24 182. 5qZKNI
23
generating p-y curves. The ground water table at +1.5 m, 21 194.9r8KNI
lowest low water level at -1-0.5m and dredge level at -2.0
m are considered A surcharge of 10 kN/m2is also :: 1107.32LKNl

considered in calculating active earth pressure. The 16 1119.7KNl

diaphragm wall of lm width is idealized using beam 11 (132.076kNI
element and soil is idealized wing nonlinear springs (p-y
12 1144 .L52KNI
curves). The discretisation of diaphragm wall is shown in
Fig. 8. 11 10 (156.828KNl

8 - H69.204kNl

7 6 ll81.58KNI

4 (193.956kNI

3 2 (206.332kNl

N NODE NUMBER
(F) ACTIVE E M H PRPWtE
C N kNODE

Fig. 8 Diseretisation of Diaphragm Wall

5007 -

0 20 40 60 80 100
Lateral Deflection, y (mm)
Fig. 9 p-y Curves at -5 m

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Fig. 7 Cross Section of Diaphragm Wall
The effect of increase in dredge level has also been studied
by considering dredge levels at -2.0 m, -3.0 m and -4.0 m.
The p-y curves are generated using the procedure explained
earlier and the p-y curves at -5.0 m for all the three dredge
levels are shown in Fig. 9. It is observed that the increase
in dredge level reduces the soil resistance at -5.0 m due to
reduction in overburden pressure.
The deflection of diaphragm wall vs. depth for a dredge
level of -2.0 m is shown in Fig. 10. The fixity analysis and
linear analysis underestimates the deflection compared to
nonlinear analysis. When bending moments are compared,
it is observed that analysis considering fixity depth
overestimates the bending moment by 50% and analysis
considering linear Springs underestimates the bending
moment by 25%, compared to the analysis considering
nonlinear springs, as shown in Fig. 11.

280
 bending moments with the increase in dredge level are
shown in Fig. 14.
Deflection (mm)
0 SO 100 150 200 250 :

-1.5

-5.51-
Fig. 10 Co~parisonof
Deflection
Fig. 13 Variation of
Bending Moment (W-m) Deflection
-200 0 200 400 600 800 1000
Bending Moment (H-m)
-400 0 400 800 1200 1600

-13+
9
-1 1.v

-15.5
-Fixity Analysis
- - - Nonlinew Spring Analysis
- - Linear Spring Analysis
Fig. 11 Comparison of
Bending Moment
The underestimation of bending moment i s due to the Fig. 14 Variation of
constant soil stiffness considered in the linear springs Bending Moment
analysis, whereas the soil stiffness is reduced for each load
increment in nonlinear springs analysis. The variation of The increase in deflection and bending moment with
soil stif’fness vs. depth is shown in Fig. 12. increase in dredge level are s ~ ~ s in eTable
d 1.
Spring Stifinesr, K (kNlm Table 1 Variation of Deflection and Bending Moment
50000 100000 15 with Dredge Level

Dredge Deflection Increase in Bending Increase

Deflection Moment in
Level (mm) Bending
tm) (%I V - m ) Moment
(%)
; 5 . 31 -
634.9
Fig. 12 Variation of
Soil Stiffness 147.4 954.0 50.75
The plasti~~ation of the soil for about 2.5 m below the 250 1599.0 151.85
dredge level is idealised by zero spring stifhess in
nonlinear analysis, The spring stiffness in nonlinear The nonlinear analysis using p-y curves shows that the
analysis is also observed to be less than the linear spring depth of maximum bending moment is observed at seven
stifhess beyond this depth. By considering the dredge times the diaphragm wall thickness below the dredge level,
levels at -2.0 m, -3.0 m and -4.0 m in nonlinear analysis, it similar to the fixity depth specified for piles in medium
is observed that the deflection increases with the increase in sand by IS 291 1 (Part I, 1979) (Fig. 14), for all the dredge
dredge level, because of increase in unsupported length of levels of-2.0 m, -3.0 m and 4 . 0 m.
diaphragm wall as shown in Fig. 13. The increase in

281
CONCLUSIONS

1. A procedure has been developed for generating the p-y

curves for the diaphragm wall.
2. A structural analysis program N I N S A P has been
developed to include the nonlinear behaviour of soil
by idealising the soil using springs modelled by p-y
curves.
3. A diaphragm wall of 500 mm thick is analysed using
NINSAP, by varying dredge level from -2.0 to -4.0m.
The analysis with linear springs underestimates the
bending moment by 25% and the analysis using fixity
depth overestimates the bending moment by 50%,
when compared to NINSAP results.

REFERENCES

American Petroleum Institute - API RP 2A (1993)

Recommended Practice for planning, designing and
constructing Fixed Offshore Platforms. American
Petroleum Institute, Washington DC, 14th Edition.

Y-A
Bathe, K.J., Wilson, E.L., and Peterson, F.E. S A P J
structural ahalysis program for static and dynamic
response of linear system. Report EERC, Univ. Of
California, Berkelay, California, June 1973.

Matlock, H. (1970) Correlations for design of laterally

loaded piles in soft clay. Oflshore Technology
Conference, OTC 1204, 577-587.

O'Neill, M.W. and Murchinson J.M. (1983) An

evaluation of p-y relationship in sands. A report to
the American Petroleum Institute.

Ranga Rao, A.V. (1998) Knowledge Based Expert

System for Berthing Structures, A Ph.D. thesis
submitted to the Indian Institute of Technology
Madras, Chennai, India.

Reese, L.C., Cox, W.R. and Koop, F.D. (1974) Analysis

of laterally loaded piles in sand, qffshore
Technology Conference, OTC 2080,472-483.

Reese, L.C., Cox, W.R. and Koop, F.D. (1975) Field

testing and analysis of laterally loaded piles in stiff
clay, Offshore Technology Conference, OTC 23 12,
67 1-690.

282
GE 0 &, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore,Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3,1999

INFLUENCE OF SHAPE OF PILE ON LATERAL RESPONSE OF PILE FOUNDATIONS

K. Mallikarjuna Raol, K. Nagendra Prasadl and M. Pullaiah2
‘Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, S.VU. College of Engineering, Tirupati 517 502, India
*Formerly Graduate Student, Department of Civil Engineering, S.VU. College of Engineering, Tirupati 517 502, India

SYNOPSIS - Conventional methods of analyses of laterally loaded piles assume the pile to be either strip or a circular pile of
diameter equal to the projected width of the pile. In this investigation the influence of shape of pile on ultimate lateral capacity
and ground line deflections of rigid piles in clays is studied by conducting static load tests on model piles in the laboratory. The
results indicated that the lateral capacities are marginally higher and groundline deflections are moderately lesser for square
and rectangular piles than that of circular piles having same projected width. A method has been proposed to predict lateral
capacity of rectangular piles based on known capacity of a circular pile of same projected width. Rectangular hyperbolic
relationships have been extended to lateral load deflection curves. Modified hyperbolic relationships were developed using
which load deflection behavior can be estimated for any pile width once the load deflection curve for any one pile width is
known. These relationships have been verified with the reported results.
INTRODUCTION if load deflection behaviour for any one particular pile width
is known. The proposed relationships have been verified with
Pile foundations supporting structures such as offshore plat- the published laboratory and field test results.
forms, quay and harbour structures, transmission line towers,
and bridge abutmentsare subjected to significant lateral loads. E X P E M ~ N T A LWORK
To suit the various types of structures and their loading con-
ditions, piles of different types, shapes and sizes are being Model Piles and Soil Used
used in practice, The safety of these structures depends on
the ability of the supporting piles to resist the large lateral The tests were conducted on model piles made of mild steel
forces. Several investigators employed theoretical and ana- Pipes of circular, Square and rectangular cross-section.
the piles were Of 6oo mm length with an effectivedepth

-
lytical methods for analysis and design of laterally loaded

piles replacing the pile by a thin vertical stfip of width equal
to pile diameter, (Reese & Matlock 1956, Broms 1964,
Davisson and Robinson 1965, Poulos 1971). These theories
are based on widely varying assumptionsand concepts. Based
on field or laboratory investigations carried out on square or
circular piles some investigatorshave either modified the ex-
isting methods or proposed new methods of predicting ulti-
mate lateral Capacity, deflections, mXl’Wlts and Soil reactions
along the length of the pile (MuahY 1971, Chari &MeYerhof
9839 etal 1986, Sastry kk Meyerhof 19909
Dunnavant&o’Niell 1989,Rao&Rao 19959Raoeta1 1996).
From the literature it could be seen that there are several theo-
retical and experimental investigations camed out to predict
ultimate lateral capacity of circularpiles. However,especially
in the case of short piles, the behaviour of a pile subjected to
lateral loads, depends on the physical dimension of the pile
and strength of the surrounding soil. In this investigation an
attempt has been made to study the influence of shape of pile
(Pile cross section) on ultimate lateral capacity and lateral
deflections of rigid piles by conducting tests in the laboratory
on model piles of circular, square and rectangular shapes hav-
ing same projected width. Rectangular hyperbolic relation-
ships have been extended to lateral load deflection curves.
Modified hyperbolic relationshipswere suggestedusing which
load deflection behaviour can be estimated for any pile width
-
Of embedment Of 400 mm. The Outer diameterOf the
pileis25mm andthesquarePileisofsize25mmx25-.
The piles are Of sizes 25 375 mm and 25
x 50 mm. The soil used is a highly plastic soft clay. Its
liquid limit is 55% and plastic limit is 25%.
Tests Conducted
Static lateral load tests were conducted on all the piles em-
bedded in clayey soil bed prepared at water contents of so%,
35%, 39%, and 42% corresponding to consistency indices of
0.828,0.655,0.517 and 0.414. In all the cases l/b ratio is 16.
‘1’ being the- embedded length and ‘b’ being the projected
width of pile perpendicular to the direction of application of
lateral load. The bld ratio ranges fiom 0.5 to 1.O, ‘d’ being the
cross sectional length of pile in the direction of application of
lateral load. However, at a consistency index of 0.42, static
lateral load tests were also conducted on circular piles keep-
ing V b ratio at 9 and 12 and on rectangular piles keeping ‘b’
equal to 37.5 mm and 50 mm. The static lateral load was ap-
plied at a constant height of 75 mm above the soil surface for
all the tests.
Testing Procedure
The tests were conducted on piles embedded in a clayey soil
bed prepared in a rectangular steel test tank measuring 750

283
mm x 600 mm in plan and 500 mm height. The soil in fully
saturated condition was carefully placed in the test tank in 50
mm thick layers holding the pile in position. After the place-
ment of each layer of soil, it was pressed with a wooden tem-
plate so as to remove the air bubbles entrapped. The undrained
shear strength of the soil was measured using in-situ vane
shear apparatus. A flexible wire rope was attached to the pile
at required height and it was passed over a frictionless pulley
attached to the one end of the tank.The static lateral load was
applied in 10 to 12 increments by placing weights on the load
hanger attached to the wire rope. Each load increment is al-
lowed to act on pile till the rate of deflection reached a value
equal to 0.02 mm/hr. The lateral deflections at two different
elevations were measured using two dial gauges of 50 mm
travel with a least count of 0.01 mm. The Schematic diagram
model piles, made up of M.S.pipes of circular, square and
rectangular shapes, embedded in a clay soil bed prepared at
differentconsistencies. Typical load deflection curves obtained
are shown in Fig 2. The later part of the load deflection curves
could be observed to be flat straight line. The ultimate lateral
capacity is taken as the load corresponding to the point where
flat straight line portion starts in the load deflection curve.
Pullaiah (1996) presented comprehensive discussion on vari-
ous methods of determining ultimate capacity from load de-
flection curves and the reason for adopting straight line
method.
500 .
L50 . X - indicates I a t e m l capacity

of the test set up is shown in Fig. 1.

PILE
ROPE FRICTIONLESS WUY
_cp
I

0 2 L 6 8 10 12 1L 16 18 20 22 2L 26 28 30 32 34
Gmund line detlection y I mm I

FIG. 2 LATERAL LOAD DEFLECTION CURVES

( RECTANGULAR PILE 1

FIG.1 SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF THE

Influence of Shape of Pile on Ultimate Capacity
EXPERIMENTAL SET UP The ultimate lateral capacities so obtained for all the tests
conducted on piles of different shapes and sizes at various
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS consistency indices are summarised in Table 1.

In order to study the influence of shape of pile on ultimate From Table 1 it can be observed that the lateral capacities of
lateral capacity, static lateral load tests were conducted on square piles are slightly higher than those of circular piles at

Table 1: Ultimate Lateral Capacities of the Piles Tested

S. Shape of Size in
No Pile 111111
-
1. Circular
- I 256
2.
- Square 25x25
3. R e c t a n d a r
- 25~37.5
-
4.
5. Circular
-
6.
-
7.
-
8.
-

284
any given consistency of the soil even though the projected better contact. This may be the reason for higher capacities
width is same i.e. 25mm. This may be attributed to the fact observed for square and rectangular piles than for circular
that the square pile may have better contact with the soil all piles. In case of rectangular piles as the bfd ratio decreases
along its perimeter under lateral load on account of its shape. the contact area on either side of pile and hence the contri-
The variation of lateral capacity with bid ratio for rectangular bution due to lateral shear drag increases leading to higher
piles having same projected width ‘b’ and I/b ratio is shown ultimate capacities. In practice, the ultimate lateral capacity
in Fig 3. The ultimate lateral capacity is observed to decrease of a pile of given projected width ‘b’ can be increased by
with bld ratio. The decrease in ultimate lateral capacity is choosing a rectangular pile of lower bfd ratio. However, this
marginal and is of the order of 10 to 25% as bld ratio in- technique will be useful only when the direction of lateral
creases from 0.5 to 1.0. load is fixed and known as in the case of earth retaining struc-
tures. If the lateral load is due to wind or wave action, which
The lateral load acting on a pile is likely to be resisted by may act in any direction, it may be better to adopt circular or
earth pressure developed in front of the pile and shear resis- square sections which are likely to yield same lateral capacity
tance developed on either side of the pile as shown in Fig 4. irrespective of direction of load application.
The contribution due to both frontal soil resistance and side
shear resistance are likely to be slightly more in case of square Prediction of Lateral Capacity
and rectangular piles compared to circular piles because of
Rao & Suresh Kumar (1 996) Concluded that the ultimate
lateral capacity of a circular rigid pile of length ‘I’ and diam-
eter ‘b’ embedded in a clayey soil having undrained shear
strength Cu can reliably predicted using Broms’ method
(Broms 1964). In this method the nondimensional ultimate
lateral resistance P,,/CUb2is expressed as a function of
nondimens~on~ e m b ~ e n length
t Ilb and nondimensional
load eccentricity ratio eh. However, this method cannot be
used for square or rectangular piles as lateral shear drag has
not been taken into account while developing the solutions.
In this investigation an attempt has been made to extend the
Broms’ method to rectangular piles by expressing
nondimensional ultimate lateral resistance PJCub2as a func-
tion ofb/d ratio.
The non-dimensional lateral capacities, i.e. PJcub2values are
I 0.50 0.60 0.70 o.ao 0.30 1.00 9
calculated for all the piles tested in this investigation and are
RATIO b/d summarised in Table 2. From this table the nondimensional
Fig. 3 VARIATION OF LATERAL CAPACITY
lateral capacity is observed to be constant for any given pile
WITH b / d RATIO
irrespective of consistency index. The average value of PJ
cub2for each pile is also given in the same table. In Fig 5 the
ratio of nondimensional lateral capacity is plotted against bf
hDistribution
side shear
of
d ratio. Nondimarsional lateral capacity ratio is given by the
Pi& I following equation
(PJcub2)Rectangular
Lateral c
............. (1)
(PJcUbz)Circular
The ratio is observed to increase with bfd ratio and variation
is c u r v i l i n ~in nature. The relationship between bfd ratio
Possible oi\e/so
. , and ratio of nondimensional lateral capacity of rectangular
separation
pile to that of circular pile is obtained by polynomial curve
fitting procedures and the regression analysisyielded the fol-
lowing equation.
Fig.4 Theoretical distributions of earth
Pressure and side shear around (PJcub2)Rectangular
a pile subjected to Lateral load
= 1.94 (b/d)*- 3.47 @Id) +2.6087.....(2)
(PJcub2)CircuIar
( After Smith 1987)

285
 Table - 2 Nondimensional Lateral Capacity Factor, PJC,ba for a l l the Piles

-200 N
-250 N
0.24 -=300 N

f 0..16
0.12

0.08

0.W

0.65 1 I I I I I I I
0.1 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 9.0 1.1
b/d
Fig.5 Var;ation of ratio of non dimensional
lateral capacity with b/d ratio
The above equation can beused to predict the lateral capacity
of a s q u ~ l r e c ~ g u l pile
a r of projected width ‘b’ having
known the ( (Pu/c,b2) value of circular pile from Broms’
method.
Influence of shape of pile on Deflection
In most of the civil Engineering structures, the deflections
are to be limited to a prescribed value, and in turn deflection
governs the maximum allowable load. In order to study the
influence of bld ratio on ground line deflection, lateral load
tests were conducted on rectangular piles of b/d ratio equal
to 0.5, 0.67 and 1.0 at consistency indices of 0.828, 0.655,
0.517 and 0.414. Typical load deflection curves are already
shown in Fig.2. Fig.6 shows the typical varication of ground
line deflection expressed as the ratio of pile width (yh) with
bld ratio at different static loads. From this figure it can be
seen that as the bld ratio decreases from 1.O to 0.67, the ratio
of y b is decreasing by about 50% at all the loads considered.
This indicates that for any given load the deflection of arect-
angular pile of bld ratio 0.67 is only about half the deflection
0.00
0L 0.5 0.6 07 0.8 D9 7.0 1.1 1
bI d
Fig.6 Variation of G ~ o u n d line Def[~tion
with b / d ratio ( I c - 0 6 2 8 )
1.2
of a square pile of size b x b. Further it is observed that the
deflection of rectangular pile of bld ratio 0.50 is only about
113 the value of deflection experienced by square pile at all
the loading intensitiesconsidered. Similar observationswere
made in all the tests conducted in this inv~tigat~on. From
this it can be concluded that the deflection could be consider-
ably reduced by reducing the bld ratio especially for load lev-
els greater than 50%of lateral capacity.Hence in practice rect-
angular piles of lower bld ratios are very useful in reducing
the ground line deflections.
Hyperbolic Relationships
In the field of Geotechnical Engineering the hyperbolic for-
mulations are very well used to characterize the stress strain
relationships (Kondner 1963, Duncan & Chang 1970,
Sridharan & Rao 1972). Rao & Rao (1994) extended the hy-
perbolic relationships to lateral load deflection curves for
flexiblepiles. From the typical load defectioncurves presented
in Fig.2, it could be seen that the lateral load deflection curves
of rigid piles can also be represented by rectangular hyper-
bola without much loss of accuracy. The rectangular hyper-
bolic formulation between deflection and load can be repre-
sented by

Y in Fig.8 all the points are observed to fall on a single curve
P = -................(3)
a+by
where P = lateral load
y= Ground line deflection corresponding to load p and 'a'
and "b' are constants.
From the property of rectangularhyperbola a transformed plot
between ylp and y should be a straight line. Typical trans-
formed plots of y/p Vs y for the tests, reported in this investi-
gation are shown in Fig.7. All these plots are straight lines
and the linear regression analysis yielded correlation coeffi-
cients of 0.95 to 0.99 for the straight line fits made. This brings
out that the lateral load deflection curves can very well be
represented by rectangular hyperbola.
presented on modified plot of (y/p) (l/b)-0.75vs y, as shown
without any noticeable scatter. This clearly suggest that for
any given embedded length of pile, the relationship between
(y/p) (IAI)-O.~~and y is unique irrespective of the width of the
pile. This observation can very well be used to predict load
deflection curves corresponding to piles of different width, if
load-deflection curve for any one width is known. The re-
ported results of Briaud et al (1983) and Rao & Rao (1992)
were used to verify the modified hyperbolic relationships.
Briaud et a1 (1983) reported the results of 3 model tests con-
ducted on concrete drilled shafts in the field. Out of these two
tests were conducted on piles of same penetration but of di-
ameters 750 mm and 900 mm. The modified plots of (y/p) (V
b)-0.75vs y for these tests are shown in Fig.9. Here also the
curves are observed to unify into a single curve. Similarly
Rao (1992) .conducted tests on piles of different diameters

Pile Size
ooooo 25mmX25mm l l / b . 1 6 )

0.lL 200
cCIC W.C- 30
I
.
.- W.C. 35
-0.0 W.C. 38
#++
W.C. L 2

F ' ;' ' :2' ';5' ' :a' ' A' ' i L ' ' A'
;' ' b 'Ground Line D e f l e c t i o n .
Y lmm)
I

Fig.8 MODIFIED PLOT OF ( y / p ) ( l / b j o ' h y

Ground l i n e D e f l e c t i o n . y l m m )
Fig.7 TRANSFORMED PLOT OF y/p Vs y
(Rectangular Pile 25mmx50mm 1

These rectangular hyperbolicrelationshipswill be of immense

use to practicing Engineer. Even though several theoretical
and semi-empirical approaches are available for prediction
of ultimate lateral capacities and deflections based on the soil
characteristics and size of the piles, as per the field practice
all over the world, conducting a few load tests is inevitable.
However, there are some practical difficulties in carrying out
the field tests to obtain large values of deflections. In such
cases the relationship between load and deflection beyond
the deflections upto which the test has been conducted, can
be extrapolated using rectangular hyperbolic relationships,
Modified Hyperbolic Relationships
YO.00

aool
t
0
I
10
I
20 30
I
10
I
50
I
60 :
Ground l i n e Def1ection.y i n mm
From the results presented in the previous section it is shown
that the transformed plots of y/p vs y for square and rectangu- Fig.9 MODIFIED PLOT OF ( y / p ) x (I/b?% y
Data f r o m Briaud e t at 119831
lar piles are straight lines. However, when these results are
but of same embedment length. The tests were conducted by
applying load at different eccentricities. Typical transformed
plots of yIp (l/b)-0.75vs y are shown in Fig. 10 which confirms
the suggested modified hyperbolic relationships.
t
I I
'E 25
0 20
-
-ee 21.5mm Mild steel I c = S O m m )
13.5mm Mild steel I e r 5 0 m m I
o 1 2 3 L 5 6 ? 6 9
Ground tine deflection y Imm)
Fig.10 MODIFIED PLOT OF ( ~ / ~ ) X ( i / b ~ 'y. ~
D o h f r o m Rao h Rao (1992 I
CONCLUDING R E M A W
Based on the results of the investigations carried out and re-
ported in this paper, it may be reasoned that the ultimate lat-
eral capacity of rigid piles in clays depends not only on the
projected width of the pile but also on the shape of the pile,.
The lateral capacity of a square or rectangular pile is more
than that of a circular pile having same projected width. This
may be a ~ b u t e to
d increase in side shear resistance in case
of square and rectangular piles. Further the groundline de-
flections of rectangular piles are considerably lower than that
of circular piles, particularly at lower b/d ratios. Rectangular
hyperbolic relationships can be extended to lateral load-de-
flection curves of rigid piles. Modified hyperbolic relation-
ships were suggested using which load-defl~tionbehaviour
can be estimated for any pile width if load deflection behaviour
for one particular pile width i s known.
REFERENCES
Briau4J.L. Smith, T.D. and Meyer, B.(1983). PressureMetre Gives
Elementary Model for Laterally Loaded Piles, Int. Symp on
in-sifu Testing, Paris, 2:217-221.
Broms, B.B. (1964) Lateral Resistanceof piles in cohesivesoils, .I Sridharan, A. and Rao, S.N.(1972).NewApproach to Mutistage
SoilMech. &Found Div. A X E , 90:2:27-63
Chari,T.R. and Meyerhof, G.G.(1983). UltimateCapacityofRigid
Single Piles Under Inclined Loads in Sand, Can GeotechJ,
20849-854
Davisson, M.T. and Robinson K.E.(1965). Bending and Buckling
of Partially Embedded piles, Proc 6th Int. ConJOn SM &
FE, 2~246-253
Duncan, J.M. and Chang, C.Y. (1970).Nonlinear analysis of stress
and stxain in soils, J. SoiZMech. &found. Div. ASCE, 965:
1655-1681
Dunnavant, T.W. and 0' Neill, M.W.(1989). Experimental p-y
model for submerged stiff day, LGEofech.Enggg. Div. A X E ,
115:1:95- 114.
Kondner, R.L. (1963). Hyperbolic Stress-Sh-ain Response: Cohe-
sive Soils,J.soiZ Mech. L Found. Div. ASCE, 89: 1:115-143
Koumoto, T. Meyerleof, G.G. and Sastry, V.V.R.N.(1986).
Ananlysisof Bearing Capacity of rigid piles under eccereiic
and inclined roads, Can. Ge0fech.J.23:124-13 1.
Murthy, V.N.S. (1971). Nondimensional solutions for laterally
loaded vertical and batterpiles embedded in cohesiouless soils,
4th Asian Reg. Con$ on Soil Mech. and Found. Engg.
Bangkok, 1:295-300
Poulos,H.G.( 1971)Behavior of laterally loadedpiles 1-smglepiles,
10 J.SoiI Mech L Found Div., ASCE, 9 7 5 : 733-751
Pullaiah, M (1976) Influence of shape of pile on lateral response
of pile foundations, M. Tech. Dissertation submitted fo S. V.
University, Tiruapfi.,India.
Rao, S.N. and Rao, K.M.(1995) Behavior of Rigid Piles in clay
under lateral loading, Indian Ge0tech.J. 25:3:287-3 13
Rao, S.N. and Rao, K.M.(1994) Experimental studies on flexible
piles subjected to static lateral load Pile Talk International
'94, Singapore.
Rao, K.M. and Suresh Kumar ,~(1996).Measured and Predicted
Response of laterally loaded piles, 6th Znt. Conzand Exhibi-
e e ~ Bombay. 1:1.6.1-1.6.7
tion o n ~ ~ l i n g a n d DFound.
Rao, S.N., Rao, K.M. and Veeresh, C.(1996). A Simplifiedmethod
of calculating the lateral load capacity of Rigid piles in clay,
Ground Engineering, British Geotechnical Soceity, London,
29:9: 40-42
Reese, L.C. and Mattock, H. (1956)Nondimensional solutions for
laterally loaded piles with soil modulsed assumed propartional
to depth, Proc .8th Texas Con$ on Soil Mech. and
Found.Engg Bureau of Engg. Res. Univ. of Teas, Austin,
Spe. Pub.29
Sastry, V.V.R.N. and Meyerhod,C.G.( 1990). Behavior of flexible
piles under incline loads, Can. Geofech.J.,27: 19-28.
Triaxial Test, JSoifMech and Found Div, ASCE,
98: 11:1279-1286.
288
G€0‘aIntenational
3 Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3,1999
ANALYSIS OF A PILE FOR CYCLIC LOADING
A.V. Navalel, D.M. DewaikaP and V.A. Sawant3
‘Post Graduate Student, zF’rofessor, ’Research Scholar, lndian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Pmai, Mumbai 400 076, India

SYNOPSIS Finite element analysis is presented for pile embedded in cohesive as well as cohesionless soil, subjected
to cyclic lateral load. Pile is modelled using beam-column element, whereas nonlinear spring elements are used to
represent soil medium. Pile is considered to be linearly elastic. Effect of cyclic loading, is incorporated by degrading
soil modulus with number of cycles, and cyclic strain. An iterative procedure is adopted, in which the value of soil
modulus is revised after each iteration to make it consistent with pile deflection. Two approaches, LISM and DSPY,
are considered in the analysis.
INTRODUCTION In this paper, finite element analysis is presented for pile
embedded In cohesive as well as cohesionless soil,
The main purpose of offshore structures is’ exploration of subjected to cyclic lateral load. Pile is modelled using
oil and gas from the sea. Most of these structures are beam-column element, whereas nonlinear spring
supported on piles involves consideration of unusually elements are used to represent soil medium. Pile is
large ratios of lateral to vertical loads particularly in the considered to be linearly elastic. Effect of cyclic loading,
areas subjected to severe storms. Lateral forces may be is incorporated by degrading soil modulus with number
due to combination of wind and wave action, and hence of cycles, and cyclic strain. An iterative procedure is
are cyclic in nature. While the analysis of foundation for adopted, in which the value of soil modulus is revised
vertical loads follow conventional procedures, the lateral after each iteration to make it consistent with pile
load analysis poses more complex problem. Since deflection. Two approaches, LISM and DSPY, are
combined flexural and. axial stresses are usually the considered in the analysis.
major factor, bending moments in the pile must be
reliably predicted. This requires the interaction between FINITE ELEMENT FORMULATION
the structure and foundation elements be rationally
analysed. Beam Column Element
Cyclic lateral loading is an aspect of problem that The degrees of freedom for element consists of axial
introduces additional complexity and is encountered in displacement w, lateral displacements U and v, and’
offshore foundations as well as other applications. The rotations about three axes. Therefore beam column
limited information available on the effects of cyclic element has six degrees of freedom at each node. If
loading on piles indicates that remarkable reduction in rotation about z-axis is not considered, the degrees of
load capacity and pile-soil system stiffness can occur. In fieedom are reduced to 5 at each node.
some of these cases, failure is characterised by a
continued accumulation of permanent displacements Spring Element
resulting in movements of pile of the order of one pile
diameter after several cycles of load application. The soil reaction at various nodes is simulated by using a
series of equivalent and independent elastic springs.
It appears that at least two mechanisms may contribute to
the failure of piles under cyclic loading: METHOD OF ANALYSIS
1. Cyclic degradation of soil modulus and yield stress.
2. Accumulation of permanent displacement with Stiffness matrices for pile, and soil are assembled. From
increasing load cycles. assembled stiffness matrices, known load vector and
known boundary conditions, overall equilibrium

289
equations are formulated. The resulting equations are
solved for unknown nodal displacements.

UK.,I+rK,1Xs,= {F
...(1)

In which, [kp]and [k,] ,are pile and soil stiffness matrix,

(6) and {F}, are displacement and load vectors. Two
approaches, LISM and DSPY, are considered in the
analysis.

Effect Of Cyclic Loading

For soil loaded under undrained conditions, cyclic

loading may have two important effects. It may lead to
reduction in soil modulus and ultimate soil resistance, pu.
These effects which are associated with the generation of
excess pore pressure during the cyclic loading process,
should be taken into account while analysing the
response of a pile to cyclic loading.
7
A convenient means of defining the effects of cyclic QO Q1 Q? Q3 04
loading on soil parameters is in terms of degradation
factors, which express the ratio of the parameter for
cyclic loading to the value of parameter for a single static
load application. The degradation factor, De, for soil Fig. 1 :Degradation Parameter t (after Poulos, 1982)
modulus and Dp. for yield pressure are therefore defined
as, Table 1-a Effect of Cyclic Load Ratio on Parameter
FL

I !y
LoadRatio 1 FL
...(2) -I.O(Twoway) I 0.2
in which, Es and Ec are the soil moduli, pus and puc are -0.25
the yield pressures, for static and cyclic loading O.o(:;wa;)
respectively. The degradation factors Dp and De are 1.0 Static 0.0
expressed as follows,
a = D , = D P -- ~ - t Table 1-b Effect of Method of Installation on
...(3)
in which, CL represents degradation factor, N represents Method FI
no of cycles, and t represents degradation parameter Driven
depending on cyclic normal strain. Vibrated
Backfilled
Fig. 1 shows a plot of degradation parameter, t, versus Drilled
cyclic strain ratio, EC/ECr, derived kom the data, 1.o
presented by Idriss et a1.(1978) for clay soils. is the
cyclic strain and ECr, is a reference value of cyclic strain. Densi
The cyclic,degradation behaviour of different soil types Loose
can be obtained by altering the value of cyclic reference Medium 1.o
strain, eCTCyclic strain E~ is approximately estimated as Dense 0.8
&
' 6d
where, y is lateral displacement of pile, and, d is pile
diameter.

290
For cohesionless soils, the degradation parameter t, is
calculated from the relationship suggested by Long and
Venneste (1994) as,
t = 0.17FLF,FD
where, FL, FI and FD, are factors based on cyclic load
ratio, pile installation and soil density, respectively. Their
suggested values are given in Table 1.
LISM Approach
The first approach considers linearly increasing soil
modulus (LISM) with depth. Ultimate soil resistance, pu
is determined at the beginning of the analysis. The frst
analysis is carried out using assumed value of E,. Soil
resistance, p, is calculated from the obtained value of
displacement, y, by the relationship p=E,y. If the soil
resistance, p, is greater than pu, then p is set equal to pu,
and the value of soil reaction modulus, E,, is determined
by taking the ratio of p and y. Using new value of E, soil
stiffness is modified and analysis is carried out.
DSPY Approach
The LISM method is restricted to the analysis that
employs linearly increasing soil modulus. This method
can not explicitly account for effects of non-linear soil
response, layered soil and many fundamental soil
parameters like soil unit weight, soil strength etc., that
influence the lateral load response. Because p-y curve
can include the effects of these parameters, they are
incorporated in this method.
After obtaining the displacements, the displacement at
each depth is checked against p-y curve at that depth and
corresponding soil resistance, p, is determined. Then the
value of soil reaction modulus, E,, is determined by
taking the ratio of p and y. Using the new value of E,, the
soil stiffness is modified and analysis is carried out again.
The procedure is repeated until satisfactory convergence
is obtained.
For cyclic loading, the soil modulus is degraded at the
start of first iteration itself. This is different from the
approach suggested by Long and Venneste (1994), in
which, cyclic p-y curve is developed from degradation of
static p-y curve.
291
RESULTS
For LISM approach, the results are obtained for the
experimental data reported by Reese, Cox and Grubb
(1974) on piles embedded in sand. The values of FL, FI
and FD are 0.4, 1.0 and 0.8 respectively. Figs 2 and 3
compare the result obtained from LISM approach, to
field data and analytical results presented by Reese, for
both static and Cyclic loading, respectively.
In case of DSPY approach, results are compared with
same field tests reported by Reese et aL(1974) for
cohesionless soils. Comparison is shown in Figs 4 and 5,
for static and cyclic loading. For cohesive soils,
experimental data reported by Georgiadis et. AI (1992) is
considered for comparison, which is shown in Figs 6 and
7
I .
DISCUSS I 0N
It is seen that, for both static and cyclic loading, pile
displacements are underestimated by LISM method. This
is because LISM method does not account for nonlinear
behaviour of soil. The difference between the results
increases with load level.
In case of DSPY method, pile displacements are
underestimated for static loading conditions, for both
sand and clay. This is because of high initial slopes of
static p-y curves used for analysis. But for cyclic loading,
this effect is minimised due to degradation of soil
modulus, and a good agreement with field data is
observed under cyclic loading conditions for both sand
and clay.
CONCLUSION
Following conclusions are drawn on the basis of above
study :
1. Linearly increasing soil modulus &ISM) method
underestimates the pile displacements when compared
with the pile displacements in the field. The difference
between the results increases with load level.
2. DSPY method, underestimates the pile displacements
for static loading conditions, for both sand and clay.
However, it shows a good agreement with field data
under cyclic loading conditions for both sand and
clay.
REFERENCES

1. Georgiadis, M., Anagnostopoulos, C., and Saflekou,

S. (1992), 'Cyclic Lateral Loading of Piles in Soft
Clay', Geotechnical Engineering, Vol. 23, pp 47-GO.
2. Idriss, LM., Dobry, R., and Singh, R.D.(1978),
'Nonlinear Behaviour of Soft Clays During Cyclic
Loading', Journal of Geotechnical Engg Div., ASCE,
Vol. 104, GT12, pp 1427-1447.
3. Long, J.H. and Venneste, G.(1994),' Effects of Cyclic
Lateral Loads on Piles in Sand ', Journal of
Geotechnical Engg Div., ASCE, Vol. 120, No. GT2,
pp 289-304
4. Poulos, H. G. (1982), 'Single Pile Response to Cyclic
Lateral Loads', Journal of Geotechnical Engg., Vol.
108, GT3, March 1982, pp 711-731.
5 . Reese, L.C., Cox, W.R., Grubbs, B.R. (1974),'Field
Testing of Laterally Loaded Piles in Sand', Proc. of 7"
Offshore Technology Conf., Houston, Texas, OTC-
2079, pp 459-472

293
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
GEOS- - International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

GAP MODEL OF ONE-WAY CYCLIC LATERAL LOAD ON VERTICAL PILES IN SOFT

CLAY
S.S. Rajashree' and R. Sundaravadiveld
'Research Associate, Dept. of Civil Engg. IISc Bangalore, Bangalore 560 012, India
zAssociate Professor, Ocean Engg. Centre, IIT Madras, Chennai 600 036, India

SYNOPSIS :-For the analysis and design of pile foundation used for coastal structures the prediction of cyclic response, which is influenced by
the nonlinear behavior, gap (pile soil separation) and degradation (reduction in strength) of soil becomes necessary. To study the effect of the
above parameters a nonlinear cyclic load analysis program using f i t e element method is developed, incorporating the proposed gap and
degradation model and adopting an incremental-iterative procedure. The pile is idealized using beam elements and the soil by number of elasto-
plastic sub-element springs at each node. The effect of gap and degradation on the load-deflection behavior, elasto-plastic sub-element and
resistance of the soil at ground-line have been clearly depicted in this paper.

INTRODUCTION 1990, Trochanis et al., 1991, Rajashree and Sundaravadivelu, 1996

Piles supporting offshore and coastal structures in marine soil
deposits are subjected to large static and cyclic lateral loads. The
marine soil is mainly comprised of extensive soft clay deposits
characterized by low shear strength and high compressibility. The
critical lateral forces on piles used in coastal structures are due to
berthing and mooring forces, whereas in offshore jacket platforms,
piles are subjected to cyclic lateral loads due to waves. For the
analysis and design of pile foundations used for such structures the
influence of pile-soil interaction factors such as nonlinear behavior
of soil, degadation (reduction in strength) of soil and gap (pile soil
separation) is necessary.
During the last few decades, extensive work has been undertaken by
several researchers on both experimental and numerical modeling
vertical piles subjected to lateral loads. The various approaches
available in the solution of such problems are subgrade reaction
approach, p-y approach elastic continuum method, nondimensional
method, finite difference method and finite element method.
The subgrade reaction approach is widely used due to its simplicity
and various factors such as nonlinearity, variation of soil stiffness
and layering of soil profile [Reese and Matlock (1956)l. The p-y
approach is the most commonly adopted method as it can account
for factors such as nonlinearity and soil layering m l o c k (1970)l.
The elastic continuum method is more satisfactory as it takes into
account the continuity of the soil by approximating the realistic
behavior of soil by incorporating soil layering and varying soil
modulus. Extensive use of elastic continuum analysis can be seen in
the works of Douglas and Davis (1964), Spiller and Stoll (1964),
Banerjee and Davies (1978) and Poulos (1971 and 1972).
Nondimensional methods described by Matlock and Reese (1960)
consist of generalised solutions, incorporating the variation of soil
modulus.
The finite difference method is used to solve complex problems
which handle large differxtial equations, whereas the finite element
method is a versatile tool giving a better understanding of the pile
behavior ifthe soil is modeled in a proper manner watlock and Foo
(1978)]. The literature available on vertical piles subjected to static
and cyclic lateral load are plenty powles, 1974, Desai and
Kuppusamy, 1980, Randolph, 1981, Chow, 1987, Kooijman and
Vermjit, 1989, Kooijman and Vermeer, 1988, Brown and Shie,
and RajashreeJ997)I
However, only a few model and field tests p e a et al. (1979), Rao$
al.(1992), Georgiadis et al. (1992), Hamilton et al (1995)] are
available for vertical piles under cyclic lateral load.
The degradation models available in the literature for the analysis of
pile subjected to cyclic lateral load can be classified as constant
degradation, logarithmic, exponential decay and Wen's model and
modified Wen's model. [Matlock and Foo, 1978, Georgiadis et al.,
1992, Grashuis et al., 1990, Wen, 1976 and Trochanis et al., 19911.
A few gap models have also been reported to study the effect of gap
caused due to cyclic loading [Matlock, 1970 and Matlock, 19781.
The literature review indicates that the analysis of pile-soil
interaction problem by finite element method has received limited
attention, particularly in cyclic response of vertical piles. In spite of
the various numerical models available for degradation and gap, a
more realistic modeling of soil media is required to represent the
pile-soil interaction phenomena more clearly. Therefore, in the
present study a more realistic degradation and gap model is
proposed for vertical piles in soft clay, to understand the effect on
the pile-soil system due to subqzent cyclic lateral loading.
FINITE ELEMENT FORMULATION
In order to study the cyclic response of pile, finite element method is
adopted where the pile-soil system is idealized using beam and
spring elements. To perform a nonlinear cyclic load analysis an
incremental iterative procedure is adopted where the stiffness (K)
and load (P) is updated during each loading cycle. The governing
equation used to perform the nonlinear analysis is given as follows .
KU=P [I1
where, K = stiffness of the pile-soil system
U = displacement vector
P =loadvector
The beam element adopted to represent the pile is prismatic and the
development of its stiffness properties is standard as given in
pllemeniecki (1968). The spring element used to idealize the
nonlinear soil-support curve is one-dimensional with an axial

295
 = t-7-i-
-=
stiffness obtained by modeling the soil-support curve. To
incorporate the nonlinearity of the soil, a number of elasto-p:astic
sub-element springs are assumed at each pile node.
I I

PILESOIL INTERACTION FACTORS FOR CYCLIC LOAD

ANALYSIS
I
I I
In the present study, the cyclic load analysis of the pilesoil system
is carried out consideringthe following factors:

t Soil nonlinearity
t Degradation.ofsoil
t Formation of gap Relzive Displacement
t Hysteretic behavior of the symmetricalsoil support cuwe

SOIL NONLINJZARITY
Fig. 2 Gap elementsat a single node i .
In the solution of pile-soil interaction problems the soil nonlineairty
is represented by p-y curve which is developed using various
procedures M o c k [1970], Georgiadis et al., 19921. For the s-
C
present analysis the hyperbolic hnction reported by Georgiadis et
al. (1992) is adopted.

Y
P= 1
-+- Y
ki pu

y -deflection
pu - Ultimate resistanceof soil as given by Matlock (1970)
ki - initial stiffness of soil obtained from Vesic's (1961) equation:
The developed p-y curve is modeled using an assemblage of elasto-
plastic sub-elements proposed by Matlock and Foo (1978) each
having spring stiffness (Si) and limiting soil resistance (Qi)at a
particular deflection (Yi).To each elasto-plastic sub-element, the
degradation of clay is modeled by modifying the ultimate resistance
of soil using a degradationfactor [see details in Rajashree, 19971. Fig. 3 Resistance-displacementbehaviour with gap elements.
FORMATION OF GAP
and the effect of these tensile peaks can be seen in Fig. 1 for a
During the cyclic loading &er large number of cycles, a zone of typical loading cycle. To simulatethese tensile peaks a gap element
reduced resistance is formed around the pile-head. This behavior is is devised as shown in Fig. 2 [Matlock and Foo, 19781. This element
observed near the surface where the horizontal overburden pressure will be attached to the pile when the pile moves in one direction and
is not large enough to force the soil mass to remain in contact with detached fiom the pile as the pile moves in the other diredon. The
the pile thus forming the gap. J h h g loading and unloading of the pile will be activated again only when the pile returns to the point
pile tensile stress may originate in the pile-soil contact zone. These where it left this element. In the gap zone resistance is controlled by
tensile components result in back sliding of soil into the gap. This t r e h g few sub-elements as gap elements, which is assumed to vary
phenomenon has been observed and quantified by Matlock (1970) linearly along the depth of pile fiom ground line. The resistance-
displacement behavior with gap element is shown in Fig.3.

NONLINEAR CYCLIC LOAD ANALYSIS

The incremental-iterative procedure is adopted for performing the

nonlinear cyclic load analysis of vertical piles. The incremental
scheme is based on the modified Newton Raphson (N-R)method
DEFLECTION [Rajashree, 19971.
CONTROL

The pile-soil system is modeled by beam, spring and gap elements.

During the loading stage the gap elements, which have reached the
Fig. 1 Typical loading cycle including load reversal plastic stage are assumed to have zero resistance, till the gap is
mobilised on the other side of the pile. On Ml mobilisation of the
(Grashuis et al., 1990) gap the pile gets attached to the gap element thus picking up the

296
 incremental iterative procedure, which helps in tracing the loading
and unloading path during each loading cycle. The code has been
validated with numerical results of Matlock and Foo (1978) and the
wb-ehmenb L wil experimental results of Georgiadis et. al. (1992).

Comparison with numerical results Matlock and Foo, 19781

A nonlinear cyclic load analysis is performed on field pile and the

details of the pilesoil system are given in Fig.5. A cvclic lateral
t 1 4 kPa
SUBROUTINE K m F C G
'amputation of wb-t
H
.(illnon L m0bf.d
limiling fwn (pmna)
y
SUBROUTINE PREprc
P r e - ~ e 6 m f for
sub-ehmenb

I INCR
1

1
- I I
L=61 m
Incnmenlol bod w =Q.Q38m

110 k P a 4
U

D=1.210 m
(a) Pile details (b) Variation oft, ofclay

I * I
~ i5 ~Schematic
, representation of the pile and variation of C,.

D.fl.stions. Yomnb
L spring f 0 M
load of 669kN is applied at 12.lm above ground line and cycled 10
times. The results presented in Table 1 show a fairly good
comparison with that of Matlock and Foo (1978).

Table 1 Comparison of lateral deflection at ground line for cyclic

load analysis with results ofMatlock and Foo (1978).
t

( STOP ]

Fig. 4 Flow chart for nonlinear cyclic load analysis.

resistance equal to the limiting soil resistance. At the end of the

loading cycle the resistance on only one side of the pile is
considered for the gap elements. During the unloading stage the
procedure adopted is similar to the loading stage.

The cumulative deflection, bending moment are calculated at the

end of loading and unloading stage. A typical flow chart of the
nonlinear cyclic load analysis p r o w incorporating degradation
and gap is shown in Fig. 4.
COMPUTATIONALASPECTS
A computer program has been developed to perform nonlinear
cyclic load analysis of laterally loaded vertical piles using an
The lozd-deflection curve, total resistance-displacement curve and
resistance displacement curve for sub-element ‘1’ at ground line
fiom the present study are given in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 respectively.
The results indicate that degradation at gound line is faster 60m the
present analysis.

297
 40

L-1000

Fig. 6 Effect of degdzhon d e l on loaddeflectioncurve Fig. 7 Eft& of degradationmodel on totalresistancdSP1-

at ground line. curve at ground h e .

1-20

Fig. 8 Effect of degradation model on resistance-displacement curve

for subelement 1 at ground h e .

298
A typical plot of sub-element resistance for a pile modelled without
degradation and gap with degradation at l W ?gap and with gap and
without degradation are shown in Figs. 9% b and c respectively.

a. without degradation and gap b. with degradation but without gap

I
-1 J
c, with gap but without degradation

Fig. 9 Cyclic load analysis results for a single sub-elemet

299
 Using Eq.(ll),
Grashuis, AJ., Dieterman,the H.A
scaling factors
and Zom, for Calculation
N.F. (1990) hydraulic
Comparison with experimental results [Georgiadis et al., 19921 c o cyclic
of n ~ u c response
t i v ifor
~ ~ different g vatues,
of laterally with respect
loaded piles, to and
Computers I-g
GeotechniCS, 10,287-307.
laboratory tests have been evaluated and some of the results
A nonlinear cyclic load analysis is conducted on an aluminium
tubular pile of length 5OOmm embedded in soft to medium clay (y are presented in Table 4. In this table k, is hydraulic
Hamilton, J.M. and M e J.D. (1995) Ultimate lateral capacity of
=17.2kPa, undrained shear strength C, =28 H a ) subjected to cyclic c o n in
piles ~ uclay,
c t i vProc.
iin~ centrifuge
of Offshore models, and kp2 Houston,
kptConference,
Technology are the
lateral load of magnitude 202N. The ground line deflection obtained hydraulic
Texas, OTCconductivities
7667,241-255. obtained in consolidation tests and
for 1,2,5 and 10 cycles is compared with results of Georgiadis et al., oedometer falling head tests respectivily at the appiied
(1992) in Table 2. Kooijman,
pressuresAP. and Vermeer,
equivalent P.A. generated
to those (1988) Elasto-plastic
in the c eanalysis
n t r i ~of
~ate
laterally loaded piles, Numerical Methods in Geomechanics, 2,
Table 2 Validation of the computer code with the experimental
the requisite
1033-1042. g-levels, kp3 and kpl are the hydraulic
results of Georgiadis et. al. (1992) conductivities obtained in the conventional and oedometer
Kooijman,
fsing-headA.P., tests
and Vermjit, A. (1989)
respectiviiy Laterallyapplying
without loaded pilesany
in
Number Ground line deflection (mm) layered
a d ~ elastic
omedium,
t i pressure;
~ Geotechnique,
XI, x2, x3, and39,3946.
are the scaling factors
- corresponding
Matlock, H. (1970) kpl kp2 kp3for
toCorrelations anddesignrespectinly. It can
of laterally loaded be
piles.
6) (1 992) FEM noticed
Tdc?ghorethat, in general,
Technology these scaling
Conjerence, factors are close to
Texas, 577-593.
1 0.88 0.11 13 unity. InH.other wordsL.C.
hydraulic conductivity in a centrifuge
The consolidation
2 0.91is an indirect
test permeability
0.79 15 test in Matlock, And Reese, (1960) Generalised solutions for
which 5a sample of soil
1.14is compressed 1.14in a rigid0 ring at is N times
laterally that Journal
loaded piles, of theof 1-g tests. This
Soil Mechanics Foundation is
andobservation
I 10vertical
various I stress1.30
levels, withI drainage I 6 at both
1.22 facility consistent
Division, with86(SM5),
ASCE, the scaling relationship obtained in Eq.(6).
63-91.

top and bottom of the sample. The h y ~ a u co~ductivity

~~c is Matlock, H., and Foo, S.H.C. (1978) Simulation of lateral pile
behavior under earthquake motion, A report to Chevron Oil Field
calculated
SUMMARYusing Terzaghi's theory of one ~ e n s i o n a l
A N D CONCLUSIONS Research Company, La Habra, California, The university of Texas
consolidation using the following expression: at Austin,Department of Civil Engineering, 74 pages.
A nonlinear analysis of vertical piles subjected to cyclic lateral loads This study demo&rates the use of a geotechnical centrifuge
is =
performed
kmodel. ......................................
cvmvywusing the FEM code developed, which "...............
includes the gap
The present numerical model takes care the variation(9) of
Poulos
for modelling hydradicofconductivity
(1971) Behavior Laterally loaded piles: I-Single
of compacted Piles,
soils.
Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundation Division, ASCE,
It
degradation along the depth of pile, which depicts the real scenario., can be seen that
97(SM5), 733-752. the hydraulic ~ n ~ u c ~ i v
ini t
a y
geotechnical
where c, is ofthe
The inclusion gapcoefficient
element helps oftoconsolidatioq
model the gap zone m, is the
formed centrifuge is N times greater than that obtained from the
coefficient of volume
due to subsequent compressibility,
loading cycle, which affects and yw is the
the coupled unit
response. conventional
Poulos (1972) laboratory tests.prediction
Load-settlement Study for
alsopiles
satisfies the
and piers,
This nonlinear
weight approach
of water. is promising
In Eq. as it represents
9, cv can be obtained the behavior
either by of Journal of the
theoretical Soil Mechanics
scaling relations~pand for
Foundation Division,
hydraulic ASCE,
conducti~ty"
the pile-soil system in aIog(t)
realistic manner. 98(SM9), 879-897.
conventional J; or relationships for the soil. Olson Time taken to test a soil sample in a centrifuge is quite less
(1986) has shown that the calculated hydrauiic conductivity as compared
Rajashree S.S.to the bench
(1997) Nonlineartests. As such,
cyclic a centrifuge
analysis of laterally can be
loaded
values from Eq.9 are almost always less than the measured
REFERENCES usedinefficiently
pile to obtain
clay, PhD Zhesis, the hydraulic
IIT Madras, India. conductivity of fine-
values, and the calculated h y d r a ~ cconductivity values grained soils.
Rajashree Since
S.S. and the prototypeR stress
Sundaravadivelu, (1996)conditions
Degradationcan be
model
from & P.K.
Banerjee, method are more
and Davies, close to
T.G. (1978) Thethe measured
behavior values
of axially and created
for one-wayincyclic
a lateral
geotechnical in soft clay,the
centrifuge,
load on piles obtained
Computers and
than the loaded
laterally log(t) method.
single piles such J; in
Asembedded method is used insoils,
nonhomogenous this Geotechnics,
permeability19,289-300.
values are more near to in-situ values. Further,
study for estimation
Geotechnique, 28(3), 309-326. of cv and hence the hydraulic there is a good agreement between hydraulic conductivity
Randolph, M.F. (1981) The response of flexible piels to lateral
conductivity of the soil. values obtained
loading, fiom3various
Geotechnique, I-g bench tests.
1(2), 247-259.
Bea, RG. and J.M. Audibert (1979 Performance of dynamically
loaded pile foundations, BOSS-79, 728-745.
Reese, L.C. and Matlock, H. (1956) Non-dimensional solutions for
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Bowles, J.E. (1974) Analytical and computer methods in foundation laterally loaded piles with soil modulus assumed proportional to
engg., Mc Graw-Hill Book Company. depth, Proc. Srn Texas Conference in Soil Mechanics and
REFERENCES
Foundation Engg. Special pub. 29.
The scaling
Brown, D.Arelationship for (1990)
and C.F. Shie hydraulic c o ~ d u c ~between
Three-dimensionalv i finite
~
1-g tests (denoted
element model ofbylaterally
suffix p)loaded
and centrifuge tests (denoted
piles, Computers and Alem',S.N.,
Rao, M.H., Neilsen,
Rao, K.M. and Biggar,
D.H., Y.V.S.N.
and Prasad, (1992)J.W.
Behavior
(1976).of
by suflix m) 10,
Geotechnics, be written as:
can59-79. piles
" ~undert static and
e the~ hcyclic
yg~ alateral load
c in marineofclays,
u l ~conductivity soi1Proc.
coresof the
by
second international offshore and polar e n g . conference, 475482.
~ n ~ g a t i o n Soil
. f ' Sci. Soc. Am. J.,40,212-218.
Chow, Y.K. (1987) Iterative analysis of pile-soil interaction under
2k = N Xusing infnite and finite elements, Computers and
lateral loading Spillers, W.R and Stoll, RD. (1964) Lateral response of piles,
GeotechniCS, ..~..~*.....l.*....~~..~~....~....~...-.*.......
k, 15, 189-220. (10) Journal of Soil K.,
Arulanandan, Thompson,
Mechanics P.Y., Kutter,
and Foundation B.L., Meegoda,
Division, ASCE, 90
(SM6),M
N.J., 1-9.
~ e e t h ~ a K.K.,
n , and Yogach~dran,C. (1888).
Desai. C.S and Kuppusamy, T. (1980) Application of numerical "Centrifuge modelling of transport processes for pollutants
where x isfor
procedure a scale factorloaded
laterally whosestructures,
value has Institute
to be ascertained
of Civil Trochanis, A.M, Bielak, J. and Christiano, P. (1991) Three-
with the Numerical
Engineers, he$ of Methods
variousin 1-g
Oflhore centrifuge
andPileing, 93-99. tests. To
in soils." ASCE,
dimensional Jr. study
nonlinear Geotech. Eng.,
of piles, 114(2),
Journal 185-205. Engg.,
of Geotechnical
evaluate the values of x, Eq.(lO) can be written in the ASCE, 117,429447.
Douglas,
folrowingD.J. and Davis, E.H. (1964) The movement of buried
form: Mtchelf, R.J. (I994a). "A flexible, no lateral strain
footings due to moment and horizontal load and the movement of Wen, Y.K. for
apparatus clayMethod
(1976) for random
liner-leachate vibration
testing." of hysteretic
Cenrrifige 94 by
anchor plates, Computers and Geotechnics, 14,115-132. systems, Jl. of the E n g . Mechanics Div., ASCE, 102 (EM2), 249-
hung,
264. Lee, and Ta n (eds.), Bdkema, Rotterdam, 351-355,
Georgiadis, M., Anagnostopoulos, C. and Saflekon, S. (1992) Vesic, AB. (1961) Bending beam resting on isotropic elastic solid,
Cyclic lateral loading of piles in Soft clay, Geotechnical Engg., 23, Mtchell,
Journal R.J. (1994b).
of Engineering "Centrifuge
Mechanics Division,techniques for testing
ASCE, 102@hE), 249-
47-60. clay &er samples." Can, Georech. f.,31,577-583.
264.

300
261
GEO l n t e m ~ ~ nConference
al on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnid Engineering, December 2-3,1999

CX2TTi-L CYCLSC LOAD LEVELS FUR L A m W L Y LOADED PILES n\T SOFT CLAYS
V.G.S.T. ~ a k r i s l u t a and
* S. Narasimha Rao2
'Scientist, G.E.DivEson, Cenfml Buildizg Research Institute, Roorke 247667, U.P.,India
2Prafessor, Ocean Engg. Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras 600036,India

-
SMVOPSIS The 1ate;ral loads on Pile fmdatiom are mostly repetitive in nature and the effects
due to cyclic loading shall be considered in the design,of laterally loaded piles. fn this paper, the
behaviour of piles under cyclic loading was anaiyzed based on the experimental results. Model
a l d m piles ofouter diameter 25.4 m.m were embedded into a soft marine clay (LL = 6296,
PL = 22% and Ic = 0.43) test bed with embedment ratio (LfD)'s of 20-30and 40. The cyclic
loads were applied in the ranges of 30% 45%, 65% and 75% of the static Capacities. The critical
cyclic load levels w suggested by making comparisons between the pile deflections before and
a k a the application of cyclic loading.
subgrade reaction were approximateb 30% &reater
than the values obtained under the ~VentiOnalStatic
loading conditions. llunnavmt and 0'Neillf1989)
Pile foundations of maiwltv of the matine structures carried out a series of Ml-scale cyclic lateral load
viz., offshore platforms, jetties me subjected to tests on instrumented piles of varying diameter at a
significant amounts of lateral loads (of the order of test site in submerged overconsolidated clay. The
IO-15% of the vertical loads). As to their character, results revealed that there was a tlveshoid deflection
these loads are mostly repetitive in nature and arise below which cyclic soil degradation did not occur
mainly due to the action of wind and waves in and that the degradation was primarily due to the gap
offshore envirOnment and to the berthing and formation inttmsified by scour. N a r a s h h Rao and
mooring forces in coastal regions. Unlike the case of Mallikarjuna Rao (1993) conducted cyclic lateral
vertically loaded piles, the column o f disturbed soil load tests on model rigid piles embedded .into a soft
around the piles is non-uniform and vanes with the marine clay. The results revealed that the for cyclic
depth under the action of lateral loads. Besides, if the load levels > 50% of the static capacities, the
loading is of repetitive nature, it leads to the deflections were observed to increase enormously.
reduction in shear strength and stifhess of the soil. The results of post cyclic static tests indicated that the
The effects due to the m b e r of cycles of load behaviour of rigid piles improved under low cyclic
application and cyclic load level have to be given due toad levels (k CXlt < 0.4). P Q ~ ~(19S2)
O S presented
importance. Considerable amount of experimental a methodology for the analysis of piles subjected to
and eheoretical work has been reported on piles cyclic lateral loading using modified elastic
subjected to static lateral loads. However, the continuum theoty. The degradation of soil modulus
available art on cyclic loading is scanty. Reese under cyclic loading was incorporated into the model
andWelch(1975) conducted Ml scale lateral load used in the analysis. Georgiadis et a!, (1992) carried
tests on a drilled shdi driven into a stiff clay (locally out series of model tests to study the pile response to
known as Beaurnont clay). The shafts were cyclic lateral loads in soft clay. Piles were
instnmented to measure the b e n h g moments and instrumented to get the bending moment Variations
deflections. The effects of increasing loads and along the length of piles. The results obtained from
repetitive loading on bending moments and cyclic load tests were compared with the numdcally
deflections were studied. Under repetitive loading, predicted soil reaction vs deflection response of the
the maximm moment mcreased with each load pile and validation was done for the first ten cycles of
-
application (10% 20% increase over 20 cycles) but loading only.
the depth to the point of maximum moment increased
very little. Price and W a d e (1979) carried out full- By reviewkig the past works, it i s clear kW the need
scale static and cyclic lateral loading tests on central for predicting the cyclic load level beyond Which
and one end pile of a row of three vertical piles in proper attention has to paid while designing the piles
London clay. The results indicated that the cyclic in coastal and off shore areas. In view of that, in this
loading caused a reduction in the movemeatsinduced investigation, it is proposed to suggest the same by
in adjacent piles and the values of the coefficient of carrying out a suitable experimental programme on
model piles incorporating as many field situations as
possible.
EXPERIMENTALWORK
soil used
A marine clay &@id limit = 42% and P~&c l i d s
22%) h r n the Mastal deposit of the Exist coast of
India was used m this study. An open pit was dug at
the site and the bulk samples were dlected at a
depth of2m below ground level. This soil W a 8 fLrsr
air dried md d ~ e *dth e ~ ~ o ~waterg h so to get
soft to medium stiff consistency. After c o n d i t i ~ h g
the required quantity of soil it was kept for two days
before it was placed in the test tank. EnougJl care
was taken to cor~trolthe moisture at the desired
msistency in all the cases. The shear strength ofthe
soil was obtained by carrying out m e shear test§ as
per €8:U34- E967. The soif.bed was prepared at 8
can~jstency03 of 0.43 for all the tests conducted.
The average shear strength c, and the bulk dmsiW
were found to be about 5.3 kPa andl6.4 k"
respectively.
~~~~~~~d Test TBnk Used
AI1 tkre tests were conducted in 8 M.S. tank of size,
1,200 ;mm x 800 mm x 1,100 mm. For the sizes of
piles chosen, the tank size was sufficiently h g e
enough to avoid any boundary effect. The test tank
was placed inside a loading h e made up of
200mrnx75 m XSMC smcml steel sections and
supported by the puIleys. The soil in a Mly saturated
condition was carefully placed in the test tank in 50
mm thick layers. After the placement of each layer of
wil, it was pressed with a wooden template so as to
r e m e the air bubbles entrappd. The placement
moisture content was controlled so as to get desired
~ was Wer
e ~bed
consistency. The ~ o ~ o g e inn soil
checked by taking density m e a s w m t s at various
stages and depths. Further, the soil was in a ffilly
saturated state and this was confirmed by the
measurements of the pore water pressure parameterv
B using 8 standard .triaxial equipment. The recorded
B values are from 0.97 to 0.99. M W u m pipe
piles of 25.4m diameter and of three different
lengths suiting to the embedment depths of 20,30 and
40 respectively were used.
Tesrilpg Pmcedwe
A flexible wire rope was miched to the pile and then
It was passed over a pulley attached to the loading
frame erected over the test tank. Static faterat load
on the pile was appkc? in increments by placing
wei&ts on the load hanger attached to the wife rope,
mougheut the testing phase, the load was applied at
constant eccentricity of 90 mm. Immediately after the
application of each increment of load, the actual load
was measwed accurately with the help of a load cell
of 2kEd capacity attached nearer to the pile cap. The
load cell measures the actual load k t is be&
msfeened on to the pile taking into amunt all the
fiictionaf losses h m the flexible rope, puileys etc.
The corresponding lateral deflections were measured
using a LVDT and recorded using a six channel
carrier fkquency amplifier {CFA), The outputs tkorn
the stmh gauges were recorded using ORION 3530A
data logging system duly connected to a PC 486 DX
system through RS232 interface.
The cyclic lateral loading was applied using a
pneumatically controlled system attached with a
solenoid valve and electronic timer. Corqmssed air
was fed to the doubIe acting pneumatic power
cylinder which in turn moves the piston back and
forth. The movement of the piston back and foah
imparts the laterat loading on to the piles. 'Ipxe
solenoid valve is a double acting type which consists
of two valves one for closing and the other for
opening exactly at half the time period set by
electronic timer. A schematic diagram of the
Experimental set-up is shown in Fig. I,
4 a r r i n frequency
Amplifirr
Pig.* Scbemrtie diagrani of Experimentnl set up
m e results of Anderson et al. (1980) and Prasad
(1995) indicated that the xesponse characteristics of
random waves are predicted by approximating the
random waves into a number of load packets
consisting of Uniform waves with regular pltriods and
applications. Franke (1973) carried out lateral load
tests on insmented bored piles embedded in a
clayey soit and subjected to both repetitive(one way)
and alternate(tw0 way) lateral loads. The resuits
showed that the two way cyclic loading had the same
effect as that of one way cyclic loadii. Accordingly,
in this investigation, the cyclic loading is applied with
a constant load period of 12 Sec. and the loading
pattern is chosen to represent one-way cyclic loading
as shown in Fig. 2. The time period chosen is based
on the average cyclonic storm conditions along the
East coast of India. The testing was c ~ e out d in
three phases viz., static (SLT), cyclic (CLT) and post
cyclic static (PCSLT).
--3a
b0 t
Fig.2
TIME [Sec.)
Cyclic Loading Pattern
RESULTS AND DISCUSSZON
Static Edaddes&*ng@Lr;)
In the first phase, static load tests were ciuried out.
The load vs deflection (P-y) of the piles embedded to
different depths are obtained f b m the static load
tests. The ~ o m m ~practice
n is to represent the
deflection as a function of diameter of the pile and
the load as a h c t i o n of ultimate load. Hence, the
behaviour is plotted in a non-dimensiond form as
y/D vs PlcuDL (where D and L me the diameter and
the embedment depth of the pile respectively and c, is
the mdrained shmr strength of ttte clay) as shown in
Fig, 3. From the figure, it can be seen that the
deflections decreased as the embedment depths of the
pile increased from 20 to 30 and then to 40. From the
curves, the static capacities are assumed to be the
loads corresponding to y D of 0.2 as per the criterion
suggested by B m s (1964). The corresponding
W Q L values are noted to be 0.76,0.66 and 0.64 for
L/D’sof20,30 and 40 respectively.
cyclicbad mthg(CLQ
In the second phase, piles were subjected to qcEc
loading corresponding to cyclic load ratios CLR
(applied cyclic load to static capacity) equal to 0.30,
0.45, 0.65 and 0.75. In each case, the cyclic load is
allowed to act on the pile till the rate of defledtm
ceases i.e., till the stage at which the rate of change in
deflection is minimum with increase in number of
cycles. This stabilized deflection is taken as the
residual deflection of the pile. at the end of cyclic
‘loading. The number of cycles required to stabilize
the deflections varied with respect to the CLR and
L/D, Wowever, the testing was conducted upto 500
cycles in all the cases except for very high CLR of
0-75 in which case, the piles have liteially come out
of the bed at 200 number of cycles itself.
303
0.80 I
0.55
II
0.40 I il
0.05
J
0.00 .
4 L
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 I.%
PlcuOL
Plg.3Non-Dim~~LMd~carvaLrStstir~~fng
m e variation in lateral deflection with nmber of
cycles for a CLR of 0.30 is shown in Fig.4. From the
figure, it is seen t h t thm is a sudden increase in
later& deflections under the apphcation of first few
number of cycles and thereafker, the rate of increase
in deflection decreases. Further, beyond a certain
number of cycles, deflections are stabilized. Similar
behaviour can be noted for all the Wee m’s.
However, the mount of deflection accumulated at
the end of cyclic loading decreed with D. Figs. 5
and 6 show the plots representing the varia~oriin
lateral deflection for CLR’s of 0.45 and 0.65
respectively. The curves are identical to that of Fig.4
but with relatively more deflections at the same
number of cycles of loading. Entirely different
behaviour could be seen from Fig. 7, where the
cyclic loads are of the order of 75% of the Static
capacities. The piles have deflected to the cirder of
7 mm or 50 in the first few cycles itself. Similar
behaviour was explained by ~ a ~ ~ k ~ ~
~ v a n ~(I 989) ~ ~based e i on ~ the
observations of field tests carried out on soft to
medium stiff clayey soils. This behaviour is mainly
atkibuted to the gap formation behind the pile and to
depth of the gap extended below the ground surface.
When the pile is subjected to repetitive loading,
during the first few cycles, there is an immediate
formation of gap near the surface and with increase in
number of cycles, the gap extends downwards below
the surface. The segment of pile upto which the gap
is formed is expected to encounter a reduced
resistance in moving through the slack m e produced
hv previous loading. Because of this, the deflection
of pile increases with number of cycles. However,
 4.00
4 00

1.20
3.00

-E t
5
5
B
0.80
I 2.00
p" F
0

0.40
1.00

0.00
0.00
0 50 100 150 200 2sO 300 950 400 450 500
NumkrdCyclss IN) 0 50 I00 150 200 260 900 350 4W 450 500

-
MUmbsrOZWCSM
Fig3 I n ~ e c c o r W n ~ b c r c f C y e l a o f l a e d i ~ ! o a ~ t i a (CLR=O.45)
a
Q.4 fufloence ofNnmber of Cyclf~olLnnding(CLR 0.30)

8.00

7.m

6.00

5.00

I 4.00

B
3.00

2.00

0.00
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 180 180 200
0 50 $00 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 Numbridc@ea(N)
~be?OfGydSs(Fp
mS7 Xnfluenea olNumberof CycIs of Loadingon Denecfion ( a ~
= 0.75)
Mg.6 fnmrnesoINmber of C y c h oilondial( DePlation (CLR-O.65)
after certain number ofcycles of load application, the completely and With the increase in number of cycles,
soil gets stiffened, and this VevenB further the soil starts yielding and there cannot be any
downward extension of the gap. This causes the further resistance expected and hence the deflections
deflections to stabilize. Number of cycles required to never stabilize. The deflections accumulated at the
cause a stabilized deflection depends also OR cyclic end of cyclic loarfing me presented in Table 1.
load level. As CLR increases, the zone of the gap
extends both radially and depth wise and it requires
more number of cycles to stabilize the deflections at Post C'lie stafe Load Testing {PCSLlJ
higher CLR. Also when the pile is subjected to high The cyclic loading was stopped once the lateral
cyclic load levels in the order of 75% 85% of the - deffections were stabilized and irnmdiately static
load tests were carried out. These tests are referred as
Static capacities, the surrounding soil yields during
first 5 to 10 cvcles and the system looses its stiffiness -
post cyciic static tests and are mainly carried out to

304
 understand the post cyclic response of the piles. Figs. 0.50

8 to 11 represent the post cyclic static behaviour of

the pile embedded in soil at L D s of 20,30 and 40
corresponding to different CLR’s tested. The curves
in dotted lines refer to the load deflection behaviour
of pile under static loading. All other curves refer to
the load deflection behaviour of pile under post cyclic
static loading. The deflection accumulated at the end 0.30 -
of cyclic loading is also shown in the curves. From
the figures, it is seen that with increase in CLR, load 3
mobilized is decreased at all the levels of deflections. 0.20 -
The post cyclic static deflections are also estimated
corresponding to the same load levels (P/c,DL) used
for static deflections i.e., 0.76, 0.66 and 0.64 for
Lm’s of 20,30 and 40 respectively. The post Cyclic
static deflections along with the static deflections are
also presented in Table 1. From these results, it can
be noted that in comparison to that of static loading
I I I
case, there is a decrease in deflection at low cyclic
load ratios, particulary at CLR of 0.30 for all the PlCuDL

three embedment ratios tested. Also it can be seen Fig.) Post Cyclic Static loaddeflection curve.$(CLR = 0.45)

that the deflection increased with the increase in 0.50 ~

CLR. It can be inferred that there is a stiffening effect

CLR = 0.65
at low cyclic load ratios particularly for the type of -4- M.20
soft marine clay tested. However, with increased
0.40
CLR, there is a considerable reduction in shear LID-40

strength of the soil surrounding the piles leading to

loss of passive resistance. This phenomenon has been
referred as degradation. Further, the deflection 0.30
accumulated at the end of cyclic loading in case of
high CLR (>0.75) has exceeded 0.2 D which is 3
actually taken as the governing criterion for
0.20
estimating the pile static capacities. Hence, the pile
would have already failed structurally and therefore
the post cyclic static deflections were very high.
0.50 0.10

0.40 0.00
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20

f / PlCUDL
Flg.10 Post Cyclic Static loaddeflection curves (CLR = 0.65)
0.30
Further to assess the critical cyclic load levels,
2 the percentage change in deflections are computed
and are presented in the last column of the same
0.20 table. It gives a better understanding to interpret the
degradation phenomenon. (-) values indicate a
decrease in static deflections which in turn indicate
0.10 an imroved resistance of the pile soil system and on
the other hand (+) values indicate an increased
deflections indicating demadation phenomenon.
However, the values varied considerably with L/D. In
0.00
I I I I I I view of that a plot has been made between % change
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40 in deflection and CLR as shown in Fig. 12. The
PlCuDL
Fig.8 Post Cyclic Static load-deflectioncurves (CLR = 0.30)

305
 120 I

0.40 -

2
0.20
+w.20
t w-a0
--Xt W-40

0.10

0.00 1
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1 .oo
1 0.20
I
0.30
I
0.40
I
0.50
I
0.60
I
0.70 081
Qdk Load Paw (CLR)
PlCuDL
Fig.11 Post Cyclic Static load-deflection cuwes (CLR = 0.75) Fig. 12 Critical cyclic load levels for diflereot embedment depths of Pile!

11
Table 1 Comparison between Static and Post Cyclic Static Behaviour of Piles

L/D 1 Accumulated Deflection in 1 Post Cyclic Static Deflection I % Change in Deflection

I (mm) at the end of Cyclic (y'/D) @CLR of [(y*:y)/y ]x 100
loading I ZLR of
0.75

STATIC 1.33 3.16 3.91 7.23 0.13 0.21 0.25 0.39 -33 +95
(p/CuDL = 0.76
andy:02.0)

STATIC 1.10 2.56 3.80 7.03 0.17 0.22 0.31 0.41 -15 +105
(F'/CuDL = 0.66
and y/D = 0.20)

STATIC 1.01 1.47 3.68 6.23 0.19 0.24 0.34 0.43 -7 +20 +70 +115
(P/CuDL = 0.64
and y/D = 0.20)

[CLR = Applied Cyclic Load/ Static Capacity ]

cyclic load level representing tne zero percentage The behaviour of pile supported marine structures
change is taken as the critical value. Thus the critical under lateral loads depends on the embedment
cyclic load level is defined as the load level length and the strength and stifhess of the
corresponding to a stage where the pile soil system surrounding soil.
behaves similar under both static loading and post- b When piles are subjected to cyclic lateral loading,
cyclic static loading conditions. However, with capacities of piles weaken at cyclic load levels
respect to the embedment length, there is a variation exceeding 45% -50% of the static capacities. For
in the critical cyclic load level. higher cyclic load levels, failure can be expected
at a very limited number of cycles.
The critical cyclic load levels for the pile-soil
CONCLUSIONS conditions tested are as follows :
L/D CriticalCyclicbad Level
Based on the experimental results and the Non-
20 35%
dimensional analysis, the following conclusions 30 40%
could be drawn : 40 42%

306
REFERENCES
Anderson, K. H., J. H. Pool, S. F. Brown and W. F.
Rosenbrand (1 980). Cyclic and static Laboratory
Tests on Dramomen Clay, Norwegian Geotechnical
Institute publication, No.131, 3 1.
Broms, B. B. (1964a). Lateral resistance of piles in
cohesive soils, Journal of Soil Mech. and Found.
Engg. Division, ASCE, 90,27-63.
Dunnavant, T. W. and M.W.OWeil1 (1989).
Experimental p-y model for submerged stiff clay,
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering Division,
ASCE, 115(1), 95-114.
Franke, E. (1973). Principles for test loading of large
bored piles by horizontal loads, 8th International
Conference on Soil Mech. and Foundation
Engineering,21,97-104.
Georgiadis, M., C. Anagnostopoulos and S. Saflekou
(1992). Cyclic lateral loading of piles in soft clay,
Geotechnical Engineering, Journal of South East
Asian Geotechnicalsocieq, 23,47-60.
Matlock, H. (1970). Correlations for design of
laterally loaded piles, 2nd ofshore Technology
conference, Taas, 577-593.
Poulos, H. G. (1982). Single pile response to cyclic
lateral load, Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Division, ASCE, 108,355-375
Prasad, C. V. (1995). Behaviour of Soft Marine Clay
under Cyclic Loading, Ph. D. Thesis, I.I.T., Madras.
Price, G. and I. F. Wardle (1979). The deformation of
vertical piles in london clay under static and cyclic
horizontal working loads, Recent developments in the
design and construction ofpiles, ICE, London, 87-95.
Reese, L. C. and R. C. Welch (1975). Lateral loading
of deep foundations in stiff clay, Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering Division, ASCE, 101, GT7,
633-649.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The findings reported in this paper are based on
model testing programme canied out at Ocean
Engineering Centre, I.I.T., Madras. The paper is
being published with the permission of the Director,
C.B.R.I., Roorkee.

Narasimha Rao, S. and K. Mallikarjuna Rao (1993).

Behavior of rigid piles in Marine clays under cyclic
loading, Ocean Engineering, Perguman press, 20,
281-293.

307
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
GEO %$%&,
International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, bcernber 23, 1999

NONLINEAR CYCLIC LOAD ANALYSIS FOR LATERAL RESPONSEOF BATTER PILES

IN SOFT CLAY WITH A RIGOROUS DEGRADATION MODEL
S.S. Rajashreel and T.G. SitharamZ
’Research Associate, 2Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian lnstitute of Science, Bangatore 560 012, India

SYNOPSi$ - Nonlinear analysis of batter piles in soft clay is performed using the finite element technique. As the batter piles are not only
governed by lateral load but also axial load, the effect o f P-A moment and geometric stiffness matrix is included in the analysis. For
implementingthe nonlinear soil behavior, reduction in soil strength(degradation), and formation of gap wirh number of load cycles, a numerical
model is developed where a hyperbolicrelation is adopted for the soil in static condition and hyperbolic relation consideringdegadation and gap
for cyclic load condition. The numerical model is validated with published experimentalresults for cyclic lateral loading and the hysteresis loops
are developed to predict the toaddeflection behavior and soil resistance behavior during consecutivecycles of loading. This paper highlights the
importance of a rigorous degradation mode! for subsequent cycles of loading on the pile-soil system by a hystereticrepresentation.

INTRODUCTlON based on experimental results found a satisfactory criterion for

Pile foundations supporting onshore structures such as bridge
abutments, offshore structures like offshore platforms, berthing
structures and other water front structures are subjected to large
magnitude of horizontal loads. The lateral load on offshore structures
is mainly due to sea waves, which are cyclic in nature. In order to
sustain such lateral loading normally vertical piles are used. When
these lateral loads are very high, battered piles are preferred as they
offer higher resistance. Depending on the direction of h o b n t a l
load, battered piles can be classified as positive batter pile and
negative batter pile. If the horizontal load acts on the foundation in
the direction of batter, it is called ‘negative batter’ or %-batter pile’.
If the horizontal load acts on the foundation in the direction opposite
to pile batter it is called ‘positivebatter’ or ‘out-batter pile’.
During the past years many methods and analyses have been
proposed to predict the behavior of battered piles. Most of the
investigators have proposed theoretical formulations based on some
analytical models and a few have canied out experimentaI
investigations using model piIes in laboratory and prototype piles in
field.
determining design pile loads for laterally loaded bored piles Tbe
experimental results showed that the soil reaction at ground level to
be m o for an out-batter pile and maximum for an in-batter pile
indicating thereby‘that in-batter piles would gain mare support from
soil. It was concluded that the maximum bending moment in out-
batter piles would control the pile design.
In most of the theoretical analyses, difficulties were there in
incorporatingthe soil parameters and considering the appmpriate pile
and soil conditions for the development of batter pile analyses. The
factors ignored in most o f the analyses reported so far are lateral
resistance offered by the soil, Furity of the pile, modulus of the soil
and combined effectof vertical and axial loads.
3n the present paper a review of pioneering worlcs on batter piles are
reported. However, the work on battered piles is very littie as
compared to vertical piles, especially on battered piles subjected to
cyclic lateral load peeresh et al. (1996)J. Therefore, in this paper an
attempt has been made to study the behavior of both positive and
negative batter piles under cyclic wave loading by adopting a
rigorous degradation model.

Analytical studieswas attempted by Hrennikoff(I950) to predict the

displacement of the foundation system by incorporating the soil
resistance. However the effect of batter on lateral load resistance of
soil could not be properly accounted for. Model tests in sands were
carried out in the laboratory to study the effect of batter on the lateral
toad resistance of soil [Tsehebotarioff, (1953), Murthy, (1964),
Feagin (I953), Prakash and Subramanyan (1965)) Battered pile
analyses were performed to study the influence of b t h nonlinear
variation of subgrade modulus and effect of axial load on the batter
[Meyerhoff and Ranjan (1975), Alizadeh and Davisson (1970),
Reese and Matlock (1956)l.
Model pile tests were also petformed in clays by Ranjan et al. (1980)
and Lu (1981). Lateral road tests were also carried out on mode1
battered pile in clays by Ranjan et al. (1980) for both single vertical
and battered piles and pile groups. The authors reported that a single
in-batter pile was more resistant and an out-batter pile was less
resistant in comparison with vertical pile. A pile bent consisting o f
one vertical pile and another battered pite either positively or
negatively battered was more resistant to lateral deflection in
comparison with a similar pile group of two vertical piles. Lu (1981)
NONLINEAR BEHAWOR OF SOIL,
In most of the numerical studies, the nonlinear behavior o f soil is
represented by p-y curves showing a parabolic variation. These
curves are developed using the design procedures given by Matlock
[1970] which is based on experiments performed in clays at Lake
Austin and Sabine, Texas. However, recent researchers (Georgiadis
et al., 1992) have reported that the hyperbolic function which is
widely used in stress-strain problems (Kondner, 1963), fits
remarkably well with the experimental results for laterally loaded
piles in soft clay and the p-y relationship is as given below.
Y
P” 7 111
-+-
ki pv
where the initial stiffness o f the soit, ki is obtained from Vesb’s
(1961) equation:

309

where,
Es - Young's modulus of soil
E - Young's modulus of pile
I - moment of inertia of the pile section
U - Poisson'sratio
The deflection (y) is limited to 20% of the pile diameter as described
by Broms (1964).
The ultimate resistance of soil ( pu) = N C D
Where, C, is the undrained shear strength of clay, D is the pile
diameter and N is the bearing capacity factor which increases with
depth below soil surface ( Z ) and varies from 3 at ground level (Z =
0) to 9 at Z = Z R,according to Eq. 131 :
+ maximum resistance in negative batter piles
( depth of reduced resistance zone is zero)
+ min~um resistance in positive batter piles
( depth of reduced resistance zone is increased)
~~C~ MODEL FOR CYCLIC LOAD COND~ION
During subsequent cycles of loading cyclic loading, the soil around
the upper portion of the supported batter pile member exhibits very
complex soil response. The soil response is i ~ u e n by c ~the pife-
soil interaction factors such as reduction in strength of soil
(degradation), the variation in ultimate soil resistance along the depth
of batter pile and separation between pile and soil (gap).
The degradation of clay is modelled by modifying the ultimate
resistance of soil using a degradation factor. In this model, the
degradation factor is considered varying, with respect to depth of
soii, which is a function of static lateral deflection of battn piie
corresponding to ultimate static resistance as well as number of
cycles of loading given by the following equation (Rajashree, 1997)

a,,= 2.-
logn
0.2 D
where hn - degradation at nth cycle
y - effective unit weight of soil yt - static lateral deflection of batter pile
J - dimensionless empirical constant (0.25 to 0.50) D - diameter of pile

Np = 9 For 2 2. Z, 141 The ultimate cyclic resistance of soil (pun)is not only governed by
the degradation factor but also, the ultimate static resistance and
where 2 is the depth below the soil surface to the depth of reduced formation of gap at 100% degradation. As the variation of ultimate
resistance zone given by Eq. [S] which is obtained by equating Eqs. static resistance along the depth of pile is different for positive and
r31 and PI. negative batter pile pm is influenced by type of batter pile. An
empirical relation is developed to calculate pun along the depth of
pile by incorporating degradation and gap given by:
2, =6D r51
E+
C"
J

Eq. [ 5 ] is valid only if the undrained shear strength and unit weight
of soil is constant along the depth. When h approaches unity,pun tends to zero, which corresponds to
100% degradation. Hence the maximum value of I shall be 1 in
The increase in ultimate soil resistance is governed by the depth of
the reduced resistance zone which is different for both vertical and Es.(6).
batter oiles and hence the following assumDtions based on Lu (19811

-
Vertical pile
9c.
Negative batter pile
- 9c.
Positive batter pile
- 9c.

Fig. 1 Variation ofultimate resistance of soil along the depth of pile.

310
MODELING OF THE p-y CURVE

The nonlinear inelastic soil support @-y) curve is modelled using

elasto-plastic sub-elements as proposed by Matlock and Foo [1978].
The p-y curve is approximated using several elastic perfectly plastic
elements in parallel denoted as sub-elements. Each sub-element (as
shown in Fig. 2) is represented by its spring stiffness (Si) and
limiting resistance (Qi) at a particular deflection (Yi). The
resistance at any deflection is equal to the sum of the limiting soil
resistance of the sub-elements, as given in Eq. [8]. Fig.2a is a
nonlinear elastic curve comprising of 5 elasto-plastic sub-elements
as shown in Fig. 2b each having a stiffness (S), limiting force (Q)
and displacement (Y). In this section, as an example five elasto-
plastic sub-elements have been considered. At a particular deflection
(Y 1) of the first sub-element (see Fig. 2b) all the sub-elements are in
the elastic stage, hence the initial slope of the nonlinear elastic curve
is (Sl+S2+S3+S4+S5). Similarly, for a deflection (Y5) only the fifth
sub-element having a force (Q5) and stiffness (S5) is in the elastic
stage and the rest of the sub-elements are in the plastic stage (see Fig.
2b) thus the slope is only S5. Based on the above stated sub-element
concept the following equations have been charted out.

i-l 5
Qi = 1 S, Y, + Yi C S, (i = 1,2....5) [81
m=I m=i

On solving Eq. [8] the stifhess of each sub-element is obtained from

Eq. 9 :

[91

FINITE ELEMENT MODEL

A computer code is developed for the lateral load analysis of vertical

and battered pile by idealising the pile by beam elements and the soil
by number of elasto-plastic spring elements at each beam node.
Though battered pile offers a higher resistance to lateral loading, a
major portion of the horizontal component acts as an axial load on
the pile. The horizontal load impacts compression to positive
battered piles and tension to negative battered piles. For the same the
geometric nonlinearity of the pile is incorporated by considering the
geometric stiffness matrix in addition to the elastic stiffness matrix
of the beam element as well as the secondary moments known as the
42
P-A moment.

Static analysis

A nonlinear static analysis is performed considering the soil

nonlinearity and adopting modified Newton Raphson (N-R) method
to implement an incremental-iterativeprocedure. The stiffness of the
beam element and the spring elements are calculated using the given
formulation. At each layer along the pile depth, the stifhess of the
soil is modelled from macro to micro level, ie; ten elasto-plastic sub-
elements are assumed each having a stiffness and a limiting force. A Fig. 2 Sub-element model to idealize the nonlinear behavior of soil..
linear static analysis is performed for the first incremental load and elements mobilised for active springs are within the limiting soil
the spring forces obtained are compared with the limiting soil resistance. The procedure is repeated for all the load increments and
resistance of the respective springs. The convergence criteria adopted
the resultant deflections, bending moments and spring forces are
for the N-R method is that, if the spring force obtained at the end of
obtained.
the linear analysis is greater than the limiting soil resistance then the
stiffness of the element is assumed as zero and the nodal force equal
to the limiting soil resistance is applied in the opposite direction of Cyclic load analysis
deflection, otherwise, the iterative procedure is complete. The
A number of numerical procedures are presented in the literature, to
procedure causes a change in the nodal stifhess and the force vector
in the next iteration. The iteration is continued till all the spring perform cyclic load analysis on vertical piles considering different

311
degradation and gap models. But in most of the degradation models
the degradation is assumed to be constant along the depth of pile. In
the present study, the cyclic load analysis of the pile-soil system is
carried out considering the pile-soil interaction factors such as
nonlinearity of stress-strain curve, strength degradation and gap. The
hysteretic behaviour of the symmetrical support curve is also
implemented by an assemblage of elasto-plastic sub-elements, each
showing the loading, unloading and subsequent reloading path . This
type of modeling the soil-support curve not only helps in tracing the
loading and unloading path, but also estimates the cyclic response of
pile more accurately.
A rigorous cyclic load analysis program was developed by using the
present, numerical model which includes the pile-soil interaction
factors by an empirical relation. In the present numerical model, the
ultimate cyclic resistance is modified using the empirical relation
whereas, the sti&ess is maintained constant. The developed
numerical model is incorporated in the Finite Element procedure
where, the pile is idealized as beam elements and the soil as spring
elements. A nonlinear FE analysis is performed using the modified
Newton Raphson (N-R) method to implement an incremental-
iterative procedure. The convergence criteria adopted for the N-R
method is similar to that operated for static load analysis.
head and batter angles of Oo, +30°and -30'. A nonlinear static
analysis was performed for the same pile and the comparison of
results for the three batter angles are shown in Fig. 3a, 3b and 3c.
The numerical results show a fairly good comparison with the
experimental results.
Experimental study of Veeresh (1996)
A model aluminium pile of diameter 26mm, wall thickness 2.3mm
and length 832 mm embedded in soft clay (LL = 50%, PL = 21%,
PI=29%, IC = 0.48, wn = 36%, y = 18.43kN/m3, Cu = 7.5kPa, Es =
800kF'a) was tested by Veeresh (1996) for a horizontal load of I20N
at an eccentricity of 50mm above ground line and batter angle of Oo.
A nonlinear static analysis was performed for the pile and the
comparison of results are shown in Fig. 4. The results presented
show a fairly good comparison with the experimental results.
Validation of Nonlinear cyclic load analysis program with. the
experiment results of Veeresh (1996)
The pile and soil details used for testing for cyclic load is the same as
that for static load on uile. Cvclic load analvsis is uerfomed for

VALIDATION OF THE COMPUTER CODE

In this section, a field pile studied by Matlock and Foo (1978) using
the p-y model given by Matlock (1970) and adopting a finite
-
t
U
-1 Model tests (Ranjan et al., 1980)
Present analysis

difference method program (SPASM, Seismic Pile Analysis and

-
0
20
P
Support Motion) has been considered for the validation of the s
-1
program developed in this work. A nonlinear static analysis is
performed on the field pile of diameter 1.219 m and length 73.2 m
embedded in clay for a depth of 61m subjected to three different
magnitudes of lateral load 334kN, 500kN and 669kN at eccentricity
of 12.lm (Matlock and Foo, 1978) using the developed computer 0 1 2
code. The lateral deflection obtained in this analysis compared with a Lateral deflection (mm)
the results from SPASM code are as presented in Table 1. The 30
results presented show a fairly good comparison. (B.ppengk =+30
1
Table 1. Comparison of lateral deflection at ground line with SPASM
20
1 I
load Present analvsis SPASM 10
I (kN) I (Finite Element Method) I
. ~ .

(Finite difference method) I

334 0.0817 0.0815
0
500 0.1469 0.1464
0 1 2 3
669 0.2268 0.2260 b Lateral deflection (mm)

Validation of Nonlinear static load analysis program Present analysis

=

6I
B
The computer code developed for nonlinear static analysis is U
/ *
validated with batter pile tested in the laboratory for static load by -
0
20
Ranjan et al. (1980) and Veeresh (1996). Es
-1

Experimental study of Ranjan et al. (1980) Batter angle = -30 degrees

0
A model aluminium pile of diameter 9.5 mm, wall thickness lmm
and length 360 mm embedded in soft clay (LL = 54%, PL = 25%, IC C 0.0 0.4 0.8
Lateral deflection (mm) 1.2
= 0.48, wn = 40%, y = 18kNIm3, Cu = 15.2kPa, Es = 600kPa) was Fig. 3 Comparison of lateral load-deflection curve for battered pile
tested by Ranjan et al. (1980) for a horizontal load of 24.5N at pile with experimental results of Ranjan et al. (1980).

312
 a

/ ExptofVeeresh, 1996)

0 /
0.0
,(-
0.5
p r e ya n a y

GroundlineM&m(mm)
1.0 1.5
-_.-L M . E 2
- Lu-087
--- LR=O.M

Fig. 4 Comparisonof l a t d load-deflectioncurve

with expeiimen@l resutts ofVeeresh (1996).
vertical pile. at different load ratios (0.26,0.35,0.50,0.67) where load
ratio is defined as cyclic load to ultimate static capacity of pile and
the results are compared with that of Veeresh (1996) (Fig. 5). The
numerical results show a good Comparison with that of the
experiments
Load QS deflrectwnfor number of cycim Fig. 5 Comparison of lateral toad-deflection curve for vertical pile
Fig. 6 shows the load-deflection c w e at ground line for a for differentcyclic load ratios with experimental results of
load ratio of 0.67 till 6 loading cycles. The plotted graphs helps in Veeesh (1996).
tracing the path Of deflection during each loading cycle due to the Z rlm
effect of degradation.

Rmistance -displacemmt curwfor each sub-element

P t75

The resistancedkplaeemmt curve for sub-element 7 is

plotted at ground line and lm Mow ground lime (Fig.7a and %I.
This curre shows the efasto-plasticbehavior, as the suhlement hss
reached the plastic stage during subsequent loading cycles. The
reduction in resistance in the sub-element during each ivading cycle
shows the effect of degradation 5

TOtUf #VSaQlZWW &pf@CeMf

The total resistance-displacement curve is plotted at ground
line and 1 m below ground line (Fig.8a and 8b). This curve shows the
total resistance ie the sum of the resistance in all the sub-elementsat
a particular depth along the pile with respect to drsplacement. The
hysteresis loop of the total mistance-dispf- c m not only
shows the effect of degradation but the total energy of the system at Fig. 6 Effect ofdegradation model on load-deflectrion curve at
the level at which the curve is plotted. ground line tilr 6 loading cycles.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The cyclic lateral response of battered piIe is studied based on a

nonlinear Finite Element code using hyperbolic model For soil and
considering the geometric nonlinearity of the pile. The numerical
model presented in the study for static and cyciic load analysis
predicts a realistic behaviw of battered pile. The rigorous
degradation model adopted to represent pile-soil interaction factors
such as degradation and gap in the inmemental-iterative procedure
helps in tracing the loading and unloading path accmtely. The
followingconclusionsare drawn from the study:
* The developed computer code for static ioad analysis
has been validated with the results presented by
Matlock and Foo (1978)
4 The inclusion of hyperbolic model for the soil and
geometric nonlinearity for the pile helps in presenting a
realistic behavim of the pife-soil system, showing the
validity of the numerical model with experimental Fig. 7a Effect of degradationmodel on resistrtnce-dispiacement
results of Kanian et al. (1980) and Veeresh (1996). c w e at ground line till 6 loading cycles.

313

-1
I degradation on load-deflection curve, resistance-
L -10
Fig. 7b Effect of degradation model on resistance-displacement
curve at l m below ground line till 6 loading cycles.
L -10
Fig. 8a Effect of degradation model on total resistance-
displacement curve at ground line till 6 loading cycles.
L -20
Fig. 6b Effect of degradation model on total resistance-
displacement curve at l m below ground line till 6 loading
cycles.
+ The empirical relation proposed to represent
degradation and gap during cyclic load analysis
predicts a realistic soil behavior, as the-degradation and
gap is maximum at the ground line and decreases along
the pile depth. The results are validated with the results
of Veeresh (1996).
+ The adoption of the hysteresis behaviour in the
nonlinear soil-support curve helps in tracing the loading
and unloading path, thus showing the effect of
displacement curve for each sub-element and total
resistance at a particular depth.
REFERENCES
Alizadeh, M. and Davisson, M.T. (1970) Lateral load test on piles -
Arkansas River Project. Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering Division, ASCE, 96, 1583-1603.
Broms, B.B. (1964a) Lateral resistance of piles in cohesive soils, Journal
of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Division, ASCE, 90,27-63.
Feagin, L.B. (1953) The lateral load tests on group of battered and vertical
piles. Special Technical Publication No. 154, ASTM, 12-30.
Georgiadis, M.; Anagnostopoulos, C. and Saflekon, S. (1992) Cyclic
lateral loading of piles in Soft clay, Geotechnical Engg., 23,47-60.
Hrennikoff, A. (1950) Analysis of foundations with batter piles.
Transactions, ASCE, 115,351-374.
Kondner ,R.L. (1963) Hyperbolic stress-strain response: cohesive soils, J.
of Soil Mechanics and Foundatiod Engineering, ASCE, 89, 115-143.
Lu, S.S. (‘1981) Design load of bored pile laterally loaded, Xth Int. Conf.
on Soil Mechanics and Found. Engg., 2, Rotterdam, 767-770.
Matlock, H. (1970) Correlations for design of laterally loaded piles. 2nd
Offshore Technology Conference, Texas, 577-593.
Matlock, H. And Reese, L.C. (1960) Generalised solutions for laterally
loaded piles, JI of Soil Mech. and Found.Div., ASCE, 86(SM5), 63-91.
Matlock, H., and Foo, S.H.C. (1978) Simulation of lateral pile behavior
under earthquake motion, A report to Chevron Oil Field Research
Company, La Habra, California, The university of Texas at Austin,
Department of Civil Engineering, 74 pages.
Meyerhof, G.G and Ranjan, G. (1973) The bearing capacity of rigid piles
under inclined loads in sand II: Batter piles, Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, 10,71-85.
Murthy, V.N.S. (1964) Behavior of battered piles embedded in sand
subjected to lateral loads, Proc. Symposium on bearing capacity of piles,
CBRI, Roorkee, India, 142-153.
Prakash, S. and Subramanyam, G. (1965) Behavior of battered piles under
lateral loads. JI of Ind. Nat.Soc. Soil Mech. & Found Engg., 4, 177-196.
Rajashree S.S. (1997) Nonlinear cyclic analysis of laterally loaded pile in
clay, PhD Thesis, IIT Madras, India.
Rajashree S.S. and Sundaravadivelu, R. (1996) Degradation model for o n e
way cyclic lateral load on piles in soft clay, Computers and
Geotechnics, 19,289-300.
Ranjan, G., Ramasamy, G. and Tyagi, R.P. (1980) Lateral response of
batter piles and pile bents in clay, Indian Geotechnical Journal, 10,
No.2, 135-142.
Ranjan, G., Ramasamy, G. and Tyagi, R.P. (1980) Lateral response of
batter piles and pile bents in clay, Indian Geotechnical Journal, 10,
No.2, 135-142.
Reese, L.C. and Matlock, H. (1956) Non-dimensional solutions for laterally
loaded piles with soil modulus assumed proportional to depth, Proc. 8th
Texas Conference in Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engg. Special
pub. 29.
Tschebotarioff, G.P. (1953) The resistance to lateral loading of single piles
and pile groups. ASTM special publication No. 154,38-48.
Veeresh, C. (1996) Behavior of batter piles in marine clays, PhD Thesis,
IIT Madras, India.
Vesic, A.B. (1961) Bending beam resting on isotropic elastic solid, Journal
of Engineering Mechanics Division, ASCE, I02(EM2), 249-264.

314
GEO %%&, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geobchnical Enginewing, Dember 2-3, 9999
THREE DIMENSIONAL FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF LATERALLY LOADED PILE
GROW
M.A. Patill and D.M. DewaikaF
'Gradwfe Student, 'Fqkw,Depfnmt #WEngin&g, Indimr Insfitute of Tedmology BomBay, P m i , Mmbai PO0 076,
India

-
SYNOPSIS A three dimensional finite element analysis is proposed for studying the response of pile groups
embedded in homogenous clays, subjected to lateral I d . TWOways of carrying out finite element analysis are
suggested-one by finite element formulation and other by using the finite element analysis software ANSYS. Analysis
is carried out for two as well as three pile groups. A panmetric study of the pile group is carried out by varying the
spacing and m g e m e n t of piles in the group. The results show that the lateral load resistance of the pile group
increases with increase in the spacing of piles. Also, the parallel arrangement of piles have greater lateral load
resistance than piles in series. Results obtained by finite element formulation BS well as by ANSYS are consistent and
show agreement with the field behaviour of pile groups.

INTRODUCTION

Laterally loaded piles are associated with a variety of

offshore as well as coastal and onshore structures. Due to
large magnitudes of vertical as well as lateral loads, piles
are often used in groups. In case of OffShOre structures
the lateral loads are large, often in the order of 30 to 40%
of the verticaI load, in areas subjected to severe s t m . Series
U
Parallel
As such, lateral 1 4 governs the design.

/o/
Pile group foundations involve three-dimemionat
interaction between pile-cap, soil and pile. In the past the
problem has been solved by making Bsmptions
regarding the geometry and material properties.
However, to account for the realistic tlature of the
problem, it is necessary to allow for three dimensional
i I o lI
geometry and interke effects.
I I
The purpose of this paper is to present three dimensional
finite element analysis for the problem of laterally loaded
pile growp. The use of finite element analysis was
restricted in the past due to limited computer memory
and large CPU time. However the increased power of Fig.1 Arrangemeat offpillesin a Group
personal computers has made finite element analysis an
atmctive option.

Two methods of carrying out the analysis an:proposed- GEOMETRICAND M A " A L PROPERTIES
one by formulation, and other, using the finite element
analysis software ANSYS. A parametric study is The following properties apply f i all models:
conducted to investigate the lateral load behaviour of Pile length = 25m.
pile group, embedded in homogenous clay, by varying Pile size = lmxIm(square)
the number, spacing and arrangement of piles (Fig.1). Capthickness = 0.15 m.

315
 The size of the model is selected such that the effects of
stresses and displacements induced by the lateral load are
negligible at the boundaries of the model. Meshing is
Type of Young’s Poisson’s
ratio done keeping in view the accuracy of results and
Material Modulus
convenience in modelling. Typical models of the pile
Pile Mild Steel 2e8 KN/m2 0.15 group are shown in Fig2 and Fig.3.
Pile cap Mild Steel 2e8 KN/m2 0.15 Different models are constructed for two pile and three
pile groups, for series as well as for parallel arrangement
Soil Clay 4267 KN/m2 0.45 of piles.

Finite Element Formulation

The pile and soil are discretised into a number of 20

MODELLING AND ANALYSIS noded isoparametric continuum elements. The interface
between pile and soil is modelled using 16 noded
Taking advantage of the symmetry of the structure and
isoparametric interface elements, having zero thickness.
loading, only half the pile group is modelled. This has
considerably improved the efficiency of the model (by
reducing the memory requirements and CPU time),
without compromising with the accuracy of results

Soil

Pile Cap

Pile

Fig3 Pile Group Model-By Formulation

(2 piles in series) Fig3 Pile Group- ANSYS Modelling (Isometric View)

316
ContinmmElement The stiffhess matrix for all the elements are evaluated
Relation between strains and nodal displacements is into a global stiffhess matrix in skyline storage form.
expressed as, Similarly, the load vector is assembted. The equilibrium
equations are solved by the active column solution
b), = tBl@t, (1) technique.

Madelling and Analysis by ANSYS

where, {E)e, is the strain vector, (S)e is a vector
consisting of nodal displacements, and represents the
strain-displacementtransformation matrix
The stress-strain relation is given by,
we - (2)
where, (U), is the stress vector, and PJ is the
constitutive relation matrix.
The stiffhess matrix, [Kle, of an element is given as,
(3)
Interface EIemeplt
The relative displacements (strains) between the srmrfaces
of soil and structure induce stresses in the interface
element. These relative displacements are given by,
c), - I B I , ~ ~ (43
where, [B]f represents the strain-displacement
transformation matrix.
The element stiffnessis obtained by usual expression,
The ANSYS sofhwue is an attractive option for carrying
out finite element analysis of various engineering
system. The ANSYS element library has a variety of
one, two and three dimensional elements. For twYine,
out three dimensional analysis soil, pile and pile cap are
disrretized using t#e 20 noded element (SOLD95). This
element is found suitable as the system assumes
considerable c m m under lateral load conditions.
Details of modelling procedure is given in ANSYS
User's Manuals.
Interface between the pile surface and soil is the most
influential aspect of the pile p u p behaviour. The pile-
soil interface behaviour is modelled by coupling the
nodes on the leading face of each pile with coinciding
nodes of the soil. The coupling is done only for one
degree of k d u m i.e. the displacement in the direction
of the load.
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
Appropriate boundary conditions are applied to the
model in order to simulate mar to practical behaviour of
the pile group. The out of plane displaments for the
planes ABCD, AEMD, BFW, FENG, DGGH are
restrained.

F1. = pl,TIDIIBl,ds LAIADING AND SOLUTION

s
(5) A lateral load of 1000 KN i s applied on the top surface
of pile cap. The load is divided ewdly among these
where PI, is the constitutive rektim matrix for the nodes. The number of loaded nodes is different for every
interface. arrangement and spacing of piles. A static analysis of the
pile group is canied out for the above load.
Equivalent Nodal Form Vector for Uniformly
Distributed Shear RESULTS
The lateral force, a, acting on the pile cap, is considered me pile cap displacments 0-4 for different
as unifody distributed shear force over the cfoss- spacings and arrangements of pibs kom finite element
SectiOfial A, ofthe Pile The intens%, % of S S formulation are tabulated inTable 2 and plotted in Fig.5
uniformly distributed force is, q = WA. Equivalent nodal
farce vector, (Q)e, is then expressed as, The pile cap displacements obtained from ANSYS 81y:
tabulated in Table 3 and plotted in Fig.5

IQL = h[NIT~ The deflected shape of the pile p u p is shown in Fig.6

A (6) and displacement contours are plotted in Fig.7

317
 Table 2: Pile Cap Displacements-By Formulation

Spacing Two Pile Group Three Pile Group

of Piles Pile Cap Pile Cap
Pile Cap Pile Cap (In
Displacement Displacement Displacement Displacement
Terms of Terms of
Diameter (E-03 m) (E-03 m)
Diameter
D, Series Parallel Series Parallel
2D 18.44 14.29 13.38 10.24 2D 23.89 20.76 19.54 14.84
3D 17.89 12.89 12.85 8.73 3D 22.02 18.88 18.16 13.07
4D 17.04 12.01 12.17 7.89 4D 21.55 17.98 17.45 12.18
5D 16.48 11.40 11.78 7.37
6D 14.23 10.96 11.53 7.03

'c1 -m-
-0-
2 piles in series
2 piles in rerallel
-A- 3 pikr in rcricr

8
v) -
r=
nl
M
c

" 2

t
O L ' I " ' I ' I ' I ' I " I
10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Displacement of Pile Cap (E-03 m.) Displacement of Pile Cap @-03 m.)

Fig. 4 Pile Cap Displacements - by Formulation Fig.5 Pile Cap Displacements - by ANSYS

The variation of pile cap displacements with pile spacing
(Fig.4 and Fig.5) show that pile cap displacementsreduce
as spacing increases. This indicates that pile group
resistance increases as pile spacing increases within
practical limits.
Comparison between series and parallel arrangements
(for two as well as three pile groups) shows that piles in
parallel have greater lateral resistance than in series.
The finite element analysis done by formulation and that
done using ANSYS software both show similar trends in
the behaviour of laterally loaded pile groups. However,
the displacements computed by ANSYS are somewhat on
the higher side. This difference can be attributed to the
difference in mesh size and interface modelling.
These results are in general agreement with those
reported by model tests and full scale tests as well as
other analyses reported in the literature. The interaction
effects seen in the present analysis are less than those
reported by pile load tests because soil behaviour is
idealized as linear whereas in actual it is non-linear.
Incorporation of a non-linear model can improve the
results quantitatively.

318
 MSYS
SEP 23 1998
19:18: 02
NODAL SOLUTION

@) Plan

Lateral
Displacement
of Pile Cap
b)

B =-.004262
B =-.001621
C =.001019
D =.00366
E =.0063
F =.008941
G =.011581
Y
H =.014222
X I e.016862

Fig.7 Pile Group - Displacement Contours from

ANSYS

References

ANSYS, User’sManual, Revision 5.2, 1995. Procedures,

Volume 1, ANSYS Inc., Houston.
(a) Elevation ANSYS, User’s Manual, Revision 5.2, 1995. Commands,
Volume 2, ANSYS Inc., Houston.
Fig. 6 Pile Group - Deflected Shape from ANSYS
ANSYS, User’s Manual, Revision 5.2, 1995. Elements,
Volume 3, ANSYS Inc., Houston.

CONCLUSIONS ANSYS, User’s Manual, Revision 5.2, 1995. Theory,

From the parametric study of pile group carried out, the
following broad conclusions are drawn:
1. The lateral resistance of pile group increases with
increase in pile spacing.
2. Piles in parallel exhibit greater lateral resistance than
those in series.
3. The effect of pile spacing on the lateral resistance is
significant in case of series arrangement and
negligible for parallel arrangement.
4. The finite element analysis employed is effective in
analysing the pile group and studying the interaction
effects.
Volume 4, ANSYS Inc., Houston.
Buragohain, D.N. and Shah, V.L., (1978), ‘Curved
Isoparametric Surface Element’, Journal of Struct.
Engg. Div .,ASCE, 104, ST1, 1978,pp.205-209
Muqtadir, A. and Desai C.S. (1986), ‘ThreeDimensional
Analysis of a Pile Group Foundation’, International
Journal for Numerical MethociS in Geomechanics, vol
10, 1986, pp 41-58
Zeinkiewicz, 0. C. (1977), ‘Finite Element Method’,
McGraw Hill Book Co.

319
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
GEO International Conference on 0fiha-e and Nearshore UsingGeatechnical
Eq.(ll), Engineering,
c o n ~ u c t i v ifor
the scaling for hydraulic
factors2-3,1999
December
~ ~ different g vatues, with respect to I-g
laboratory tests have been evaluated and some of the results
ANALYSIS OF LATERALLY LOADED PILE GROUP are presented in Table 4. In this table k, is hydraulic
S.R. Lavandel, D.M. DewaikarZ and V.A. SawmP c o n ~ u c t i v iin~ centrifuge models, kpt and kp2 are the
'Post Graduate Student, 2Professor, 3Res2mck Scholar, Indian lnstitufe qf ~hydraulic n o l o g yconductivities
F, m i , Mamba<, obtained
Indin in consolidation tests and
oedometer falling head tests respectivily at the appiied
pressures equivalent to those generated in the c e n t r i ~ ~ate
the requisite g-levels, kp3 and kpl are the hydraulic
conductivities obtained in the conventional and oedometer
SYNOPSIS Analysis of tatedly loaded pile goup is in reality fsing-head a three dimensional continuum mechanics
tests respectiviiy without problem.
applyingKt any is
possible to treat the prublem as fully three dimensional in a finite element
a d ~ t i pressure;analysis.
o ~ Although
XI, x2, x3, and
such a thee dimensional
are the scaling factors
analysis is possible, at this time, it can be quire expensive. Forcorresponding the purpose of to application
kpl kp2 kp3 and in analysis and design,
respectinly. it isbe
It can
preferable to use a procedure that can handle a number of significant complexities, but at the same time,
noticed that, in general, these scaling factors are close is as simple andto
economical as possible. In the present paper, a simple straightforward approach is proposed. Beam column
unity. In other words hydraulic conductivity in a centrifuge element, plate
The consolidation
element test is anareindirect
and spring etements used for permeability
simulation of test in pile cap
pile, is and
N soil,
timesrespectively.
that of theThe1-g group effect
tests. Thisis considered
observationbyis
which a sample
introducing of soil
soflening factor. is E compressed
ffect of piteinspacing,a rigidand ring at of piles
number in the group on load-deflection
consistent with the scaling relationship obtained behaviour is in
studied.
Eq.(6).
various vertical stress levels, with drainage facility at both
top and bottom of the sample. The h y ~ a u co~ductivity
INTRODUCTION ~~c is FINITE ELEMENT FORMULATION
calculated using Terzaghi's theory of one ~ e n s i o n a l
Pile foundations
consolidation using are generally expression:
the following preferred when heavy Beam Column Element
structural loads have to be transferred through weak This study demo&rates the use of a geotechnical centrifuge
k siibsoils
= cvmvyw to fir......................................
m strata. These foundations "...............
in some(9) forThemodelling
degrees hydradic
of f i d m conductivity compacted
for elementofconsists soils. It
of axial
situations are subjected to significant amount of lateral can be seen thatw,
displacement thelateral
hydraulic ~ n ~ u c ~ i Uviniand
displacements taygeotechnical
v, and
loads c,
where besides
is thevertical
coefficientloads. Lateral forces maymbe
of consolidatioq , dueis the rotations is
centrifuge N times
about threegreater than that obtained
axes. Therefore beam column from the
to action of
coefficient ofwind
volumein case of onsliore structures
compressibility, and yw is andthedueunit conventional
element has six laboratory
degrees tests.of & dStudy
o m atalsoeachsatisfies
node. If the
to combination
weight of water. of In wind
Eq. 9,and can beaction
cv wave in meither
obtained e of by theoretical
rotation about scaling
z axisrelations~p for hydraulic
is not considered conducti~ty"
,the degrees of
offshore structures. Tn case of coastal
conventional J; or Iog(t) relationships for the soil. Olson structures, there Time
freedomtaken test a soil
aretoreduced to 5sample a centrifuge is quite less
at eachinnode.
are additionat
(1986) has shownherthing
that the forces.calculated In hydrauiic piles are
practice, conductivity as compared to the bench tests. As such, a centrifuge can be
used from
values in groiips,
Eq.9 and are connected
are almost always by cap at
lessathan thethe pile
measured used
Plate efficiently
Elementto obtain the hydraulic conductivity of fine-
heads. and
values, The the
spacing between
calculated h ypiles
d r a ~plays an important
cconductivity values grained soils. Since the prototype stress conditions can be
role&
from is the assessment
method are more of load-deflection
close to the measured behaviourvaluesof Pile cap inis modelled
created a geotechnical using 4 noded element.
centrifuge, theForobtained
the
pile groups under lateral loads.
than the log(t) method. As such J; method is used in this inplane loading,
permeability valuesplaneare stress to in-situisvalues.
idealisation
more near considered.Further,
study for estimation of cv and hence the hydraulic Two isdegrees
there freedom between
a goodofagreement are considered
hydraulic inplane
forconductivity
The basic problem of a pile group is thee dimensional loading, namely lateral displacements U and v, in X
conductivity of the soil. values obtained fiom various I-g bench tests.
in nature. It is possible to treat the problem as filly and Y directions respectively. To consider the bending
three dimensional in a finite element analysis, but it is aspect, three degrees of freedom are considered at
quite expensive. For the purpose of application in each node, namely, the transverse displacement, w,
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
analysis and design, it is preferable to use a procedure the rotation about Y axis and the rotation about X
REFERENCES
that can handle a number of significant complexities, axis. Together with the two inplane displacements, U
The
butscaling
at the relationship
same time, is forashydraulic
simple and co~ d u c ~between
econo~nical v ias~
1-g tests (denoted by suffix p) and
possible. In the present work well known concepts in centrifuge tests (denoted and v, M.H.,
Alem', there are total 5D.H.,
Neilsen, degrees andofBiggar,
freedomJ.W. at each
(1976).
suflixelement
byfinite be written
m) cantheory as: " node.
~ t e the~ h y
g ~ a u l ~
conductivity
c of soi1 cores by
are used. Beam column element,
plate element and spring element are used for ~ n ~ g a t i o n Soil . f ' Sci. Soc. Am. J.,40,212-218.
The number of degrees of freedom for beam column
2k = N X ' pile, pile cap and foiindation soil
simulati~ii
k, ..~..~*.....l.*....~~..~~....~....~...-.*.......
element
Arulanandan, and plate element areP.Y.,
K., Thompson, same. Consequently
Kutter, B.L., Meegoda,the
respectively. Three dimensional pile group system is(10) requirement of inter element compa~~jlity between
replaced by one diinensional idealisation for piles, twr, N.J., M ~ e e t h ~ a K.K., n , and Yogach~dran,C. (1888).
adjacent plate
"Centrifuge and beam-column
modelling elementsforcan
of transport processes be
pollutants
diinensionnl
where idealisations
x is a scale factor whose for value
pile cap hasand
to be equivalent
ascertained taken care of.
springs
with the for
he$foundation
of various soil.1-g Pile-soil-pile
and centrifuge tests.isTo
interaction in soils." ASCE, Jr. Geotech. Eng., 114(2), 185-205.
carried the
evaluate outvalues
as per of Galgoul
x, Eq.(lO)andcanGronin's be written (1981)
in the Spring EIement
approach.
folrowing The analysis is extended to study the effect
form: Mtchelf, R.J. (I994a). "A flexible, no lateral strain
of pile spacing and number of piles in group, on pile apparatus for clay liner-leachate testing." Cenrrifige 94 by
The soil reaction at various nodes is simdated by
group displacements. using aLee,
hung, and of
series (eds.), Bdkema,
Tanequivalent Rotterdam, elastic
and independent 351-355,
springs.
Mtchell, R.J. (1994b). "Centrifuge techniques for testing
clay &er samples." Can, Georech. f.,31,577-583.

261
32f
GROUP EFFECT
Behaviour of pile groups is more complex than the
behaviour of single piles. This is mainly due to the
interaction among the piles taking place through soil
medium. An interaction factor between two piles is
defined as additional displacement of one pile due to
unit load on other pile.
Poulos (197 1), and Randolph (1981), reported
interaction factors that can be included in elastic
analysis of pile groups to account for pile-soil-pile
interaction. Values of interaction factors as given by
Randolpli (1981), in following way,
...(I )
in which, p, is the parameter showing relative
homogeneity of soil. It varies from 1 for homogeneous
soil to 0.5, for soils with stiffness proportional to
depth, ro is pile radius, G, is shear modulus, f3 is
deviator angle, and,
4
...(2)
where (EI), is flexural rigidity of pile.
The important features of these expression are,
1. The interaction of the piles in a line normal to the
direction of loading at a given spacing is half of
that of piles along the direction of loading.
2. The interaction between the piles in soils with
stiffness proportional to depth is half of that for
piles in homogeneous soil.
3. The interaction factors are inversely proportional to
the pile spacing.
In situations where interaction factor obtained by
above equation exceeds 0.5, Randolph has suggested
the use of expression,
This is done to ensure that interaction factor becomes
unity as pile spacing tends to zero.
While considering subgrade reaction analysis, the
most coininon approach to account for group effect is
322
to consider a reduction factor (value less than unity)
which is applied to subgrade modulus of all springs.
Galgoul and Cronin, (1981), carried out non-linear
analysis for pile group using sub-grade reaction
approach. Interaction factors, were calculated using
Mindlin's equation,from which reduction factors can
be worked out.
In group of piles, interaction factor, a, can be
calculated using Mindlin's equation or Randolph;~
equation. Interaction factors will give softening
factors using following procedure :
If (6) is the pile displacement vector for single pile,
then displacement due to other pile is {as}. Then
total displacements become (l+cr){ 6). In subgrade
reaction analysis, to account for these increased
deflection, a softening factor, k, is applied to stifmess
of soil springs. In the mathematical form, it can be
expressed as,
...(3)
In which, [k,,] and [k,] ,are pile and soil stiffness
matrix respectively. Hence total stiffness matrix has to
be multiplied by l/(l+a).
METHOD OF ANALYSIS
Interaction factors are calculated using Randolph's
theory, fioin which, reduction factors are obtained. In
order to account for group effect, these reduction
factors are applied to all soil springs, using Galgoul
and Cronin's (1981) approach.
Stiffness matrices for pile, soil and pile cap are then
assembled. From assembled stiffness matrices, known
load vector and known boundary conditions, overall
equilibrium equations are fonnulated. The resulting
equations are solved for unknown nodal
displacements.
In the present study, the effects of pile spacing,
number of piles in group on pile group displacement
are studied. In a pile group, displacement of pile head
or pile cap displacements are important and these are
referred for the purpose of this study.
 ZOO0 - .3d
4d 2000 - 3d
A 5 d 4d

1500 -
1500 -

z"
U, 1WO -
U
z
Y_lOOO-
0"
J
U
0
I
500 -

Pile cap displacement (nrn.)

Fig. 1 Load-deflection relationship for two pile group
RESULTS
Analysis is carried out for two and three pile groups
(series arrangement)having following properties :
Vertical piles : 25 m length, circular 1 rn.in diameter.
Soil marine clay : Es = 4275 KN/m3
Pile cap thickness : 0.15m
Pile cap not resting on soil.
Pile spacing : 3d to 8d (d, is diameter of pile)
Load-displacementrelationship for two pile group and
three pile group for various spacings is described in
Fig. 1 and 2, respectively.
DISCUSSION
Pile cap displacement imm)
Fig. 2- Load-deflection relationship for three pile group
CONCLUSION
Following conclusions are drawn on the basis of
above study :
1. Parameters such as pile spacing, number of piles in
pile group, significantly affect pile group behaviour.
2. For a specified cap thickness, with increase in pile
spacing, lateral resistance of pile group increases, as
indicated by decreasing pile cap displacements.
3. With increase in number of piles in group, lateral
resistance of pile group increases and pile cap
displacement decreases.
4. For a specified load, with increase in cap thickness,
lateral resistance of pile group increases, as indicated
by decreasing pile cap displacements.

Variation in pile spacing and number of piles in pile

group, have significant effect on pile group behaviour.
For specified cap tliicknes.s, with increasing pile
spacing, lateral resistance of pile group increases, as
indicated by decreasing pile cap displacements.
Increasing tlie number of piles in group causes
increase in lateral resistance of pile group, as indicated
by decreasing pile cap displacements.
REFERENCES
Galgoul, N.S. and Cronin, D. J. (1981) ' Nonlinear
Analysis of Pile Foundations considering Group
Effect', Proc. of International Syinposium on
Offshore Engineering, Vol. 4, Sept. 1981, pp 146-
165
PouIos, H. G. (1971) ' LateralIy Loaded Single
Piles', Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Division , ASCE, pp 711-731
Randolph, M. F. (1981) ' Response of Flexible Pile
to Lateral Loads', Geotechnique, Vol. 31, pp 247-
259

323
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
GE 0 m,international Conference on Offshare and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3,1999
BEHAVIOR OF ANCHORED PILES: PHYSICAL AND NUMERICAL SIMULATION
D. Levacherl and S. Belkhi9
'Civil Eng. Prof., *Postdoctoral Sfudenf, M E , UPRES A 6143, CNRS,Cam University, France

SYNOPSFS- Studies of piles submitted to lateral loading are numerous and various investigations have performed on vertical piles
loaded at the top for the different types of soils. Most of researches have been dealt with single piles. Usually, experimental results are
compared with numerical ones given by appropriate design codes taking into account the experimental conditions and the pile-soil
interaction modeling. A simple code has been developed using transfer-matrixmethod applied to a pile subjected to a lateral loading at
different levels of the pile. New results obtained for a range of amplitude and direction forces applied along the pile demonstrate the
effects of the action level force. In some cases, the pile is considered as an anchoring pile. A comparative study between a numerical
and a physical approach has been made in order to fit the design code for single loaded pile as anchor. All the comparative results are
discussing mainly in terms of bending moment distribution and displacement of the pile. Influence of some assumptions are detailed
with the response of the pile namely : pile inertia, loadingpoinf load direction and soil-pile interaction model.

FNTRODI JCTION
The study of the behavior of laterally loaded single piles is of
sigmificance in many civil and offshore engineenng
applications.
The prediction of the motion response of pile and the
performances of the pile materials are examples of such
application. Form a designer point of view, the study is of
importance for the choice of kind of material boung
moddus) and the pile geometry (diameter, thickness, length).
Non-linear soil-pile interaction is commonly used in various
numerical codes, In most cases it is governing by a
relationship between soil pressure exerted along the pile p
and displacement y, called subgrade curves or p-y curves [4].
In practice, the p-y curves are deduced from in site
investigation tests and the shape i s modelized from numerical
simulation. So, different shapes are proposed based on
recommendations and rules for designing as API, PHRI,
Matlock and Reese or pressureineter methods [4]. Different
codes have beens adapted all these types of subgrade curves.
Numerical methods d#fFeronly by the way to solve the basic
equation governing the equilibrium of a single pile submitted
to a lateral Ioad, see below (eq.1) :
EI-+P=O
d4Y
dz4
Where E, 1, y, z, P are respectively the Young modulus, pile
inertia, horizontal and down vertical coordinates and soil
pressure fixnction of z. Such an analysis as pursued in the
present work is expected to eventually phases out the use of
adhoc methods now useful in near shore and offshore
appEcafions. The purpose of the present paper is extend the
use of design codes taking into account the soil shear stress,
the applied level point of horizontal force, the environmental
conditions near the pile. To achieve this objective a simple
code has been developed so- the basic equation (see
above, eq. 1) by transfer matrix method. A previous work
has been made ill to taking into account the shear stress of
soil. Following this work, we have tentatively introduced
some extensions for new applications in civil and offshore
engmehng as the pile loaded at different point along the
pile. In this paper, we describe this kind of problem and main
results afrer giving the design code niles and direct
applications. Numerical results are accompanied by
experimental data from centrifuge tests [2]. Good agreements
prove that the extensions developed in the design code are
quite correct and experiments data are fitted. These all
conclusions demonstrate that the design code is able to treat
and obtain smgIe pile loaded responses with different
combinations of vertical and axral forces along it. Finally, the
design code will be useful in practice of civil and near shore
problems.
DESlGN CODE <( CAPELA N
A simple design code has been developed to sludy the
behavior of fateralIy loaded with the possibility to apply the
lateral force along the pile. So, to apply a lateral load at the
top of the pile constitutes a usual case for civil or offshore
designers. In on hand, the design code called CAPELA 111
permits to use for different soils a large choice of type of
subgrade curves. AU used data: pile, soil, soil-pile
interaction, applied forces, environmental conditions, are
easily given and stored. Xn the oher h d , after giving, the
level of accuracy on bending moments, or displacement o f
pile, all results are drawn by graphical curves and
recapitulated in tables. Specific applications data, nameIy :
initial and limit conditions, influence of a proximity of slopes,
influence of couple of piles.
The CAPELA code solve the equilibrium and behavior
equations governing the lateral loaded pile problem. Using

325
the soil-pile interaction by the way of p-y curves, the transfer
matrix method is applied for numerical simulation. The
adapted algorithm is clearly detailed in the research work
made by Belkhir [I].
About the output data, in the next paragraph, illustrations are
given on a general applied problem of laterally loaded single
pile in sand.
LATERAL LOADED SINGLE PILE PROBLEM
Numerical simulation was run with all these data and the p-y
curves obtained from the experimental tests (see fig. la). All
results of the numerical simulation are presented on the
following figures Ib,c respectively giving (b) bending
moment M distribution, (c) displacement y comparisons. On
figures Ib and lc, z means the embedded depth where 0 is
the surface of sand layer and for figure 2a, z/B is the ratio of
embedded depth on the diameter of pile B

The problem is concerning a single pile installed in a

homogeneous and sand layer, submitted at the top, to an

gm
A

horizontal loading applied step by step. The experimental

data are coming from centrifuge tests modeling a prototype
pile. From these tests, according to a well known procedure, 150
p-y curves are deduced [4].Numerical simulation has been
taken into account the geotechnical data and geometry of pile
im
as used in centrifuge tests. The soil-pile interaction behavior
law is considered identical and then, p-y curves are
introduced as obtained from centrifuge modeling. Table 1 50

gives the general characteristicsof sand and pile.

0

Fontainebleau sand Pile o.m 001 0.02 0.m 0.04

specific min max e.xternal total embedded rigidity Y (m)
unit density density diameter length depth modulus
wcight
Id I Td m* m* m' Fig. l a : P-y curves from tests
Mlm3 ld'~/n13 Mm3 n1* '
*U m** m.m2
26.44 13.64 16.83 18* 380* 300* 2 10-4* Good agreements are revealed on these curves (figures 1b
0.72** 15.2** 12** 514** and Ic) and it seems to valid the use of CAPELA code. The
small differences are due to the difficulties of the
determination of the p-y curves under the rotation point of
the pile i.e. small values of p and y load to get majors errors
in the double derivation and integration of bending moment
The sand used in this study is an homogeneous fine dstributions.
graduated sand from Fontainebleau (France). The scale factor
for the model pile is 1/40 so to respect the similitude laws for
centrihge modeling, all the tests are performed at a level of
40g, g is the gravity acceleration.Model piles are installed at
1 g by driving but any influence happens on the behavior of
laterally loaded pile [3].
They are equipped with 20 strain gauges well distributed
along the pile in order to get the bending moment
distribution. On each side of the point of application of
horizontal load, i.e. at 40 mm from the surface of sand, two
displacement transducers are placed up to the horizontal
surface of sand, respectively at 20 mm and 65 mm. The table
2 gives the test conditions.

Sand Horizontal force (prototype data)

density friction FH1 FH2 FH3 FH4
(kN./mj) angle (") (kN) (kN) (kN) (W MOMENT, M (kN.m)
15.55 35 to37 99.25 158.64 209.78 254.13
Fig. 1 b : Bending moment comparison
Table 2 : Experimental data CAP : Numerical data
- Case of pile in sand layer-
326
 The scale factor for the model is here 11100 and all the tests
are run at an acceleration of 1OOg. Model piles are installed
in the clay layer as bored piles. Fourteen s t r a k gauges
equipment is positioned along the pile, at a regular space of 2
mm from the pile model, except at the anchored point
situated at a 167.8 mm (model data) under the surface of the
clay layer. It is at this mooring point and in two points at the
4.W
top of the pile that the horizontal displacements are
measured. Table 4 recapitulates the used experimental data
4.w for the numerical simulation by CAPELA. All calculations
have been performed with two types of deduced p-y curves :
-10.00

-t200 I . . , ; . , . ; . . , , Horizontal force (prototype data)

-10.00 0.00 lC.00 20.w
Y (mm) FHl I FH2 I FH3 1 FH4 1 FH5
(MN) I (MN) I (MN) 1 (MN) 1 (MN)
Fig. 1c : Pile displacement comparison 9.94 I 15.50 I 19.80 I 21.60 1 23.00
CAP : Numerical data
Table 4 : Experimental data
PI1.E I ISED AS ANCHOR PRORI ,EM - Case of anchored pile in clay layer -
The problem is concerning a single pile installed in an Initial p-y n"l and corrected p-y n"2 are given in figures
homogeneous clay layer where an horizontal load is applied 2a,b. All usual results are drown in figures 3a for bending
at a level situated under the surface of horizontal clay layer. moments and 3b for pile displacements. In these figures, it
The experimental data are coming from centrifuge tests [2]. will be seen that the best agreements are obtained with the
From these test, a similar routine was used to deduce the p-y corrected values of p-y curves. Also, it is clear that the
curves but the difficulties are linked to the anchor point position of strain gauges is important (number and spacing)
where any strain gauges can be positioned and a singular in order to define correctly the distribution of bending
point in bending moment distribution OCCLUS. Firstly a simple moments.
routine has been proposed by Guyvarc'h [2] and secondly an
improved one has been given the best results in comparing
with the numerical results which will be seen afier.
Experimental data issued from the centnfuge tests are
analyzed by Guyvarc'h [2]. Table 3 summarizes the different
characteristics for the clay and the pile. The clay is a
reconstituted Kaolin having the undrained strength C, profile
similar to nature. Equation 2 shows a linear relationship
between the undrained strength C, and the depth z.

C, = 1.186 z + 1.60 PI

Kaolin clay' Pile

density final water external total embedded rigidity
Y content diameter length depth modulus

2.2** I 1
70.15** 67.10** 153.3 106 I 1
'average value
Table 3 : Sand and pile characteristics
* model pile data ** prototype pile data

327
 ANCHORED SINGLE PILE IJNDER LOADING

Cases study

Different cases of loaded single piles used as anchor are

studied on the basis of the same data as given in the above
paragraph. The aims are concerning to the experimental set
up and the numerical simulation. For experimental set up,
some errors could be introduced which influenced by the
location of anchorage point, of the inertia of pile near the
I
r-, +I

anchorage point but mainly if the horizontal forces are

-1
inclined. These sources of errors act directly on the bending
moment distributions i.e. on the p-y curves. The other
objective for the numerical simulation is to use the code for
the design and the optimization of the behavior of pile.

Influence of the anchor point

For given geotechnical configuration and a defined single pile

Fig. 2b : Corrected p-y curves like in the IV paragraph, the analysis of the influence of the
~ _ _ position of anchorage point along the pile is interesting in
EFFORT = 23.0 M N order to optimize the design of the pile (geometry and
inertia). In function of depth, it is possible to evaluate the
MOmNT W . m )
10
minunal bending moment. Figure 4 shows the profile of
-50 50 150 250 bending moments for different anchorage points, expressed
in function of percentage of embedded depth D.

Fig. 3a : Bending moment

-9
Fig. 4 . Bending
’ moment profiles
I ‘6000 1

Fig. 5 :Influence of the position of anchorage point

The analysis of the influence of anchorage point location can
be more revealed by the figure 5 which gives the maximum
Fig. 3b : Pile displacement bending moment versus z/D.

328
Influence of the inclination of the load
For a given geotechnical configuration and a defined simple
pile as which is described in the above paragraph, an
analysis was performed in order to show the effect of the
applied force angle at a constant direction. This effect can be
foilnd in practice during experimental tests or during the life
service of the structure under the previous loading. In the
figure 6, it is shown the angle effect on the maximum
bending moment. It decreases because the horizontal load
decreases and it becomes like an uplift force.
This influence is shown in figure 7 where maximal bending
moment is drawn as a function of the angle.
1 I
Fig. 6 : Bending moment profiles for a constant anchorage
point
0 00 10.00 20.00 30s
&le (9
Fig. 7 : Influence of angle of the applied load
329
GENF,RAI, CONCIl JSIONS
The main conclusions can be listed as follows
1- CAPELA code is an available design code to analyze the
response of single loaded by horizontal load based on the
use of p-y curves. These curves can be determined by
pressuremeter test data or PHRI, API, DTU
recommendations or input p-y curves can be used.
2- CAPELA code is adopted for particular used of loading,
different environmental conditions and geotechnical
configurations. The proximity of embankments, coupled
piles, anchored piles are some of these cases.
3- CAPELA code permits to optimize the design of a simple
pile taking into account the parameters as the location of
the applied load.
4- CAPELA code is able to give the other information such
as shear forces, rotation and normal forces in the pile.
ACKNOWI ,EDGEMENTS
The authors thank the LCPC centrifuge center of Nantes for
their help and their cooperation during the research works of
Mezazigh [4] and Guyvarc'h [2].
REFERENCES
[ 11 BELKHIR S., (1 998), "Modelisation numerique d'un
pieu charge lateralement avec prise en compte du
cisaillement du sol", These de doctorat, Le Havre, 1998,
199p.
[2] GUYVARC'H, B., (1997), "Fondations de plate-forme
offshore en mer profond: Comportement d'un pieu sous
charges laterales", Memoire de DEA, LCPC Nantes, 46p.
[3] LEVACHER, D., (1995), "Condition de similitude dans
le cas du battage des pieux : theories et modelisation", Les
modeles reduits en Genie Civil, association Universitaire de
Genie Civil, Nantes, Mai 1995, pp. 137-144.
[4] MEZAZIGH, S., (1995), "Etude experimentale de pieux
charges lateralement : proximite d'un talus et effet de
goupe", These de doctorat, Nantes, 1995,217~.
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
 is N times that of the 1-g tests. This observation is
which a sample of soil is compressed in a rigid ring at consistent with the scaling relationship obtained in Eq.(6).
various vertical stress levels, with drainage facility at both
GEO 'a,
top and bottom of the sample. The
International h y ~ a uonco~ductivity
Conference
calculated using Terzaghi's theory of one ~ e n s i o n a l
~ Offshore
~c andis Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

consolidation using the following expression:

NONLINEAR ANALYSIS OF RECTANGULAR FOOTING RESTING
This study demo&rates theON use ofSOIL
a geotechnical centrifuge
k = cvmvyw ......................................
Krishnamoorthf# N. Bhavanishankar Rao2 and S.(9)Devadas BhatS "............... for modelling hydradic conductivity of compacted soils. It
'Reder, Dept. of Civil Engg., Manipnl Instifute of Technology,Manipai 576 can119,
be seen
Indiathat the hydraulic ~ n ~ u c ~ i vini taygeotechnical
where c,Dept.
'Professor, is the coefficient
of Applied Mechanics, of consolidatioq m, is
Karnataka Regional Ens.
theCollege,centrifuge
SurafhM,is N times greater than that obtained from the
india
3Lecturer,
coefficient Dr.of
T.M.A.
volume Pai Polyfechnic,
compressibility, Manipal,andIndia
yw is the unit conventional laboratory tests. Study also satisfies the
weight of water. In Eq. 9, cv can be obtained either by theoretical scaling relations~pfor hydraulic conducti~ty"
SYNOPSIS
conventional: J; A or nonlinear analysis to for
Iog(t) relationships predict the Olson
the soil. load deformation
Time takenbehaviour
to test of footing
a soil sample resting on soil is ispresented.
in a centrifuge quite less
Three
(1986)dimensional
has shown that Finite theelement
calculated method a hypoelasticity as
usingconductivity
hydrauiic mnstihrtive
compared to model to predict
the bench thesuch,
tests. As behaviour of soil
a centrifuge is
can be
adopted
values fromfor the
Eq.analysis.
9 are almost The alwaysmodel less than thethemeasured
considers important sailusedparameters
efficiently tolike nonlinearity,
obtain ditatancy
the hydraulic and coupied
conductivity of fine-
behaviour.
values, andThe the parameters
calculated hrequired y d r a ~ cfor themodelvalues
conductivity can btt determined fromSince
grained soils. isotropic consolidation
the prototype stressand conventicma3
conditions can be
undrained
from & method triaxialarecompression
more close test. Themeasured
to the valuesof thecreated
applicability analysisin is a verified by conductingnumber
geotechnical centrifuge, the of piate
obtained
load at various
testslog(t)
than the method. places As such with J;various
method initial
is usedstress
in thisconditions. It is concluded
permeability values are morefromnear thetoanalysis that the
in-situ values. load
Further,
deformation behaviour obtained
study for estimation of cv and hence the hydraulic from plate load testand predicted from the analysis agree well and
there is a good agreement between hydraulic conductivity the proposed
analysis can be
conductivity used
of the to obtain the load deformation r a p m e of footing
soil. obtainedonfiom
values resting soil.various I-g bench tests.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

INTRODUCTION important soil properties like non linearity, dilatancy and
coupled
REFERENCESbehaviour. The parameters required for the mode1
The design
The scaling of
relationship for hydraulic
offshore and near shorec ostructures
~ d u c ~between
vi~
requires can be determined from isotropic consolidation test and
1-g tests
load (denoted by
deformation suffix p)as
behaviour andwell
centrifuge tests (denoted
as ultimate bearing conventional
Alem', M.H., undrained
Neilsen, D.H., triaxialand compression
Biggar, J.W.tests (1976).
which
by suflixof
capacity m)the be written
cansoil. as: test is generally conducted
Plate load are
" ~simple the~ hand
t etests yg~ a can cbe conducted
u l ~conductivity of soi1in cores
all theby
to determine the load deformation behaviour as well as to laboratories.
~ n ~ g a t i o The Sci. Soc. Am.ofJ.,40,212-218.
. f 'applicability
n Soil the model has been
obtain 2kthe
= Nbearing
X capacity of the soil. However. the verified by Rao and Krishnarnoorthy (1995) for normaIly
methodk,is quite costly, time consuming and laborious.
..~..~*.....l.*....~~..~~....~....~...-.*.......
(10) and lightly overconsolidated
Arulanandan, K., Thompson, P.Y., soil Kutter,
samples (OCR=2.15)
B.L., Meegoda,
Also, the method cannot be used to obtain the load subjected
N.J., M ~toe various
e t h ~ astressn , paths
K.K., for drained and C.
and Yogach~dran, undrained
(1888).
deformation conditions
"Centrifuge of loadingofand the model i s found to be
where x is a behaviour
scale factorofwhose
soil invalue
offshore
has toand near shore
be ascertained modelling transport processes for pollutants
region. On the otherhand, the methods based on satisfactory.
in soils." Hence,
ASCE, Jr. the model
Geotech. Eng., proposed
114(2), by Yin et al.
185-205.
with the he$ of various 1-g and centrifuge tests. To (1989) is used to model the behaviour of soil. The model is
mathematical approach using shear strength parameters can
evaluate the values of x, Eq.(lO) can be written in the implemented
be used only to obtain the bearing capacity and will not
folrowing form: Mtchelf, R.J.using Finite "A
(I994a). element method
flexible, no to obtain
lateral the
strain
give the load deformation behaviour of soil. Hence, to load deformation
apparatus for claybehaviour of footing
liner-leachate resting
testing." on soil.94 by
Cenrrifige
obtain the load carrying capacity of the near shore and hung, Lee, and Tan (eds.), Bdkema, Rotterdam, 351-355,
offshore structures, an alternative method is to be used. DETAILS OF THE CONSTITUTIVE MODEL USED
With the availability of high speed, large storage Mtchell, R.J. (1994b). "Centrifuge techniques for testing
computers numerical modeling of the foundation soil The model
clay &er consistsCan,
samples." of Georech.
three stress dependent modulus
f.,31,577-583.
system and the analysis of the same will be more functions. They are Bulk modulus K, Shear modulus G and
convenient to determine the load deformation behaviour of Coupling modulus J that relates effective mean stress p'
footing resting on soil. The load deformation behaviour of 261 and shear strain ES as well as shear stress q and volumetric
soil is generally nonlinear from the beginning. It depends strain EV. The model is in incremental form. The change
on the stress path, dilatancy and initial stress conditions. in volumetric strain dev and change in shear strain d&s
Therefore in the analysis of foundation problems some corresponding to the change in effective mean stress dp' as
form of nonlinear relationship which simulates the well as change in shear stress dq as proposed by Yin et aI.
behaviour of so3 must be used. In numerical methods, to (1989) are expressed by the relationships
get the load deformation behaviour of foundation and soil
they are represented by constitutive models. A large
number of models are available which consider some of the
factors mentioned above. However, some of these models
require large number of parameters to be determined or the
determination of the model parameters is not possible by
conducting simple tests. Also the implementation of these
models in numerical methods involves much complexity. The increments of strains dell, dez, de33, dq2, dez, d ~ 3 l
Yin et al. (1989) developed a constitutive model based corresponding to the increments of stresses do'll, dd22,
on theory of hypoelasticity. The model considers the dota3, do'3, are related using the equation

331

............. 4
p' and q are effective mean stress and shear stress
respectively. (5'11, (5'22. (5'33 are the normal stresses and d12,
0'23. d3,are the shear stresses.
Bulk modulus K can be determined from isotropic
consolidation test. The coupling modulus J and shear
modulus G can be determined from conventional undrained
triaxial compression test (CTC).
Determination of Model Parameter K
Isotropic consolidation test provides data that relates
effective mean stress p' and volumetric strain EV. These
data can be related using the equation
The values of h N i and preconsolidation pressure P'cons
can be obtained by plotting p' versus EV on semi log plot.
The value of bulk modulus K for any value of p' can then
be obtained using the relationship
K=p' /(hNi) .............. 6
Determination of Model Parameter J and G
Consolidated undrained triaxial compression test gives
two independent relationship between p' @'cons versus
q/ P'cons and q/ p' versus ES. The first relationship is. used
to calculate the model parameters A and n using the
equation q/p'cons = A(1- p'/p'cons)". The value of J for any
332
values of P' and q can then be obtained using the equation
The second relationship between E, versus q/ p' is used to
determine the model parameters E and F using the equation
q-
-- E, .......... 8
p' (E+FE,)
The value of D for any values of p' and q can then be
obtained from equation
2
Fq
p' (1- -1
D= P' ......................... 9
3E
The shear modulus G can be determined from equation
D J ~
G= ..................... 10
(J2 +3DK)
Thus all the moduli can be determined from simple tests on
soil samples.
DETAILS OF THE ANALYSIS
Three dimensional Finite element method using
isoparametric brick elements with eight nodes at the corner
is adopted for the analysis. The details of the
discritization is shown in figure 1. Footing is considered as
elastic and the elastic constants corresponding to reinforced
concrete are used in the analysis. The soil is represented by
the constitutive model explained above. Since the model
considered for the analysis is in incremental form an
incremental solution technique by updating the stiffness
matrix for each increment of load is adopted in the
numerical procedure. The initial effective stresses dI1, dZ2,
(5'33, d12.0'23, 0 ' 3 ~ and effective mean stress p' and shear
stress q due to the self weight of the soil are computed by
displacement Finite element method using E and p of soil.
These values of p' and q are taken as the initial state of
stress before the application of load Increment. A small
increment of load is applied and the increment of effective
stresses d d l l , ddZ2,da'33, dd12,d0'23, the increments
of effective mean stress dp' and increment of shear stress
dq are computed. The values of dp' and dq obtained
above are added to the previous values of p' and q to obtain
the new values p' and q (current stress level) for each new
increment of load. The values of K, J and G are then
computed using these new values of p' and qand
 Fig. 1 Finite Element Idealization of footing and SOIL

model parameters h N i ,A, n, E, F, plcons using the Table - 1 Model Parameters

equations 6, 7, 9 and 10. Using these values of K, J and G
the constitutive relationship given in equation 3 is
K Modulus J Modulus G Modulus
computed for each element and the stiffness matrix is -
updated and is used for next increment of load. For each A n E F
increment of load, the deformation at the center of footing
hNi plcons -
L018 0.090 3.5 1.34 0.002 0.45
is computed. The procedure is repeated until large
deformations are obtained. 0.020 0.030 10 5.0 0.001 0.56

VERIFICATION OF THE ANALYSIS 0.027 0.027 1.4 0.275 0.001 0.70

0.025 0.070 1.7 0.285 0.0005 0.55
In order to verify the applicability of the analysis, number
of plate load tests are conducted at various places with 0.029 0.090 1.7 0.270 0.0012 0.32
different types of soils and various initial stress conditions. 0.023 0.025 2.2 0.450 0.0005 0.45
A pit having a dimension of 1.5m X 1.5m is excavated up
to the required depth. A square plate of size 0.3m X 0.3m 0.020 0.025 1.6 0.120 0.0013 0.45
is placed at the center of the pit and is loaded with the help 0.030 0.05 0.47 0.30 0.0050 1.25
of a hydraulic jack in increments. The settlement of the
plate for each increment of load is measured with the help 0.034 0.04 11 0.75 0.0007 0.40
-
of two dial gauges of least count 0.01 mm mounted on the
opposite edges of the plate. To determine the model RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
parameters required for the analysis, undisturbed soil
samples are collected using thin tube samplers of 38mm Figure 2 to figure 10 shows the relationship between the
diameter from the same pit at the same depth before load and deformation obtained from the plate load tests and
conducting the test. Isotropic consolidation and undrained that predicted from the present analysis for nine plate load
triaxial compression tests are conducted on these soil tests. It can be seen from these figures that the
samples to obtain the model parameters. The model deformations obtained from the plate load test and
parameters thus computed are shown in the table 1. These predicted from the present analysis agree well from the
model parameters are used in the analysis to obtain the beginning for all increments of applied load for all the tests
load deformation behaviour. conducted.

333
 1

- - Experiment
/ -- Experiment
/
-p r e & c t ed

0
O'l I I I I I I , , I
0.0 10.0 20.3 30.0 43.0 5ao
0
0.
S e t t le ment (M M)
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.c) 40,O 500 60.0 700
Settlement ( M M ) Fig 5 Predicted and. Observed Load Settlement
Behaviour 1 or Test- 4

"1
0
Fig.2 Predicted and Observed Load Settlement
Test - 1 g1
0
Behaviour for
-
"1
4
-- Experiment Y
U

U - PP rr ee dd ii cc tt ee dd
0 -I
0

-- E x p p r i m ent
-P r e d i c t e d
I
a! , , I , I l l 1 1

0.0 4.0 8.0 1 2.0 1 6.0 20.0

settlement (M M) 0
2.0 4.0 61)
S e t t lemenf (MM)
Fig.3 Predicted a n d Observed L w d Settlement
Behaviour for Test 2 - Fig. 6 Predicted and Observed Load Settlemt
Behaviour for. Test - 5

0 0.0
0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
1
d 0.0
/
I

4.0
I
8.0
12.0 16.0
1

S e t t l e m e n t (MM),
S e t t l e m e n t (MM)

F i g . 4 Predicted and Observed Load Settlement Fig 7 Predicted ond Observed Load Settlement
Behaviour for Test-3 Behaviour f o r Pest -6

334
 :!
d
c
;;;i
-i i'
-Predicted --Experiment
-Predicted
s
0
v I I I 'I
0.o 5.0 10.0 15.0 2 0.0
Settlement ( M M )
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 3.5
Fig. 8 Predicted and Obsetved hood Settlement Settlement ( M M)
Behaviour for Test-7
Fig.10 Predicted and Observed Load Settlement
Behaviour for Test-9

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

A footing resting on the soil is analysed using three

dimensional Finite element method. A hypoelasticity
constitutive model proposed by Yin et al. (1989) is used to
predict the load deformation behaviour of soil. The results
predicted from the analysis is compared with the results
obtained from plate load tests conducted at various places.
Based on the analysis, it is concluded that the results
predicted from the analysis and obtained from plate load
test agree well and the proposed analysis can be used to
predict the load deformation behaviour of footing resting
on soil.

REFERENCES

Atkinson, J. H. and Bransby, P.L. (1978). The Mechanics

0
0.
of soils - an introduction to critical state soil mechanics.
0.0 10.0 20.0 301) Mcgraw-hill book company, U.K.
Settlement ( M M )
Yin, J.H. et al. (1989). Constitutive Modeling of Soil
Fig.9 Predicted andObserved Load Settlemnt Behaviour using three Modulus Hypoelasticity. Proc. 12th
Behaviour for Test . 8 Int. Conf. Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering,
vol. 1. 143-147.

Krishnamoorthy. (1995). Studies on Hypoelasticity

Models. P.hd Thesis, Mangalore University, India.

335
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
GEO m,International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
CASE HISTORY ON THE DESIGN OF FOUNDATIONS FOR A CONCRETE GRAVITY
STRUCTURE IN SHALLOW WATER
Michael Long
Uniuersity College Dublin, Civil Engineering Dept., Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, Ireland

SYNOPSIS - A case history on the design of the foundations for a concrete gravity structure (CGS) located in relatively
shallow water in the North Sea is presented in this paper. Environmental loading conditions and ground conditions at the site
are described. Particular emphasis is placed on the derivation of the parameters governing stiaess, strength and generation of
excess pore pressure in the foundation sands. The “random” wave design storm, which is based on a statistical analysis of real
storm behaviour is presented. The governing stability condition of the platform was that of sliding along the tips of its
foundation skirts and this will be examined in detail. Methods of estimating lateral and vertical movement and an assessment of
the platform stability under earthquake loading will also be presented. The platform has now performed well for ten winters.

INTRODUCTION ENVIRONMENTAL DATA AND LOADING

A case history on the design of a concrete gravity platform
(CGS), which was installed in relatively shallow water in the
UK Sector of the North Sea is presented in this paper. The
CGS foundation consists of a profiled steel skirt 2 m l m g
cast into the underside concrete base and fully embedded into
the medium dense to dense foundation sand.
Water depth (lowest astronomical tide) at the site is
approximately 42 m and the tidal range is about 5 m.
Environmental loading conditions at the site are summarised
on Table 1 below.
Table 1. Summary of Environmental Loading Data

The paper will describe the interpretation of the soi!s data I Parameter I 10YearReturn I 100Year I
and the techniques used for the design of the foundation. Period Return Period
Particular emphasis will be given to the method of Wave height (m) 15.4 18.7
determining the behaviour of the sand under cyclic loading Wave period (s) 12.1 13.7
and the rate of dissipation of the resulting excess pore Surface current 2.15 2.41
pressures. A “random wave” design storm, which is based on
a statistical analysis of real storm behaviour, was used in the
analysis. The paper will detail the techniques used for I velocitv ( m / s ) I I I
estimating settlement, lateral displacement and for carrying
out the earthquake loading check. In the absence of (3 second gust) I
monitoring data from the platform, comparisons will be made Earthquake I I Richter Mag. 5
between some calculated data for this platform and measured
data from other situations.
I loading I I (0.k - I
acceleration and
10% damping)
THE SITE
DESIGN STORM
The site is located some 80 km from the UK coast in the
southern North Sea. The CGS was required to support the At the time of the design of the CGS (mid. to late 1980’s)
main process facility and compression decks of a gas little data was available on the distribution of wave heights
production platform. It was constructed in a dry dock in north and forces during extreme storms in the North Sea. A
east England, floated into position and then sunk into place “random wave” design storm, which was based on a
by controlled flooding of its caissor cells. A photograph of statistical analysis of real storm behavior was used in the
the CGS under construction in the dry dock is shown on analyses. It is based on the work of Hansteen (1981). The
Figure 1. storm is assumed to have 1800 waves, as shown on Figure
2a, and assembled in the following manner.

337
 i-i-l
ri -1
IW.".

5 W.WS
10 W.".
60 W.".
m W"..
2M warn,

Number of Waves (Total in 6 Hour Storm = 1800)

Figure 2a. Configuration of Design Storm

GROUND CONDITIONS

Stratigraphy

Soil conditions at the site were investigated by means of five

soil borings to a maximum depth of 45 m, 20 piezocone
penetration tests and four nuclear density probe tests. Ground
conditions at the site are summarised on Table 2. The results
of the piezocone tests in terms of net cone resistance (cone
resistance corrected for pore water pressure effects less
overburden pressure) versus depth below sea bed are shown
on Figure 4.

Figure 1. CGS Under Construction in Dry Dock Table 2. Summary of Ground Conditions

First a series of integers between 1 and 1800 are developed Stratum Average Thickness (m)
using random number generation. The biggest waves are Medium dense to dense fine 4.5
then assembled in descending order, each big wave has lesser to medium SAND
waves to either side and is contained within a 12 wave Stiff to hard silty CLAY 2.0
packet. A representation of the final hour of the random wave Hard to very hard silty 33.0
design storm is shown on Figure 2b. In the calculations the CLAY
process is repeated many time to ensure the excess pore Very dense silty fme SAND 5.5
pressures developed are not dependent on the sorting with very hard CLAY
process. Weak to mod. strong
SANDSTONE
PLATFORM CONFIGURATION

The anatomy of the CGS is shown on Figure 3. It consists of Soil Parameters

three cylindrical shafts, which support the main and
compression decks, mounted on a rectangular base caisson
of prestressed reinforced concrete. The caisson consists of
repetitive 7.5 m open and closed cells, forming a structure of
approximated dimensions 62 m x 55 m x 16 m deep. Steel
skirts project 2 m below the base slab and are of simple
folded plate design.
The dry weight of the CGS is approximately 30,000 t. The
purpose of the open cells is to permit additional solid ballast
to be placed after installation should it be required for
stability.
4 summary of all pertinent soil parameters derived from the
site investigation works is given on Table 3. Following some
parametric analyses it emerged that the most important soil
parameters for foundation design were the angle of shearing
resistance of the sand ($I), its maximum shear modulus
(Gmax),its coefficient of consolidation (c,) and the rate at
which pore pressure is generated under undrained loading
conditions. These will be dealt with in more detail as follows.

338
 96%~ r 100% Maximum
Enviromental Load

0
I I
5.4
1
5.6
1
5.8
I
6.0
5.0 5.2

TIME AFTER BEGINNING OF STORM (HOURS)

Figure 2b. Last Hour of Design Storm
Angle of Shearing Resistance were used to analyse the piezocone data. The methods
yielded consistent results and predicted 4' values between
The 4' value was determined 6om an analysis of the cone 40" and 44". Drained and undrained static triaxial
penetration tests and a series of laboratory triaxial tests. The compression tests gave 4' values between 31° and 36",
interpretation techniques of Robeason and Campaneh which occurred at strains of between 1.5% and 6%. Cyclic
(1983), Durgunoglu and Mitchell (1975) and Bolton (1986) triaxial tests showed 4' values between 31" and 37".

Det Norske Veritas (DnV, 1977) rules called for the adoption
of a conservatively assessed mean value of 4'. compatible
with the state of stress beneath the foundation. From the data
a value of 35O was therefore adopted.

Max. Shear Modulus

The ,G values was measured by resonant column testing

was found to be approximately 71 MPa at a shear strain of
0.01%. The shear modulus values were found to be highly
strain dependent and their variation with strain was consistent
with the range of values suggested by DnV (1977).

Coefficient of Consolidation

The coefficient of consolidation, c,, governs the rate of

dissipation of excess pore pressure in the foundation sand. It
is related to the permeability k and the coefficient of volume
compressibility,mvrby the expression:
k
c, = -where yw is the unit weight of seawater. (1)
*"Y w
Figure 3. Anatomy of CGS

339
 Table 3. Summary of Soil Parameters

Parameter Sand Clay Clay

6.5 - 16.5
0-
4 - 6.5 m
m
Relative 55 - 65 1

density (%)
Submerged 10 10 10 2
wt. (W/m3)
OCR 6 10 - 40 10 - 40 h
E
Friction angle I 35 I - I - w

5
3

(degrees) I
Undrained I I 150-200 I > 200
3
n 4
strength
5

Cyclic und. 90 - 120

shear 6

strength

Figure 4. Piemcone Resistance Profile

Max. shear 70
modulus A conservatively assessed design line was chosen and this
(MN/m2) can be seen to be relatively consistent with the data published
Vertical 24 30 by Muira and Toki (1982) and Lee and Focht (1976) for
drained similar sands. The majority of the test results show a higher
Young’s rate of pore pressure generation than given by Eide (1 974)
modulus and Bjernun (1973) for tests of denser sands.
(MN/m*) Leah FOChl (19761
Dr=63% IN0 Drerheal) Desian line ,
lp67)

Lunne and Christoffersen (1983) suggested a relationship I 0=1°

between m, and cone resistance qc as follows: +\ I
1
m, = -
crgc

where a relates to the degree of overconsolidation of the

sand. An a values of 5 was adopted for the overconsolidated x
0
sand at this site. This expression together with the k value of
1 x 10” m / s determined fiom laboratory permeability tests
and correlations with particle size was used to the determine
an average c, value of 0.04 m2/s.
=O.l)
Pore Pressure Generation
=0.05)

0 Manchester (preshearing at %:=O.l)

Cyclic triaxial tests were used to determine the relationship
a i = m h w
behveen excess pore pressure generated (Au), number of 0.002
‘%ittaI Cansalidation Pisrrure

cycles of loading (N), initial consolidation pressure (dC) and 0 01 02 03 04 05

shear stress (7). The results of the tests, shown on Figure 5, Shear Stress Level f
are expressed in terms of p against shear stress level (T/CT’~)
where: Au Figure 5. Generation of Excess Pore Pressures in Sand
p=- xl 00% (3)
0:N

340
 c
1.ov
as shown on Figure 6a.

For the pre - operational phase, when the CGS was

unmanned, the 10 year return period storm conditions were
assumed and an environmental load factor yf = 1.15 and a
1.ov material factor ymf = 1.2 were adopted in accordance with
DnV (1977). For the operational phase, the 100 year return
1.3H
period storm conditions were used and the corresponding
load factors were 1.3 and 1.2 respectively. Loads were
(b) Wedge shear calculated using conventional static and hydrodynamic
techniques assuming that maximum wind, current and wave
loading came from the same direction.

The technique for determining the stability of the platform

against the critical mode of failure will be detailed in the
following section.

Stability due to Sliding on a Plane at Skirt Tip Level

MOMS OF S L O W FAILURE
The shear stress (T) at skirt tip level was calculated fiom the
following formula:
&lied bad

I FH + AH - PH - S
L - _--_ --I
7 7 ..-.-
--
I z=
A (4)
----_______- --,
h
I’

TYPICAL BEARING CAPACITY TYPE FAILURE

(d)
where:
Figure 6. Failure Mechanisms Considered; (a) sliding at
skirt tip level, (b) sliding between skirts, (c) sliding FH = horizontal environmental shear load
around skirts, (d) bearing capacity. = shear load due to the differential excess pore pressure
across the leading and trailing skirt,
PH= net passive resistance force,
FOUNDATION DESIGN - INSTALLATION PHASE S = side shear.
A relationship for T in terms of Au and olCcan then be
The resistance to skirt penetration was determined using the
simple relationship with cone resistance proposed by Lunne established.
and St. John (1 977) which was adopted by DnV (1977). The
technique is based on the back analysis of case records. Two The value of Au at any particular time depends on the build
calculations involving the “most probable” and “highest up of excess pore pressure by that particular time and can be
expected” cone resistance values must be carried out. The determined from the formula (see also Figure 5):
highest expected governs the requirement for penetration
force, while the most probable resistance is used to assess Au (1 1.1 If-2.67)
local contact stresses. -- - 10 c c

It was found that the minimum installation submerged weight
of the CGS was more than adequate to overcome the highest
expected resistance.
FOUNDATION DESIGN - PRE - OPERATIONAL AND
OPERATIONAL PHASES
Various mechanisms of failure were considered to assess
foundation stability during theses phases and they are shown
on Figure 6. The most critical failure condition was shown to
be sliding on a horizontal plane coincident with the skirt tips,
0:N (5)
Therefore by applying the regime of loading consistent with
the “random wave” design storm, a relationship between Au
and any value of T / dCcan be established.
This calculated value of Au needs to be adjusted to allow for
the dissipation of pore pressure which occurs during the
storm. Because the sand layer is underlain by a relatively
impermeable clay drainage pipes were provided in the base
slab to facilitate the dissipation of excess pore pressures. The

341

Figure 7. Finite Element Mesh
rate of dissipation of excess pore pressure was determined
using a simple axisymmetric finite element model of a single
skirt compartment. The model assumes a uniform and
instantaneous build up of excess pore water pressure
everywhere within the skirt compartment. The calculations
requires an iterative process with ‘I: / dcas initial. The main
output fiom the above calculations is the amount of ballast
required to ensure stability under the various loading
conditions.
ESTIMATE OF POTENTIAL MOVEMENTS
A f d t e element model (FEM) was developed for the purpose
of assessing movement under environmental loading, see
Figure 7. The analyses used the OASYS software SAFE and
assumed plane strain conditions and drained soil parameters
with a Mohr - Coulomb constitutive law. The analysis
estimated that the maximum. shear strain in-the sand was
about 0.3%, which is below the laboratory peak shear strain.
Long term settlement of the platform was estimated to be
about l 0 O m using the empirical relationship developed at
NGI by Lunne et al. (1981). An earthquake loading check
was carried out using the work of Seed (1979) which
suggested a ‘F / dCratio of about 0.3, shear strains in the sand
of about 0.2 % and that the liquefactionpotential was low.
CONCLUSIONS
The platform under consideration in this study was
successfully installed in the North Sea during August 1989
and has performed well during the subsequent 10 winters.
Unfortunately it has not been possible to obtain the data from
the vibrating wire piezometers which were installed in the
base of the platform. However it is worth comparing the
maximum excess pore pressures calculated for this platform
and two other platforms the Ekofisk tank (Clausen et al.
1981) and the Frigg TCP - 2 gravity structure (MiZikos,
1979). The calculated data for this platform and the measured
data for these two platforms is summarised on Table 4. These
values suggest that the method used represent a
conservatively assessed upper bound.
342
Table 4. Performance of CGS’s
REFERENCES
Bjermm, L. (1973). Geotechnical Problems involved in
Foundations of Structures in the North Sea, Geotechnique,
23~3:319 -358.
Bolton, M.C. (1986). The Strength and Dilatancy of Sands.
Geotechnique, 36: 1: 65 - 78.
Clausen, C.J.F. et al. (1981). Observed Behaviour of the
Ekofisk Oil Storage Tank Foundation. Norwegian
Geotechnical Institute Publication No. 139.
Det Norske Veritas (1977). Rules for the Design
Construction and Inspection of Offshore Structures. DnV,
Hnvik.
Durgunoglu, H.J. and Mitchell, J.K. (1975). Static
Penetration Resistance of Soils I & 11. ASCE ConJ Insitu
Measurement of Soil Properties, 1:151 - 189.
Eide, 0. (1974). Marine Soil Mechanics, Application to
North Sea Offshore Structure. NGZ Publication, 103
Hansteen, O.E. (I 981). Equivalent Geotechnical Design
Storm. Unpublished Paper 40007-1 7 of the Norwegian
GeotechnicalInstitute, Oslo.
Lee, K.L. and Focht, J.A. (1976). Liquefaction at Ekofisk
Tank in the North Sea, Jnl. Geo. Div. A X E , GTl: Jan: 1 -
18.
Lunne, T. and St John, H.D. (1977). The use of Cone
Penetration Tests to Compute Resistance of Steel Skirts
Underneath North Sea Gravity Platforms. Proc. 7th.
ECSMFE, Brighton, 2: 233 - 238.
Lunne, T. et al. (1981). Observed Settlements of Five North
Sea Platforms. Norwegian Geotechnical Institute
Publication No. 139.
Lunne, T. and Christoffersen, H.P. (1983). Interpretation of
Cone Penetrometer Data for Offshore Sands. 15th.
Offshore Technology Conference, 4464: 181 - 192.
Miura, S. and Toki, S. (1982). A Sample Preparation Method
and its Effects on Static and Cyclic Deformation - Strength
Properties of Sand. Soils and Foundations, 22: I .
Mizikos, J.P. (1 979). Preliminary Results of the Geotechnical
Instrumentation Installed below the TCP - 2 Gravity
Structure (Frigg Field) During its forst Winter (1977 - 78)
Period. Proc. BOSS ‘79.2: 477 - 492.
Robertson, P.K. and Campanella, R.G. (1 983). Interpretation
of Cone Penetration Tests Part 1: Sand, Can. Geo. Jnl.,
20: 4: 718 - 733.
Seed, H.B. (1979). Soil Liquefaction and Cyclic Mobility
Evaluation for Level Ground During Earthquakes. Jnl.
Geo. Div. A X E . 105: GT2.
 V
SESSION

Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering

343
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GEO International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3,1999

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN NEAR SHORE PROJECTS

Punam P. Shahu’ and Shahrokh P. BagW
‘Senior Assistant Engineer, ’Additional Chief Engineer
Tata Consulting Engineers, Murnbai, lndia

SYNOPSIS - Typical near-shore systems are port related systems, ancillary systems for thermal power plants and
refineries, marine chemical terminals, storage facilities etc. Functions of such systems are either to exploit sea water as a
utility or for the purpose of sea trade. Such systems are essentials of the country’s economy. Near-shore geotechnical
engineering is enigmatic. Coastal geomorphology poses several geotechnical challenges, the near-shore regions being
neither hlly on land nor completely off-shore. Problems involved are unique due to unpredictable marine climate,
diumal ground water fluctuations, weak soil sub-strata, limited and difficult approaches and often-constricted work-
space. This paper highlights some problems related to geotechnical aspects of a project in the near-shore region.

INTRODUCTION LAND, OFF-SHOREAND NEAR-SHORE

With the developing economy, near-shore construction
activities have received an. immense impetus over the
past decade with the need to develop shore infrastructure
and facilities. iIowever, over the past years, areas
deemed prime from engineering considerations along the
near-shore belts have already been developed.
Consequently, several sites, which were earlier rejected,
are now selected for the development of facilities such as
storage tanks, cooling water intake and waste-water
outfall systems refineries, ports etc. Quite often, one is
constrained to adopt a hostile site for factors other than
technical. Such sites pose several challenges to the
engineer. This is particularly in regard to type, design,
construction and performance of foundations of
structures and earth structures. This requires a greater
perception of the nature sub-surface strata, their
characteristics and behaviour predictions under several
conditions of load history.
The vagaries of the sea have always fascinated
humankind. While these may have aroused art and
poetry in its soul, the pioneering spirit and the need for
trade and commerce for a better quality of life over the
ages has spurred humankind to understand and at least
predict the nature of the sea. This has enabled it to set up
facilities along the coast to serve its purpose to the fullest
advantage. Various technical and management tools
have evolved over the ages ever since man ventured into
the sea.
ASPECTS
The authors divide project activities over three regions:
land, near-shore and off-shore.
Land may be defined as that zone which is under no
marine influence. Off-shore region is a zone which is
completely influenced by marine aspects with absolutely
no characteristics of land. The near-shore zone bears the
influence of both land and the sea. The geomorphology
is unique and Markedly influenced by both land and
marine aspects. The pros and cons of both the land and
marine aspects govern the technical and managerial
aspects of near-shore projects.
The surface level of a near-shore region may be
considered as anywhere between O.OOm with respect to
the local Chart Datum and above, to the extent that
marine influences manifest. Hence more often than not,
near-shore areas are subject to alternate flooding and
drying with the tide, when the level is lower than the high
tide level.
While any engineering work of quality would require
technical and managerial skills, near-shore and off-shore
engineering call for special skills due to site conditions of
logistics, topography and sub-surface conditions.
Sophisticatedtechniques for most aspects of the work are
required. For example, surveys for onshore works can be
carried out with simple traditional instruments like
“theodolite” or “Total station” etc. However, near-shore
and off-shore areas require sophisticated equipment and
methods like Differential Global Positioning System
(DGPS), along with technical skills of a surveyor, in
order to locate oneself precisely.

345
TIDAL FEATURES
In India, tides are generally diurnal over the entire
coast-line. Tides can be predicted accurately based on
past records and modern techniques, combining the
features of statistics with astronomy.
The tidal variation could be as high as 9 to 12m. In
Mumbai Port the range during spring tides is of the
order of 5.50m.
The tidal range depends on a combination of
manifestation of several aspects such as the latitude of
the location, current velocities, coastline orientation
and geography, geomorphology, bed level, estuaries
and creeks in the vicinity etc.
METEOROLOGICAL ASPECTS
Sequence of activities in near-shore areas should also
give due consideration to tide and weather conditions.
In India, the weather is more predictable than in other
countries such as in Europe. The seasons are distinct
and the weather can be distinctly divided into summer,
monsoon, autumn and winter. Even cyclones along the
East Coast generally occur during a period of months
and with satellite technology, cyclones are now
predictable. Advances in Satellite and remote sensing
have made weather prediction more accurate. Hence,
site activities can be planned effectively.
The Deccan and Saurashtra peninsula are seismically
active. Yet, the Indian coastline has not been susceptible
to tsunamis. However for certain sensitive near-shore
projects, the effect of such tsunamis are predicted by
mathematical models and geotechnical aspects of the
systems are engineered correspondingly.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
In today’s context, environmental issues along the coastal
areas are of prime significance. Any region falling
within 500m from the high-water line of the sea or 150m
from the high water line of a creek is subject to scrutiny.
The area and the project must fulfil several conditions
before construction can be allowed to proceed.
To begin with, it is essential to locate the deemed “high-
water line”. The state government and Concerned
municipalities have defined these lines over much of the
coastline, at least in the Mumbai region. Such “high-
water line” has legal sanctity. If the line has not been
defined, it needs to be got defined by the concerned
competent authority before any work can commence.
Any project in the neir-shore region would require
Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment Study (REIA),
Quantitative Risk assessment Study (QR4) and Long-
term Environmental Impact Assessment Study (LEIA).
LEIA studies are normally conduct after the sanctions are
346
received and cover a seasonal cycle over a period of a
year. One of the aspects to be included as part of the
studies is the determination of base-line data of certain
key chemicals and pollutants already existing in the air,
near-surface ground, ground-water and sea-water. While
the geotechnical engineer may not be directly concerned
with air sampling, his expertise is required during soil,
ground-water and sea-water sampling. The base-line data
is compared with the tolerance norms. The studies must
realistically include information of the pollutants likely to
be generated during the operations.
Port related projects are now reviewed and provided
sanctions by the Ministry of Surface Transport (MOST).
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF)
reviews all other types of projects. The reviews are
rigorous involving Non-government Organisations
(NGOs) and include public hearings.
If the project is provided with sanction to proceed, there
will be several conditions to be fulfilled. For example, if
the project is involving land reclamation from the sea, the
authorisations may identify a procedure and sequence for
land fill so as to minimise any harm to the flora and fauna
of the area and prevention of any siltation of an existing
port, or land erosion. The sanctions may place
restrictions on any effluents during construction and
operations. The sanctions may require creation of
essential green belts. In order to be implemented, some
of such sanctions require the expertise of the geotechnical
engineer.
PROJECT ISSUES
As in any other project, a near-shore project undergoes
several stages and mile-stones over its life from inception
to commissioning. These stages may be broadly divided
into the following:
1. Study and investigation stage,
2. Engineering and construction stage,
3. Commissioning stage.
Any near-shore project is a challenge to the ingenuity and
innovative skills of the engineer. No two situations can
be alike. However one can benefit from lessons learnt
from past experiences.
STUDY AND INVESTIGATION STAGE
The technical and economic viability of a project has to
be established at the very outset. Technical viability
requires a series of studies that include on-site analyses.
Some of these studies relate to geotechnical aspects and
include preliminary topographic / sub-water / tidal
surveys, oceanographic studies and geotechnical
investigations. Geotechnical related studies are also
carried out in greater system-specific detail during the
basic engineering stages. A few aspects related to REIA
and QRA Studies would also be required to be
established through these studies as discussed above.
Topographic I Sub-Water I Tidal Surveys
Topographic surveys in the dry areas of near-shore
regions would be similar to conventional land survey.
However, in the tidal areas pf the near-shore region, it is
difficult to generalise the type of survey required to be
done. Procedures that may be adopted to determine the
surface profile of the ground should suit site conditions
that may change frcm time to time.
On perennially dry land, ground profile can easily be
determined by conventional land survey techniques with
no difference. In the areas of near-shore regions when
there is near-perennial submergence, surveys can be done
by conventional bathymetric and subsurface sounding,
using the latest techniques (including use of satellites) of
locating each point in space. Subsurface sounding can
help reveal depth of hard strata along several lines.
Problems often arise in the tidal areas of near-shore
regions. The site is not accessible to vessels of
reasonable draught to execute bathymetric surveys. Yet
due to hostile conditions as one may encounter in the
mud-flats, it is difficult to carry out conventional land
surveys.
What needs to be done is a judicious combination of the
two types of survey making the best use of the various
conditions that would prevail at different times. Under
such-circumstances, maintaining horizontal and vertical
control would require great skill and ingenuity,
particularly when the benchmarks are subject to alternate
submergence and exposure. These control points need to
be firmly fixed to prevent their deflection in any vertical
and horizontal directions.
The surveys may also require tracing of subsurface
facilities such as pipelines and power and communication
cables and optic fibres. More often than not, no records
are maintained of the exact routing taken, making it
difficult to relocate these underground systems.
Establishing such lines to the nearest metre is essential
for further geotechnical investigations and for designing
the layout of the various systems.
In view of these factors, any ground profiling is more
expensive than conventional land surveys and perhaps
even than off-shore surveys, particularly in terms of time.
Oceanographic Studies
These studies may not directly relate to geotechnical
engineering. Yet on the basis of past experience, it is
essential for the geotechnical engineer to relate with such
studies since quite often, the findings have a geotechnical
347
impact. The study of current velocities and directions
would reflect qualitative and quantitative aspects of
dredging and near-shore structure orientations.
The study of currents in near-shore areas is complex
since it is difficult to set up convention vane or
electromagnetic type current-meters. The normal method
used would include float measurements to plot the
direction and to compute current velocities and
directions. Following the floats by boats could be
difficult due to inadequate draught available. Locating
the floats and computing their velocities would require
simultaneous and astute observations from at least three
stations.
Oceanographic studies may also include measurement of
water temperatures at various depths at various tidal
conditions. The studies may also include sampling of
water at different depths and tidal conditions to determine
the baseline data. Quite often, these studies are
conducted during mobilisation for geotechnical
investigations.
Geotechnical Investigations
In the portion of the near-shore region perennially above
the high tide mark, geotechnical investigations would be
conducted by conventional methods, i.e. by tripod or
mobile rigs directly resting on ground. There would be
no procedural changes required in the testing programme
and observations would be similar to those for
conventional land investigations.
However in the tidal areas, difficult ground surface
conditions make it hard to move and place conventional
equipment. The area where the equipment is to be set up
and the pathways between the test locations would have
to be stabilised by filling with earth or sand bags.
Problems here can be compounded for the investigation
agency, which may have to cany out the work prior to
the Owner having obtained environmental clearances.
The agency may even be prevented from continuous
working by monitoring authorities, which may raise
objections against certain procedures adopted. Quite
often, the mudflats are declared environmentally
sensitive, thereby requiring stringent vigilance on the part
of the authorities and ingenuity on the part of the
investigation agency to carry out its work without
compromising on quality and accuracy of testing.
Besides facing the problem of movement and setting up
on adverse ground surface, the investigation agency is
confronted with the problem of tides, particularly during
the spring phases of the month. The rig is often
surrounded by tidal waters making any movement of
equipment, consumables and rations for the operators
difficult.
Geotechnical investigations in tidal areas can be done by:
a) Staging. when the platform is not expected to deflect
beyond limits which can make drilling and testing
either difficult or impossible;
b) Specially fabricated pontoon or floating platform with
marine anchors or spuds if staging cannot be used.
Beside the difficulties n o p l l y faced during onshore
geotechnical investigations, work in the tidal areas offer
other challenges, some of which are highlighted here.
Logistic problems
Tidal areas generally are mudflats of soft clays or loose
saturated sand, making movement of men, material and
equipment difficult. This is compounded by tidal
conditions and shallow water, thereby limiting the time
period over which such movement is possible. Mobile
rigs cannot be used. Any conditions imposed by
authorities f7om environmental considerations could
further delay the work. All these factors have a severe
impact on schedules. Invariably, geotechnical
investigations lie on the critical path.
Stability of the set-up
It is essential that the staging or pontoon on which the
drilling rig is supported on a firm base. A vibrating
platform can severely affect the quality of the
investigation, yielding machine breaks in the rock cores.
Pontoons should be held firmly with appropriate marine
anchors. The mooring ropes should be attached to
winches and manipulated with the rising and falling tides.
This requires skill1 operation.
It must also be noted that the atmosphere in near-shore
areas is highly saline and long-term deployment of
equipment may result in corrosion of carbon steel parts.
Special observations
Investigations in the near-shore would require
observations, singular to the geomorphology of near-
shore regions and would be quite different from those
made during conventional investigations. These are as
discussed below:
Ground water level fluctuation:
The ground water table in the near-shore areas even
above the high tide level fluctuates along with tidal
variation. This is generally diurnal. Depending on the
permeability of the sub-soil, there is a time lag between
the actual tide and the ground water fluctuations, hence
making predictions difficult. It must be noted that rapid
fluctuations over a large range can even make
geotechnical testing difficult, particularly those tests to be
conducted in pits and tests requiring measurement of
static head.
340
Such variations also make it difficult to compute the
degree of consolidation o f the sub-surface layers.
Variation of subsurface profile and soil properties with
time:
Near-shore construction often requires reclamation of
tidal areas. Consequently, the marine clay / silt layers
that may form the top layers of the tidal region are
subject to time-bound consolidation. Time for 90%
consolidation would depend on the permeability and
thickness of the consolidating strata and boundary
conditions. This process generally continues over several
years over which salient properties of the consolidating
layer such as strength, permeability etc. change
corresponding to the degree of consolidation achieved.
The thichess of the layer also changes over the period.
These aspects depend upon whether reclamation has been
done by the time that the investigations are conducted
and the age of the reclamation at that time. The
investigations should be appropriately tailored for such
studies. Performing the relevant tests (such as
consolidation tests) would require high degree of skills
and astute interpretation.
Testing in marine clay or silt:
Marine clay / silt are often the surface characteristics of a
tidal area of a near-shore zone. These soils are generally
sensitive and would require intensive field testing by
Vane Shear Tests (VST) and Standard Penetration Tests
(SPT). Collection of Undisturbed Samples (UDS) in
sensitive soil is very difficult and requires both greatest
care and discerning expertise. Any disturbance during
collection could give misleading conservative laboratory
test results, which result in alarming recommendations.
Consequently, time and cost involved in the investigation
work increases.
ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION STAGE
The engineering and construction stage of a near-shore
project will pose many geotechnical problems.
Geotechnical activities would include reclamation,
construction of causeways and breakwaters, excavations
for sub-surface facilities, construction of caissons and
piles etc.
While all these aspects are interesting to discuss, these
could best be deliberated separately. The paper
highlights only certain broad features.
Causeways and Reclamations
Causeways and reclamations constructed on loose / weak
material of tidal mudflats would be subjected to
settlement. The settlements would be differential if the
fill is of non-uniform thickness or if the substrata are of
varying thicknesses and I or are heterogeneous. It is
advisable to monitor these settlements and observe their
trend over a time period so that timely action could be
taken if the magnitudes exceed norms. The settlement
would be accelerated in the initial stages after the filling
is done and monitoring settlements would facilitate
corrective measures to be taken during the construction
period itself. Adequate and suitable instrumentation i .
required for monitoring.
Sequencing and staging of material should be planned
based on computations. This may need modifications
based on actual settlements recorded through
instrumentation. Project schedules may need to be
modified if monitoring indicates alarming trends.
It would also be essential to provide adequate side-slopes
and slope protection against erosion due to tidal currents
and waves. Slope protection may be in the form of
pitching or armour or techniques such as tetrapods,
depending on site conditions. The protection measures
must be adequately designed.
Soil Improvement
An analysis may indicate that it may be more cost
effective to carry out soil improvement techniques to
accelerate settlements of causeways and reclamations.
These techniques may also provide better solutions as
compared to adopting any specialised foundations such
as piles or caissons.
Such soil improvement techniques include vertical
drains, stone columns etc. Each such technique should
be judiciously adopted. It is essential to refer back to
past case histories of performance of foundations on such
improved soils before adopting them. Prototypes can
behave differently from behaviour predicted by
theoretical computations. There can be several related
factors peculiar to each site, which must be judiciously
traced before adopting any of the techniques.
Foundation System
Majority of the near-shore project areas would require
fill. The thickness of the fill could vary and may range
from a nominal 0.5m to 6m to 10m. Supporting shallow
foundations on fill and / or on underlying marine clays 1
sands is not only difficult (due to heavy ingress of water)
but also would subject the structure to excessive
deformations. More often than not, pile foundations or
caissons would be required.
Adoption of such foundations should be considered in
project costs and project schedules.
Ground water fluctuations with the tide can cause various
problems during piling operations. Precautions have to
be taken to avoid sudden building of negative water
pressure in a pile bore during drilling operation.
349
While constructing bored cast in situ piles, loss of water
may be observed while flushing the pile bore during
execution of the bore or before concreting is commenced.
This could be attributed to highly pervious or improperly
compacted fill. This phenomenon is common when the
piles are located through a rubble embankment. If water
loss is not taken care before concreting of the pile, this
could result in a poorly formed pile shaft due to loss of
concrete slurry through crevices resulting in
honeycombing, necking and bulging. One possible
solution could be the use of permanent steel liners. This
however has cost and time implications.
Hence, problems likely to be encountered with any
foundation system must be anticipated at the very outset.
Remedial procedures must be strategically planned and
cost and time aspects must be accounted for.
High Chloride and Sulphate Contents
High chloride and sulphate contents in soil and sea water
compel the use of cement content in concrete, higher than
that required from strength considerations. Special
cements such as pozzolana Portland cement may be
required. Any special branded cement claiming to be
good for high sulphates must be tested before acceptance.
Norms for limiting water cement ratio and minimum
cement content in the concrete should be strictly
followed. Admixtures added for the purpose, including
for increasing workability in mixes with low water :
cement ratios should be used after confirming that they
are in fact not detrimental to the concrete or steel.
The effect of chlorides can be tackled by providing
additional cover, using coated or galvanised
reinforcement steel or anti-corrosion steel. The type of
protection must be judiciously decided after conducting
appropriate tests and after taking into account site
conditions. Additional cover will depend upon exposure
conditions and the quality of the concrete as placed and
cured immediately surrounding reinforcement.
In case of steel pipelines in corrosive environment,
appropriate coating has to be provided or cathodic
protection has to be adopted.
COMMISSIONING STAGE
Except for rare instances of logistics problems,
geotechnical aspects normally do not generally feature
during the commissioning stage of a project and would
therefore not warrant discussions.
CONCLUSIONS
Engineering problems encountered while executing a
project in the near-shore region are unique. These are
encountered during vital stages of site studies and
engineering and construction.
Anticipation and overcoming of these problems require
sharp geotechnical judgement. Ironically, such
judgement is required even during the study stages where
geotechnical and other oceanographic parameters are
themselves being determined.
It is therefore essential that the geotechnical engineer is
involved at all stages of any near-shore project.

350
GEO Shere
-, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

OFFSHORE STOCKYARD AND BERTH (OSB) AN INNOVATIVE CONCEPT FOR

BULK HANDLING
Niteen Santl and Jagdish Naraid
'Executive Director, Mormugao Maritima Ltd., Goa, lndia
'Consultant

SYNOPSIS
An Offshore Stockyard & Berth (OSB) has been planned off the coast of Goa to modernize the transshipment operation of
iron ore from river barges to present generation bulk carriers for export, and making the whole operation efficient. A RCC
box caisson with a storage capacity of 280,000 m3has been designed for this purpose. The paper describes the construction
methodology, geotechnical investigations and the design of OSB foundation resting on compressible strata. The resulting
consolidationprocess will control the time schedules for construction and start-up phase of OSB operation. A two-stage
construction is proposed :(1) Lower part of caisson in a dry dock, then (2) Upper part upto full height ( floating mode ) in
a protected water site, and then towed to the final location.

INTRODUCTION The Offshore Stockyard and
Berth (OSB) is an offshore structure, which is planned to be
built 12 km off the coast of Goa, near Mormugao port on
the Western coast of India (fig 1). The facility is intended
for temporary storage of iron ore and its onward trans-
shipment to bulk carriers for export. OSB, when built, is
expected to meet the anticipated increase in the volume of
iron ore that will be exported from Goa in coming decades.
The facility will also be designed to cater for the import of
coal for thermal power stations in this region. In such
cases, the bulk carriers, instead of anivhg empty, will be
utilized resulting in viable cost of the coal at the user end.
The main reason for locating OSB 12 km offshore is
because of the limited draught (12.5 m) available at
Mormugao port, whereas the present generation bulk
carrim (super cape class) have a draught upto 2Om.
Currently such bulk carriers are partly loaded in the harbour
(berth no. 9), and then moved offshore to 20 m deep water,
where bans-shipment vessels are used to transfer ore
directly from the barges into the bulk carrier and top it up.
The trans-shipment method is time-consuming, laborious
and costly. Therefore construction of an offshore facility
has been planned to improve the efficiency by loading the
bulk carrier in one operation. The OSB will be receiving
iron ore from barges on one side. As and when required, the
ore will be loaded into the ship from the other side (fig 2).
DESIGN OF OSB CAISSON After considering
several options, it has been decided that a RCC box caisson
in 23 m depth of water would be most suitable. The
proposed caisson will be 230 m long, 55 m wide and 46 m
high with a storage volume of 280,000 m3. There will be 16
storage cells (21.5 m x 21.5 m in plan) - 8 cells on the
seaside, and 8 cells on the leeside, such that each cell can be
operated independently. At foundation level, the caisson

I
Fig 1. Location of OSB Fig 2. OSB - Unloading And Loading Operations

351
 will be closed by a 230 m x 63 m base slab, stiffened by
orthogonal beams. On top of the caisson, arrangements will
be made to support the material handling system on each
side.
GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATIONS The
first phase of geotechnical investigations consisted of quick
identification of locations in the offshore area where
suitable load bearing strata are likely to exist. Wash borings
were made down to 10 m below the seabed and disturbed /
undisturbed samples were recovered, a diver-operated
water-jet lance was used to quickly wash-bore down to the
hard strata and obtain wash boring samples during jetting.
A maximum depth of 14 m below seabed was achieved in
one test borehole where soft marine clays and silt were
found. One site had hard stratum at 7.5 m below seabed. In
the second phase, deep borings were carried out by a
geotechnical investigation vessel of 5,300 DWT for
drilling, sampling and coring to the depth of 50 m below
seabed (Fig 3), and an area of 500 m x 150 m was covered
in this investigation. It consisted of :-
(1) Upto 50 m drilling, sampling & coring of 20 boreholes
for geotechnical and geological testing.
(2) Upto 50 m In-situ Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) in
another 11 boreholes.
(3) In-situ Seismic Cone Penetration Testing (SCPT) in 5 of
the 11 boreholes.
(4)On-site laboratory testing on recovered samples.
(5) In-office laboratory testing of selected samples.
CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY The
construction of the OSB is proposed to be done in two
stages, as is usual in the case of offshore structures - first,
in a dry dock, and then at a deep water site. The lower part
of the caisson upto levels + 7m, 14 m and 18 m will be
built in the dry dock and then moved out and anchored in a
protected water site where the caisson construction will be
completed (total time 12-14 months). At this point, the
caisson has a draught of about 21.5 m. The towing of the
caisson to its final site and seating will be a very careful
operation carried out when the foundation bed is ready
(Fig 4).To take full benefit of the good season in Goa, the
tow is planned to allow the installation of the caisson at the
final site just when the monsoon season is over, i.e.
October, November. Approximately 5 months will be left,
after the caisson installation and loading, for the clay layer
consolidation, before the arrival of the next monsoon
season.
Caisson Installation. At the final site location, the
caisson will be gradually water ballasted to rest on the sea
bed. After the caisson touch-down and rib penetration, the
caisson will be filled uniformly with water to a level which
provides an on-bottom weight necessary to insure
foundation stability under extreme wave loads of the good
season period (October-May). During this period, it may
be possible to proceed with the erection of material
handling system and the installation of the general deck and
of the ancillary utilities. One or two months prior to the
monwn season, solid ballast will be installed at the bottom
of the storage cells to increase the on-bottom weight. After
the monsoon season, the remaining portion of the solid
352
ballast and iron ore can be placed, using, if available, the
Material Handling System.
SITE CONDITIONS The rock material
encountered during the site investigation consists of Schist,
belonging to the Barcem formation. The top 5 m of bedrock
are highly to completely weathered. Clays, sands and
gravels of Quatemaq age overlie the weathered bedrock.
At the OSB site, some laterite was observed in the form of
lateritic soil fragments.At a depth of approximately 34 m,
metamorphic rock (Schist or Metadolerite) was found in a
completely or highly weathered condition. The weathering
decreased with depth. The uniaxial compressive strength
tests performed on the more competent material gave rock
strengths of 7 to 50 MPA. This is classified as moderately
weak to moderately strong rock. The following
observationshave been made :-
b The ground conditions are substantially worse than
envisaged during development of the ori@ concept,
as a result of a greater depth to bedrock (than previously
envisaged), and the presence of clayey Aguada Bay
formation at a depth critical to the performance of the
structure.
b To ensure a foundation based on granular strata, it will
be necessary to dredge the very soft Momugao Bay
formation and the underlying Zuari formation. This will
require an envisaged dredge depth of 10 m below
existing seabed level, 1.5 m greater than previouSly
assumed.
h To ensure that the caisson remains stable, it wiU be
necessary to rely on the gain in shear strength of the
Aguada Bay forination as it consolidates under the load
imposed. This will require restrictions to be placed on
the ore loading operations during the fust few years of
operation. As per preliminary calculations, 1 1 1 (100%)
ore loading may be achievable in the second year of
operation after construction.
P Differential settlements of the structure can be
controlled by carefd planning of the loading schedule of
the caisson.
b Earthquake loadings are not a threat to the structure
given the level of risk assigned to the area by the
relevant codes.
b The control of the loading phases will need to be subject
to a performance monitoring and observational approach
for carefully recording settlements, pore pressures and
the rate of consolidation actually taking place.
ANTICIPATED FOUNDATION BEHAVIOUR
The OSB caisson structure will be placed on a prepared
foundation of rock-till, f o l l o ~ g dredgins of
approximately 9.5 m of marine clay. The water depth at the
site is approximately 23 m. The caisson height will be
46m.With full iron ore storage the anticipated long term
loading pressure applied on the foundation soils will be of
the order of 546 kPa. A fm to stiff clay layer is present at
a depth of approximately 17.5 m to 24.5 m below seabed.
The behaviour of this soil layer dominates the analysis of
the foundation stability of the caisson.
L
 Fig 3. Soil Profile Below Foundation And Properties

1. Construction In a Dry Dock 2. Towing Out From Dry Dock To Deep Water Site 3. ConstructionAt Deep Water Site

-1 IF- Towing

Sea Bed Level

Prepared
Foundation

___----
4. Towing To Offshore Location 5 . Seating Of OSB At Offshore Site

Fig 4. Proposed Construction Stages

353
3
Analysis for Bearing Capacity & Settlement me Partial factor of 0.67 is introduced considering uncertainties
governing failure mode to be anticipated against caisson of Soil Parameters and d y s k theory and variation of
loading is the squeezing of the firm to stiff clay layer under a ground condition.
rigid caisson foundation resting on approximately 17.5 m of A c : ~ =067-Ac
.~
~
.
= 0.67 > ).25 &')
-
&mular deposits overlying rock stratum. The estimated StreSS
allowable soil bearing pressure for static load before increase
Effective Total
consolidation and subsequent increase of shear strength of the by over- StfeSS
clay layer is 402 Ha, considering a factor of safety of 2.0 and No Condition Load caisson
load burden at
an undrained shear strength of 65 Wa of this clay layer. With (MN)
at at -21m -21m
a loading pressure of 646 Wa in case of 100 YOiron ore (km Wa)
-21m
storage, a one-step loading may result in failure of this soil
layer. Hence, it is desirable to improve the clay layer by - 0
consolidation until the undrained shear strength of the layer 1550 215 146 195.5 342
attains the required value. It would be preferable to load in
several steps and expect the gain of strength with 2250 313 213 195.5 409
ballast -
consolidation, in comparison to other possible methods, for 100% ore
instance, grouting, sand compaction pile ad gravel 4650 646 440 195.5 636
-
compaction pile, etc. Strength gain with cons0 lation according to work sequences
Load Condition (refer to Fig. 5 )
Caisson setting: 1,550 (MN)/(120 x 60) =215 Ocpa)
Solid ballast installation: 2,250 (MN) / (120 x 60) = 313
(@a).
Iron ore fully stocked including equipment load: 4,650
(MN) / ( 120 x 60) = 646 (Wa).
Bearing capacity calculationat initial stage(cu= 65 kPa)
Governing failure mode : Squeezing failure in clay layer

x: Months
&'= Stress increase by caisson load + pd - pfC
E (€'reconsolidation pressure = 260 kpa)
*.
c ACU,&= U(degree of consolidation)x 0.67 x (0.29.4')
b
E
P
Req. c,,= required c, to get 2 of the safety factor for bearing
c capacity
Bc=Bb+D (The max. degree of consolidation for estimation of the
b 4 strength gain was limited to 85%).
-77.5m

Ultimate bearing capacity at the top of Clay layer iS : consolidation Rate

= 8.93 C, I =-
T;d2
Here, squeezing factor, a = 5.0 & b = 0.33 cv
ultimate bearing capacity at the caisson bottom level. where, T, : time factor
qS =qc 5 = 8.925c,,XI
Ab
9 978 = 12.37~"
7,200
d :drainagepath
CV coefficient of consolidation
Ultimate bearing capacity at initial stage,
q., = 12.37~,,= 1 2 . 3 7 ~ 6 =
5 804(kPo)
Allowable bearing capacity at initial stage considering factor
of safety of 2, Draincondition :
12.37cu, 804
...4 = -= 6.2~,,= -= 402(kP~)
ad 2 2
Strength gain with consolidation
The relation of increase of effective overburden pressure, p'
and increase of undrained shear strength, c,
AC" = 0.25x Ap' Contd.
354 4
 Contd. AC,,, = the increase of undrained shear strength with
consolidation
Req. c,, = required undrained strength to satisfy a safety
factor of 2 for bearing capacity.
In view of the above, the proposed loading procedure may be
satisfactory for obtaining the required bearing capacity
against caisson loading.
INSTRUMENTATION AND MONITORING SYSTEM
The start-up and schedule of the operation phase of the OSB
Estimation of Settlement will be dependent on the actual behaviour of the foundation
The consolidation settlement for the firm clay layer (in case of strata, primarily the consolidation of Unit 4 (Aguada Bay
100% of Iron ore storage) Formation). Observational approach with close performance
monitoring will be adopted for strength gain of compressible
layers and total and differencial settlements of the caisson.
=
0.05x 7.0
~. log(---) +-
260 0.40x 7.0 ,0g(147.~~500.2
* 1 Reliable pore pressure measuring instruments and settlements
1+0.9 147.8 1+0.9 gauges would be installed in the structure and foundation and
= 0.63 m hooked up to an instrument panel in the operation cabin of
The elastic settlement for the sub-layer OSB for regular monitoring. Total and differencial
Si = 0.27 m settlements of the caisson will be controlled and kept within
acceptable limits by modifying the loading schedule of OSB
An influence factor of 0.85 was introduced to reflect the taking periodic observations and interpreting the behaviour of
rigidity of caisson. the structure and foundation of OSB. Presently, the
SL = Si a = 0.27 x 0.85 = 0.23 m instrumentation and monitoring systems are at the detailed
Total settlement design stage.
st= s, + s, CONCLUSION The construction and operation of
= 0.63 m + 0.23 m the OSB is expected to bring a new concept and technology
= 0.86 m for handling bulk materials in the Indian ports. Already many
Loading Procedure (Fig 6 & 7) The undrained ports are facing congestion and available land area is getting
shear strength of the clay layer is directly related to the filled up with the traditional open storage of bulk materials.
bearing capacity of caisson foundation, which will be The draught available in the harbours puts a restriction on the
increased as the clay layer is consolidated with time. The berthing and loading of the present generation of bulk carriers.
increase of undrained shear strength with consolidation is Besides the port authorities have to spend on the high
estimated according to the amount of the load applied on the maintenance of dredging the ship channels in and out of the
clay layer and loading duration as shown in table attached harbour. Preliminary financial estimates indicate that an OSB
hereafter. In addition, a partial factor of 0.67 has been type facility should give prompt and good returns, and the
introduced in consideration of uncertainties of soil parameters investment made good within a few years of its operation.
and analysis method and variation of ground condition. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors, on behalf
AC,,, = U(degreeof consolidation)x0.67~(0.25.bp’) of Mormugao Maritha Limited, acknowledge with thanks
Increased C, = C,(45kPa) + ACu,des the contribution of the firms and institutions, which have
The expected increase of shear strength and factor of safety assisted in the planning, feasibility study, site investigations,
for bearing capacity according to assumed loading procedure design, construction and ftnancial analysis of the project,
are summarized below: particularJy Foment0 (Goa), Geological Survey of India
Incre- (Marine Wing), National Institute of Oceanography (Goa),
ConSt. Mmbeni (Japan), Soros (USA), Hyundai Engineering &
Period R ~ , c , Acwdg F.S. Remarks
(W Wa) Wa) (Wa) c. Construction (S.Korea), Delta Marine (Netherlands), Fugro
(x)
(Wa) (Netherlands), GUTS (Netherlands) and Dons (France).
Solid REFERENCES
ballast
2 2250 313 50.5 9 74 2.9 Install- G e c k , Jr.,B.C.(1986). Construction of Offshore StruCWes.
ation John Wiley & Sons. New York
11 2250 313 50.5 21 86 3.4 - Indian Ports Act, 1908.
70%
13 3600 500 81 29 94 2.3 Storage Major Port Trust Act, 1963.
Iron ore
23 3600 500 81 39 104 2.6 - Territorialwaters, continental shelf: exclusive economic =one
100% and other Maritima zones Act, 1976.
25 4650 646 104 45 110 2.1 Storage
lrnn nre hlernational Codes 05Practicesfor Offshore Shclures.
x: Months 5
355
 Applied Ultimate
-
Stage Active Required On-bottom vertical bearing F.S Remark
period weight load capacity, (Factorof
(Month) (MN) (Wa) qu,i(Wa) Safety) -
Stage 1 Caisson setting with 1.50 3100 215 804 3.7 0.K
water ballasting
-
Stage 11 Solid ballasting with 2.00 4500 313 915 2.9 0.K
iron ore

Stage 111 Tinieforsl~engthgain

with consolidation
I 1 1 I 9.00 4500 313 1064 1 3.4 0.K

I I 1 I I

Stage IV 1st iron ore loading 2.00 7200 500 1163 2.3 0.K
for storage

Stage V Time for strength gain 10.00 7200 500 1287 2.6 0.K
with consolidation
-
Stage VI 2nd iron ore loading 2.00 9300 646 1361 2.1 0.K
for storage up to full
storage capacity

3peratior Start of OSB operation 0.00 9300 646 1361 2.1 0.K
- I I

Summary of Iron Ore Loading Procedure

I I I

( 1 1 1 1 I , , , , ,
daissh 1 1 1 1 , 1 . . , , ,

Setting 1' Monsoon

k4- 500

31
E 300
a
m
0
" 14 Months
8 100

- 10 12 2 4 6 8 10
1

12 2
I \
4
,
6
, ,
8
, ,
1
I ,
0
5
E40-
- 35
liequired C ( F.S. = 2.0 )
\, 50.5 50.5
E -
v)

2a
v)
v
-;
>
80
.
-
- 2000 88\ - 81

Strength &<Consolidation

10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 1 0 12 MOII~~S
I 2000 I 200 1
I 2002 I 2003
I
Fig 5. Loading And Strength Gain With Time

356 6
Fig 7. Level Variation According To The Iron Ore Fllling 7
357
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
GEO Shore
m,International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

A N ASSESSMENT OF SEABED CONDITIONS FOR PORT DEVELOPMENT A CASE

STUDY OF NAGORE-EAST COAST OF INDIA
M.C. Pathak, V. Subrahmanyam, N.H. Hashimi, A.R. Gujar, R. Nigam and K.L. Kotnala
National lnsfitute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India

The knowledge of the seabed engineering parameters is a pre-requisite for any meanin@ attempt to evolve plans and
strategies for port developments. The close track spacing (50-100m) of data sets on bathymetry, sub-bottom profiling,
seafloor mapping (-406 l i e km)along with surficial sediment samples and the environmental data has helped in generating
geoscientific information required for a port being developed by Ws Madras Refiney Limited off Nagore, East Coast of
India. Results of the integrated surveys revealed smooth surficial topography upto 10m and the undulations to the order of >
3m beyond 10m isobath. The seismic data reveal that the acoustic basement occurs at 30-35m. The seabed configuration,
hazardous obstructions, the nature of surfacial seabed clay, and sub-seabed geological information yielded fkom the studies
were utilized to assess the viability of the port development and to locate and design operational facilities.

RYTRODUCTION The paper plans to present this study as a model to show

The recent economic, trade and industrial reforms initiated
by the Government of' India have substantially increased
the need for marine transportation, cheapest mode of
transportation available in the country. The process of
liberalization and privatization announced by the
Government of India has also attracted private investors in
harbour development projects. One of the investor, M/s
Madras Refineries Limited (MRL), Chennai is in the
process of setting up crude receiving facilities - a berthing
jetty with an approach trestle at Nagore (Nagapattiuam),
East Coast of India for transporting the crude oil to its
refinery (Fig. 1)
In order to obtain the best siting of the port and the most
economical and reliable structures, the National Institute
of Oceanography, Goa, has carried out site investigations
in the area covering approximately 3 x 10 km, integrating
the bathy-morphology, profiling of sub-bottom sediment
layers and plan view of seafloor mapping. These surveys
were made to achieve the following objectives:
i. Selection of appropriate structures, design criteria
and commencement of detailed design
ii. Optimization of various aspects of the initial port
layouts with in the operational parameters defined
in the planning studies leading to inter alia:
fiallayout
final geometry of approach channel
final location offshore
Length of approach trestles.
the application of seabed engineering surveys in harbour
site selection, design and development.
METHODOLOGY
The data used in this study were collected during the
seabed engineering surveys carried out for M/s Madras
Refineries Limited (MRL) onboard the boat M y SONA in
March 1998.
Navigation
Precise positioning data obtained with Trimble-400
Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) receiver.
Boat's position were calculated and recorded every 15
seconds on a computer. These recorded data were later
processed and plotted. The positional accuracy of the
system is fl -3 m An average boat's speed over the ground
of 4-5 knots were maintained while collecting data on a
grid pattern of 50 and 100 m line spacing on W-E and N-S
oriented tracks (Fig. 1).
Bathymetry
A dual frequency (200 and 24 IrHz) echosounder
(Echotrack DF-3200) was used to collect the bathymetry
data. Bar-check was carried out daily before the start of
the survey to calibrate the echosounder. The range of the
basic scale of the echosounder was selected between 0-30
m as the survey area being shallow. Water level variations
associated with the tides were recorded at 15 minutes
interval during the survey period. This data were used for
deducing the data on bathymetry to chart datum level.

359
 Fig. 1: Map showing the survey tracks. Selected corridor was shown as shaded.
Seafloor mapping
Side Scan Sonar data were collected with the EG & G
system. Transducers are mounted on both sides of a
towfish, which emit a 100 kHz frequency acoustic signal
that is reflected off the seafloor. The towfish receives and
amplifies the reflected acoustic signals and transmits it
back to the console onboard. Differing intensities of this
reflected acoustic signal produce images of the seafloor
similar to those produced by aerial photography.
Topographic features produce an acoustic shadow on the
record. These shadows or the images are created by total
reflection of acoustic signal. Rock outcrops and sand
ripples are good acoustic reflectors that produce dark
images while poor reflectors such as depressions, fme
grained sand and mud produce lighter images. The
resultant images produced by the differing intensities of
acoustic backscatter provide a detailed representation of
the surveyed area. A total swath width of 200 m (100 m
per side) was used to provide 50 m overlap between
adjacent survey lines.
Sub-bottom profding
A low fiequency medium to high energy EG & G Sparker
system meant for shallow seismic profiling was used to get
360
the sub-bottom information. The system consists of a
power supply (Model 232A), a trigger capaoitor bank
(Model 23 1 A), a sparker array (Model 267), a hydrophone
array (Model 265) and an analog EPC recorder (Model
9802). A sweep of 1/16 sec was used with a power output
of 300 joules and attained penetration of about 32-34 m.
The surficial sediment samples were collected using a Van
Veen Grab (area 0.04 m2).
The layout of the survey equipment onboard the vessel
during survey was shown in figure 2.
PHYSICAL SETTING
The area of study is broadly situated between Krishna
delta and Cape Comorin in the East Coast of India. The
Nagapattinam (sub-basin of Cauvery basin) has sediments
ranging from Jurassic to Recent (Chandra and
Venkatraman, 1988). It is a NE-SW trending graben
between the Karaikal horst and Nedaranniyam terrace
(Zutshi et al. 1990). The ridges and highs exist as detached
blocks terminating abruptly against lows, suggesting the
role of wrench tectonics in its evolution. The delta is river
dominated and is occupied by several tributories
(Arasalas, Tirumalai, Vettar and Vennar) of the Cauvery
 Fig. 2 :Layout of the survey equipment onbard during the survey operations
River. The present day Vettar river flows towards the east
and joins the sea. Presently, the river is not following the
basement trend. Anastomosis braided and occasionally
dcndriatic patterns are generally exhibited in the area.
Abrupt and localized appearance of meanders and
braiding, local wideninglnarrowing of channels levee and
anomalous shape in the morphological forms. Deviation of
course of the river may be attributed to the recent
morphological changes in the area. The study region
encounters heavy rainfall and rivers get flooded during the
north-east monsoon and is subjected to occasional tropical
revolving storms due to pilling up of wafer against the
coast line. The coastis low and sandy and exposed to very
heavysurE
The tides in this region are mixed semi-dhural type with
two high and two IQW water of unequal heights occurring
in a tidal day. The tidal infornation of Nagaptham port
indicates that mean high water spring tide range is 0.65 m
and mean neap 0.47 m. The region encounters heavy
raid41 and rivers get flooded during the north-east
monsoon. The region under study is subjected to
occasional tropical revolving storms due to piling up o f
water against the coastline. The currents are very strong in
this region,
subsurface information. The physical surfaces identified in
the present study are primarily the strata surfaces
characterized by seismic continuities and reflection
amplitudes (Mitehum et al. 1977). In general the seismic
reflections show a sequence of undisturbed smooth
sedimentary layers with minor undulations across the area.
The upper most reflector is a reflection fiom the present
seafloor. Below this reflector, seven to eight dominant
seismic reflectors (sedimentary layers boundary) are
identified at 3.0, 4.5-5.0, 9.0-10.0, 13.0, 16.0, 23.0 and
27.5-28.0m respectively. The last reflector is identified as
the acoustic basement beyond which no penetration is
noticed. The depth of this acoustic basement varies
between 32-35 m (Figs. 5 Ee 6). The contact between
layers may be gradational or distinct. The observed
variation in the character of different reflectors around 4,9
and 17 m indicates change in the sediient mme f h m
fine to coarse. Such alternate change in the sediment
nature reflects the fluctuating energy regime in the
distributor environment and may result fiom laterally
migrating distributor channels.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The bathymetry of the area is presented with a contour
interval of 1 m (Fig. 3) where the depths vary from <2 to
11 m and the contours are running parallel to the shore-
line following N-S trend. Overall topography slopes down
towards the deeper depths with a gradient of 1:120 (Fig.
4). This feature may be attributed to the prevailing
drainage system in this area and probably responsible in
shaping the seabed topography. The echograms did not
show any major undulations or outcrops in the area, which
is dominantly covered with sandy sediment. Fig. 3: Map showing the bathymetry together with
The character of seismic record, penetration depth and surficid sediment distribution.
strength of the bottom reflection provide adequate

361
 Fig. 4: Echograms along the tracks L-05,L-15and Sonograph along track L-102
The seismic profiles (Fig. 5 ) reveal that the sedimentary
layers are flat lying, continuous, undisturbed and devoid of
any structural disturbance. However, a channel like
features with varying widths and depths are noted at
different subsurface depths and are defined as pale0
channels. Moreover, the thickness of the sequence does
not show much variation among the different profiles
indicating stable seabed conditions.
Sonographs along the survey tracks reveal
morphodynamic characters l i e sand ripples, scouring and
patchy sedimentary reflection (Fig. 4). Locally these
patches are attributed to bottom current strength or change
in the supply of fine-grained sediments. The patchy nature
also indicates the local changes with in each part of the
sedimentary system as well. In the near shore to 6 m water
depth, the seabed is reflected as sand cover, which is also
confirmed in echograms (Fig. 4). The area in general is
free from any natural or artificial objects, which can cause
navigational hazards.
Twelve surficial samples from the study area were
collected (Fig. 1) and analyzed to ascertain the sediment
textural (Table 1) and distribution pattern (Fig. 3). The
surficial sediment distribution map was prepared to
ascertain the boundaries. The nearshore region having a
shallow depth <6 m is characterized by predominance of
sand, between 6-8 m isobaths silty clay and beyond 8 m
isobath texture varies largely between clayey sand, sand
362
silty clay and sand. As a result of textural and
mineralogical analyses (Sheffield et al. 1995) the
sediments in the area surveyed inferred to be a
combination of i) fluvial sand, ii) marine-derived sediment
and iii) modem biogenic material.
Coupled with the harbour development requirement of Ws
Madras Refinery LTD., an assessment of data on
bathymetry, profiling of sub-bottom sediment layers,
seafloor mapping and textural distribution of surficial
sediment was made to select a most suitable corridor for
the establishment of marine facilities. The acceptability of
the proposed area was based on the integrated
interpretation and evaluation of the following aspects:
The functional needs such as draft and berth
facilities, onshore facilities (such as rail and road)
adequate space for development of support facilities
at convenient distance.
To reach the desired design depth at a minimum
distance ftom the shore.
Topography and morphology.
Nature of the acoustic basement, surface and sub-
. surface soil and geological hazards.
Presence of surficial or sub-surface, natural or
artificial objects.
Existence of buried objects or pipeline crossing.
 Fig. 5 Shallow seismic records along tracks L-10 and L-113together with depth sections

. Syntheses of above data keeping in view the

engineering and economic aspects.
Keeping in mind the fmt two aspects, the landfall point
(LFP)was selected at the location of 10'4Y25'N lat. and
79'5 1'07"E long. and to meet the operational requirement
of the vessel, the proposed jetty location should be
between 7 and 8 m isobaths (Fig. 1). The analyses of the
bathymetry, shallow seismic and sonograph data reveal
that the area falling between tracks G O 5 and L-15 (Fig. 1)
fiom nearshore to 8 m isobath is marked by a smooth and
gently sloping seabed. The seismic reflection data shows
that sub-bottom sediment layers are undisturbed and do
not indicate any structural and tectonic disturbance. No
pipeline crossings and buried objects exist in the area and
it is fiee fiom the geological hazards. From the sonographs
it is clear that the area is devoid of man-made or natural
objects. Based on these observations the corridor falling Fig. 6: Map showing the depth to the acoustic basement.

363
 Table 1: Texture ofthe sediment samples.
between tracks L-05 and L-I5 was selected and
recommended for aligning the trestle and locating the
jetty. The data sets also helped in taking engineering
decisions.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on detailed mapping, the following collclusions
were drawn:
The overall relief of the area surveyed displays an
easterly oriented steep to gentle topographicslope.
32-35 m. thick acoustically transparent overburden is
observed in the area.
SonoFpaphs display the patchy nature of seafloor with
lninor geumarphotogic featurea like sand rippks and
SC0Urillg.
Seafloor in general covered with sediments like sand,
silty clay and clayey sand.
The area falling between the track lines M 5 and L-15
is considered advantageous fbr siting jetty and the
trestle.
ACICFYQWLEDGEMENTS
T h e authors are indebted to Ehriich Desa for his
efloouragefled The data used for this paper were
mllected for the Ws Madras Kefjneries Limited (MRL],
Chennai and the authors are gmtell to them for the
364
financial support. Om sincere thanks to d1 the project
participants who were involved in data acquisition and
also to the Engineers India Ltd., for their valuable
suggestions during processing of the data. We also thank
K.A.Kamesh Raju for reviewing the paper. Uday K w
Javali drafted the figures neatly. This is National Institute
of Oceanography contribution #2648.
REFERENCES
Chandra, f.K and Vedcataramn, S. (1988). Exploration,
history and status of hydrocarbon exploratlorr of
Cauvery basin with particular reference to
occurrence of oil & gas pools and their relationship
to depositional systems h Pdeome and
Cretaceous.OEEA conferece, Singapre. 353-363.
Mitchum, Jr.E.M., Vaii, P.R.and Thomson IU,S. (I 977).
The depositional sequence as a basic unit for
stratigraphic, analysis in seismic stratipphy. In:
Artprication of $ q ~ ~ ? ~ mexploratim
bm (ed.)
Cb1es.E Payton, pp: 53-62
Sheflleld, A.T., Healy, T.R.and McGlone, M.S. (1995).
lnfilling rates of a Steepland Catchment Estuary,
Whangamata, New Zealand. Journal of Coasfaz
Research. 11(4):1294-1308.
Zutshi,P.L., Kumar, I.J., Prab-, K.N., Badhe, S.,
Srhivas, P., Rao, V.R. anid Gupta, R (1990).
Evalution of east coast basins of India and their
hydrocarbon prospects, mpublished ONCC report.
GE 0 'a , Conference on Offshoreand Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
International

COMPUTER AIDED ANALYSIS OF APPROACH JETTY

R. Hemalatha' and R. Sundaravadivelu*
'Research Scholar, 'Associate Professor, Ocean Engineering cent% Chennai 600 036, India

SYNOPSIS: An approach jetty is a structure, which connects the shore and the offshore structures and is subjected to both
vertical and lateral loads. The bending moments in the jetty structure are generally greater than the cracked moment, in
which case the effective moment of inertia should be considered instead of the gross moment of inertia. This paper describes
the development of a finite element analysis program SAP-2 using iterative procedure to incorporate the nonlinear-soil-
structure-interaction,second order P-A effect and effect of cracking. A case study on a typical pile bent is also presented.
I N'THOUUC1'ION conveyor colunins etc. Tlius it has to be designed to
witlistand these latcral as well as vertical loads as any
failure of approach jetty will seriously hamper the loading
An approach jetty is an open type structure (Fig. l),: and unloading operations at offshore berth.
projecting outward nearly perpendicular to or at some
skew angle with the shore line, with deck mounted on
The vertical forces are to be resisted by the piles of the
piles embedded into sea bed and which has free passage
approach jetty which is also subjected to lateral loads like
of water underneath the deck. The increase in
wave force, wind force, current force and seismic force.
transportation of oil, gas, chemicals and other hazardous
The lateral resistance by the soil to the pile is significant
cargo has necessitated the construction of many approach
near the ground line. The behaviour of such piles
jetties in deep water i n open sea exposed to winds, waves,
subjected to lateral loads depends oh tlie nature of soil
and currents.
surrounding the pile, sectional properties of pile and pile
head fixity conditioiw (Ranga Rao and Sundaravadivelu,
1994)

LICENO : Due to large unsupported lengths, the piles undergo large

(i, BERlHlNG DOLPHIN
0 JEllY HEAD
0 UOORING OOWHIN
8 APPROACH 10 JEllY HEAD
displacements when subjected to both the vertical load
and lateral loads. Hence the second order effects should
also be accounted in the analysis as this second order

@ CAT WALK
effect may lead to overall instability of the structure.
6
l FENDERS

As piles are subjected to large latcral loads there is every

possibility of developing bending moinents greater than
the moment the causes cracking of the section. The gross
moment of inertia that is generally used in the analysis
should be replaced by the effective moment of inertia in
order to take care of cracking.

Fig. 1 Layout of Jetty

The length of approach jetty is generally varying from
few metres to even 3 kilometers. The approach jetty is
subjected to various types of lateral loads due to wave
force, wind force current force, seismic force in addition
to the vertical loads like self weight of the structure and
live load. The live load can be due to rail, road, pipelines,
NON-LINEAR SOIL S'I'IIUCTURE1NTERACTlON
The lateral resistance offered by the soil for a pile is
significant near the ground line. The nonlinear behaviour
of soil near ground line under lateral loading makes it
necessary to relate pile-soil deformation to soil resistance.
The nonlinear behaviour of soil surrounding the pile is

365
o k n described in terms of p-y curves recommended by
American Pelroleurn Institule (API RP 2A, 1993).
The Structural Analysis Program SAP IV (Bathe
et..al,1973) has been modified as SAP-2 (Fig. 2) to
include the nonlinear behaviour of soil using a subroutine
SOILSTIFF. The spring stiffhess is modified using p-y
curves for every iteration based on the spring deflection.
The deflection in each spring for successive iterations is
compared and the iterations are carried out untiI the
deflection convergence is satisfied.
WUM
P-DELTA EFFECT
When an approach jetty is subjected to unsyrnmetrical
vertical loads and lateral forces it undergoes lateral
displacements. As a result of these displacements, the
piles in the frame are subjected to additional moments F.
A, wtrcre A is Lhc lrrtcral tlisp!:iccineiit orctirc cnd or R pilc
with respect to tlie other end. 'lltese lateral loads generate
deflections, which are further amplified by axial
compression force. In general, second order effects may
increase the pile moments by 10 to 20?40.
A subroutine PDELTA has been incorporated in the
program SAP-2 to include the second order effects, The
primary deflections are calculated based on the external
loading and they are combined with the originally applied
loading to create the secondary loadings. These
secondary loadings are applied as equivalent shear wfiich
are calculated based on the dellectioris. 'Ihe load vector
is revised to include (Lie secondary luadings:s. The
equivdcnt shear can be calculated froin the following
equation (Vatidepilte, I98 1):
366
Where
Us= Deflection at tlie considered node
U,, = Deflection b l o w the considered node
Usrl= Deflection above the Considered node
hi = Length of the member
CQ = Axial force of the member
"he iterations are carried out until the diffetence in
deflections in two successive iterations is less than 1.0'340.
EFFECT OF CHACKINC
The pile or beam is considered to be uncracked, if the
bending moment acting on the member is less than the
cracked moment, M, and rlierelbre the gross mbment of
inertia (ld can be used for the analysis. However the
bending moment in piles and beams of the approachjetty
is generally found to be more than the cracked moment
&. Hence effective moment of inertia has to be
used in the analysis. The effective moment of inertia (X,n)
depends on the bending moment acting on the member
and the cracked moment of inertia I, The cracked
moment of inertia is a function of neutral axis depth,
which depends on the percentage of steet provided in the
member. The gross moment o f inertia (Is) or the cracked
municnt of incl-tin (!J cm hc uscd to niornent (M") in the
first iteration. M,,1, and I,, are then used to obtain I q
using the following equation:
I a = (MJMd l8 + [l-(M,JM$ I, when Ma2& (2)
where M, is the bending moment under loads
M,is tlie cracked moment = f&/Yt
f, = 0.74€&
I, = gross moment of inertia
I, = cracked moment of inertia
A subroutine EFFECI has been incorporated in SAP-;? to
consider cracking. The itetations continue till
convergence ofpife l i e d deflection is obtained.
CASE STUDY
A case study has been carried out on an approach jetty
(Fig. 3) to study the influence of nonlinear-soil-structure-
interaction, second order effect of axial load on sway
deformation and ell'ect of cracking. l h e top level of the
jetty is taken as +5.2m and founding level as -25.0m. The
soil profile considered in the analysis is shown in Fig 4.
The pile is idealized using beam element and soil is
idealized using nonlinear springs (p-y curves). The
analysis has been carried out on the approach jetty to
study the second order effects. The approach jetty is
analyzed with both the linear springs and P-A effect and
also with the nonlinear springs and P-A effect. The loads
considered are dead load, live load, and wave force. The
approach jetty is also analyzed considering the effective
moment of inertia instead of gross moment of inertia. -mj
m
-44

Fig. 5 Variation of Soil Stiffness

L-=Y
Fig. 3 Cross-section of approachjetty
Fig. 6 Varlatlon of Moment 01Inertia
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The fixity depth analysis compared to nonlinear soil
support analysis overestimatesthe bending moment in the
left pile by 7% (Fig, 7) and underestimates the bending
moment in right pile by 25.33% (Fig. 8).
__Fbjtym-
_.
- LbsmAIdpi3
-_ -spigm

I
/

Fig. 4 Soil Profile

'I'he analysis has bccii carricd out for the 1.5 D.L + 1.5
L.L + 1.0 W.F + I 3 S.F load combination. The analysis 1 ' 1
2 4 6
has been carried out for a wave force due to a wave MlMrr
height of 5 m and wave period of 10 s on 1.0 m diameter
pile. The variation of soil stiffness for nonlinear soil
support analysis is shown in Fig. 5. The variation of ,
moment of inertia for non-linear-soil-support analysis P- -16 -
Delta and effect or cracking analysis shown in Fig. 6 . Fig. 7 Variation of Bending Moment
in left Pile

367
 . Lincar Spn'ni Andyrir The variation of deflection in the left pile and right pile
.. - Nonlincnr Spn'ng Andyris
.... Fixily Depth Analgir
for various analyses are shown in Fig. 11 and Fig. 12
respectively.
~ ~ ~ & P ~ A r & i
-- Nmlinsss@r@&P-RIlaArmljSis
~ ~ P
_.._ - M l a & O 3 5 l g
- - NmlinssSp@,P-I*lta&Eft?aof@&jn

-
2
Lllhlrr
4 6
12 /
/

,'
. I
I

-12

-16

Fig. 8 Variation of Bending Moment

in right Pile
By considering lhe analysis including nonlinear soil
behavior, P-Delta and effect of cracking, the deflection
increases by 78% (Fig. 9) and 25% (Fig. 10) left pile and
-IZ
-16 j
Fig. 11 Variation of Deflection in left Pile
right pile respectively.

- Li- Spirg
_ _ NmlilrrsSpin8 Andpis
..._PidlyCcpchAndpis

I
-8 -

-12 -
-16 J
-16
Fig. 12 Variation of Deflection in right Pile
The variation of bending moment in left pile and right
Fig. 9 Variation of Deflection in left Pile
pile for various analyses are also shown in Fig. 13 and
Fig. 14 respectively.
- I.inenr Spring Analysis
... ....
I, a.. I
.. ...
a..,.

.... Fixily DcpIh Analysis

- 1 7
40 50

-8 - 1
I

-12 -

-16 -I -16 1
Fig. 10 Variation of Deflection in right Pile Fig. 13 Variation of Bending Moment
in left Pile

368
 -16 J
Fig. 14 Variation of Bending Moment
in riglit Pile
CONCLUSIONS
1. The SAP-2 program has been developed by
i n c ~ ~ ~ tnon-linear-soil-structure
i n g interaction, P-
Delta effect and effect of cracking to obtain the
realistic bending moment, axial force and deflection
of the approach jetty.
2. Instead of using gross moment of inertia, the lower
bound vafue of 0.35 times the gross moment of
inertia is generally adopted for simplicity to take care
of cracking. However, this assumption i s found to be
acceptable for estimation of bending moment
whereas the assumption of 0.35 I, overestimates the
deflection.

REFERENCES

American Petroleum Institute -

API RP 2A (1993)
Recommended Practice for planning, designing and
constructing Fixed Offshore Platforms. American
Petsolem Imtilufe,Washington DC,14th Edition.

Bathe, K.J.,et al., SAP 1V - A stsuctural analysis program

for static and dynamic response of linear systems. Report
EERC, Univ. Of California, Berkeley, California, June
1973.
Ranga Rao, A V . and Sundaravadivelu, R. (1994)
Computer Aided Design of Berthing Structures. Indim
Nafionul Conference on Hafbour and Ocean
Engineering, Pune, B87-96.
Vandepilte, D.(1981), “Non-iterative analysis of frames
including the P-A effect”, Journal of Conshuction Steel
Research, September 1981.

369
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
GEO %$& International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
FOUNDATION PROBLEMS IN SOFT MARINE CLAYS FOR BREAKWATERS
I. Azaraiahl, N.R. Dhat‘, R.P. Gupta3 and M.V. Chhatre4
‘Joint Director, ’Chief Research Oj’icer, 3Senior Research Oficer, ‘Research Oficer, Central Water b P m e r Research Station,
Pune 411 024. lndia

SYNOPSIS: Foundation problems are often encountered while constructing rubble mound breakwater in soft marine clays.
These problems arise in the form of bearing failure and excessive sinkage owing to adoption of end-on construction
method. In order to overcome these problems, alternate methods of construction are examined with reference to some case
studied. From the case studies, it is convincing that alternate construction methods involving ground improvement and
raising breakwater in stages may have to be adopted in place of conventional end-on method, particularly at sites where
soft marine clay deposit is of considerable depth possesing poor shear strength.

INTRODUCTION

In the development of ports and harbours, construction of

rubble mound breakwater is a primary consideration to
prowide trauquil waters for berthing the vessels. Design of
mbble m u n d breakwater section is normally carried out
by conducting hydraulic model studies, assuming rigid
and incompressible bed. However, if compressible soft
marine clays are encountered in the foundation, stability of
breakwater section needs to be checked against foundation
as well as slope failures. Foundation failure involves bearing
failure followed by excessive sinkage and large settlements.
Alternate design and construction methods may have to be 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140
thought off for safety of the breakwater in such situation.
Soil parameters such as shear strength, sensitivity, Water Content ( 1
compressibility, coefficient of consolidation, permeability
etc.for the analysis are required to be determined by Fig.1 :Variation of shear strength with water content
conducting detailed soil investigation on disturbed and
undisturbed samples. It is seen from the figure that if natural moisture content is
more than liquid limit, shear strength becomes negligible and
Soil samples fiom the site are collected by drilling boreholes soil behaves as liquid mud.
either fiom floating barge or fiom fixed platform,
depending on depth of water and wave climate. Insitu vane If shear strength of soft marine clay is adequate to support
shear tests, standadcone penetration tests are conducted in the breakwater load, conventional slope stability using slip
the boreholes at regular depth intervals. circle method can be carried out to assess safety of
breakwater. If shear strength of soft clay increases with
STABILITY CONSIDERATIONS depth, sinkage is likely tobe ceased at somedepth,
conventional slope stability analysis can be adopted to assess
Foundation stability of rubble mound breakwater is the safety of the breakwater. However, if shear strength of
dependent mainly on factors such as depth of soft marine clay is not adequate to support the full height of breakwater,
clay, its shear strength and consolidation properties, height bearing failure and excessive sinkage problems are expected,
of breakwater and method of construction adopted. Shear particularly when end on method of dumping rocks, is
strength of soft marine clay was found to be dependent on adopted for construction.
wide range of water content. Fig. 1 gives variation of shear
strength with water content for typical marine clay fiom In order to overcome these problems the following
K a b a d a case study. alternatives are considered.

371
Ground Improvement Technique stagewise construction with some ground improvement
technique, could have avoided the failure of breakwater.
a) Removal of soft marine clay, either totally or partially
and replace it by sand.
I n i t i a l Profile Failed Profile
b) Improvement of shear strength of soft marine clay by HWL3-4m

i) Instailing sand drainsktone columns for quicker

consolidation
ii) Compaction piles
iii) Dynamic consolidation t
s t i f f Clay
c) Displacement and stabilization of soft marine clay
Fig3:Initial and Failed Profile of Rhu Marina
Raising Breakwater in Stages
Breakwater
a) Staged construction with uniform layers as an alternative
Rubble Mound Breakwaters at Kakinada (Andhra
to end on dumping method.
Pradesh)
b) Use of geotextile as a separator, filter and reinforcing
Two rubble mound breakwaters have been constructed at
element.
Kakiuada (Andha Pradesh). One breakwater was for
fisheries development (near shore) and other for deep water
Choice of above methods wdl depend mainly on depth, shear
port development (offshore). Fig.3 shows layout of near
strength of soft clay and height of breakwater to be
shore and offshore breakwaters.
supported.
f
CASE STUDIES 11 rShore Line

In view of range of foundation problems, different case

studies are examined and briefly described below : Near Shore

Failure of Rhu Marina Breakwater, Scotland

Failure of 14 m high and 1.5 km long rubble mound

breakwater, founded on 20-25 m deep soft soil muds at Rhu
Marina, Scotland, was reported by Dinardo (1992).
Sudden collapse, sinking and spreading had been
reportedly observed during construction. Post failure
investigations understood to have indicated that soft clay in
the foundation exhibited poor shear strength (0.02 to 0.09
kg/sq.cm) and natural moisture content exceeded liquid limit.
It was reported that construction was carried out by ‘wild’
dumping of large stones directly on soft clay and no prior soil
investigations were carried out. ‘Wild‘ dumping appears to
have punctured clay deposit causing shkage and large
settlements followed by spreading. Factor of safety (without
considering rupture) was found to be less than Unity. The
project was ultimately abandoned. Fig.2 shows initial and
failed profile of the breakwater.
Above case study indicated importance of soil investigation
prior to design and construction of breakwater. It also
indicates that alternate method of construction such as
ikinada Bay \-
Fig.3 :Location Plan of Near Shore and Offshore
Breakwatersat Kakinada
Breakwaterfor Fkheries Harbour (Near Shore) 1
A 1080 m long and 6 m high, rubble mound breakwater
(near shore) was constructed at Kakinada port for
fisheries development. In view of poor soil conditions in the
foundation, extensive soil investigations were carried out
using conventional drilling rig mounted on floating platform
suitably anchored. Boreholes were drilled along the
alignment of breakwater, extending to stiff/ hard
strata. Fig.4 shows subsoil profile. Subsoil profile indicated
7 m thick soft marine clay exhibiting poor shear strength

372
followed by stiff clay. hsitu vane shear strength and Preconstruction analysis indicated that shear strength was not
StanhdConePenetrationTests were conducted in the adequate to SUPPOrt 6 m high breakwater load. Soil
boreholes. Disturbed and undisturbed samples were collected improvement with sand drains for improving bearing
and tested in laboratory. capacity of clay was proposed. Sandwicks of 64 mm dia.
have been installed at -2.5 m clc in triangular pattern, 20
to 30 m ahead of the construction, covering a distance of 630
lOOm 200m 3Mm M O m 500111 600m 7OOm SoOm m (from Ch.250 m to Ch.880 m). Sand filter covered all
sandwich to facilitate drainage. Though it was recommended
-1 that breakwater should be raisedon the sand filter, by
-2
gradual loading,.to initiate consolidation for improvement
-3
of clay strength, commonly used end-on dumping method
--
-4

5-6
5 was adopted for construction. Construction went on
smooth upto Ch.450 m where adequate sand layer was
4 -7 available on clay deposit. However when construction
a -8
reached Ch.450 m, sudden settlement was observed.
-9
-1 0
Slumping of rubble was noticed with the progress of
-1 1 construction, alongwith formation of mudwaves.
stiff clay Consumption of stones was found to be much in excess of
designed quantity and lead to contractual complications.
Construction was resumed after certain amount of delay after
Fig.4:Subsoil Profile of Kakinada Breakwater (Near overcoming the contractual complications and breakwater
Shore) was raised above water level @L2.3 m). It was seen at this
stage that rate of settlement was reduced considerably.
Settlement pipes were installed for monitoring further
It was observed that shear strength increased with depth settlements. Breakwater was completed to design crest
fiom 0.06 kgkq.cm to 0.25 kglsq.crn ftom RL -3 m to RL - level, without fiuther failure indications.
10 m. For initial 450 m reach fiom shore a sand layer with
a thickness varying from 3.0 mat the shore to zero at Assessment of magnitude of sinkage
chainage 450 m was observed above the soft marine clay.
Table-1 gives properties of soft marine clay. Theoretical depth of sinkage was calculated by comparing
bearing capacity of clay at different depths with overburden
stress due to full height of the breakwater. In addition, data
Table1 collected by the project for stone consumption and settlement
observations were analysed. Details of these are reported by
Properties of Soft Marine Clay Dhat et.al (1987). It was found that depth of sinkage of
rubble was about 3.5 m in 7 m deep soft clay deposit. Fig.5
shows sinkage profile for near shore breakwater.
Test Property

Gradation
Clay 65%,
Silt 35%

Atterberg's limits - - I
-10m
Liquid limit 100% stiff Clay
Plasticity Index 65%
Fig.5 :Sinkage Profile for Kakinada (Near Shore)
Natural moisture content 75% to 100% Breakwater
Coefficient of consolidation 7.5 x 10E-4 sq.cm/sec Assessment of sinkage of rubble in soft clay was also studied
Compression index 1.o on geotechnical centrifuge. Drum centrifuge developed by
Prof. J.A.Cheney of University of California Davis (U.S.A.),
Sensitivity 3.0 was used for this purpose. Studies are reported in paper by
Mone and Dhat (1988). Fig.6 gives final results of tests. It is

373
seen k m the figure that depth of sinkage was about 50% of It was seen that width of sand tilled trench at bed level was
the depth of clay modeiled. 190 m,whereas base width of breakx-aterwas 52 rn only. In
spite of such a massive Sand replacement, stability of
breakwater against sliding was questioned. Stability analysis
/'
/
,'
-\
\\ 7-D
indicated that breakwater was stable with hctor of safety of
1.54 against slope stability and 1.8 against sliding failure. It
is reported thaf breakwater is perfomhg well since last Ehree
/
/
DYKE '\ 1 years.

Breakwater at Magalnbam

The nortfiem and southem breakwaterswere proposed for

the fisheries harbour devdqmmt at M m d a m , Kerala.
Northem breakwaterwas to be h d on thick sandy s M a
as such no foundation problem was expected. However
360 m long and 7.0 m hi& southem breakwater was to be
founded on soft marine day having poor strength. Soil
Fig.6 :Results of D ~ l Centrifnge
n Tests investigations were carried out, along the alignment of
southern breakwater by driIIing five boreholes from floating
barges suitably a n c M The subsoil profile along the
southern breakwater shorn in Fig3 indicated presence of
A 1050 m long and 10.7 m high mbble mound offshore 11 m thick soft marine clay overlain by sand cover of varying
breakwater was constructed for development of deep water thickness fkom mhirnUm of 1.5 m to 6.65 m IllitxifmlR.
port at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, and is located about 2.5
km from the shore (vide Fig.3). Soil investigaboncarried out
by the project alrthaities indicated 8 m thick soil marine clay
followed by a stiff clay. Predrdging bore hole data indicated
average sheat strength of soft marine clay being about 0.07
kdsq.crn, with sensitivity of 2.3. Shear strength did not
improve with depth pe:rhaps due to under cunsolidation of the
clay. Moisture content was found to be close to liquid limit
of the clay fn view of e w e n c e at comtruciioit of near
shorebreakwater, regarding sinkage, settlements etc., project
authorities decided to remove the SOBmarine clay fuUy and
replace it by medium to coarse sand. The trench having base
width of 29 m and side slopes of 1:lO was dredged and
backfilled with sand upfo original bed level. Fig.7 shows
cross section of offshore breakwater on refilled sand. V=Vane Shear Value (Kg/Cm2)
S=SPT Value

Pig8 :Subsoil Profile Alwg Southern BreahRater

In situ vane shear tests indicated average shear strength of

clay varying i5om 0.19 to 0.36 kglsq.cm with sensitivity of
2.3. Natural moisture content varied from 62% to 106%with
liquid limit values from 96% to 154%. The standard
penetration rest values varied from 0 to 8. Average
coefficient of mmpssion was 1.O. It was repbrtedthat satid
coves above clay could be scoured due to flooding of
Rg,T :Csoss section of Offsbre Breakwater on adjacent W y a r n v ~In. this case clay layer will be exposed
Refilled Sand and if end on method is adopted for co~~buction, sinkage
due to 7.0 m high breakwater wodd occur. Fig.9 shows
cross section of the breakwater indicating probabie sinkage
if sand cover is eroded.

374
 If this stress is maintained for time dependent consolidation
for six months, the strength of clay wonld mcrease. With this
improvement it is possible to raise the breakwater further by
3 m stage-If vide Fig.lO(B). Again after 6 months of
consolidation period, breakwater may be raised to crest level.

Stability analyses for breakwater slopes at each stage of

~ ~ ~ c twere n out. It was found that slopes were
i ocarried
stable with minimum factor of safety after lst, 2nd and fmal
stage as 1.94,1.95 and 1.96 respectively.

Totat consolickdon settlement in dBkrent stages was worked

Fig 9 Cross Section of Muoambam Breakwater with out and showed in Fig. 11.
Probable Sikage

Comparison of bearing capacity at Werent depths and

o v ~ b ~ indicated
e n that adequate bearing capacity to
support full height of breakwater is available at a depth of
about 7.8 m in 11.0 m thick so& clay. Volume of total
rubble was estimated to 160% of the on& volume as per
designed section.

To reduce sinkage it was proposed to protect sand layer by

placing geotextile layer with cover and cushion and then to
raise breakwater in uniform layers of precalcutated thickness.
From computations of bearing capacity of clay and
overburden stress due to breakwater, it was found that the 3 140
in situ shear strength of the clay can support 3 m height of Path
the breakwater vide Fig. lO(A) stage-I.
Fig.11: Consolidation Settlement of Munambam
Breakwater

It was seen from the figure that majority of the consolidahon

settlement (75%) would occur by the time construction is

i 1
complete. Remaining consolidation settlement could be taken
care as part of maintenance.

It was seen from the case study that natud sand cover on
soft clay and construction of breakwater in stages, has
resulted in safety of breakwater during and after the
construction. Breakwater is reportedly perfonning well .
0 I
l8 I
I DISCUSSION
I0 t
I it i s seen ffom the case studies reported, that detailed soil
12
I Stage I1 Stage investigations are essential before checking the stability of
t RI.-3-0 tooam) (RL 0-0 tw30m) breakwater section, against foundation and slope failure. It is
----- OverburdoR Stress
also necessary to choose the construction method suitable
for a given soil conditions. Case study of Kakinada near
-Mmc Bearing .Capacity
shore breakwater indicated that inspite of detailed soil
investigation and suggesting soil improvement method,
Fig.10 :Variation of Bearing Capacity and bearing failure and sinkage has occurred, because end on
Overburden method of construction was adopted against the suggestions
to raise the breakwater in stages. It was, however, observed

375
that sinkage was s t ~ p p ate ~a depth where a d e ~ ~shear
te C W R S Technical Report No.3339 (1996). ’ F ~ u n ~ t i o n
strength was available. Sinkage phenomenon was viewed as stability analysis of offshore breakwater at Kdkinada. ’
disp~acem~~t of soft clay, p r o ~ s~ ~g b ieEect soft
l ~to ~
marine clay. Displaeement and stabilising of soft marine Dinardo C (1992). ’Investigation into the collapse of the
day, cm be considered as one of the methods of c o n s ~ u ~ t i ~ n rubble ~ o b ~~ e ~d aover ~ soil mu& at Rhu Mania
t esoft
of breakwaters. Scotland,’ Coastal Structures and Breakwaters, Thorns
Tetford, London.
It was seen that for initial 450 m, breakwater was raised on
sand deposit, and no sinkage was noticed. It implies that
presence of sand layer of suitable thickness on soft clay Kulkarni S P et.al (1983). ‘Breakwater on soft clay at
helps to reduce sinkage. Geotextite materials are being K&ada - A Case study.’ ~ t ~ ~ a t Conference
i o n ~ on
recommended to be placed on soft clay to act as separator, Coastal and Port Engineering in developed countries at
filter and reinforcing element. Colombo - Volume II.

From the case study of offshore breakwater at Kakinada it Mone S N and Dbat N R et.al(1988). ‘Centrrfitge modelling
was seen that removal of clay and sand replacement was for complex soil structure interaction problems.’ 54th
considered in view of very poor strength throughout the depth Research and Development Session, CBTP, Ranch;. (CBTP
of clay deposit. certificate of merit winner).

In the case study of Munambam breakwater, natural sand Paliwal S T and Dhat N R et.d (1987). ‘Perkomce of
cover on soft clay and construction of breakwater in stages, rubble momd breakwater founded on soft clay-’ National
has resulted in safety of breakwater during and after the Conference on Dock & Harbour Engineering, Madras.
construction. Breakwater is reportedly performing well.

1Detailed soil investigation is essential before undertaking

design and construction of the breakwater on soft
marine clay strata.

2. Choice of method of construction is very important for

~ o n s ~ coft breahvater.
i ~ ~ Staged c o n ~ ~ c t imethod
o~
is found to be suitable against end on method
of ~ ~ p for i ~cons~ction
g of breakwater on soft
inariiie clay.

3. From the case study of Kakinada it is seen that

~ s p l ~ of ~ clay n to
~ e due ~ sinkage has stabilized the
soft clay to provide support to the breakwater.

4. In case study of Munambam breakwater, natural

sand cover on soft clay and ~ ~ n s of~b rc ~ ~~ a~t enr
in stages has resulted in safety of breakwater during
aid after the c o ~ s ~ ~ t i o i i .

o ~ to Dr.B U Nayak, Director, CWRS,

A ~ ~arei grateful
for giving permission to publish this paper.

REFERENCES

CWPRS Technical Report No.2968 (1992). Soil

~ v ~ ~of proposed
t i obreakvater
~ at ~~b~ Kerala.’

376
GEO ‘a,
International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

STABILITY OF CONCRETE CUBES IN RESTORING HORIZONTAL COMPOSITE

BREAKWATER AT MORMUGAO PORT, INDIA
K.A. RoopsewEarl, G. L d Narayana3, V. SundarZ and MR. Pranesh*
‘project A s s o d e , ‘pn?fessr, &em Engilpeering Centre, Indian lptsfifufe of Echabgy Madras, India

Abstract
The harbour has been formed by a bmkwater in Mormugoa port has been constructed with a caisson formed by
laterite concrete blocks placed on a rubble mound at low water level. The caisson sitting on the rubble mound experience
forces due to severe waves and hence it is protected by wave breaker blocks on its seaward side, however, this solution was
not satisfactory. Hence a detailed model investigation for strengthening the armour layer on the seaward side in order to
protect the caisson against the onslaught of waves ~ 8 carried
s out in a khme. The details of the mudeiling, experimental
procedure and the results ofthe laboratory tests are presented and discussed in detail in this paper.
INTRODUCTION On tHe sea side of the breakwater, two types of
wave breakers that is, laterite blocks 12T and l8T are
Mormugaa Port situated 6n the west coast of placed over on the mbble mmnd in order to p t e c t the
India in the state of Goa has been serving as a major caisson against the severe attack of waves.
port for the last 100 years. The harbour works consists The rubble mound on which caisson sits is
of breakwater of length of about 550m. The caisson formed with 8T laterite blocks. These blocks are
wall constructed with laterite concrete blocks is placed covered with trap boulders of about 2T.The bed level is
on a rubble mound at low water level. The caisson at an elevation of -9.Om to the chart datum. The top of
sitting on the rubble mound experience forces due to the breakwater is at +4,5m. The details of the cross
severe waves and hence it is protected with suitable section of the existing breakwater is shorn in Fig. 1.
armour blocks on its seaward side. The laterite cubes However, a few wave breaker blocb overtopped
were placed in random to serve as wave breaker blocks and thrown onto the leeside and few blocks roiled
on the seaward side forming a slope of 1:l fiom the top towards the seaside during the monsoon period. This
level of the caisson. This resulted in the formation of a necessitated examining the means of strengthening the
horizontal composite breakwater. armour layer and also minimize the forces due to waves
The breakwater wall is constructed with 8T on the caisson. The horizontal composite breakwater
blocks sitting on the rubble mound at low water level. was redesigned with c o n m e cubes as amour units,
The mound is about 29.0111 wide and about 5.5m below The weight of individual armour unit was determined
low water, being 19.85m on the sea side of the centre using Hudson’s formula, given by
line of the breakwater and 9.15m on the harbour side.
The wall is about 9.15m wide, founded about 5.5m
W= PPWZ
(1)
below low water and its present level is +4.5m. Each -
KD(Sr 1)3COte
section of about 0.37m in thiclmess, and consists of where, W = Weight of individual armour unit, lL& =
eight blocks. The foundation blocks are about 1.83, by Design wave Mght, KD = Stability coefficient of
5.18m, thus extending about 0.6Im beyond the upper armour, S, = pi’&, p = Mass density of armour, pa =
courses on each side. The second and third tiers are Mass density ofwater,+ = Angle of breakwater slope.
alike, the blocks being reversed so as to break joint. For each case, two -dimensional hydraulic
Each tier has one block of about 2.44m by 5.l8m and experiments were conducted to investigate the stability
one 2.44m by 3.97m. The top tier consists of two of the armour layers. The wave height and period for
blocks about 2.44m by 4.58m. Each side sits into the the design of breakwater adopted are 5.7 m and 10 sec
one above it by a 1.37m by 0 . 7 6 ~except the third tier respective1y. The elevation of Hi&est High Water
which is joined to the blocks by a bundle of four rails Level (HHWL), Mean Sea Level (MSL) and Low
which run half way into each block. This was the Water Level (LWL} are J-2.3 m, t-1.3 m and +O.O m
advantage of making it possible to align the upper respectively.
courses which is not possible with tenons if they fit
properly.

377
 LEE SIDE
; 9150 1-
Fig.1 Existing cross section of breakwater (prototype)
MODELLING OF BREAKWATER AND WAVE
CLIMATE
The modelling of the present wave structure
interaction problem consists of modelling the wave
climate and breakwater cross-section. The dominant
forces being gravitation and inertia forces, the model
scale is chosen in accordance to Froude model law. A
model scale of 1:16 was adopted for the studies. For the
reproduction of the ocean waves, heights are modelled
according to the basic model scale, h and periods are
'
modelled as h' * . The weights of individual units are
modelled as h3.
The breakwater is considered as a caisson and
has been fabricated with mild steel plates and angle
sections which is equivalent to the weight of the
caisson for a 2m length. The laterite blocks of 8T
adopted for the rubble mound below the caisson has
been fabricated according to the said model scale and
each cube weighed 2.04kg. The armour blocks have
been fabricated according to the model scale and
consists of cubes of 3.07kg corresponding to 12T
blocks and cubes of weight 4.60 kg representing 18T
blocks. These blocks were painted with different
colours (blue for 12T and red for 18T) for easy
identification. The slopes has been modelled according
to prototype. The details of the cross section of the
model breakwater is shown in Fig.2. Since the
breakwater could not withstand the wave attack due to
reasons discussed later, it was necessary to revise the
design by flattening the seaward slope to 1:2 with
armour layer formed by concrete cubes. Special
attention was given for the crest of breakwater.
378
SEA S I D E
19820
ALL DIMENSIONS ARE I N r n r n
Since it was felt that the Mormugao Port has
gained considerable expertise in handling laterite cubes,
this modiiication was suggested. This encompasses
usage of 15T concrete cube blocks. The weight has
been arrived using the classical well known Hudson's
formula with a design wave of 5.7m A berm width of
about 4m is provided at HHWL (+2.3m) with a slope of
1:2. The concrete cubes of weight 15T are used for the
primary layer. The thickness of the primary layer is
3.6m. The concrete cubes are placed randomly in two
layers. A toe of heigbt of 3m and width 3m is provided.
1T quarry stones are provided for the toe. For the
secondary layer (0.6-0.9)T quarry stones are provided.
The details of the cross section for the field is shown in
Fig3 and the details of the same cross section of the
composite breakwater constructed in the flume
according to the model scale is shown in Fig. 4.
TEST FACILlTY
The present experimental investigations were
carried out in a 72.5m long, 2m wide and 2.7m deep
wave flume in Ocean Engineering Centre, Indian
Institute of Technology, Madras. A wave maker
installed at one end of the flume the motion of which, is
controlled by a personal computer and the other end of
flume is provided with an absorber which is a
combination of a parabolic perforated sheet and a
rubble mound below it for deep water waves and
shallow water waves respectively. In this flume, water
depth can be varied fkom 0.5m to 2 . h
 .EE S I D E SEA SIDE

I- 580 1260 1
ALL D I M E N S I O N S ARE I N m m
-
MODE L S C A LE 1 :15.76

Fig.2 Existing cross section of breakwater (model)

For the present study, wave generator in the piston
mode that can generate regular waves through a servo
actuator with remote control system is used. One
personal computer which is connected to the servo
actuator is used to give the desired input of wave height
and wave period to the wave maker and the same
computer is used for data acquisition.
TEST CONDITIONS AND PROCEDURE
The testing procedure was followed as discussed
by h e n and AUsop(1983). The wave elevation time
history was registered by a capacitance type wave
gauge positioned at a distance of 6m in fiont of the
model.

LE

\ 3000-
-6.0

ALL D I M E N S I O N S A R E I N mm
CONCRETE CUBES OF 15TON PLACED
RANDOMLY I N TWO LAYERS
SECONDARY LAYER - (1.0 - 1 S)TON QUARRY STONES
TOE - 1.5TON QUARRY STONES

Fig3 Cross section of caisson breakwater with concrete cubes as armour layer (PrOtOQPe)

379
 58 0
LEE r-i
t II
, 254
I I
0
1 I
I
L I
2320
@ ARMOUR LAYER - CONCRETE
CUBES OF3.83Kg
PLACED RANDOMLY I N TWO LAYERS
@ SECONDARY LAYER455-383) grn QUARRY STONES
TOE - 383grn QUARRY STONES
Fig.4 Cross section of caisson breakwater with concrete cubes as armour layer (model)
The tests were carried out with wave height of
50% of the design wave height, and increased gradually
in steps of 25% up to the design wave height. The
duration of the test is for 500 waves, that is, twenty one
minutes for the model which is about one hour twenty
four minutes in the field. The damage to the breakwater
was in terms of the number of armour units which have
been totally dislodged fiom the armour layer. This
number was expressed as a percentage of the total
number of units on the armour face.
The damage was assessed by monitoring continuously
the movement of individual armour units which was
divided into different categories as given below.
P : unit seen to be rocking, but not permanently
displaced
Q : unit displaced by upto 0. 5 D
R :unit displaced between 0.5 and 1.0 D
S : unit displaced by more than 1.0 D
where D is the equivalent diameter of the armour unit.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
All the tests performed clearly demonstrated
wave overtopping. Though a crown wall can be
thought of, it should be noted that tests carried out in
the present study are with the action of design wave i.e.,
wave activity during monsoon season. Since the
construction of the crown wall is quite expensive,
efforts are made herein only to stabilise the existing
cross section of the breakwater and to observe the
overtopping qualitatively.
.i
SEA S I D E
L L 0.I
I 8 16
ALL DIMENSIONS A R E IN mrn
The observations on the behaviour of the existing
breakwater section due to the action of waves in the
flume study is given in Table 1. By conducting the tests
with the existing cross section, overtopping was
observed when the structure was exposed even to the
action of 50% of the design wave (0.18m) The
maximum percentage of damage is found to be about
5%. When the section was subjected to the action of
75% of design wave (0.27m), under the damage
category ‘ R , the maximum percentage is observed to
be slightly more. It is also observed that the percentage
of damage under ‘S’category has increased by 50%
when compared to the action of waves with a height of
50% of design wave. The tests with the design wave
show that overtopping is quite severe, 17 blocks were
found to be totally displaced (category ‘S’). Under this
category the percentage of damage is as high as 13%.
Further, during the tests, it was interesting to note that
two blocks were completely overtopped and fell on
leeward side. The pro6le of the existing cross section
after being subjected to the action of 500 waves shown
in Fig.5 reveals the damage which is found to be quite
severe.
The observations on the behaviour of the
breakwater formed by concrete cubes due to the action
of waves in the flume study is given in Table 2. The
results indicate that the damage in all the cases is found
to be less than 5%. The maximum percentage of
damage under the category ‘S’, is found to be of about
0.56%, when the waves generated was equal to the
design wave 0.36m (5.7m in proto). However,
overtopping was observed in this case also.
380
 TABLE 1 OBSERVATION ON MOVEMENT OF WAVE BREAKER BLOCKS

WAVE KEIGHT MOVEMENT OF CUBES OVERTOPPING WAVE CONDITION

prototype model Category No. of % of

cubes damage
2.85m 0.18m P 6 4.51
Q 2 1S O overtopping non-breaking
R 7 5.26
S 2 1.50

4.275m 0.27m P 8 6.02

Q 3 2.26 overtopping non-breaking
R 8 6.02
S 4 3.00

5.7m 0.36m P 10 7.52

Q 4 3.00 severe non-breaking
R 6 4.51 overtopping
S 17 12.78
_L

TABLE 2 OBSERVATION ON MOVEMENT OF BLOCKS

WAVE HEIGHT MOVEMENT OF CUBES OVERTOPPING WAVE CONDITION

prototype model Category No. of Yo of
cubes damage
2.85m 0.18m P 3 1.70
Q 1 0.56 overtopping non-breaking
R 0.00
S 0.00

4.275m 0.27m P 4 2.26

Q 1 0.56 significant
R 1 0.56 overtopping non-breaking
S 0.00

5.7m 0.36m P 8 4.52

Q 2 1.13 severe
R 2 1.13 overtopping. non-breaking
S 1 0.56

381
 E FORMED W T E q
ECTED RI 500 WAVES.

4 I Illw
El

A
4 jSoN I SLOPE 1:l
I
.I

T- *22-
I I‘
LOPE
1:1
I

I ! I
4

FigS Damage to the existing cross section after being subjected to 500 waves

CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES
Based on the hydradic model tests carried out on
the existing breakwater section and that strengthened Owe4M.W and AUsop,N.W.H (1983) “Hydradc
with concrete cubes as armour blocks, the following Modelling of rubble mound breakwatem”, proceedings
Of COnferenceOf institution of civil engineers, London
conclusions are drawn
~~71-78.
1. Damage of about 20% was observed for the existing
section
2. Concrete cubes are found to be stable in protecting
the existing breakwater.
3. Damage assessed in the case of concrete cubes as
armour blocks is less than 3%.
4. Severe overtopping was observed when the model
was subjected to design wave height.

382
GEO Shore International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

PROBABILISTIC DESIGN OF RETAINING WALLS

G.L. Sivakuxnar Babu', M. Mythily* and D. Babu Raoz
'Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
'Department of CimZ Enginem'ng, Osmrmia University, Hyhabad, India

SYNOPSIS:. Retaining walls are one of the important structures in nearshore environment and are generally designed based
on deterministic approaches. The present paper focuses on the reliability assessment of cantilever retaining walls with due
consideration to the uncertainties in soil parameters. Reliability analysis quantifies the level of reliability associated with
designs and the associated risk. It also gives the formalisation of a design situation that is noxmally recognised by
experienced designers and provides a greater level of consistency in design. The results are also examined in t e r n of a simple
cost function. The study shows that sliding mode is the critical failure mode and the consequent failure costs are also higher.
The study also shows that provision of shear key results in improved reliability and reduction in expected costs.
INTRODUCTION come from a) subsoil and boundary conditions b) in-situ
properties, c) in situ pore pressures and lateral stresses and
Retaining walls are one of the important structures in d) mathematical model to evaluate factors of safety. The
nearshore and offshore environment and are generally implications of factors of safety on cost are not directly
designed based on deterministic approaches. A number of related and most of the time judged based on $tuition and
uncertainties arising from soil variability, errors and biases experience. To each design alternative dictated by a
in the testing process affect the design that is normally conventional factor of safety, there in an associated
carried out in terms of deterministic factor of safety. A probability of failure. It is possible to achieve improvements
probabilistic approach takes care of uncertainties and in decision making, using probabilistic procedures to assess
ambiguities connected with factor of safety. It quantifies the the information and the failure costs involved. In this paper
level of reliability associated with each design and the the reliability of cantilever retaining walls in three failure
associated risk involved. It also gives the formalisation of a modes viz. sliding, bearing and overturning is examined.
design situation that is normally recognised by experienced The consequences are examined by a simple cost function
designers and provides a greater level of consistency in and it is shown that the expected costs are greatly reduced
design. The present paper focuses on the reliability when a shear key is provided to the retaining wall.
assessment of cantilever retaining walls with due
consideration to the uncertainties in soil parameters. Point Hoeg and Murarka (1974) examined the difficulties
estimate method is used to evaluate the reliability in three associated with conventional factor of safety in three modes
failure modes, sliding, ovemuning and bearing. The results of failure in a gravity retaining wall and showed that it is
also examined in terms of a simple cost function. The study possible to arrive at a balanced design of retaining wall in
shows that sliding mode is the critical failure mode and the terms of (cost of construction + (probability of failure x cost
consequent failure costs are also higher. The study also of failure). The section which gives the minimum expected
shows that provision of shear key results in improved cost is taken as the balanced section. In a marine
reliability and reduction in expected costs. environment, it is often necessary to increase the height of
the retaining wall so that berthing operations can be handled
easily. At the same time, there is a possibility that beyond
LITERATURE REVIEW certain height, the probabilities of failure are high resulting
in increase in expected costs as well. In this paper, it is
In geotechnical engineering practice, the use of shown that for a given variability, it is possible to arrive at
conventional factors of safety in the deterministic sense has the height beyond which the expected costs are higher.
been wide spread and at the same time, the disadvantages of
such an approach are well known (Hoeg and Murarka, 1974,
Harr, 1987, Li and LKI 1993, Meyerhof, 1995). These METHODOLOGY
factors most of the time are difficult to interpret and have
the following disadvantages. 1. Uncertainties in loads and Reliability analysis of cantilever wall and cantilever wall
resistance in soils are not considered. 2. Implications of with shear key is performed for different heights (4m to 7m)
different factors of safety on cost are not directly addressed. for three modes of failure. Variation in friction angle is
Uncertainties in loads and resistance in a design process can considered and point estimate method (Harr,1987) is used

383
for a computation of reliability in each mode. It is assumed
that friction angle follows normal distribution. The expected
cost is calculated from
E* = I*+C*(l-R) (1)
Where I is the initial cost and is proportional to the height of
wall. For simplicity, C*, the failure cost is taken as 15
uniformly for all cases. (1-R) is the probability of failure
and R is the reliability.
PARAMETRIC STUDY
Fig.1 shows typical sections of retaining wall with and
without shear key. The angle of wall friction is taken as 18",
slope angle as 90" and bulk density of the bacwill as 18
IN//^^. The mean friction angle of the wall fill is taken as
20" and the analysis is performed for three coefficients of
variation (10 %, 20 % and 30%) and for different heights.
The results are discussed in the form of a) expected factor of
safety versus reliability index (reliability) b) expected factor
of safety vs. expected cost c) height vs. expected cost.
Fig.1 Typical sections of retaining wall with and without
shear key
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Fig.2 shows the relationship between expected factor
of safety and reliability (reliability index) for three modes
of failure and coefficients of variable of friction angle. It
can be observed that reliability index or reliability values
are quite high if the coefficient of variation of friction angle
is 10%. On the other hand, if coefficient of variation is high
(20% and 30%). the reliability index values are also
384
correspondingly less. It is also observed that for three
coefficients of variation, values of reliability index are more
for overturning mode, less for sliding mode and bearing
failure mode has the least values of reliability index. Hoeg
and Murarka (1974) observed similar results. Zheng et.al
(1993) carried out reliability analysis of offshore platform
foundations and obtained higher probabilities of failure for
sliding, relatively less values for bearing and overturning
has the least values of failure probability. They also
indicated the need for considering this aspect in analysis.
Cantilever retaining wall
-"
- _-
2ox.
4-
+.t
30 I.
10
....
30%
,.
I.Bearing
Fig.2 Relationship between expected factor of safety and
reliability (reliability index)
Fig. 3 shows trends in terms of expected factor of safety
versus expected cost. It can be observed that as the expected
factor of safety is increased, the expected cost decreases and
the probability of failure decreases for all the three modes.
The variation of expected factor of safety with expected cost
is rather steep for sliding mode of failure.
Fig.4 reinforces these trends in terms of height of the
cantilever wall and expected factor of safety. It can be
observed that as the height is increased, expected costs
increase significantly beyond a certain height for sliding
mode of failure. Similar trends are also observed when the
cantilever wall is provided with shear key as shown in
Fig.l(b). Fig. 5 shows the results. It can be observed from
Fig. 5 that the variation of expected cost with increase in
height is comparatively more uniform compared to the
results presented in Fig. 4 for retaining wall with shear key.
The balanced design can be obtained either in terms of total
expected cost for three modes of failure or observing the
 -
11
Cantilever retaining w a l l ’r Cantilever retaining w a l l with shear key

10 -
-
-COW0 I,20 % , h r turning
301.
--0-.. I O X . Sliding
8-

1
9-
7-

8-
6-
\30%
I *- .

*-
7-
I -
W
5-
- -
w I I
-
0
U
6-
.
I
I
! A
0
U

T1 4-
-

I U -
-0
(Y
5- a
QJ
1
U
(Y
L L -
L 3-

L-
2-

3-
1-

2-
01 I I . I . I I I I I 1
3 L 5 6 7 8 9
1- Height

Fig. 5 Relationship between height of Wall and expected

OL I I I I I I I I I I I 1 8 1 . I cost
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Expected Fnctur uf Siilety (F)
trends of variation as expected costs with increase in height
Fig. 3 Relationship between expected factor of safety and as shown in Fig.4 and FigS. The expected costs increase
expected cost with increase in height, as one would expect. The expected
costs in relation to height are similar or parallel in different
modes. It can be stated that the design height depending on
the coefficient of variation of friction can be determined
corresponding to the point where expected costs steeply rise
with increase in height. From Fig.4, it can be noticed that
beyond 5 m there is steep increase with out shear key where
as Fig.5 shows that the slope of rate of increase of expected
cost increases with increase in height abruptly beyond 6m.
Though the present analysis considers variation in friction
angle only, it is possible to include other uncertainties such
as tidal wave pressures, pore pressures in backfills etc. It is
demonstrated that even a simple reliability analysis can
provide insights into expected costs and reliability
assessment compared to conventional analysis.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The paper examines the reliability of retaining walls in

different modes of failure. It is shown that it is possible to

-lIJ+
optimise the design of retaining wall in terms of expected
cost which is a function of reliability of the wall as well as
consequences of failure.
03 Height

Fig. 4 Relationship between height of wall and expected

cost

385
References

Ham, M.E. (1987) Reliability based design in Civil

Engineering, McGraw Hill Book Company, New
York, pp290.
Hoeg K. and Murarka, R. P.(1974) probabilistic analysis
and design of a retaining wall, Jl. Of ASCE,
Geotechnical Engg. V01.100(3) 349-366.
Li, K. S, Lee, I.K. and Lo,S . C. R. (1993) Limit state design
in Geotechnics, Proc. Conf on Probabilistic Methods
in Geotechnical Engineering, Canberra, Balkema,
Rotterdam, 29-42.
Meyerhof, G. G. (1995) Development of Geotechnical limit
state design, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 32,
128-132.
Zheng, Y., D.Z.Gao. and Wei. D.D. (1993). Reliability
analysis of offshore platfonn foundation, Proceedings
of Con$ On Probabilistic methods in Geotechnical
Engineering, Canberra, 309-318

386
GEO Shore
ssssss, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

DETERIORATION OF CONCRETE IN WATERFRONT STRUCTURES-

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES AND REMEDIES
B.R Badawe
Professor and Head, Civil Enginem’ng Department, Rajarambapu Institute of Technology, Rajaramnagar (Sakharale) 415 414,Dist.
San& hkharashtra, India

SYNOPSIS :- Concrete subjected to sulphate attack viz.; MgS04 and Na2S04 gets deteriorated. These sulphates
penetrate in the pores of concrete and remain undisturbed in the unsaturated part, which destroys the concrete due to
internal stresses caused by expansion of crystals during the crystallisation process of Mg and Na and chemical
action of sulphates with concrete ingredients. The experiments conducted in the laboratory established that the
deterioration of concrete even upto 60% can occur due to sulphate action in particular, due to sodium sulphate
(Na2S04), which includes loss of compressive strength and weight of concrete elements in the structure. Some
preventive measures have also been suggested to minimise the deterioration of concrete.
INTRODUCTION :- PROPOSED STUDY :-

The durability of concrete may be affected either by the
environment to which the concrete is exposed or by
intern1 causes within the concrete itself. However,
deterioration of concrete due to sulphate is generally
taken into consideration to decide the deterioration effect
on concrete. Therefore, it is necessary to study the effect
of various sulphates on concrete by performing various
tests on the concrete in the laboratory. The criteria used
for testing are generally change in colour and volume of
the concrete. The problem of deterioration of concrete
particularly, in marine structures and the structures
coming in contact with the soils enriched with sulphate
manure and chlorides in water is more serious and
sometimes the effect of sulphates like MgS04 and
Na~S04is so severe that they override the influence of
special types of cement and admixtures used for the
protection purpose. The deterioration of concrete may be
due to following reasons, Orchard (1979).
i) attack by sulphates in soils, sulphate bearing water,
very soft pure water, acidic water and sea water.
ii) aggressive agents of industrial origin by the action
of frost, cracks due to thermal movements and
moisture movements and rusting of reinforcement.
Though the concrete is quite strong mechanically, it is
highly susceptible to chemical attack and thus concrete
structures get damaged. The structures which are situated
particularly in marine environment and water carrying
mains in sugar cane fields etc. are subjected to various
chlorides and sulphate attacks. Of all the causes of
deterioration the sulphate attack is the most severe attack
and destroys the concrete both by chemical action and
crystallisation of salts. This is faster and it can be
checked within a small time and in laboratory and is
comparatively easy to determine in the laboratory.
Orchard (1979) considers attack by sulphates in soils,
surface bearing waters, very soft pure water and acid
water are the main causes of deterioration of concrete.
Ludarg demonstrated that effect of sulphate depends on
the pH value of the corrosive solution at elevated
temperatures. Sulphate attack is mild owing to a lower
lime concentration in the voids of the concrete. While
Moskvin(1) attributed the causes of deterioration to the
growth of crystals of calcium by disulphoaluminates.
Considering all these effects of sulphate attack on
concrete structures a definite relation needs to be
established between the exposure of concrete structures
to the deteriorating environment with the loss of various
advantageous properties of concrete such as compressive
strength, modulus of elasticity and the permeability of

387
concrete structures. With this aspect in view it was
decided to study the deteriorating effect on concrete
structures by sulphates viz; MgS04 and Na2S04 which
are usually available in sea water, and the sulphates in the
water supplied to the sugar cane, wheat growing fields
due to the excess dose of manure.
sulphate solution for 7,14,,21,28 and 60 days in that
solution. Simultaneously, few blocks are also cast and
curcd in pure water as per normal practice for the
purpose of comparison.
Method of curing :-

For curing the concrete blocks in the sulphate solution

EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME :-
different methods were adopted for each solution.
Material used for experiments :- i) For MgS04 solution the concrete blocks were
subjected to alternate wetting and drying for every
The concrete of MI5 grade prepared with locally 48 hours.
available aggregates, sand and ordinary portland cement ii) For Na2SO4 solution the concrete blocks were
has been used. partially immersed in the solution and changing
the sides of the blocks after every 3 days.
Water cement ratio :-
OBSERVATIONS :-
The strength of concrete depends on the water cement
ratio hence the mix prepared with various w/c ratios viz; The blocks duly cast and cured in sulphate solutions were
0.45, 0.50,0.55 and 0.60 was used for studying the effect observed for following,
due to sulphate attack. i) Mode of crystallisation on the surface of the
blocks,
Chemicals :- ii) Change in colour,
iii) Compressive strength,
The sulphates of two types viz; i) Magnesium sulphate iv) Reduction in’weight and
(MgS04), and ii) Sodium sulphate (Na2S04) are used. v) Modulus of elasticity.
Since the deterioration of concrete due to sulphate attack
depends on its concentration in the water, various Mode of crystallisation :-
percentages.viz; 4%,6%,8% and 10% which are generally
related to the deterioration of concrete are adopted for In the process of alternate wetting and drying of the
experiments. partially immersed blocks in the chemicals due to the
layer of the sulphate action the crystals are formed on the
Curing :- dry surface of the blocks. This scale formation is the
cause of deterioration of concrete blocks since these
Period of curing :- crystals penetrated into the cracks.

The concrete blocks are cured in two stages. In the first

stage each block is cured for 13 days in normal water
after 24 hours of casting and then it is cured in relative

388
Change in colour :-
The colour of the blocks in magnesium sulphate solution
was observed to be reddish yellow and that of the blocks
immersed in sodium sulphate solution was reddish white
in colour and the precipitate of salts accumulated on the
iii)
surface of the block.
Compressivestrength :-
The blocks so cured in chemical solutions were tested for
their compressive strength after specified days of curing
and the results have been plotted.
Reduction in weight :-
iv)
The weights of each block were noted before and after
putting in sulphate solution and it was observed that the
blocks with lower water cement ratio have lost their
weight more.
RESULT AM) DISCUSSIONS :-
The results are plotted in Figs. I to 10 and discussed
below.
i) It ean be obsercled fkom Figs. 5 tb 8 that the
compnrssive strength of CO- in initial smge in
m e of MgS04 solution, appears to have been
increased probably due to filling of voids by
crystals which increase the density of concrete and
hence the compressive strength. But as the
tendency of crystals to grow and expand is
impeded the resulting internal stresses destroy ,the
concrete whicb ultimately results in reduction in
compressive strength of concrete with its age.
ii) In case of sodium sulphate solution rate of
deterioration observed is more (Figs.lto 4). The
Sodium ions are aggressive in the stage of curing
and as soon as it penetrates into the concrete
389
structure it starts destroying the concrete and hence
there is considerable reduction in the compressive
strength of concrete in initial days also and this
reduction goes on increasing with the age and
concen&ationof solution.
It can be observed that with the increase in water
cement ratio the compressive strength of the
concrete in various percentages of sohtion fras
been decreased and the rate of deterioration is
increased. It may be due to obvious reasons that
with the increase in water cement ratio the pores in
concrete are increased which has given more
access for the salt crystallization thus enhancing
the deterioration.
The Sulphate Deterioration Factor goes on
increasing with percentage of solution, days of
curing and water cement ratio. The value of SDF is
more for Na2SQ4 solution because the rate of
expansion o f crystals formed by Na* i s more than
Mg* and hence Na* destroys the concrete as
compared to Mg* which expands rather slowly.
Phenomenon of Cracking 1-
In the areas or fields where alkalies carrying sulphate are
present in soil and ground water or surrouadhg water,
deteridon of concrete may take place. The harmful
effects are primarily due to sulphates of Magnesium and
Sodium. The salts react with Ca(OH)3 and hydrated
calcium alminate C A to form gypsum and crystals of
Eftringite (calcium sulpboaluminate). During this process
considerable expansion of concrete takes place which
causes tensile stresses resulting in cracking and hence
disintegration of concrete. The chemical reactions
involved may be given as
2(3CaO.SiOz) + 6H2O 3 3CaO.2Si02.3H20 + Ca(OH)2
Also,
t(2CaOSiOz) + 4H20 33Ca0.2Si9.3H20 + Ca(0w)z
 1:
0‘

2. ‘
P
0 i ii, it ie 3’5 42 4‘9 56
AGE AT CURING (DAYS)

FIG. 1 COMP. STRENGTH VS. AGE AT ClJRiNG

(No2S04)

‘0
0’ 7 14 2‘1 28 35 d2 49 56 63
AGE AT WRINB (DAYS)

FlG.2 COMP. STRENGTH VS AGE AT CURING

(Na2S01,)

390
 W. C. R A T I O i. 0 -LS ( Mg SOA )
100

A 6 E A 1 C b R I N 6 ( DAYS 1

FIG. 5 COMP. STR. VS AGE AT CURlNG (MgS04)

a::
w. c. RATIO o .so ( soL 1 W.C.RATlO=ObO (Mgs04)
201 rl00

'1
COMP. T
I100

z- 16

11°
'1 1
2
..

0
1 ;
i 14
I

$1 213
AGE A T C U R I N S
3
1 DAYS 1
~2 49 56 40

FIG.6 COMF? STR.VS. AGE AT CURING (Mg Sob)

391
 This Ca(OH)2 reacts with sodium / magnesium sulphate
as follows :
Ca(OH)2+Na2S04.1OH20+CaS0.+2HzO+NaOH + 8H20
As the concentration of sulphates in the water increases
the rate and severity of sulphate attack increases which
causes more disintegration of concrete. Continuous
1%
W. C. RATIO saturation in strong sulphate water and alternate wetting
084s
11
o.sa and drying conditions may be causing rapid, severe and
a55 harmful effects resulting in loss in weight, strength and
'E' value.

CONCLUSIONS :-

q
0.9
,

6
, , ,

8
I ,

10
, )'2 j
Due to sulphate attack depending on the percentage of
concentration the strength of concrete gets reduced even
upto 60% thus causing the reduction in the life of
structure.
The structures coming in contact with Na2S04 get
'1. OF CHEMICAL deteriorated faster.
FIG. 9 VARIATION OF 'E'WITH '10 OF SULPHATES The higher water cement ratio causes more deterioration.

RECOMMENDATIONS :-

Dense, well compacted concrete with low water cement

1.c I

h '4
3 ; ; ;a
ratio and of proper mix proportion may be used.

The surface hardeners such as Sodium Silicate, linseed

oil, may be coated on the concrete surface.

REFERENCES :-

1 . Moskvin, V., A Text Book on Concrete and

Reinforced Concrete Deterioration and Protection.
Mir Publication Moscow.
2. Nevile, A. M., (1987) A Text Book on Properties of
I Concrete 3d Edition. English Language Book, B. I.
4 6 8 to 12 Publication Pvt. Ltd.
'10 O F CHEMICAL

FIG.IO VARIATION OF 'E' W I T H '1. OF SULPHATES 3. Orchard, D. F., (1979), 4~ Edition. Applied Science
Publishers Ltd. London.

392
GE 0 m,International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTIONS ON SHORE IN
COASTAL AREAS WITH THICK MARINE CLAY DEPOSITS
A. Verghese Chummar
Director, ES. Engineers Pvt. Ltd., 109, Velachery Road, Guindy, Chennai 32, India

INTRODUCTION F'ROBLEMS IN NORMAL CONSTRUCTIONS

The wastal areasof Kochi in Kerala presents diflicult soil conditions with a
highly consolidahg soi? marine clay deposits F n t to a depth varying to
18 to 30 M. The problems encountered in the coIIstrudon in the coastal
areas of Kochi are discussed in this paper. Details of some of the innovative
and cost effective foundation systems implemented are also p'csented.
GENERAL SOIL PROFILE
Thegeneralsoil~eofthecoastalareasofKochiisgiveninFig1,The
top soil in this area of a thickness of 0.5 to 1 M is non-unifonn with
underlying layer of silty clay of sofi consistency present to depths varying
from 18 to 30 M. The layer following is medium to stitf sandy clay. An
intamediary layer of hard lateritic clay is pesetlr in some areas at a depth
of about 30 M for a thickncs of about 4 to 5 M. Thc undcrlying laycr is
sandy clay mixed with peat which is a compressible layer. The bearing
shatum comprising of cemented sand appears at depths varying from 40 to
48 M below G.L.
The various problems encountered in the construction of lighi, medium and
heavilyloadedstructllresarediscussedinthissection
Low Bearing Capacity and High Settlementof Shallow Foundations:
The dty clay layer present at the shallow depthhas got Nvalue of 1 to 3
with a UCC value as low as 0.2 kglcm' Accordingly the SBC aMilable is
only 0.2kglcm'which limitsthe constructions to single storeyed structures
on shallowfoundations.
Thc scttlcmcni &c to consolidation of thc dty clay laycr undcr loading
being very b i b ditferential setllements could OOCUT if there is uneven
loading Thus pmvision of full raft fonndation does not sohe the problems
in constructionsof medium loaded suuchues.
Roblcms Duc to Fill in Low Lying Arcas

In many areas,to raise the ground level to the requkd elevation above Lhe
surrounding backwater zone, it is neoessary to give a I ~ of
I the order of 2
M. Such a situation is rep~sentedin Fig2

SOFT
SILT Y C L A Y

LATERITIC CLAY /
SILTY CLAY -
STIFF
FIG.2 SOIL PROFILE WITH FILL
FIG.1. G E N E R A L SOIL P R O F I L E

393
 ThC W C S of the Soil cncountCIcdbclow the fill is given in Fig2. It
INNOVATIVEFOUNDATION SYSTEM
may be noted that the soft marine silty clay present is only in the normally
consolidated state. The fill that is given for about 2 M would result in
settlementdue to consolidationwhich could be wmputed using the fonuula creeppiles
S = QX H X 100 X logta & As explained d e r , regular pde foundation with length of pile of over 40
1 +eo PO M ba.xmcs prohibitively expensk for siagle and two storeyed ~~.
A system of piling called creep piling was therefore developed for lightly
Substihmngthe parametasindicated, loaded "fl""" Qsiguing the pdes to achieve its capcity from skin
6iction Smce the piles are left in the consoti&g zone, negative drag
S = X 18 X 100 X logia J0.9 + 0.41 condition does not generate. A 25 cms dia pile either of concrete or of
3.4 0.9 coconut t m k s can be given. Cornnut trunks become suitable foundation
system in the coastal areas of Kochi, by leaving them perenaially under
= 25 Cms. water. This is possible since water table would not be lowered below 1 M
It may be observed that the settlement would OCCUT without any loading from G.L in this area Refer Fig3
h m the structures. This to the tict that the ground itselfis satling
draggingdown anyUungplacedoni t Even if a pile foundation is pmvided The capacity of the pile h
or
n skin friction is wmputedusingthe formula,
for the colurnas the plinth area which will have additional fill of 1 M will Q =2nRCXL
start sinking Due to this the floors have to be designed as raft slab
wnnected to the pile. In addition steps and skirtingwould sink and separate where,
fmm the main building which is supported on pda. cOnshuctions in such R =RBdiUsofplle=25cms
areasbecome expensiveand also lead to continuedproblems of settlement. C =cOhesiantakenas0.15kglcm2
X =Adheme
' &or QISCII as 1for SOA marine clay.
It may be o b s e d that the deep pile foundations provided in these areas L =hgthofpiletakenas8M
will be subjected to negative drag when the top silty clay layer starts
consotidating dragging the 6Il also along with i t Ncarly 30% of the Thus,
capacity of the pile will thus be takes away by the negative drag making the
pde foundation system uneconomical for ligM and medium loaded Q =fZX12.5XO.l5X8X100)
strum. loo0
= 9.5T

PROBLEMS U4 PILING
Selection of Piling Method
Toachieve ;adequate capcity of the pile the pdes have to be embedded in
the cemented sand layer, giving a pde length of nearly 45 to 50 M In some
areas intermeby layer of lateritic clay with N value of over 50 is present.
Driven-casi-in-situpillng system becomes umiable due to the problems of
pmchmng through the hard laterite layer aud also due to the di5culty of
withdrawing the casing when the pile lengths are over 30 M
'Ilusc piles caubc loadcd upto 8 T gencraJjagnccp conditions. The
iquva!ive methcd of pmiding lhispile is to make sure that all the piles are
loaped equally by arranging the spacing aud placing the pde along the
length of the wall. A plinth beam could then be provided and the walls
p l a d on the plinth beam. The settlement of the order of 10 to 15 cms
would not create any tilling in the stmcturc Since the settlement would be
uniform,all the piles beiig loaded equally. The floor also can be supported
on suah piles without mnneaingto the wall.

Bored-cast-rn4'~piles thus k a m e the necessity. The problems occur in

bored-cast-in4tu piles by way of the dif6culties felt in f l i i out the
mud fmm the bottom of the pde when the pile lengths are of the order of 45 'PLINTH BEAM
.to 50 M with pile diameters of over 60 cms Heavy capcity pimp are
essential with laoperbentonite circulationto achieve this. GWL
4
Another pmblem encounteredin tored-cast-inpile is the necking in the sofI
clay layer wne ifa&qme pwitive pressure is not mairdained in the pile
bore during conslNction Bailer system of piliug thus becomes difficult . E P P I L E S 2 5 c m DIA.
since withdrawal of thc bailcr often gcncratcs negative prcssms Rsulting LONG E Q U A L L Y L O A D E D
in necking in the soft clay. DMC system of piling with p p e r prmp
capcity thereforebecomes necsary.

Problems in Pre-castPiles

Rcgular prc-cast pdcs which havc thc admtagc of high quality of concrete
am not possible in this area due to Iengul of over ?5 M Jointed pre-cast
pdes with den&%sections have a tendency to buckle while penetrating
b u g h the hard laIente layer appearing at about 30 M with very sofI clay
layer overlaying H h e r sectkm for these piles are therefore needed
which make these piles not cost effdve.
L FIG. 3. CREEP PILES
SOFT C L A Y

PROBLEMS IN GROUND &lPROVJZMEM

For wnsbuction of storage tanks ground imprwernentLy stone column has

pmved to be economical. However, the limits for the consauction is
nonnally to a &pth of maximum 15 M which in this area would leave a
consolidatmg layer below the stone column. This d t s in excessive
settlement even after pvision of stone wlumns and hence stone column
method of ground improvcmcnt has not bccnpossible in this arc;L

394
Sand-LimePiles CONCLUSIONS

In pace ofverlical drains a system of providing of sand-lime piles has been The coastal areas of k h i pmide diITidt soil mnditim for the
suggested and used for the wnshuction of storage taoks. These &lime conshuctionof shallow foundations and also pile foun&tions. Pmision of
piles arc formed with a mixturc of 1:4 saudandlime (one limeand4 sand) pile foundation is m e by way of pucentage of cost of foundation
cast in place driving a lOOmm casiag pipe with a dipmable shoe. The only if it is a multi4oreyedbnUding The choice of method of piling is also
spacingoftbc pile couldbe 1 M d c . These piles can impwe thebearing limited due to the soil conditions pvalcat Innovative and cost effective
capacity inihaUy to nearly 0.5 kgl cm2 Fig4). Ulilisiogthis iastead of foundation synems have bezn m y used for lightly loaded stNchm5
soil fill,storagetankitselfhasteensucasshrlly uscd for pre load Storage and for oil storage m b .
tanks are loededwith water in stages. Thebearing capacity incteasei with
settlements. The settlement due to loadiag occus in 2 to 3 month's time.
Additional thickness in the tank pad foundaton is given to allow for the REFERENCES
settlement, whicb can be ofthe orda of 50 Cms. If them is the contingency
of- ofthe tank, the tilt cah be comected, the cost ofthe tilt conection Soil EqdorationandFoun&tion Design ReportsofF.S.Engineers(P) Ltd
being smzl'. mnpmd to the cost of the pile foundaiion for such tanlcr In
actual c o d o n s that were made the tilt in the tank was less than in 2%
of the taoks w o n smd-lime piles.

E X T R A HEIGHT
FOR S E T T L E M E N T T A N K PAD

L
-
t i ; T N D BLANKET

' F W T CLAY

18.Om ~ I O O m D mI A .
S A N D LIME P I L E

L L
AT 1 m C / C

LATERITIC C L A Y /
-
S I L T ' I CLAY STIFF

FiG.4. SAND-LIME PILES

395
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
 SESSION
VI

Marine Environmental Geotechnics and

Soil Improvement

397
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
 The consolidation test is an indirect permeability test in is N times that of the 1-g tests. This observation is
which a sample of soil is compressed in a rigid ring at consistent with the scaling relationship obtained in Eq.(6).
various vertical stress levels, with drainage facility at both
GEO S!XZLof the
top and bottom
m, sample. The
International h y ~ a on
Conference u co~ductivity
~Offshore
~ c andisNearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
calculated using Terzaghi's theory of one ~ e n s i o n a l
consolidation using the following expression:
SOIL COMPACTION FOR IMPROVEMENT OF RECLAIMED This study demo&rates LAND the use of a geotechnical centrifuge
K.k = cvmvyw
Rainer ...................................... "............... (9)
Massarsch for modelling hydradic conductivity of compacted soils. It
Geo Engineering AB, Ferieuagm 25, SE-168 41 Bromma, Sweden can be seen that the hydraulic ~ n ~ u c ~ i vini taygeotechnical
where c, is the coefficient of consolidatioq m, is the centrifuge is N times greater than that obtained from the
coefficient of volume compressibility, and yw is the unit conventional laboratory tests. Study also satisfies the
weight of water. In Eq. 9, cv can be obtained either by theoretical scaling relations~pfor hydraulic conducti~ty"
conventional- J;
SYNOPSIS Soilorcompaction
Iog(t) relationships for the soil.for
is used increasingly Olson Timeof
improvement taken
reclaimed a soilinsample
to test land a centrifuge
coastalinareas and is is quitea cost-
often less
(1986) has
effective shown that
alternative the calculated
to traditional deephydrauiic conductivity
foundations. as compared
The most important to theofbench
application tests. As such,
soil compaction is toa centrifuge
improve the canstatic
be
values
and from Eq.
dynamic 9 are almost
deformation always lessof
characteristics than theDuring
soils. measured the past used
decade,efficiently to obtain
compaction the hydraulic
equipment as wellconductivity of fine-
as soil investigation
values,
and designandmethods
the calculated
have been h y dimproved
r a ~ cconductivity valuesresulting
significantly, grained
in more Since the
soils.efficient prototype
design stressThe
solutions. conditions can beof
application
from &field
different method are moremethods
investigation close toisthe measured
described, valuesas theircreated
as well application in fora different
geotechnical
designcentrifuge,
problems. Soil the compaction
obtained
than the
results in log(t) method.increase
a permanent As suchofJ; themethod
lateraliseffective
used in stress.
this This permeability values are
pre-consolidation moreis near
effect to in-situ
of great values.
practical Further,
importance.
study for estimation of cv and hence the hydraulic there is a good
Soil properties change during compaction and after compaction, an effect which should be taken into consideration. agreement between hydraulic conductivity
conductivity of the soil. values obtained fiom various I-g bench tests.
INTRODUCTION more advanced analytical tools for geotechnical analysis
and design, e.g. for predicting settlements and the effect
InRESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
many countries, and especially in coastal regions, space is of soil-structure interaction,
limited due to growing urbanisation and expansion of REFERENCES
industrial
The scalingareas. This has resulted
relationship for hydraulic in thecneed
o ~ dtoureclaim land
c ~between
vi~ increasing awareness of seismic effects on foundations,
from the sea or to build on ground with
1-g tests (denoted by suffix p) and centrifuge tests (denoted marginal or poor Alem', M.H.,in water-saturated
especially Neilsen, D.H., granular and Biggar, soilsJ.W.
(liquefaction
(1976).
soil conditions.
by suflix m) canUntil recently,
be written as: most major structures to be " hazard),
~ t and e the~ h yg~ a u l ~conductivity
c of soi1 cores by
constructed on loose, compressible soils were founded on o ~ reliable
n ~ g a telectronic
i o n Soil Sci. Soc. Am.
. f ' measuring J.,40,212-218.
systems, which can be used
= N Xtypes of deep foundations. This has been an
piles or2kother in rough site conditions, making it -possible to monitor
acceptablek, but costly..~..~*.....l.*....~~..~~....~....~...-.*.......
solution in many cases. However,(10) soil Arulanandan, K., Thompson,
on-site the compaction P.Y.,
process andKutter, B.L., Meegoda,
its effectiveness.
improvement methods are being used increasingly, as they N.J., M ~ e e t h ~ a K.K., n , and Yogach~dran,C. (1888).
can be more cost-effective in many cases and may be "Centrifuge modelling of transport processes for pollutants
where x is a scale factor whose value has to be ascertained
adapted to variable ground conditions and foundation OBJECTIVES
in soils." ASCE,OF Jr.DEEP
Geotech. SOIL
Eng.,COMPACTION
114(2), 185-205.
with the he$ of various 1-g and centrifuge tests. To
requirements. Soil compaction can been used to improve the
evaluate the values of x, Eq.(lO) can be written in the Deep compaction of loose, granular soils can
geotechnical properties of natural or man-made soil
folrowing form: primarily of granular materials, such as Mtchelf, R.J. (I994a). "A flexible, no belateral
used for the
strain
deposits, consisting solution
apparatus of afor
variety of foundation testing."
clay liner-leachate problems,Cenrrifige
such as: 94 by
gravel, sand and silt. The objective of the present paper is to hung, Lee, and of
improvement (eds.),
Tansoil Bdkema,
strength Rotterdam,
in order 351-355,
to increase the
discuss the possible applications and limitations of deep bearing capacity of foundations, or the stability of slopes
compaction methods, to illustrate their practical applications Mtchell, R.J. (1994b).
and excavations with "Centrifuge techniques
respect to static andorfordynamic
testing
and to outline new developments. loading,
clay &er samples." Can, Georech. f.,31,577-583.
increase of soil stifhess for reduction of total and
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 261 differential deformations and settlements which may be
caused by static, cyclic or dynamic loading,
Several important developments in foundation engineering o reduction of lateral earth pressure against retaining
have taken place during the past decade, which have made structures (provided that compaction is carried out prior
modem soil improvement methods very competitive: to their installation),
availability of powerful construction equipment (e. g. o mitigation of liquefaction hazard in loose, granular soils
vibrators and cranes), which can achieve high below the ground water level as a result of dynamic and
compaction effects to large depths, cyclic loading (e.g. caused by earthquakes),
more reliable and accurate geotechnical field o lowering of soil permeability in, below or adjacent to
investigation methods, such as penetration tests and dams and water front structures and
dynamic (seismic) tests, as well as improved concepts of
data interpretation, general improvement of geotechnical properties in
heterogeneous soil deposits.
better understanding of the static and dynamic stress-
strain behaviour of soils, which has made it possible to The two most common applications of deep compaction are
model more accurately their deformation characteristics, the improvement of reclaimed land for infrastructure

399
projects (e.g. ports and airports) and the mitigation of
liquefaction risk in seismic areas. Experience from a large
number of case histories in different parts of the world
confms the satisfactory performance of improved ground
and supported structures in recent earthquakes. Available
ground improvement methods provide the means for
effectively treating large undeveloped sites, as well as
smaller, constrained areas, Mitchell et al. (1998).
SOIL INVESTIGATION METHODS
In-situ tests are an essential part of all ground improvement
projects and may be needed during several phases of a
compaction project, as discussed above:
o during the planning phase of a project to establish the
geotechnical conditions,
during the design phase to select appropriate compaction
method,
during a trial phase for evaluation of compaction
procedure and verification of compaction effect,
o during the production phase for production control and
verification of compaction effect, and
P after completion of the project for documentation of
long-term performance.
A variety of techniques, tests and observations can yield
useful information regarding the effectiveness of deep soil
compaction, Mitchell (1986). Visual observations of the
compaction process, of soil response and of the performance
of compaction equipment on site can provide a valuable
background for theplanning and implementation of more
detailed geotechnical investigations. The compaction
effectiveness can also be monitored indirectly by recording
machine performance data, using electronic sensors attached
to different components of the compaction equipment.
These aspects will be discussed in more detail below.
However, different types of penetrometers are most
frequently used for compaction projects. During the
exploratory phase of a soil investigation it is possible to
determine the soil conditions in general such as the depth,
thickness and lateral extent of the various strata. They can
also be used to check the density of fills and to estimate the
compressibility and shear strength of primarily granular
soils. A variety of different static and dynamic
penetrometers are used today. The most advanced sounding
method today is the Cone Penetration Test (CPT), which has
become very popular in Europe and in the Far East and in
some parts of North America. In the United States and in
many other parts of the world the Standard Penetration Test
(SPT) is still used extensively, primarily due to familiarity
and experience of test interpretation with this method. The
CPT and SPT have been standardised by the International
Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering
400
(ISSMFE). National standards also exist in different
countries.
Deformation properties (modulus values) can be determined
in the laboratory on disturbed, reconstituted samples. The
main problem in granular soils is the difficulty and high cost
to obtain undisturbed soil samples. Therefore, different
types of field investigation methods are used at most
compaction projects. Empirical correlation of deformation
characteristics and stress conditions with in situ tests, such
as the Menard pressuremeter (PMT), the Machetti flat
dilatometer (DMT) or seismic tests have been developed,
Belotti et al. (1986). In the following section, the most
important field investigation methods for compaction
control will be discussed.
Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
The SPT is a well-established and unsophisticated method,
which was developed in the United States around 1925. It
has since undergone refinements with respect to equipment
and testing procedure. The testing procedure varies in
different parts of the world. Therefore, standardisation of
SPT was essential in order to facilitate the comparison of
results from different investigations. The equipment is
simple, relatively inexpensive and rugged. Another
advantage is that representative but disturbed soil samples
are obtained. The reliability of the method and the accuracy
of the result depend largely on the experience and care of
the engineer on site.
A split-barrel sampler is driven from the bottom of a pre-
bored hole into the soil by means of a 63.5 kg hammer,
dropped freely from a height of 0.76 m. The diameter of the
pre-bored hole varies normally between 60 and 200 mm. If
the hole does not stay open by itself, casing or drilling mud
should be used. The sampler is first driven to a depth of 15
cm below the bottom of the pre-bored hole, then the number
of blows required to drive the sampler another 30 cm into
the soil, the so called N,,count, is recorded. The rods used
for driving the sampler should have sufficient stifhess.
Normally, when sampling is carried out to depths greater
than around 15 m, 54 mm rods are used.
The quality of test results depends on several factors, such
as actual energy delivered to the head of the drill rod, the
dynamic properties (impedance) of the drill rod, the method
of drilling and borehole stabilisation. The actually delivered
energy can vary between 50 - 80% of the theoretical free-
f d energy. Therefore, correction factors for rod energy (60
%) are commonly used, Seed and De Alba (1986). The SPT
can be difficult to perform in loose sands and silts below the
ground water level (typical for land reclamation projects), as
the borehole can collapse and disturb the soil to be tested.
The following factors can affect the test results: nature of
the drilling fluid in the borehole, diameter of the borehole,
the configuration of the sampling spoon and the frequency
of delivery of the hammer blows. Therefore, it should be Using Eq.(ll),
saturated, foose sands theandscaling factors areas,
silts in seismic for hydraulic
Seed and
noted that drilling and stabilisation of the borehole must be Dec oAIba
n ~ u(1986).
c t i v ifor ~ ~ different g vatues, with respect to I-g
carried out with care. The measured N-value (blowsl03 m) laboratory tests have been evaluated and some of the results
is the so-called standard penetration resistance of the soil. Conepresented
are Penetration in Tests
Table(CPT) 4. In this table k, is hydraulic
The penetration resistance is influenced by the stress c o n ~ u c t i v iin~ centrifuge models, kpt and kp2 are the
conditions at the depth of the test. Peck et al. (1974) hydraulic
The CPT was conductivities
invented and obtained in consolidation
developed in Europetests but and
has
proposed, based on settlement observations of footing, the woedometer
e d increasing fallingimportance
head tests inrespectivily
other partsatofthe theappiied
world,
following relationship for correction of confinement pressures equivalent
especiatly in connection to those withgenerated in the c e nprojects,
soil compaction t r i ~ ~ate
pressure. The measured N-value is to be multiplied by a the requisite
Different typesg-levels, kp3 and kpland
of mechanical are electric
the hydraulic cone
correction factor CN to obtain a reference value, N1, conductivities exist
penetromems obtainedbut inthetheelectric
conventional
cone isand oedometer
most widely
corresponding to an effective overburden stress of 1 tl@ fsing-head
used. A steel rod tests
withrespectiviiy
a conicaf tip (apex without angle applying
of 60" and anya
(approxj~ately107 @a], a d ~ t of
diameter i pressure;
o35.7~ nun)XI,isxpushed
2, x3, and at a rate
are theof 2scaling
Cnus intofactors
the
M* = N -CN corresponding
soil.
(0 ~noticed The steel to
rod kpl
has kp2
the kp3sameand respectinly.
diameter as the It
cone.can be
The
e that,n resistance
ine general,
~ at the~these tip~scaling
and along a section
factors are closeof theto
where C, is a stress correction factor and p' is the effaive shaa
unity.( In
f r iother
c ~ osleeve)
~
words is measured.
hydraulic "he friction
conductivity sleeve is
in a centrifuge
The consolidation
vertical test is an indirect permeability test in
overburden pressure. located immediately
is N times that ofabove the the 1-g conetests.and This a surface area
hasobservation is
which a sample of soil is compressed in a rigid ring at ofconsistent
150 cm2.with The the electric
scalingCPT is providedobtained
relationship with transducers
in Eq.(6).to
various vertical stress levels, with drainage facility at both record the cone resistance and the local friction sleeve.
Seed 11976)
top and bottom of the sample.
proposed a similar Thecorrection
h y ~ a u co~ductivity
~factor
~ c fm the is
assessment of liquefaction
calculated using Terzaghi's problems
theory ofinone loose n s i o n a l A CPT probe, eqaipped with a pwater pressure sensor is
~ e saturated
sands. This relationship
consolidation using the following expression:for earthquake
was developed called CPTU. It is important to assure compliete saturation
problems and is based on extensive Iaboratory tests on of
Thisthestudyfilter ring of the
demo&rates theuse porewater (piezo)centrifuge
of a geotechnical element.
k = cvmvyw ...................................... "............... (9)
mainly loose to medium dense sands, Otherwise, the response of the
for modelling hydradic conductivity of compacted soils. piezo-transducer, which It
registers the variation of pore water pressure ddng
c/$ = I - f.2.Y l O & o ( O g ' f o ~ ~
where c, is the coefficient of consolidatioq m, is the
(31 can be seen
penetration,
centrifuge iswilt
that the hydraulic
be slow
N times
~
and than
greater
n ~ u
may that
c ~ i vini
giveobtained
t
a ygeotechnical
erroneous fromresults.
the
where o,,'is of
thevolume
effective overburden pressure and yw(tis /fPthe
]andunitcr,' The CPTU offers the possibility to determine hydrsutic soil
coefficient
the reference
isweight stress
of water. In Eq.
compressibility,
(1 dfi2).
9, cv The correction
can be obtainedof SPT results
either by
conventional laboratory tests. Study also satisfies the
properties (such BS hydraulic conductivity permeability]
theoretical scaling relations~pfor hydraulic conducti~ty"
-
but is most widely used for identification of soii type and
wconventional
ith respect to J; the effative
or Iog(t) overburden
relationships pressure
for the is of
soil. Olson Time taken to test a soil sample in a centrifuge is quite less
soil stratification. The CPT can also be equipped with other
importance
(1986) has shownfor thethat evaluation
the calculated of hydrauiic
compaction results.
conductivity as compared to the bench tests. As such, a centrifuge can be
Therefore, types of sensors, for example vibration sensors
values fromconsideration
Eq.9 are almost should be given
always lessto thisthe
than aspect when
measured used efficiently
(accelerometer ortogepphone) obtain the hydraulic conductivity
for determination of fine-
of vibration
compaction
values, and the criteria are toh y be
calculated d r a ~based on N-values.
cconductivity values grained soils. Since the prototype stress conditions canusedbe
is notclose acceleration or velocity. The "seismic cone" is not yet
from & method
Unfomnately, factmore
this are alwaystoappreciated.
the measured values created in a geotechnical centrifuge,
on a mutine basis but has, because of the relative simplicity the obtained
thanresistance
The the log(t) (Na0)
method. hasAsbeen J; methodwitish used
suchcorrelated in this
the relative permeability
of values are
the test, potential for more
widernear to in-situespecially
application values. Further,
on soil
study for estimation of cv and hence
density of granular soils. Sand and gravel can be classified the hydraulic there is a good
campaction projects. agreement between hydraulic conductivity
BSconductivity of theI,soil.
shown in fable Broms (1986). values obtained fiom various I-g bench tests.
The CPT is standardised and the measurements are less
o ~ ~ ~ than~ the e SPT,p thus~ giving ~ more ~ t
Table 1, Classification af sand and g p ~ after f Bmms reproducible resubs. The recent geotechicd literam
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS (3986)
REFERENCES ive information about diffkrent types of
The scalingDensity
Relative relationshipStandard
for hydraulic c o ~ d uResistance
Penetration c ~between
vi~ cone penetration tests, detailed descriptions of the test
1-g tests (denoted by suffix p) (N30, and centrifuge procedures and Neilsen,
data e v D.H., a l ~ jand o ~ Biggar,
~ t e ~ J.W. ~Lunne
e t (1976).
a teti ~ al,7
blowdO.3tests nr) (denoted Alem', M.H.,
(1998). for soil
by suflix m) can be written as: " ~ Therefore,
t e the~ only h yg~ some aspects
a u l ~conductivity
c of importance
of soi1 cores by
Loose I10 compaction
~ n ~ g a t iprojects Sci. be
. f ' Will
o n Soil Soc. discussed below.
Am. J.,40,212-218.
2k = NDense
Medium X I 0 30- The GPT measures the cone resistance & and the sleeve
fiction
Arulanandan,f , from K., Thompson,
which the P.Y., fiktionKutter, B.L.,FRMeegoda,
ratio, can be
k, ..~..~*.....l.*....~~..~~....~....~...-.*....... (10)
Dense 2 30 determined. FR is the ratio n , between the local sleeve %ction
_ _ _ ~ _ _ _ _ _ N.J., M ~ e e t h ~ a K.K., and Yogach~dran, C. (1888).
In
~

where x is a scale factor whose value has to be ascertained and the cone
"Centrifuge resistance,
modelling ofexpressed
transport in percent
processes (fdqJ.
for spite
pollutants
withStandard
The the he$Penetration
of various Test1-g and centrifuge
is mainly tests. To
used to estimate the of
in the limited
soils." ASCE, accuracy of sleeve
Jr. Geotech. Eng., friction
114(2), measurements,
185-205. the
evaluatestiffhess
relative the values x, Eq.(lO)
and ofstrength can capacity)
(bearing be writtenofinsoils.the valuable information, which cm be obtained in connection
Deformation
folrowing form:characteristics of granular soils can be with
Mtchelf, compaction
R.J. (I994a). projects, "A has not no
flexible, yet lateral
been strainfXly
estimated fiom empirical correlations, Peck et al. (1974). It appreciated.
apparatus forAsclay willliner-leachate
be discussedtesting." bebw, the sleeve Eiction
Cenrrifige 94 by
is also possible to get some indications from SPT of the measurement
hung, Lee, and reflects the variation
Tan (eds.), Bdkema, lateral earth351-355,
ofRotterdam, pressure
shear shkngth in mhesive soils. Ihe SPT used ikquently in the ground, and can be used to investigate the effect of
for the evaIuation of the liquefaction potentid of water- soif compaction on the state of stress,
Mtchell, R.J. (1994b). "Centrifuge techniques for testing as will be discussed
later.
clay &er Cone and sleeve
samples." .,31,577-583. are also
friction fmeasurements
Can, Georech.

261
401
strongly affected by the effective overburden pressure. It is
necessary to take this effect into account, similar to the SPT.
A correction factor C, for the cone resistance was proposed
by Massarsch (1994),
cM=
(100/~~70-5 (4)
where Om’ is the mean effective stress. It should be noted
that for SPT correction the overburden pressure is used,
which does not take into consideration the effect of lateral
earth pressure. The’mean effective stress can be determined
from
a
,
’ = (I +2 KO)/ 3 (5)
where (T< is the vertical effective stress and K, is the
coefficient of lateral earth pressure at rest. Figure 1
compares the different correction factors for SPT and CPT,
respectively. It should be noted that Massarsch uses the
mean effective stress while the SPT correction factor is
based on the vertical effective stress. The measured cone
penetration resistance, q, can be corrected for the effect of
at any given depth
the mean effective stress o,,,’
qco 1 qc CM = qc (I
00 / omy0.5 (6)
where q, is the normalised cone penetration value. When
considering the difference between the vertical and the
mean effective stress, there is good agreement between the
different correction factors for the SPT and CPT,
respectively. However, as will be shown later, soil
compaction can significantly increase the horizontal stress
and this effect should be taken into consideration when
evaluating the densification effect. It is recommended to
limit the correction factor CM to a value of 2,s. It is
suggested that the corrected cone resistance q, be used for
specification of compaction criteria, as this will assure more
homogeneous soil layers and avoid unnecessary
overcompaction close to the ground surface.
Stress correction factors CN (SPT) and CM
Fig. 1.
(CPT) with KO= 0,57, cf. equation (1,2 and 3)
One important objective of the CPT investigations in
connection with soil compaction is to obtain information
402
concerning soil stratification and variation in soil properties
both in horizontal and vertical direction. The friction ratio is
often used as an indicator of soil type (grain size) and can
provide valuable information when evaluating alternative
compaction methods.
Measurement of the excess pore water pressure with the
CPTU can detect layers and seams of fme-grained material
(silt and clay). It is also possible to obtain more detailed
data information concerning soil permeability and thus soil
stratification.
Pressuremeter Test (PMT)
The PMT was invented by the Menard in 1962 - 1963 in
France, where this test is widely used. National standards
exist and geotechnical design is based almost exclusively on
this type of test. Over the years the PMT has been further
developed in France, the United Kingdom and Japan, and
has found increasing acceptance in several countries.
However, the PMT is still a specialist tool, which requires
experience in test performance and data interpretation.
The standard pressuremeter is either inserted into a pre-
bored hole or directly jacked or driven into the ground. A
slotted tube protects the measuring cell, which consists of a
cylindrical rubber membrane. ‘In order to reduce the
influence of soil disturbance during probe insertion, the self-
boring pressuremeter was developed. This type of
pressuremeter is, however, limited to fine-grained soils,
while the standard pressuremeter can be used in most soil
types. A detailed description of the PMT is beyond the
scope of this paper. However, guidelines €or data evaluation
and interpretation as well as design recommendations were
published by Baguelin et al. (1986). The PMT is an
intermittent test and can thus not provide a continuous
profile. The test is comparatively time-consuming and thus
expensive.
From the PMT, a stress-deformation curve (applied pressure
vs. volumetric strain) can be obtained in situ. From this
curve, a deformation modulus and a value of the limit
strength can be obtained. Also the “at rest” lateral earth
pressure can be estimated, which is of considerable interest
for soil compaction project. Few correlations exist between
the PMT and other in situ tests. Because of the necessity to
drill borehole, the quality of the test results may be suspect
in loose sand below the ground water table.
Dilatometer Test (DMT)
The dilatometer test (DMT), which is a simple and reliable
in-situ testing tool, was developed in Italy and later
introduced in Europe and North America. The dilatometer
consists of a flat, 15 mm thick and 95 mrn wide blade and
has a length of 220 mm. A flexible, stainless steel
membrane, 60 mm in diameter, is located on one face of the
blade. Inside the steel membrane there is a pressure chamber
and a distance gauge for measurement of the movements of
the membrane when the pressure inside is changed. The
probe is pushed into the soil with the aid of hollow sounding
rods and does not require drilling of a hole. When the
membrane is inflated, the pressure required to just lift the
membrane off the sensing device (pJ and to cause 1.10 mm
deflection (p,) are recorded. As the pressure is released and
the membrane returns to its initial lift-off position, another
reading can be taken. The pressure values p. and p , can be
used to define three index parameters. These parameters are
called the material index (ID), the horizontal stress index (K,)
and the dilatometer modulus (ED),respectively.
ID = (PI - P O ) ItPO - ug) (7)
where U = pore water pressure at rest (not excess pore
pressure). The I. value varies from about 0.6 to 1.8 for silt
and is about 1.8 for sand. The DMT is especially suited for
monitoring of compaction projects as it can be used to
assess the deformation characteristics of soils. From these
index values, empirical relationships have been developed
to determine geotechnical parameters. For instance,
assuming that the soil behaves elastically, the dilatometer
modulus can be deduced from the relation:
El7 = 48.1 (PI -PO) (8)
The dilatometer modulus is commonly used to assess the
compression (oedometer) modulus M of sand, silt and
clayey silt. Experience has shown that the following relation
obtains a good estimation of M
M = 1.1 R,,, E0 (9)
where R. varies depending of the soil. Schmertman (1986)
has suggested design procedures for settlement estimates
based on the DMT.
Seismic tests
Conventional seismic tests, such as wave refraction
measurements, have been used in the past primarily for soil
and rock layer identification. However, during the past
decade, several new seismic in situ tests have been
developed and applied successfully on a variety of soil
compaction projects, Massarsch and Westerberg (1995).
The “seismic” cone penetrometer, which has been briefly
discussed above, incorporates a small rugged velocity
sensor in an electronic penetrometer. Woods (1986) has
published a detailed description of different seismic field
testing methods.
The most common seismic test for compaction control is the
down-hole test. A vibration sensor is installed in a borehole,
or by pushing the sensor into the ground (cf. seismic CPT).
A polarised shear (anaor compression) wave is generated at
the ground surface and the time required for the wave to
travel across the soil layers to a receiver is measured.
403
Different methods of signal interpretation can be used to
determine the first arrival time of the signal. From the
known distance the wave propagation velocity (shear wave
or compression wave) can be calculated. Down-hole tests
are relatively easy to perform, as only one sensor must be
installed in the ground. The down-hole test is suitable for
compaction control as it measures the average properties of
a relatively large soil volume, compared to penetration tests.
Signal interpretation is basically simple (determination of
first arrival time at the two sensor locations), but more
complex evaluation concepts (e.g. signal cross-correlation)
are used. An important advantage of the shear wave velocity
is that the ground water level does not affect the
measurements.
In the case of a cross-hole test, two sensors are installed in
the ground and the wave is generated in a borehole at the
same level. The distance between the vibration source and
the sensors must be determined accurately in order to obtain
sufficient accuracy. The distance between the sensors is
typically 3 - 6 m. The cross-hole test is more cumbersome
to perform than the down-hole test and is mainly used for
research purposes.
Another, increasingly popular seismic testing method is the
Spectral Analysis of Surface Wave Technique, SASW,
Woods (1986). It uses a seismic source (impact or vibration
generator) at the ground surface and at least two vibration
transducers at the ground surface. The vertical transducers
record the propagation of surface (Rayleigh) waves. By
analysing the phase information for each frequency
contained in the waye train, the Rayleigh and shear wave
velocity, can be determined. The evaluation of SASW
measurements is relatively complex and requires specially
developed computer software. However, user-friendly
hardware and software has been developed which simplify
the application of SASW also for compaction control.
SASW measurements can determine wave velocity profiles
to depth exceeding 20 m, which is sufficient for most
foundation projects. The main advantage of SASW is that
large soil volume can be investigatedrelatively rapidly.
From the calculated shear wave velocity C‘, the shear
modulus G can be calculated from the following
relationship
G=C:.p (10)
where p is the bulk density of the soil mass. As the strain
level of the propagating shear wave is low (< 104%) and the
elastic wave velocity is measured. It should be noted that the
“dynamic” (small-strain) shear modulus decreases with
increasing strain level and can thus not be directly converted
into a “static” (large-strain) modulus value. A modulus
reduction factor can be used to estimate the static modulus
G,,, from the dynamic modulus, . ,
G Approximate values
of the modulus reduction factor R can be obtained from
Table 2. Semi-empirical correlations can be used to estimate
the equivalent static shear modulus (secant modulus), Gstat
Gstat = G m m . R (10
where R is a reduction factor, which takes into account the
strain-softening effect of soils (at strains of approximately
0,l % strain).It is interesting to note that the static modulus
in sand is only about 10 to 20 % of the dynamic modulus.
The Young’s modulus, Esm and the constrained
(oedometer) modulus Mstat can be readily calculated from
the shear modulus Gstat (Poisson’s ratio of v: 0,3)
From the above relationships it is obvious that the Young’s
modulus and the constrained modulus are significantly
larger than the shear modulus. This aspect must be taken
into account when evaluating the results of dynamic soil
tests.
The damping (attenuation) characteristics of the soil can
also be determined using seismic techniques, Woods (1986).
However, the practical application of these measurements
for compaction projects is not yet well understood.
Table 2. Modulus reduction factor R for determination
of the static (secant) modulus from dynamic tests,
Massarsch (1983)
Soil Type Reduction Factor, R
Gravel 0,20
Sandy Gravel 0,19
Loose Sand 0,18
Medium Dense Sand 0,15
Dense Sand 0,12
DESIGN ASPECTS OF SOIL COMPACTION
The geotechnical engineer must at an early stage of the
project assess whether the ground needs to be improved. In
most cases, settlement criteria govern the design for static
loading conditions. Therefore, as a first step an estimate of
settlements of the untreated soil must be made. The most
important parameters for soil compaction projects are the
determination of relative density, of settlements and shear
strength.
Relative Density
Soil density, or more commonly, the relative density, DRis
often used as an intermediate soil parameter to specify
404
compaction criteria In the present paper, the cone
penetration test will be used for assessing relative density.
Recent work in large calibration chambers has provided
numerous correlations of cone resistance with relative soil
density. Most investigations have shown that no single
relationship exists for all granular soils between relative
density, effective stress and cone resistance. In Fig, 2,
results from extensive pressure chamber tests are
summarised, Robertson and Campanella (1983).
The cone penetration resistance, the vertical and the
horizontal effective stress affect the relative density DR.
Jamiolkowski et al. (1988) have pointed out that a survey of
the literature shows surprisingly poor correlations between
relative density and the (uncorrected) cone penetration
resistance. Thus the correlation in Fig. 2 should be
interpreted with caution. A range, rather than specific values
of cone penetration resistance should be used in practice to
specify compaction requirements, based on relative density.
In order to facilitate the estimation of relative density from
cone penetration tests, it is proposed to correct the measured
cone penetration resistance with respect to the mean
effective stress of 100, cf. equation (6) and Fig. 1.
CONE PENETRATION RESISTANCE,MPa
0 10 20 30 40 50
Fig. 2. Relative density relationship for uncemented
and unaged quartz sand for a coefficient of
lateral earth pressure K, = 0,45, after
Robertson and Campanella, (1983)
Settlements estimates
Many geotechnical problems in granular soils require the
assessment of settlements. Schmertmann (1970) has
proposed a method of settlement analysis below isolated
footings in sand, based on results from cone penetration
tests. In this case, the deformation characteristics of the soil -+ A 0 3 / or]j- [Uo'/ or]Jy(rn .j )
AE = {[ (o0* (IS)
are governed by the modulus of elasticity, E,. Since the
factor of safety against bearing capacity failure is usually where o0'is the initial vertical effective overburden stress
high for footings on sand, the designer is usually interested and Au' is the increase of the vertical effective stress. For
in a modulus for an average mobilised stress around 25% of cohesive soils, values of the modulus number m and the
the failure stress. Based on a review of calibration chamber stress exponent j can be determined by conventional
tests, Robertson and Campanella (1986) have proposed a laboratory tests. For cohesionless soils, however, it is often
relationship between the elastic modulus Ezj at a stress level dificult to obtain undisturbed soil samples and the results
of 25 % and the cone penetration resistance qc, which for from laboratory tests are therefore uncertain. Thus,
normally consolidated sand varies between Ezs / qc = 1,5 to empirical values are often used to estimate the modulus
3,O. This value is in agreement with the recommendations number and the stress exponent, cf. Canadian Foundation
by Schmertmann (1970). The Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual (1985), Table 4.
Engineering Manual (1985) proposes the following
'The cone penetration test (CPT) is widely used to
coefficient E2slq,, which is based on soil type and
investigate granular soils and several authors have proposed
compactness, Table 3. empirical correlations between the cone penetration
The ratio Ezj/qc for overconsolidated sand appears to be resistance and the tangent modulus, (Robertson and
higher, on the order of 3 to 6 times the value for normally Campanella 1983, 1986). However, the results from cone
consolidated sand. It is obvious that this simplified method penetration tests are influenced by many factors, the two
of assessing the soil modulus value is not accurate and most important are the relative density and the stress level,
should only be used for preliminary settlement estimates. In especially the effective horizontal stresses, (Jamiolkowski et
the following section, a new method is proposed for the al., 1988).
determination of the soil modulus, which uses the results
from cone penetration tests in a rational way, Massarsch Table 4. Typical Values for the Stress Exponentj and
(1 994). the Modulus Number m for granular soils, (after
Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual, 1985)
Table 3. Estimation of E2JqcBased on Results from
Static Cone Penetration Tests, Canadian Foundation Soil Type Stress Modulus Number, m
Engineering Manual (1985) Exponent, j
Gravel 0,s 40 - 400
Soil type E&
Dense Sand 0,s 250 - 400
Silt and sand 1,5
Compact Sand 025 150 - 250
Compact sand 2
Loose Sand 095 100 - 150
Dense sand 3
Dense Silt 095 80 - 200
Sand and gravel 4
Compact Silt 0,s 60 - 80
Tangent Modulus Approach Loose Silt 095 40 - 60

Settlements in cohesive and cohesionless soils can be
analysed using the tangent modulus method, which takes
into account the non-linearity of the load-deformation
relationship of most soils. Janbu (1963) suggested that the
tangent modulus Mt can be defined by the following
relationship,
Mt =m . or (o'/
or)(' - j ) (14)
where m is a dimensionless modulus number, q is an
arbitrarily chosen reference stress (100 kPa), U' is the
vertical effective stress and j is a stress exponent. The strain
increase of a soil layer A& caused by an increase of the
vertical effective stress A d can be calculated from
Determination of soil modulus from CPT
Attempts have been made to correlate directly the tangent
modulus Mt to the cone penetration resistance qc, but with
limited success, (Robertson and Campanella, 1986;
Jamiolkowski et al., 1988). The normalised cone penetration
resistance qco is mainly a measure of the strength properties
of the soil. Janbu (1974) has proposed the following
theoretical relationship between the cone resistance and the
tangent modulus Mt
Mt = mp (qp . ar)015 (16)
where mp is a dimensionless number and qp is the net cone
resistance (qc - %). However, the cone penetration
resistance is generally not corrected with respect to the

405
effective confining pressure. Janbu also suggested that mp
would not change substantially with porosity. Massarsch
(1994) has proposed the following correlation, which is
similar to that introduced by Janbu (1974), but the
normalised cone resistance qco is used instead of the net
cone resistance qp,
In this equation, a is an empirical modulus factor, which
mainly depends on soil type and varies within a relatively
narrow range. Experience from several case histories has
shown that the values of the modulus number, as proposed
initially by Massarsch (1994), are conservative and that the
settlements are over-predicted by 30 to 50%. Revised values
for the modulus parameter a, which are used in the present
paper, are given in Table 5.
Table 5. Modulus factor a for different soil types,
Massarsch et al. (1997)
from cone penetration resistance, Fig. 3. The diagram is
applicable for soils with a friction ratio lower than 1 %.
Liquefaction
Another important application of compaction projects is the
mitigation of the liquefaction hazard in seismic areas.
Simplified design procedures have been developed for
preliminary design purposes, Seed and De Alba (1996).
These are based on empirical correlations between the SPT
or CPT resistance and the observation of liquefaction during
earthquakes. In the case of complex or large projects, more
sophisticated analytical tools can be used to investigate the
need and degree of compaction. Experience from recent
earthquakes suggests that even moderate compaction by
various methods has had a beneficial effect on the
performance of natural and man-made soil deposits,
MitcheII(1998).
CONE PENETRATION RESISTANCE, MPa

Soil Type Modulus

Parameter, a
~

Silt, organic soft 7

Silt, loose 12 m
4
Silt, compact 15
Silt, dense 20
Sand, silty loose 20
Sand, loose 22
Sand, compact 28
Sand, dense 35
Gravel, loose 35
Gravel, dense 45

Several comparisons between predicted and observed

settlements of compacted ground suggest that the above
proposed concept gives reliable results, Massarsch et al.
(1997). Fig. 3. Correlation between Cone Resistance and Peak
Friction Angle for Uneemented Sand, after
Robertson and Campanella, (1983)
Shear Strength

The friction angle of sand Q can not be determined directly
in the field but only by laboratory tests on reconstituted
samples. Thus all correlations with field tests are at best
approximations. No unique relationship does exist between
the friction angle of sands and cone resistance. However, the
CPT is still one of the more reliable field methods which
can be used to assess approximately the friction angle and
the change of the friction angle as a result of densification.
Robertson and Campanella (1983) have proposed a semi-
empirical relationship for estimation of the fi-iction angle
Compatibility of soils
Another important question for the geotechnical engineer is
the determination, whether the soil can be improved by deep
compaction. Mitchell (1982) identified soils according to
grain sue distribution and suggests that most granular soils
with a fmes content (particles < 0,064 mm) lower than 10 %
can be compacted by vibratory and impact methods. The
disadvantage of compaction criteria based on grain size
curves is that soil samples have to be taken. It is preferable

406
 Using Eq.(ll), the scaling factors for hydraulic
to use the results of penetration tests for assessment of soil c o n ~ u c t effective
horizontaf i v ifor
~ ~ different g vatues,
stress are increasedwithtemporariIy
respect toalong I-g
compatibility. Massarsch (1991) has proposed compaction laboratory tests have been evaluated and
the KO-line to point B. However, as a result of soilsome of the results
criteria based on CPT cone resistance and fiction ratio are presented in Table 4. In this table k, is hydraulic
densification, the inclination of the Ko-line is changed and
values, Fig. 4. it should be noted that the above diagram c o n ~ u c t i v iin~ centrifuge models, kpt and kp2 are the
the point C is actuatly
stress conductivities
hydraulic reached
obtained instead oftests
in consolidation B. After
and
assumes homogeneous soil conditions. In the case of thin
compaction, the vertical stress is reduced
oedometer falling head tests respectivily at the appiied(at zero lateral
layers of silt and clay, the effectiveness of soil compaction
will be reduced. The CPTU with excess porewater pressure
strain),
pressures and the stress
equivalent conditions
to those correspond
generated e nD
in the c to t r.i ~
It ~atise
important to note that the soil has not only been densifid
measurements can also be used to determine the occurrence the requisite g-levels, kp3 and kpl are the hydraulic
but also been pre-loaded,
conductivities obtained inresulting m a pennatterit
the conventional increase
and oedometer
of less permeable silt and clay layers. of lateral effective stress.
fsing-head tests respectiviiy without applying any
a d ~ t i pressure;
o ~ XI, x2, x3, and are the scaling factors
corresponding to kpl kp2 kp3 and respectinly. It can be
noticed that, in general, these scaling factors are close to
unity. In other words hydraulic conductivity in a centrifuge
The consolidation test is an indirect permeability test in is N times that of the 1-g tests. This observation is
which a sample of soil is compressed in a rigid ring at consistent with the scaling relationship obtained in Eq.(6).
various vertical stress levels, with drainage facility at both
top and bottom of the sample. The h y ~ a u co~ductivity
~~c is
calculated using Terzaghi's theory of one ~ e n s i o n a l
consolidation using the following expression:
This study demo&rates the use of a geotechnical centrifuge
k = cvmvyw ...................................... "............... (9) for modelling hydradic conductivity of compacted soils. It
can be seen that the hydraulic ~ n ~ u c ~ i vini taygeotechnical
where c, is the coefficient of consolidatioq m, is the centrifuge is N times greater than that obtained from the
coefficient of volume compressibility, and yw is the unit conventional laboratory tests. Study also satisfies the
weight of water. In Eq. 9, cv can be obtained either by theoretical
Fig. scaling
S. Stress relations~p
Path for hydraulic
for a soil element beforeconducti~ty"
(A), during
conventional J; or Iog(t) relationships for the soil. Olson Time taken to test a (C) sample
soil aad a centrifuge is
in compaction
after @)quite less
(1986) has shown that the calculated hydrauiic conductivity as compared to the bench tests. As such, a centrifuge can be
values from Eq.9 are almost always less than the measured used efficiently to obtain the hydraulic conductivity of fine-
values, and the calculated h y d r a ~ cconductivity values grained p ofSince
The d esoils. the prototype stress
pre-mmiidation conditions
depends mainly can
on be
the
from & method are more close to the measured values created
compactionin amethed.
geotechnical
At centrifuge,
predominantly the horizontal
obtained
than the log(t) method. As such J; method is used in this permeability values
vibrations, the are moreeffect
compaction near will
to in-situ
thus values.
be lower Further,
than if
Fig. Soil classification
study4. for estimation
for deep compaction based on
of from
cv and hence (1991)
the hydraulic there is a good agreement between hydraulic conductivity
CPT, Massarsch the soil is subjected to both vertical and brizontal stress
conductivity of the soil. values
cycles.obtained fiom various I-g bench tests.
The mwhius is increased as a result of soil densificatian
RESULTSOF
EFFECTS AND DISCUSSIONSON GEOTECHNTCAL
COMPACTION (reduced void ratio), but also the stress conditions have
changed (from A to R), cf. Fig. 5. As point D is located
PROPERTEES REFERENCES
further away from ule failure line, the settlements for a load
The scaling relationship for hydraulic c o ~ d u c ~between
vi~
increase at D will be smaller than for a sMar load mcrease
1-g tests (denoted by suffix p) and centrifuge tests (denoted Alem', M.H., Neilsen, D.H., and Biggar, J.W. (1976).
at A.
by suflixof
Change m)lateral
can beeffective stress
written as: " ~ t e the~ h yg~ a u l ~conductivity c of soi1 cores by
~Ann ~increase
g a t i o nofSoil
. f l' aSci.
t d Soc. Am.by
stress compaction has been
J.,40,212-218.
Man-made sand fills are usualiy normaily consdidated prior obsenred on many soil comptstion projects, e.g. Frost and
2k = N X However, a pre-consolidation effect is
to compaetian.
k, as a result..~..~*.....l.*....~~..~~....~....~...-.*.......
(10) Leonsrds (1988)
Arulanandan, K., and M ~ S SP.Y.,
Thompson, WG ~
(1991).
Kutter,This change
B.L., of the
Meegoda,
obtained of vibratory soil compaction, which lateraiMeffective
causes the fill to become overconsolidated. Leonards and N.J., ~ e e t h stress, n , which
~ a K.K., and isYogach~dran,
presently notC.taken
(1888).into
account, is modelling
"Centrifuge especially of important
transportfor compacted,
processes man-made
for pollutants
Frost x is a scale
where(1988) have factor
pointed whose
out thevalue has to be of
importance ascertained
the stress sand fills.ASCE, Jr. Geotech. Eng., 114(2), 185-205.
with thein he$
history orderoftovarious 1-g and centrifuge
assess realistically tests. Toof
the settlements in soils."
evaluate the
compacted valuesfills.
granular of x, Eq.(lO) can be written in the It should be noted that the sleeve resistance of CPT can
folrowing form: Mtchelf, R.J. (I994a).
provide quantitative "A flexible,
information on the no lateralof strain
increase lateral
apparatus for clayasliner-leachate
effective stresses proposed bytesting."
MmsarschCenrrifige
(1994) and94 bythat
Fig. 5 shows the stress path for a soil element before, during hung,
the sleeve and Tan (eds.),
Lee,friction,fs Bdkema,
is affected Rotterdam,
by changes of the351-355,
horizontal
and after compaction. The initial state of stress for a ef'feve stress. If the sleeve ikiction value before
normally consolidated sand fill is indicated by point A. Mtchell,
compaction Jsl(1994b).
R.J. and after"Centrifuge
compactiontechniques for testingan
are compared,
During vibratory compaction, high centrifugal forces are clay &er samples."
improvement value Can,n. canGeorech. f.,31,577-583.
be determined, which reflects the
generated (up to 4.000 kN)and thus the vertical and the change in 1 a M stress,
261
407

where dm and dm correspond to the stress conditions at
Points A and D in Fig. 5, respectively. Massarsch (1997)
has proposed a method to estimate the overconsolidation
effect from the friction sleeve measurements. Alternatively,
the DMT or PMT can be used to assess in situ stress
changes.
The “overconsolidation effect” which is caused by soil
compaction is of great importance for the realistic prediction
of settlements. If this effect is not taken into consideration,
excessive and unrealistic settlement estimates will be made.
Increase of soil strength and stiffness with time
Another important factor, which is not always appreciated,
is the increase of soil strength and soil stiffness with time, e.
g. Mitchell (1998). Post densification CPT results suggest
that natural and man-made deposits of clean sand may gain
in strength with time. The mechanism causing this
phenomenon, which is not related to volume change or
porewater pressure dissipation, is not yet well understood
and may not occur to the same extent at all compaction
projects. However, the increase is often significant and
should be taken into consideration. In the absence of reliable
prediction methods, it is recommended to verify post
densification improvement of soil properties by field trials.
The CPT and DMT are effective and efficient for assessing
the initial conditions and for evaluating changes after
ground improvement.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Deep compaction of granular soils is used increasingly and
extensive research is presently under way. In the present
paper, an attempt has been made to discuss the most
important aspects of deep soil compaction. In comparison to
other foundation methods, such as pile driving, deep
compaction requires careful planning and supervision
during all phases of the project. The active design concept
can provide valuable information and serves as a basis for
optimisation of the compaction process.
Soil investigation methods, which are frequently used in
connection with compaction process, are described and their
advantages and limitations discussed. The cone
penetrometer is the most suitable investigation and
monitoring tool. An important aspect of data interpretation
is the correction of the cone resistance with respect to the
mean effective stress. This procedure eliminates an
important uncertainty associated with the CPT. Sleeve
fiction measurements are usually used for the determination
of the friction ratio. However, the increase of the sleeve
friction after compaction can provide valuable information
regarding changes of lateral stress. Recent developments of
the cone penetrometer, such as pore pressure sounding
408
(piezo-cone) or the seismic down-hole cone offer new
possibilities for compaction control.
The most common design aspects for compaction projects
are determination of relative density, settlements due to
static loading and soil strength, which governs stability and
bearing capacity. Another important application is the
mitigation of liquefaction hazards in seismic areas.
Finally, some important changes of geotechnical properties,
which can occur during compaction, are discussed. Probably
the most important, and not yet generally appreciated effect
is the permanent increase of the lateral effective stress,
which results in a overconsolidation effect, which is
important for a realistic settlement analysis. Another factor
of practical importance is the increase of soil stiffness and
strength with time. However, no rational explanation has
been given for this effect. It is therefore difficult to
incorporate this aspect at the design stage. Instead, the time-
effect must be investigated on site by trial compaction.
REFERENCES
- (1985). Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual, 2nd
Edition. Canadian Geotechnical Society. BiTech
Publishers Ltd. 456 p.
Belotti, R., Ghionna, V., Jamiolkowski, M., Lancellotta, R.
and Manfredini, G., (1 986). “Deformation characteristics
of cohesionless soils from in situ tests”. Proceedings of In
Situ 86, a Speciality Conference sponsored by the
Geotechnical Engineering Division, ASCE, Geotechnical
Special Publication No. 6., pp. 47 - 73.
Broms, B. B., (1986). “Penetration tests”. Fourth
International Geotechnical Seminar, Field Measurements
and In-situ Measurements, Nanyang Technological
Institute, pp. 1 - 29.
Jamiolkowski. M., Ghionna, V. N, Lancelotta R, &
Pasqualini, E. (1 988). “New correlations of penetration
tests for design practice”. Proceedings Penetration
Testing, ISOPT-I, DeRuiter (ed.) Balkema, Rotterdam,
ISBN 90 6191 801 4. Pp 263 - 296.
Janbu, N. (1963). “Soil compressibility as determined by
oedometer and triaxial tests”. Proceedings, European
Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering, ’Wiesbaden, Vol. 1. pp. 19 - 25 and Vol. 2,
pp. 17 - 21.
Leonards, G. A. and Frost, J. D. (1988). “Settlement of
shallow foundations on granular soils”. ASCE Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering, Vol. 114, No. 7, pp. 791 - 809.
Lunne, T., Robertson, P. K. and Powell, J. J. M., (1997).
“Cone penetration test in geotechnical practice”. Blacker
Academic & Professional. 312 p.
Massarsch, K. R., (1983). “Dynamic and Static Shear
Modulus”, Discussion Session 10. Soil Dynamics,“
 Proceedings, 10th Internat. Conference on Soil Seed, H. B. and De Alba, P., (1986). “Use of SPT and CPT
Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Stockholm, 15- Test for evaluating the liquefaction resistance of sands”.
19 June, I98 I , Proceedings, Vol. 4., pp. 880-881, Proceedings of In Situ 86, ASCE Speciality Conference
Massarsch, K. R., (1994). “Settlement Analysis of sponsored by the Geotechnical Engineering Division,
Compacted Fill”. Proceedings, XIII. International Geotechnical Special Publication No. 6., pp. 28 1 - 302.
Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Woods, R. D., (1986). “In situ tests for foundation
Engineering, New Delhi, India, Vol. 1, pp. 325 -328. vibrations”. Proceedings of In Situ 86, ASCE Speciality
Massarsch, K. R., Westerberg, E., (1995). “The active Conference sponsored by the Geotechnical Engineering
design concept applied to soil compaction”. Bengt B. Division, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 6., pp.
Broms Symposium in Geotechnical Engineering, 336 - 375.
Singapore, 13 - 15. December 1995. Proceedings, pp.
262 - 276.
Massarsch, K. R., Westerberg, E. and Broms, B. B., (1997).
“Footings supported on settlement-reducing vibrated soil
nails”. Paper submitted for publication, XIV,
International Conference on Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, Hamburg 97, Vol. 3., pp. 1533 -
1539.
Mitchell, J. K., (1982). “Soil improvement - State-of-the-
Art”, Proceedings, 10th ICSMFE, Stockholm, Vol. 4., pp.
509 - 565.
Mitchell, J. K., ( 1 986). “Ground improvement evaluation by
in-situ tests”. Proceedings of In Situ 86, a Speciality
Conference sponsored by the Geotechnical Engineering
Division, ASCE. Geotechnical Special-Publication No. 6.,
pp. 22 1 - 236.
Mitchell, J. K., Cooke, H. G. and Schaeffer, J., (1998).
“Design considerations in ground improvement for
seismic risk mitigation”. Proceedings, Geotechnical
Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics 111, Seattle,
Wa., ASCE GP No. 75, Vol. 1, pp. 580 - 613.
Peck, R. B., Hanson, W. E. and Thornbum, T. H., (1974).
“Foundation Engineering”. John Wiley & Sons, p. 312.
Robertson, P.K. and Campanella, R.G. (1983). “SPT-CPT
correlations”, Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering
Division, ASCE Vol. 109, No. 10, pp. 1449- 1459
Schmertmann, J. H., (1970). “Static cone to compute static
settlement over sand”. American Society of Civil
Engineers, ASCE Joumal of Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, Vol. 96, SM3, pp. 101 1 - 1043
Schmertman, J. H., (1986). “Dilatometer to compute
foundation settlements”. Proceedings of In Situ 86, a
Speciality Conference sponsored by the Geotechnical
Engineering Division, ASCE, Geotechnical Special
Publication No. 6., pp. 303 -321.
Seed, H, B., (1 976). “Evaluation of soil liquefaction effects
on level ground during earthquakes”. Liquefaction
problems in Geotechnical Engineering, Proceedings of
ASCE Annual Convention and Exposition, Philadelphia,
pp. I - 104.

409
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
 International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3,1999

NEAR SHORE AND DEEP WATER DISPOSAL OF CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS

E. Eek, M. Ness, T. Rmdsand and A. Haugr
N m u q i m Gmtechnicnl Institute, P.0. Box 3930 U l l d H R S ~ N-OSffi,
, Oslo, Normy

SYNOPSIS -: Dredging of harbour sedients often produces large volumes of sediments with a highly variable contami-
nant level. De sition of such sediments in nearshore fills, where the immobilisation of pollutants is combined with recla-
mation ofland!&ace area is an attractive solution to this problem. Design of the dam should focus on minimizing leaching
of pollutants from the sediments. The barrier material used will influence the chemistry of the leachate. An other low cost
solution is disposal in deepwater basins and capping with clean material. The environmental achievement of this solution is
to isolate the contaminated sediment from erosional forces. The design of such facilities should also ensure minimum
leaching of contaminants from the sediment The aim of this work was to evaluate and use laboratory scale leachin tests to
estimate leaching of contaminants from polluted sediments and the effect of filter materials on the chemistry of the Beachate.
These methods are also environmentally attractive
INTRODUCTION because:

The sediments of major pom are the recipient for pol-
lution from harbour activity. In addition these sediments
will receive pollution from industrialised areas around the
port. These sediments represent an environmental problem
because they are easily mobilised by the traffic of large
vessels in the port and during maintenance dredging
(Konieczny. 1994).
Few elaborated and energy consuming processes are
used
The use of energy for transportation of polloied sedi-
ments and of fill material for land reclamation is
reduced.

Dredging of harbour sediments often results in large volu-

mes of sediments with a highly variable contaminant
level. The disposal of such sediments represents an envir-
onmental and economical problem, and should therefore
meet two important requirements

Low cost of treatment

Limit risks for reintroduction of pollutants into the
environment

Disposal of polluted sediments in near shore land fills,

combines immobilisation of pollutants and reclamation of
land. While disposal in anoxic deep water basins provides
isolatin of the contaminated sediment from erosion from
waves, groundwater seepage, ship traffic and bioturbation.
These are economically attractive solutions for disposal of
contaminated sediments because:

Reclamation of land area in harbours is often necessary

to expand the port activity
No expensive treatment of the sediments is necessary. However the environmental feasibility of these remedi-
~
.
Low cnst of transoortation if the sediment can be
~~~
~~~
~~~
ation methods depends on the chemical and physical
stability of the contaminants in the disposal facility.
disposed close to the dredging site.
Natural anoxic basins are abudant in Norwegian fjords Design of the dam or the capping for the purpose of
containing the disposed sediments should minimise
leaching ifpollutants from the sediments.

411
The fill will also have to be designed so that satisfactory Using Eq.(ll), of the
After digestion the samples extracts for
scalingthefactors were hydraulic
analysed
geotechnical stability of the disposal area is secured. cfor
o nmetal
~ u c tcontent
i v ifor
~ ~with
different vatues,
a TJAg IRIS with respect to I-g
ICP-spectrophotometer
laboratory tests have been evaluated and some of the results
Important potential paths for transport of contaminants Porepresented
are water samples in Table In this table
were4.analysed k, digestion
without is hydraulic
for
from sediments disposed i near shore land fills are leac- cthe
o nfollowing ~ centrifuge models, kpt and kp2 are the
~ u c t i v iin
parameters:
hing throug the rock fill barrier. Water gradients can be hydraulic conductivities obtained in consolidation tests and
0 Cd were analysed with ICP
caused by tidal water and by ground water flow in the fill. oedometer falling head tests respectivily at the appiied
0 Hg were analysed with cold vapour AAS
pressures equivalent to those generated in the c e n t r i ~ ~ate
0 Oil were analysed with GC-FID
For sediments disposed in anoxic deep water basins the requisite g-levels, kp3 and kpl are the hydraulic
0 PCB were analysed with GC-ECD
dissipation of pore water during consolidation can be an conductivities obtained in the conventional and oedometer
important transport mechanism of contaminants to the 0 PAH were tests
fsing-head analysed with HPLCwithout applying any
respectiviiy
above water masses. a d ~ t i pressure;
o ~ XI, x2, x3, and are the scaling factors
Leaching fromto
corresponding twokpldifferent sediments
kp2 kp3 and were studied.
respectinly. It can be
Factors influencing the leaching of pollutants from the noticed that, in general, these scaling factors are close to
disposed sediments are: HortenInsediment
unity. other words hydraulic in table 1) in a centrifuge
(H-sedconductivity
The consolidation test is an indirect permeability test in Oslo Harbour sediment
is N times that of the 1-g tests.(OH-sed in table
This1)observation is
which
0
a samplerate
Infiltration of soil
of iswater
compressed into thein acontaminated
rigid ring at consistent with the scaling relationship obtained in Eq.(6).
various vertical
sediment stress levels, with drainage facility at both Horten Sediment
top and bottom of the sample. The
0 Effluent rate from the polluted sediment
h y ~ a u co~ductivity
~ ~ c is
calculated using Terzaghi's theory of one ~ e n s i o n a l
0 Concentration of pollutants in the pore water
Horten sediment was sampled from the sea water channels
consolidation using the following expression:
0 Mobilisation of colloids with adsorbed pollutants
outside Horten in south Norway. This sediment has
received
This studylead (Pb) and mercury
demo&rates the use of(Hg) from a battery
a geotechnical plant
centrifuge
0 Retardation of pollutants in the barrier or capping
cvmvyw ......................................
k = material "............... (9) over
for several years
modelling hydradic(Borresen 1997,of
conductivity Helland,
compacted 1993). TheIt
soils.
sampled
can be seensediments were homogenised
that the hydraulic ~ n ~ u c ~ i and
vini taysub samples
geotechnical
of lab were takenisforNanalyses of heavy
thanmetal
that and majorfrom
element
The aimc,ofisthis
where thework
coefficient
was to use consolidatioq
scale leaching is the
m,tests to centrifuge times greater obtained the
coefficient of volume compressibility, and yw is the unit and for the column
conventional tests. tests. Study also satisfies the
laboratory
evaluate the influence of barrier and capping materials and
weight of water.
two different In Eq.solutions
permeate 9, cv can onbe
theobtained
chemistryeither by
of the theoretical scaling relations~pfor hydraulic conducti~ty"
Harbour
Oslo taken Sediment
leachate fromJ;
conventional or Iog(t)
polluted relationships for the soil. Olson
sediments. Time to test a soil sample in a centrifuge is quite less
(1986) has shown that the calculated hydrauiic conductivity as compared to the bench tests. As such, a centrifuge can be
values from Eq. 9 areMETHODS
almost always less than the measured Sediments
used fromtoOslo
efficiently Harbour
obtain were collected
the hydraulic with of
conductivity a sedi-
fine-
MATERIAL AND
values, and the calculated h y d r a ~ cconductivity values ment grab
grained soils.from thetheeastern
Since partstress
prototype of the Oslo Harbour.
conditions can be
from & method These sediments has been contaminated
centrifuge, theby obtained
various
Leaching more and
of heavyaremetals closemajor
to the measured
elements fromvalues
two created in a geotechnical
than the log(t) J; method organic and values
permeability inorganic pollutants
are more during
near to in-situseveral
values.decades.
Further,
sediment types method. As such
were studied in four differentiscolumn
used intests
this
study for cascade of cv Elevated
is aconcentrations of between
copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmi-
and in one estimation
leaching test.and hence the hydraulic there good agreement hydraulic conductivity
um (Cd) and mercury (Hg) are found
values obtained fiom various I-g bench tests. in most parts of the
conductivity of the soil.
harbour (Konieczny 1994 and NGI, NIVA and ICG
Concentrations of contaminants in the pore water were
1999). The sampled sediments were homogenised and sub
measured to estimate the potential for release of conta-
samples were taken for analyses of heavy metal and major
RESULTS AND dissipation
minants through DISCUSSIONSof porewater during consoli-
element and for the column tests and cascade leaching
dation of disposed sediments. REFERENCES
test.
The scaling relationship for hydraulic c o ~ d u c ~between
vi~
1-g tests (denoted
Chemical by suffix p) and centrifuge tests (denoted
Analyses Alem', M.H., Neilsen, D.H., and Biggar, J.W. (1976).
Barrier Materials
by suflix m) can be written as: " ~ t e the~ h yg~ a u l ~conductivity
c of soi1 cores by
Concentrations of heavy metals and major elements in the ~Rock
n ~ gdebris
a t i oofn Soil
.limestone
f ' Sci. Soc. Am. J.,40,212-218.
and shale were collected from a
2k = samples
sediment NX and in the leachate were analysed with
construction site. Grain size distribution showed that the
ICP-atomic
k, emission spectrophoto-metry.
..~..~*.....l.*....~~..~~....~....~...-.*.......
(10) Arulanandan, K., was
Thompson, P.Y.,gravel.
Kutter,The
B.L., Meegoda,
collected debris fine, sandy debris were
sievedM to
N.J., ~ eremove
e t h ~ agravel
n , and
K.K., Yogach~dran,
larger than 20 mm C. (1888).
before
Sediment
where x is samples were whose
a scale factor digested with
value hasagua
to be regia (1:3
ascertained "Centrifuge modelling of transport processes for pollutants
building it into the columns.
HN03 and HCl) in a microwave oven. Water samples in soils." ASCE, Jr. Geotech. Eng., 114(2), 185-205.
with the he$ of various 1-g and centrifuge tests. To
were digested in boiling nitric acid solution (HNO,). Both
evaluate the values of x, Eq.(lO) can be written in the Sand for the sand filters was collected from the glacio-
methods are supposed to xelease metals bound in organic Mtchelf, R.J. (I994a). "A flexible, lateral strain
no Norway.
folrowing form: fluvial sand deposit at Gardermoen, South This
material and in acid soluble minerals in the sediments or apparatus for clay
sand contains moreliner-leachate testing."
than 90 % sand and hasCenrrifige 94 by
a d,o >etween
suspended in the water as well as metals adsorbed to the Lee, n (eds.), Bdkema, Rotterdam, 351-355,
Tamm.
hung,
0.25 mm andand
0.50
surface of clay minerals.
Mtchell, R.J. (1994b). "Centrifuge techniques for testing
clay &er samples." Can, Georech. f.,31,577-583.

412
261
Teflon centrifugation tubes were filled with sediment and These results show that the sand barrier effectively retains
centrifuged at 12500 rpm for 5 min. The supernatant was the Pb in the sediment and some of the Zn and Cu from
carefully sampled with a pipette. The procedure was the Horten sediment. It also shows that Cu from the Oslo
repeated until about 1000 ml of sample was collected. Harbour sediment is retained by the rock and the rock and
About 100 ml sample were filtered and analysed for Cd sand barrier. However leaching of Ni and Zn from these
and Hg. About 500 ml were analysed for organic materials is observed. The differences between the
contaminants. column with sand in the barrier showed no sign of better
performance than the barrier of only rock debris. In fact it
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION is leaching a little more Zn and Ni from the column with a
barrier of both sand and rock debris. This indicates that
Heavy Metals Leaching with Fresh Water the relatively fine grained rock debris used in this test
contributes with the major filtering performance of the
The measured leaching potential of the two sediment barrier material.
types and the leaching through the barriers of heavy
metals are given in table 2. The higher content of Ni in the rock debris than in the
sediment (se table 1) indicate that the rock debris are the
source of the leaching Ni. As will be discussed later.
Table 2 Cumulative Leaching of Heavy Metals
from Polluted Sediments (mg/kg) and Per- Major Elements Leaching with Fresh Water
formance of Barrier
The major elements leaching from the Horten sediments
Sedi- H-sed. H-sed. OH-sed. OH-sed OH-sed both with and without the sand barrier are dominated by
ment salts in the permeating solution.
Barrier No Sand No Rock Sand+
Figures 3 - 10 show the electric conductivity, the concen-
tration of the major elements Na, K, Mg, Ca, Al, Fe and Si
and of the heavy metals Ni and Zn against LS of the
I Zn 1 0.91 I 0.38 I bdl* I 0.01 1 0.06 I leachate from the column tests with Oslo Harbour
cu 1 0.012 I 0.006 I 1.6 I bdl I hdl
bdl sediments. Column 1 (Col. 1) is the column with only
Pb I
2.87 I bdl I bdl I bdl I bdl rock barrier. Column 2 (Col. 2) is the column with both
sand filter and rock barrier.
bdl =below detection limit
*Zn leached out at LS 80 - 100

5WG3 , i l
I

0 0.5 1 1.5 2

LS

+ el. conduchviw Col. 1 . el. conducwity Col. 2

I
Figure 4 Electric Conductivity in the Leachate from Figure5 Concentration of K in the Leachate from
the Oslo Harbour Sediment the Oslo Harbour Sediment

413
 .
**
fl

Bm I *. *.
2w * .
0
* .
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

LS 1s

+ Mg Col. 1 Mg Col. 2 Na Col. 1 rn Na Col. 2

Figure 6 Concentration of Mg in the Leachate from Figure 7 Concentration of Na in the Leachate from
the Oslo Harbour Sediment the Oslo Harbour Sediment

lMl0 0.45
0.4
1400
1200
loo0
0.35
0.3 I*
1600 E": c
400
0.15
0.1
*. *.
200 0.05
0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
LS LS

+ Ca Col. 1 rn Ca Col. 2 +NI Col 2 rn Ni Col. 2

~i~~~~ 8 Concentration of ca in the Leachate from Figure 9 Concentration of Ni in the Leachate from
the Oslo Harbour Sediment the Oslo Harbour Sediments

0.06 *
A
0.05
A
0.04

1 8
2.03

0.02

0.01
.
0 Bm k DO
0 0.5 1 Ls 1.5 2 2.5
0.00
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
AI Col. I rn Fe Col. I A 9 Col. I
0 AI Col. 2 0 Fe Col. 2 A 9 Col. 2 HZnCol.1 +ZnCol.2

Figure 10 Concentration of AI, Fe and Si in the Figure 11 Concentration of Zn in the Leachate from
Leachate the Oslo Harbour Sediment with Only
Rock Barrier (Col. 1) and with Sand and
Rock Barrier (Col. 2)

414
These figures show that the concentrations of Na, K and
Mg are almost linear with LS. This means that the main
source of these elements probably is the pore water, which
is of marine origin. The major elements are being diluted
as the pore water mixes with the permeate solution.
The concentrations of Ca and Ni show a distinctly
different development with LS. The almost hyperbolic
correlation between the concentrations and the LS indicate
that these elements are easily washed out, possibly from
the same mineral phase. The high concentration of both
Ca and Ni in the rock debris point to this material as a
probable source for both elements.
A third pattern in the plots of the leaching elements is
seen for Fe, Si Al and Zn. These elements are not found in
the leachate before the conductivity is reduced to about
10 mS/cm (see figure 2)
The hydraulic conductivity of the materials were not
properly measured, but observations during the
experiments show that the hydraulic conductivity is
decreasing as the electric conductivity in the leachate is
decreasing. The phenomenon of reduced hydraulic
conductivity as a effect of reduced ionic strength in the
pore water of clays is well known (Daniel 1993). The
reduction in the hydraulic conductivity is caused by an
enlargement of the electric double layer of adsorbed water
and of cations in the pore water. The enlargement of the
double layer constricts the flow channels in the clay.
Another well known effect of increasing electric double
layers is peptising of flocculated colloids. If colloids are
flocculated they are held together by chemical forces
between the surface atoms. If the electric double layer
increases the distance between the surface atoms of the
colloid can become too large for the chemical forces to
hold the colloids together. The effect of this will be that
colloids are dispersed in the solution.
The effect of reduced ionic strength, as measured by the
electrical conductivity, could explain the increase in
concentration of the elements Si, Al, Fe and Zn in the
leachate where the conductivity is reduced bellow
10 mS/cm. Si, AI and Fe are important elements in clay
minerals and the increase in these elements could
therefore be a result of a release of colloids dispersed as a
result of low ionic strength in the pore water.
The simultaneous increase in Zn concentration is
somewhat alarming because it indicate that heavy metals
adsorbed to these colloids are leaching out as well.
However, the reduction in hydraulic conductivity will
limit the amount of water leaching out and therefore also
the amount of colloids and adsorbed heavy metals.
415
Contaminants in Pore Water
Table 3 Measured Concentrations of Contami-
nants in two Pore Water Samples Extrac-
ted from Sediments from Oslo Harbour
IContaminant I OH-sed 1 I OH-sed 2 I
The measured concentration of mineral oil is higher than
its solubility in water. This high concentration indicate
that some fragments of free oil phase is squeezed from the
sediment sample during centrifugation.
The pore water also contains considerable amounts of
PAH, Cd and Hg.
The measured concentration of contaminants in the pore
water indicate that considerable amounts of these can
dissipate into the water masses above To estimate the
amount likely to dissipate into the water masses a simple
calculation were camed out.
The sediment in Oslo Harbour region has a water content
of about 100 %. With a wet density of the sediment of
about 1.5 t/m3 the pore water make up 75 % of the
sediment volume.
Table 4 Maximum Dissipation of Contaminants
from Sedimeots in Deepwater Deposit with
Volume of 750 000 m3
Contaminant Maximum Dissipation of
Contaminants from 750 000 m3
PCB7 <0,05 kg
Oil ( C I O ~ O ) 675 kg
Hg 0,07 kg _.
Cd 9,6 kg
These calculations show that moderate amounts of conta-
minants can be transported to the water masses above with
dissipating pore water during consolidation These num-
bers represent the potential for transport of contaminants
if the sediments are consolidating without any cover on
top. Covering disposed sediments ,with clean masses will
increase consolidation and therefor dissipaton of pore
water.
However the capping will retard the dissipative transport
of the contaminants with two mechanisms:
Contaminated pore water will enter the pore volume of the
clean capping material and replace all its pore water
before it enters the sea water above.
REFERENCES
Blbrresen, M. 1997. The use of electrokinetic processes to
extract lead and injection of nutrients in fine
grained soil. M.Sc. thesis, Department og Geologi,
University of Oslo. 171 p.
Daniel, D. E., 1993. Clay liners. In Geotechnical Practice
for Waste Disposal, Chapman and Hall, London.

Contaminants in the dissipating pore water will adsorbe to Konieczny, R. M. 1994. Survey of pollution in GrBnli-
the capping material. bukta Oslo havn (in Norwegian). NIVA, Oslo.

CONCLUSIONS Helland, A. 1993. Mapping of heavy metals in the sedi-

ments of the Horten channel (in Norwegian).
The experiments show that simple barriers of rock debris, NIVA. Oslo.
with sufficient content of fine grained material, filter away
considerable amounts of particle/colloid bound heavy NGI, NIVA and ICG 1999 Survey of contaminated
metals. sediment in Oslo Harbour, Norway (Technical
report in Norwegian)
It is also shown how the different elements measured in
the leachate can be categorised using their leaching
profiles. Correlation of the concentration profile of heavy
metals with the profiles of major elements, with a known
leaching mechanism, can give indications of the
mechanisms involved in the leaching of the heavy metals.
Based on the assumption that the leaching of the clay-
mineral elements, Al, Si and Fe, is correlated with
leaching of clay particles one can conclude that in the case
of fresh water leachate from Oslo Harbour sediment,
colloidal transport is the main cause for the observed
leaching of Zn.

Storage of polluted marine sediments under the sea water

level will improve its resisting capacity towards both pH
changes and desalination. Disposal of polluted sediments
in near shore fills combined with land reclamation can be
an environmentally and economically sound solution for
many harbours.

Disposal of contaminated sediments in anoxic deep water

will isolate the sediments from erosion, bioturbation and
ground water seepage. This method is therefore an
attractive alternative for management of contaminated
sediments where natural or artificial anoxic basins are
found close to the dredging site.

416
GE 0 m,International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999
PERMEATION OF CONTAMINANTS THROUGH WATER SATURATED SOILS
R. Shubha' and D.N. Singh2
'Former Graduate Student, 'Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engg., Indian Institute of Technology, Powai,Munibai 400 076, India
SYNOPSIS: An attempt has been made to simulate the passage of a contaminant (kerosene oil) through a water saturated
soil by conducting centrifuge modelling. Such experiments are of importance because soil (compacted) barriers are widely
used to contain water, chemicals and potentially hazardous materials (pollutants) from municipal and toxic waste facilities
because of their low hydraulic conductivity. The lack of understanding of the factors affecting the conductivity of soils
with different fluids indicates that the conductivity of mixtures of organic fluids cannot reliably be determined from simple
laboratory tests using water as the permeant. Hence the tests have been performed on water saturated samples permeated
with kerosene.

INTRODUCTION centrifuge modelling (Goforth et al, 1991; Laut, 1975;

Improper disposal, accidental spillage or leaks of hazardous
wastes into the soil strata has the potential to contaminate
the ground water. To assess the impact of these wastes on
the ground water regime it is necessary to predict the
contaminant migration. Predicting contaminant transport in
soils is a complex problem and an understanding of the
physical, chemical and biological processes is essential .
Various mathematical models (Javendal et al, 1984) have
been developed to predict and forecast the transport
phenomenon of pollutant in soils. Their accuracy and
efficiency depends on the way the physical processes
are incorporated and the input parameters viz. permeability
and dispersion coefficients used. Investigations have
revealed that values of longitudinal and transverse
dispersivities in field systems are significantly larger than
those observed in the laboratory. Hence quite often it is
difficult to obtain accurate input parameters in the
laboratory by using conventional testing techniques.
Another problem with these models is that they suffer from
lack of calibration and validation. Simple cases of a single
contaminant in saturated conditions seem to work
adequately as compared to the cases dealing with multiple
contaminants in conjunction with unsaturated flow. As such
these models lack a confidence level. To overcome this
situation experimental investigations in full scale models
can be carried out as an alternative. But this is not
practically feasible since the horizon of interest spans
decades of real time and also, to simulate a detailed
representation of the geological strata is very difficult. High
simulation costs can also be a limiting factor.
Thomas, 1995) wherein, a soil sample is sp.un at high
rotational speeds resulting in increased gravitational effects
which in turn simulates insitu confining stresses. The rates
at which processes occur in the centrifiigal model can be
related to the prototype through relatively easy fundamental
principles of physics (Arulanandan et al, 1988). In addition,
it is also possible to accelerate the transport processes;
advection, hydrodynamic dispersion and absorption etc.
(Bear, 1972), that govern the fate of pollutants as they move
through soils and aquifers. Testing of large (centrifugal)
models using a large capacity centrifuge will enable
inclusion of various heterogenities in the model. The
obtained results can be used to verify mathematical models.
An effort has been made in this study to simulate the
advection process, a process by which ground water
transports contaminants along with it, the rate of transport
being equal to the seepage velocity, using a small
geotechnical centrifuge.
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS
General Soil Properties
A local soil sample (from Hiranandani Gardens, Powai,
Mumbai) was first air dried and pulverised before passing
through a 360 micron sieve. It was observed that this soil
sample consisted of 60%-70% silt. When dried, the soil had
a ubiquitous brown colour. After reconstituting the soil, the
colour remained brown. The specific gravity of the soil was
found to be 2.87.
Compaction Tests

Most of the problems associated with mathematical models Both Standard Proctor as well as Modified Proctor tests
and full scale test models can be overcome by using were conducted on the sample at varying moisture contents.

417
The optimum moishue content by Standard Proctor is Using Eq.(ll), SII.0, the scaling factors for hydraulic
approximately 17.73% at a dry density of 1.79 glcc and
optbhum moistute content by Mdified Proctor is
approximately 15.28% at a dry density of 1.95g/cc (Fig.1).
2'sol-
c o n ~ u c t i v ifor
~ ~ different g vatues, with respect
8 WODlFIEO to I-g
PROCTOR
X STANMRO PROCIOR
laboratory tests have been evaluated and some of the results
are presented in Table 4. In this table k, is hydraulic
c o n ~ u c t i v iin~ centrifuge models, kpt and kp2 are the
Permeability Tests hydraulic conductivities obtained in consolidation tests and
oedometer falling head tests respectivily at the appiied
To study the process of contaminant permeation through a pressures equivalent to those generated in the c e n t r i ~ ~ate
natural soil layer, a conventional falling head permeameter the requisite g-levels, kp3 and kpl are the hydraulic
was used. The samples were compacted (static) with 98% conductivities obtained in the conventional and oedometer
and SO% saturation at predetermined densities obtained fsing-head tests respectiviiy without applying any
fiom the modified proctor test results. a d ~ t i pressure;
o ~ XI, x2, x3, and are the scaling factors
corresponding to kpl kp2 kp3 and respectinly. It can be
The kerosene oil was allowed to flow from top to the noticed that, in general, these scaling factors are close to
bottam of the soil sample @ei&=6.3m and unity. hydraulic conductivity in a centrifuge
** OO In other words
O WATER CMVTENT (Y
The consolidation test
Diameter=8.Ocm). The isobservations
an indirect permeabilitywere recorded test at
in
is N times that of the 1-g tests. This observation is
which aintervals
regdar sample of soil is
of time forcompressed
2 days. Further in a torigid ringthe
study at
consistent with the scaling relationship obtained in Eq.(6).
various vertical stress levels, with drainage
effect of time on the permeation phenomenon, the 28th day facility at both
top and bottom
observations wereof the
alsosample.
recorded. TheDue h yto~ the
a u degradation
co~ductivity
~~c is
of Fig. 1: Compaction curves
calculatedsome
kerosene using
black material theory
Terzaghi's was transportedof one into~ e nthe
s i osoil
nal
consolidation
sample whichusing the following
was clearly visibleexpression:
the moment sample was
taken out of the permeameter mould. The top lcm. of the This study demo&rates the use of a geotechnical L E G E centrifuge
ND
sample with 98%......................................
k = cvmvyw saturation; and almost"............... the entire sample (9) for modelling hydradic conductivity of compacted soils. It
with 80% saturation show permeation of the kerosene oil can be seen that the hydraulic ~ n ~ u c ~ i vini taygeotechnical
where c, is the change
and perceptible coefficientin the of colour
consolidatioq
of the m , isThis
soil. the centrifuge is N times greater than that obtained from the
coefficient
physical of volume
process simulates compressibility,
the formationand yw is the
of vadose zoneunitin conventional laboratory tests. Study also satisfies the
a naturalofsoil
weight liner.In Eq. 9, cv can be obtained either by
water. theoretical scaling relations~pfor hydraulic conducti~ty"
conventional J; or Iog(t) relationships for the soil. Olson Time taken to test a soil sample in a centrifuge is quite less
(1986) has observed
It has been shown thatthat theapproximately
calculated hydrauiic 16gm. conductivity
of kerosene as compared to the bench tests. As such, a centrifuge can be
values
has from Eq.into
permeated 9 areeachalmostof always
the water lesssaturated
than the measured
samples. used efficiently to obtain the hydraulic conductivity of fine-
values,
The trendsand ofthethecalculated h y d r a ~ cconductivity
intrinsic permeability of the so3 an values
the grained soils. Since the prototype stress conditions can be
from & ofmethod
duration are more
permeation, the close
hydraulic to the measured
gradient, values
the age of created in a geotechnical centrifuge, the obtained
thansample
the the log(t)
andmethod.
the ratioAs of such J; method
saturation is used
have been in this
shown in permeability values are more near to in-situ values. Further,
study for estimation of cv and
Figs. 2a and 2b. A dose examination of these trends hence the hydraulic there is a good agreement between hydraulic conductivity
conductivity
indicates of the
that* for soil.
28 days samples, a critical hydraulic values obtained fiom various I-g bench tests.
gradient (approximately equal to 0.24) exists (marked by an
arrow) corresponding to a critical value of discharge
RESULTS AND
(approximately DISCUSSIONS
equal to 0.8xE8cubic mlmin, marked by an
arrow) about which a transformation of the trends takes REFERENCES
The scaling relationship for hydraulic c o ~ d u c ~between
place. vi~
1-g tests (denoted by suffix p) and centrifuge tests (denoted Alem', M.H., Neilsen, D.H., and Biggar, J.W. (1976).
by suflix
Higher m) can be written
conductivity as: by the sample with higher
is exhibited " ~ t e the~ h yg~ a u l ~conductivity
c of soi1 cores by
saturatiom because the pores are well interconnected which ~ n ~ g a t
Fig,i o n
2(a). f
Soil' Sci. Soc.
Conductivity Am.
vs. J.,40,212-218.
discharge trends
permits2kan X path of flow for the permeant. The trends
= Neasy
samples after..~..~*.....l.*....~~..~~....~....~...-.*.......
for the k, two days are not in agreement with(10) the Arulanandan, K., Thompson, P.Y., Kutter, B.L., Meegoda,
trends noticed earlier. This may be explained by the fact N.J., M ~ e e t hsmms
CENTRIFUGE ~ a K.K.,
n , and Yogach~dran,C. (1888).
that a period of two days is very Me
where x is a scale factor whose value has to be ascertained
to observe noticeable "Centrifuge modelling of transport processes for pollutants
changethe
with in discharge
he$ of variousand as such 1-g in and thecentrifuge
conductivity values.
tests. To in soils."
The p k Jr.
m ASCE, Eng., 114(2),
Geotech.with
permeated kerosene185-205.
(hthe
The trends
evaluate theobserved
values of arex,similar
Eq.(lO) the ones
to can observed
be written by
in the permeameter mould) were then slid into a perspex cylinder,
Airey (1993).
folrowing form:However*such results can be vaIidated only Mtchelf,
underlain R.J.
with a (I994a).
layer of dry"A flexible,
sand (2m. no
high lateral
) and strain
spun in
by perfoming a series of experiments. Similar trends have aapparatus
small for clay liner-leachate
Geotechical testing."
centrifbge Cenrrifige
available by
in 94the
been noticed for the permeability as a function of hydraulic hung, Lee, and
Geotechnical Tan (eds.),
Engineering Bdkema,inRotterdam,
laboratory TIT Mumbai, 351-355,
at 200
gradient as depicted in Fig. 2a ti
m es g value (corresponding to 800 rpm) for a period of
Mtchell, R.J. one
approximately (1994b).
hour. "Centrifuge
This processtechniques for to
is equivalent testing
the
clay &ermodelling
physical samples."ofCan, Georech. f
contaminant .,31,577-583.
migration through a soil

261
418
 e.oor I 10.00 -
s:o-eo

8.00 r
SECIION N0.1
PVCRAGE PROFILE

- --_-- -
-cE 6.00- SECTION NO.?
U

X
0
iz L . o o - - - ~

SEC.
.NO3

2.00-.- 7 . . . . . . . .'. . . . . . . .
.. .. ....... .. .. .. .. ....... .. .. .. .. ....
_ ...... . ~ i i o i ~ ; E ~ : : . :.,;:::.
//'I'
1 ................... . . .;: ............. l:.
0
/'
'. , '::,..::.;:....'. ....................
:;; . . . . . . .
0 1.00 za 3.00 4.00 5 3

Fig. 3(b): Concentration profile of kerosene in the soil

sample (S=O.80)

1
10.00 5-0.98

section was collected by making a slurry of the soil mass in

a cylindrical jar as shown in the Figures 3a and 3b for 98%
and 80% water saturated samples respectively.

From.these figures it is observed that the percentage of

kerosene obtained from the various soil sections are almost
uniform along the height of the sample. The uniformity in
the presence of kerosene throughout the sample length may
be explained by the fact that during the centrifugation the
height of the sample decreases by 200 times while the time

$180
. . . . .
l.;O '
... ........ ..................

'/a

Fig. 3(a): Concentration profile of kerosene in the soil

1.160
KEROSENE
2;OO 2:40 2
required for fluid to migrate has increased by 200 times.
The decrease in the percentage of kerosene oil in the
bottom layers of the sample may be accounted for by the
presence of sand layer which is more permeable as
compared to the soil sample.

sample (S=0.98) CONCLUSIONS

1. The laboratory permeability tests indicate the formation

liner of height 12.81m subjected to dumping of refuse over
a period of 5 years (Arulanandan et al, 1988). The 98%
saturated sample expelled some of the permeated kerosene
and gets cracked where as, the sample with 80% sahiration
displayed no such phenomenon. The cracking of the sample
may be attributed to the compaction density contrasts
mainly associated with the static compaction method. As
such it should be tried to compact the soil sample in the
centrifuge container itself, using either a Proctor or a
Harvard Miniature Compactor. Unfortunately due to the
practical difficulties associated with the sample preparation
the same could not be performed.
The samples were sectioned at the end of the centrifugation
process and the amount of permeated kerosene in each
of a vadose zone- the zone in which migration of pollutants
takes place
2. It is observed that the hydraulic conductivity (intrinsic
permeability of contaminant ) increases in proportion with
the hydraulic gradients and discharge rates
3.The concentration of contaminants remains almost
uniform within a soil sample.
4. Centrifuge modelling is more effective as when
compared to standard permeability testing in order to
observe the movement of contaminants tluough a water
saturated soil

419
REFERENCES

Airey, D. W., (1993), "Migration of a pollutant through a

natural clay liner", Geotechn-ical management of waste
and contamination, Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 323- 328.

Arulanandan, K., Thompson, P.Y., Kutter, B.L., Neegoda,

N.J., Muraleetharan, K.K. and Yogachandran, C. (1988),
"Centrifuge inodelling of transport processes for pollutant in
soils", Journal of the Ceotechnical Engineering, ASCE,
VO1.114(2), pp.185-205.

Bear, J., (1972), Dynamics of fluids in porous media,

American Elsevier Publishing Company Inc, New-York.

Goforth, G.F., Townsend, F.C. and Bloomquist,

D.(1991),"Saturated and unsaturated fluid flow in a
centrifuge", Centrifuge 91, Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 497-
502.

Javendal, I., Doughty, G., and Tsang, C.F., (1984), Ground

water transport, handbook of mathematical models,
American Geophysical union, Washington, D.C.

Laut,P.(l975),"Application of centrifugal model tests in

connection with the studies of flow patterns of
contaminated water in soil structure",Geofechnigue,Vol.25,
pp.40 1-406.

Thomas, F.Z., (1999, "Geoenvironmental research using

Centrihges", Encyclopaedia of Environniental control
technology, Vol. 9, Gulf Publishing, Houston, Texas, pp.
335-336.

420
GEO Shore
-, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

BEHAVIOUR OF OIL STORAGE TANKS RESTING ON MARINE CLAY DEPOSIT

A. Ghosh
Scientist, Geotechnical Engineering Division, Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, U.P. 247 667, India

SYNOPSIS - A number of large diameter oil storage tanks have been constructed on the soft marine clay deposit along the
coastal belt. For the oil tanks under question, the untreated ground had very low bearing capacity with large anticipated
settlement. To improve the bearing capacity of the soft marine clay deposit ground treatment was done through stone
columns. An instrumentation programme was undertaken to monitor the foundation of the tanks. Two parameters e.g. (i)
Pore pressure and (ii) Settlement measurement at varying depths was carried out. Constant monitoring was done and the
data thus obtained helped in taking crucial decision during hydro - testing. Vital information could be obtained on the
differential settlement of the base plate of the tank which is a common cause of tank failure.

INTRODUCTION SETTLEMENT REDUCTION

To meet the ever increasing demand of oil a large number
of storage tanks were built in the refineries located in the
coastal regions of India. The capacity of these tanks are
around 65000 m3. While the diameters are of the order of
80.0m, height varies from 13.6m to 14.6m. One such tank
is located in the Haldia refinery and the other at Madras
refinery Ltd (MRL) situated in the eastern coast of India.
Soil profile at Haldia on exploration came out to be silty
clay. The laboratory test data showed that the effective
cohesion c’ of the soil was 45 KPa and the effective angle
of shearing resistance $’ of the order of 3’. Soil
exploration was carried out upto a depth of 30.0m and
baring a thin layer of sand all along the depth presence of
the material with above properties were recorded.
Calculations reveal that the bearing capacity was of the
order of 60 KPa and the anticipated settlement was of the
order of 2.0m.
Dead load of the tank and the crude oil stored upto the full
height would have applied a load of 150 KPa. Obviously
this would have caused distress to the tank and more over
such a high order of settlement was not permissible.
The above situation called for adopting some ground
improvement technique which was achieved by providing
skirted stone columns on the foundation of the tank.
Nearly 4430 columns were constructed upto a depth of
about 12.Om.
For the tank at MRL the thickness of the compressible
stratum was only 7.0m. About 14.14 stone columns were
constructed with diameter of the column varying from
0.74m to 0.86m.
According to Greenwood (1970), Penman (1977) and
Datye (1982), stone column redudes the settlement to
about % - 1/3 of that estimated without treatment.
Contradicting the above, Bishop (1976) has pointed out
that in some cases effect of remoulding caused by the
stone. column installation may increase settlement.
Burland (1976) generally accepted the statement and
suggested that for insensitive soil stone columns may be
effective but he doubted the efficacy of the stone columns
for soft clay.
For a situation of 4000 stone columns installed upto
12.0m deep volume replacement is of the order of 23%.
Thus stone columns in addition to provide the stiffer
material to transfer the load also reduces the volume of
the compressible soil. Naturally the settlement could be
expceted to reduce on both the counts.
There is no reliable and satisfactory method to limit the
differential settlement and the task is compounded further
by the reported observations that some tanks have stood
large differential settlements without failure whereas
some others have failed at rather low differential
settlements. Green and Hieght (1975) suggested that
differential settlement exceeding 2% of the tank diameter
lead to permanent damage and about 3% to failure.
Following the procedure adopted by Datye (1982)
reduction in settlement as computed is given in table - 1
below.
Diameter of stone column = 0.65 m
Area of stone column = 0.3316 m2
Yield capacity = 40.0 t
E eq = 15000 KPa

421

Load (Urn') Spacing of stone Settlement with
columns (m) stone column /
I without stone
column (%)
I Scheme of instrumentation for the tank at Haldia was
15 2.0 23
15 3.0 58
A check is necessary to exclude the possibility of rupture
of the base plate for which a minimum base gradient of
1:80 is considered desirable. Many tanks have failed due
to the rupture of the base plate. The two tanks on Thames
site provide striking examples, Penman and Watson
(1967).
OBSERVATIONAL APPROACH
Since a lot of questions e.g. (i) the group effect of floating
stone columns, (ii) the efficacy of the skirt provided
around the tank pad, (iii) the reduction of settlements etc
could not be answered to the desirable level of
confidence, it was decided that the tank foundation will be
monitored for the development and dissipation of excess
pore pressure under and around the tank foundation and
settlement of the base plate at the time of tank
construction and hydro testing as well.
SCHEME OF INSTRUMENTATION
The problem called for the measurement of vertical
ground deflection commonly termed as settlement of tank
foundation when loaded to its full capacity. It was decided
that direct measurement of settlement should be taken,
supported by the measurement of excess pore water
pressure caused by incremental load.
For direct measurement of settlement, hydraulic overflow
type settlement gauge and magnetic settlement gauges
were installed below and out side the tank pad.
For pore water pressure measurement, two types of
hydraulic piezometers were installed. Open stand pipe
Cassagrande piezometers were installed outside the tank
pad and Bishop twin tube piezometers were installed
below the tank mainly owing to the difference in their
design.
For the tank at Haldia it was further decided that the
instruments would be installed in only one quadrant (two
radii) assuming that the other three quadrants would
behave similarly. South - west quadrant was taken up for
instrumentation. For the tank at MRL instruments were
installed at one radius only.
422
Instruments designed for remote sensing were installed
below the tank foundation. These instruments were
Bishop twin tube piezometers and hydraulic overflow
settlement gauges.
drawn up in such a manner so as to monitor the
parameters upto the depth approximately equal to the
radius of the tank. Also it was decided to stagger the depth
of installation so that piezometric profile can also be
obtained. While drawing up the scheme it was also kept in
mind that installation of instruments should be done in
respect of depth and distance from the centre on both the
radii to have a cross check on the assumed similar
behaviour of the radii.
For the tank at MRL since the depth of compressible
stratum was of the order of 7.0m only the maximum depth
of installation was upto 1O.Om.
At Haldia Cassagrande piezometers were decided to be
installed in three clusters, each cluster comprising of three
piezometers. Formation of clusters had the philosophy of
monitoring three layers of subsoil at depths around IOm,
25m, and 35m. Two of the clusters were decided to be
installed within the instrumented quadrant (S-W) whereas
the third one in the S-E .quadrant.
Magnetic settlement gauges were decided to be installed
in two bore holes placed diametrically opposite to each
other.
While drawing up the scheme of instrumentation wash
boring technique was used for making of the bore holes
both inside and outside the tank periphery. Location of the
bore holes were decided in such a manner so that it falls at
the centre of triangle formed by granular piles, and the
instruments remain unaffected by the piles. Also the very
presence of the pile will not cause any problem for its
installation.
In total 9 Cassagrande and 11 Bishop piezometers, 7
Hydraulic over flow settlement gauges, 16 Magnetic
extensiometers were installed at Haldia.
At Madras in total 16 Cassagrande and 4 Bishop
piezometers, 4 hydraulic over flow settlement gauges and
6 magnetic settlement gauges were installed.
The layout diagram for both the sites is given in Fig 1 and
the details of the instruments along with their numbers
and locations are given in table - 2.
 Table - 2. Details Of Instruments magnetic settlement gauges in one of the bore holes upto a
depth of 15.0m.

In 3 clusters. Depth varying from

10.0m to 35.0m in each clusters
located at 1.12r from the centre.
Depth varying from 8.0m to 35.0m
located along the S-W quadrant
I under the tank foundation.
HSG I 7 I Located at 0.25r, 0.62r, 0.95r and
1.12r from the centre under the
tank pad.
MSG 16 8 each in two bore holes at 1.12r.
Deepest at 25m and shallowest at
I 4m
silk?: I Madras ReJinery
I Instrument I Number I Location & other details-
~ I
CP 16 Depth varying from 3 - 15m
located outside the tank pad
BP 4 Depth varying from 3 - 10m under
the tank pad
HSG I 4 1 Located at 0.025r, 0.38r, 0.48r,
0.94r from the centre under the
tank pad
MSG 6 Depth of bore hole 6m out side the
tank Dad
Note:- CP - Cassagrande Piezometer, BP-Bishop
Piezometer, HSG - Hydraulic Settlement Gauge, MSG -
Magnetic Settlement Gauge.

DATA PRESENTATION

The observed data of the above instruments are presented

in the following figures below.

Settlement Of The Base Plate

Settlement of the base plate was monitored with the help

of remote indicating type hydraulic settlement gauges. For
the tank at Haldia refinery the three typical observed
values of hydraulic settlement gauge No 2, 4 and 6
located at 0.25r, 0.62r and 0.95r fiom the centre are
presented in Figs 2 -4 ( r is the radius of the tank). Two
typical case of settlement of the tank base plate observed
at MRI, tank through HSG no 1 and 2 located at 0.025r
and 0.38r from the centreare presented in Figs 5 & 6.

Settlement Around The Periphery

Settlement around the periphery was observed through the

magnetic settlement gauges. Movement of soil upto a
depth of 24.0m was recorded around the periphery of the
tank at Haldia. Fig 7 represents the movement pattern of

423
 HALDIA INSTRUMENTATION

$ 30-
.! 4 0 -
C
E 50-
-
2 60-
$ 70-
80 -
90 -

Fig. 2 Load-time-settlement of hydraulic settlement gauge No.2 (Haldia)

90
100'
8ol
Fig. 3 Load-time-settlement of hydraulic settlement gauge No.L(Haldia)

0-
10 -
E, 20- 79m $
30- WtC36nrcI
E 40-
-a# 50-
60-
70
Kls
424
 Pore Pressure
The pore pressure was monitored by the help of
piezometers installed both under the tank base and around
the periphery of the tank. Identical observations were
recorded in both the cases. The magnitude of the pore
pressure directly under the foundation was more as
compared to the locations outside the tank base.
DISCUSSIONS
1. Efficacy of the stone column for quick dissipation of
the pore pressure was manifested in both the tanks.
The piezometers installed at Haldia within the treated
zone (12m) recorded much lower. magnitude of pore
pressure as compared to the hydrostatic load applied on
the tank. The stone columns faciliteted quick dissipation
of pore pressure within the treated zone.
2. The piezometers located around 18 - 25m depth
recorded higher rise of pore pressure as compared to the
shallower depths as the path for quick dissipation was not
available.
3. The piezometers located at deeper depth ( around 35m)
again did not record high rise of pore pressure as the
intensity of applied load at that depth considerably got
reduced.
4.The hydraulic settlement gauges recorded the settlement
of tank base plate.
At Haldia the maximum settlement was recorded as
87.8cm at 0.25r and the minimum was 53.5cm at 0.9%.
The differential settlement worked out to be 131.
At MRL the maximum settlement was recorded as 25.0cm
at 0.38r and the minimum settlement was 12.0cm at
0.025r. The differential settlement turned out to be 1:215.
The differential settlement in case of the tank at Haldia
was critical. The stone columns were floating and the
depth of the compressible soft soil was much more as
compared to the tank at Madras. At MRL the stone
columns were resting on the competent layer and the
thicknes of the compressible layer was also 7.0m as
compared to 30.0m at Haldia. Hence the magnitude of
settlement follows the pattern OS soil strata.
426
5 . The observed settlement recorded through the Magnetic
settlement gauges were much lower in magnitude as
compared to the hydraulic settlement gauges.
ACKNOWLEDEGMENT
The author is thanl6ul to the colleagues who helped in
successful completion of the instrumentation pregramme.
The paper is published with the permission of the
Director, Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee.
REFERRENCES
Greenwood, D.A (1970). Mechanical improvement of
soils below ground surface, Proc. ICE : 11-22
Penman, A.D.M (1977). Soil - Structure interaction and
Deformation problem with large oil tanks. Proc.
Intl. Symp. On soil - structure Interaction. Roorkee
Vol-1 : 521 - 536
Datye, K.R (1982). Settlement and bearing capacity of
Foundation system with stone columns. Proc.
Symp. on soil and rock improvement technique
including geolextiles, reinforced earth and modem
piling method. Bangkok
Bishop, A.W (1976). Discussions - Proc. BGS Symp. On
ground treatment by deep compaction. Instn. Civil
Engrs. London : 138 - 140
Burland, J.B (1976). Discussions - Proc. BGS Symp.On
ground treatment by deep compaction. Instn. .Civil
Engrs. London : 142
Green, P.A. and Height, D.W (1975). The failure of two
oil storage tanks caused by differential settlement.
Proc. BGS con$ Settlement of structures, London ;
353 - 360
Penman, A.D.M and Watson, G.H (1967). Foundation for
storage tanks on reclaimed land at Teesmouth.
Proc. Instn. Civil Engrs. London : 19 - 42
GEO a
m,International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

GRANULAR PILE SYSTEM FOR UPLIFTING LOADS-A CASE STUDY

Pradeep Kumarl and Gopal Ranjan2
‘Scientist, Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee 247 667, U.P. lndia
’Director, College of Engineering, Roorkee, U.P. 247 667, lndia

SYNOPSIS - Many a times structures related to oil exploration, refinery etc. are subjected to
uplifting forces. Such structures laid particularly in weak soil deposits ,call for a suitable foundation
techiique capable of providing ground improvement besides providing resistance to uplifting and
compressive loads. The paper describes the application of the proposed AGP system as a foundation
technique to treat such weak subsoil deposits. The design procedure based on the modified cavity
expansion theory (Vesic 1972), the subsoil properties and the effectiveness of proposed AGP-
system compared with a underreamed pile for a transmission line tower is also illustrated.

INTRODUCTION ULTIMATE LOAD BEARING CAPACITY OF

Oil exploration and production all over the world has
received major attention of Civil engineers in the recent
times and consequently has built up pressure on
construction industry. These construction activities
sometimes pose serious geotechnical problems to the
engineers in case the sub-soils is weak. Thus, it is
necessary to undertake a suitable ‘ground improvement
technique’ so that chances of usual common foundation
failures in weak subsoil either due .to inadequate bearing
capacity or excessive settlement may be avoided.
Out of the various ground improvement techniques
commonly adopted granular piles are considered to be an
appropriate choice. These piles have been proved effective
due to their technical feasibility, less energy utilization,
cost efficient. Further, these piles are not only capable of
controlling the expected excessive settlement but also
provide the desired bearing capacity and at the same time
improve the ground conditions. Studies on granular
pileshkirted granular piles have established their
effectiveness for providing improvement in case of
treating weak subsoil deposits (Hughes and Withers 1974,
Datye and Nagaraju 1981, Ranjan and Rao 1983 & 1985,
Greenwood and Kirsch 1984, Ranjan 1989, Madhav
et.al.1993, Rao 1993 ).These piles are also proved
successful for large diameter oil storage tanks ( Rao 1993,
Ranjan 1991 and 1996) ,and also effective for foundations
subjected to uplifting loadings - referred as Anchored
Granular Pile (AGP) system ( Rao and Ranjan 1983,
Kumar and Ranjan 1997).
The present paper describes the design procedure for
AGP’s utilizing cavity expansion approach (Vesic,1972).
Summary of a design example is also presented to
demonstrate the design application of proposed AGP-
system and the same compared with a underreamed pile
for a 220 kV transmission line tower.
GRANULAR PILE
The ultimate load bearing capacity of plain or skirted
granular pile is worked out by considering a bulging
failure mode (Fig. 1). Such a failure mode was observed in
model test (Hughes and Withers 1974) and also confirmed
through full-scale field tests in cohesive soil deposits
(Hughes, Withers and Green Wood 1975). The depth of
bulge in these studies was noted to be four times the pile
diameter. In cohesionless soils, bulging failure mechanism
was found to be limited to a depth of 4-5 pile diameter
(Ranjan, 1989).
Under Uplifting Loads : When the granular piles (AGP)
are subjected to uplift load , bulging failure mode (Fig.2)
is assumed to be at the base of the granular pile. The depth
of the bulge is measured from the pile top to the top of the
bulge. The bulging failure mechanism is analogous to the
expansion of a cylindrical cavity into a homogenous,
isotropic semi-infinite soil mass having cohesion c, and
angle of shearing resistance 4 (Vesic, 1972). The uplift
capacity
of a single granular pile Qultis given by eq. 1.
where k, is a coefficient with a value of 6 , c, is the
undrained shear strength, F’, and F’, are the cavity
expansion factcrs (Vesic 1972) dependent on 4 and the
rigidity index I , , o,,,
is the mean normal stress and A, is
the area of cross section of the granular piles after
installation. The details of analysis have been described
elsewhere( Ranjan and Rao 1986, Ranjan, 1989).
Design Procedure
The various design steps for granular piles under
compressive load are reported elsewhere( Ranjan 1989),
whereas steps for design of granular piles under uplift

427
 PILE

I
(a)

(a) PLAlN GRANULAR PILE

(b) SKlRTED GRANULAR PILE
FIG.l :Bulging failure mode of granular Piles in Compression.

loads are presented in the following sections. Design
principles of a single granular pile under uplift load is
different than that under compressive forces. Infact under
uplift load the pile is assumed (a) to derive the resistance
against uplift force from the restraint provided by the
ambient soil around the critical height H, (Fig.2-b) the
height of bulging, H, is limited to 5 pile diameter (c) the
bottom portion of the pile is considered to bulge due to
uniform induced lateral stress 6, in a homogeneous
isotropic, infinite non cohesive soil mass due to the
gradual increase in the applied uplift stress and
consequently the 6, in the pile body. The cylindrical zone
around the bulged pile having a radius R, Fig.(2-a) will
pass into a state of plastic equilibrium. Beyond this zone
of plastic equilibrium of radius %, the soil is considered to
remain in elastic equilibrium condition (d) the ultimate
uplift load, (qu)upliftis considered to be resisted by the
PUP

PEDESTAL

(a) PLAIN GRANULAR PILE

(b) SKIRTED GRANULAR PILE

FIG.2 :Bulging failure mode of granular Piles under Uplift.

428
weight of the pile W, and the load required to provide
restraint against bulging of the pile (e) the unit fiiction
along the pile shaft and the ambient soil is neglected as
there is no relative movement between the granular pile
and the surrounding soil. The various steps for computing
the ultimate uplift capacity are given below.
STEP 1: Calculate parameters K, and p from Equations 2
and 3.
k, =1-Sin(l.24) (2)
p=(A-) (3)
rigidity index I, from Eq.5 and 6 ,
E, =2(1+2D:)q, (5)
Es=3qc (6)
where ACT,,,,the increase in mean normal stress due to
additional load which is neglected, and C T ~ is assigned a
value of 100 kN/mz. Find out the cavity expansion factor
F,’ for known values of Ir ( Vesic 1972)
STEP 4: Calculate the uplift resistance, (Qu)uplie of a
single granular pile from Equation 7,

STEP 2: Find out the vertical stress oydue to overburden

and the uplift resistance of the pile group (Qug)up~ie
having,
using the depth (measured f?om average ground level to
the top of the bulge) and bulk unit weight rbulk . Calculate number of piles in the group, from Equation 8.
the mean normal stress o,,, and effective vertical stress CT”
shall be used in Eq. 4 (Qu)uplifi= n. kp, nm. Fq’. Ap (8)
1
=-(1+2k,)~,
Find the weight of the pile group (n.Wg) and the footing
U, (4)
3 WF the increase in pile uplift capacity due to friction
between soil plug and the skirt interface.
STEP 3: Calculate the corrected soil modulus E, and the
-to o
112+0:0---------- 0 0
0: 0 OS 9 15mm RODS
I I
I I
I
I I
I &
I I

b 1 7 2 0

@ RINGS 8 2 5 0 c/C

NOTE:-ALL DIMENSIONS IN
MILLIMETERS

I 4 I-’ NOTE:- ALL DIMENSIONS I N METERS

I-%., -I
FIG.4 :Conventional footing
FIG3 :Underreamed Pile foundation

(After Sharma et a1 1974) (After Sharma et a1 1974).

429
STEP 5: Calculate the total uplift capacity of the skirted DESIGN EXAMPLE
granular pile group (Qskg)uplift
from Equation 9,
The design example for a 220 kV transmission line tower
(Qskg)uplift=(Qug)uplift+n.Wg+Qs+Wf (9) has been presented to illustrate the design application of
the proposed analysis. The loading diagram of 220 kV
type ’B’ transmission line tower has been taken from
Sharma et al, (1974) where the foundation using concrete
DISCUSSION block and under-reamed piles (Figs. 3 and 4 ) has been
designed.
Insitu tests on AGP’s of 250mm dia. and 3.5 m.deep at a EXAMPLE : A 220 kV transmission line tower
site having cohesionless soil deposit have been carried out foundations has an uplift load of 261.75 kN whereas
(Tab]? 1). corresponding.values under broken wire condition 369.75
TABLE 1- Comparison of observed and computed
kN. The soil at the site consisted of predominantly
uplift capacity of granular pile@) cohesionless to a considerable depth. The water table at
I I
Pilemile ~ O U D I
1
Length ; h i e / Observed Computed Ratio
Dia. (m) Group
I
Ultimate caDacitv fkN)

obs.1
I .\
I I
the time of investigation was found to be at 0.6m below
the average ground level.
SOLUTION : The proposed granular pile foundation
(m) I * cam. under each leg of the tower has been checked against
safety for (i) normal loading conditions and (ii) Broken
0.25 3.5 2Gr. 100.00 96.0 1.04 wire condition, for both compressive and uplifting forces.
0.25 3.5 3 Gr. 155.00 144.0 1.01 The factor of safety may be taken as 1.5. Considering
0.25 3.5 4 Gr. 220.0 192.0 1.14 450mm dia. 7.05m deep, four granular pile group at a
spacing of 3 pile under each leg of the tower (Fig. 5).

Piles were installed by the wash boring technique (Ranjan UPLIFT CAPACITY
1989). The observed ultimate uplift load from in-situ tests Taking the height of bulge as 5 times the dia.of pile. The
have been compared with the computed values using soil input data is as under :
and pile properties. A glance of the table 1. indicates that Effective normal stress (T, = 45.9 kN/m2
the predicted ultimate loads compare well with full scale Effective mean normal stress ( T =~ 27.3 kN/m2
in-situ test results. Corrected soil modulus E’, = 4179.9 kN/m2
Rigidity Index I, = 99.42 say (100)
Based on proposed design and construction techniques Cavity expansion factor F’, = 7
granular piles have been used as foundations for a variety Thus, ultimate uplift resistances of the single pile,(Qu)uplift
structures and in some cases .their performance also are found from Eq. 7 and Eq . 8 ,
monitoried / verified with theoretical predictions (Rao = 6 x 27.3 x 7 x 0.1590 = 182.3 ‘kN,
(Qu)uplift
1982,Ranjan 1996). The case records demonstrate the = 182.3 x 4 = 729.2 kN.
(Qug)uplift
validity of the proposed design methodology. Increase in uplift due to weight of 4 piles group.
n. Wg = 4(0.1590x7.05~22)= 4 x 24.7 = 98.8 kN
Soil block method (Tomlinson, 1977) is also sometimes
Increase in uplift capacity of the pile due to soil-plug skirt
used to compute the uplift capacity of piles in cohesionless
interface fiiction (Qs), will be same as in compression
soils. The frustum of the pyramid/cone is assumed to be
lifted with the pile group. The safety factor against uplift is which is found to be as (123.13 x 4) which is 492.5 kN,
since there are 4 piles in the group, and increase in a pile
taken as unity since skin friction around the periphery of
the group is ignored. The single pile safe uplift capacity is capacitydue to weight of footingWF is,
WF =(2.1 ~ 2 . ~1 0 . 6 ~ 2 4 ) = 6 3 . 5 k N
taken as the weight of the frustum of the soil block divided
Hence the total uplift capacity of the skirted granular pile
by the number of the piles in the group (Fig. 6). The
foundation having 4 piles in group is given by Eq.9.
ultimate load in uplift is found by using a F.S. equal to 1.5.
(QskgIuplift = (Qug)uplift + n. Wg. + Qs + WF
It may be mentioned that the ultimate uplift capacity of the
= 729.2 + 98.8 + 492.5 + 63.2 = 1383.74 kN.
single pile in a collectively skirted pile group computed by
the modified cavity expansion approach (Rao,1982) and Therefore, the ultimate uplift capacity of a single pile is
the soil block method (Tomlinson, 1977) are noted to be in found as,
close agreement.
(Qu)up,iR =5=345.6kN
4

430
Soil Block Method (Tomlinson 1977) soil block and the pile cap may be taken as the safe uplift
Volume of the fi-ustum of the soil block ABCD, A’B’C’D’ capacity of the pile group.
with the height KK’ (Fig. 6) is given by Safe uplift capacity of group = 861.O kN
Volume = 1/3 (Area, A’B’C’C’ x OK) Taking factor of safety of 1.5 for the soil block, the
= 1/3 (Area ABCD x OK) ultimate capacity of the soil block is given as (Qu)Block
now h, = 3.59m. Weight of the block upto cut off level given as
= 9 . 0 [ 1 / 3 ( 5 . 1 8 ~ 5 . 1 81~0 . 3 4 - 1 . 8 ~1 . 8 ~ 3 . 5 9 ) ] = (Qu)Bloek = 797.5 X 1.5 -k 63.5 = 1259.8 kN
797.5 kN Hence ultimate uplift capacity for single pile = 1259.8/4 =
Weight of the pile cap = 63.5 kN 3 15 kN whereas the proposed method by the authors
Thus total weight = 797.5 + 63.5 = 861.0 kN (modified capacity expansion approach) gives ultimate
The total resistance against uplift is provided by the uplift capacity of a single pile as 345.6 kN which is in
weight of the soil block, the weight of the pile cap and the good agreement.
shearing resistance along the surface of the wedge of soil.
Neglecting the shearing resistance, the total weight of the
G. L .

p+
,~~ PLAN THE TOWER (b) SECTIONAL
I
ELEVATION
BASE AT CUTOFF LEVEL

k,(K+l)d +300 4
I b K d - 4 I

T
1.35rn TT
2.1rn

1.35rn-r(

+ 2.1m 4
-1 2.6rn -4
( C l FOUNDATION PLAN UNDER A
SINGLE L E G

~ 5 :granular pile foundation for a 220 kV

~ 1 ~ Skirted

Transmission Line Tower.

431
 FIG.6 :Computation of uplift capacity of granular pile group
using soil block method (after Tomlinson, 1977).
. .
Check for U D - h k Force : The uplift force due to tower
is 261.75 kN and the available ultimate uplift capacity is
1383.73kN, thus the actual factor of safety is 5.2 which is
greater than 2.5, hence safe.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Based on large Scale in - situ tests on single granular piles
and pile group cast in loose to medium dense cohesionless
deposits, silty clays and soft saturated clays, a simple
design procedure based on cavity expansion approach has
been presented. The procedure for design of single end
groups of granular piles has been extended to demonstrate
the design for the foundation of a 220 kV transmission line
tower for the use of the practising engineers.
The skirted granular pile foundation is found to be an
efficient and economical alternative to massive concrete
block foundation and so also the under-reamed pile
foundation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are thankful to the Director, Central Building
Research Institute, Roorkee, for his kind permission to
publish this paper.
REFERENCES
Datye, L.R. and Nagaraju, S.S. (1981) ,’ Design Approach
432
and Field control for stone columns’, Proc. 10th Int. Conf.
SMFE, Stockholm, Sweden, Vo1.3, pp. 637-544.
Engelhardt,K.,and Kirsch,K.(1977), ‘Soil Improvement
by Deep Vibratory Technique‘ Proc.5” S-E Asian
Conference on Soil Engineering, Thailand, pp.377-387.
Greenwood ,D.A. (1970); Mechanical Improvement of
Soils Below Ground Surface’, Proc. Ground Engg., Conf.
ICE. June. 1970
Hughes,J.M.O. and Withers, N.J. (1974); Reinforcing of
soft Cohesive Soils With Stone Columns’., Ground Engg.,
Vol. 17, NO.3 pp. 42-49.
Ranjan ,G. and Rao, B.G. (1985) ,‘Earth Strengthening by
Granular Piles‘, Int. Conference on Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, (USA),Aug. 1985.
Ranjan ,G. (1989)- Ground Treated With Granular Piles
and its Response under Load” IGS.Annua1 Lecture ,
Indian Geotechnical Journal, Vol 19, No.1, ppl-86.
Rao, B.Govind and Ranjan ,G. (1983); Skirted Granular
Piles for Uplifiting Loads in Week Soil Deposits , Proc.
7th ARC, Haifa, Israel .
Rao,B.Govind and Gopal Ranjan (1985) ,‘ Settlement
Analysis of Skirted Granular Piles ’, Jr. Geotechnical
Engg. , ASCE, Vol 111, No. 11 ,Nov.,PP 1263-1284.
Schmertmann, J.N., ‘Static cone to Compute Static
Settlement Over Sand I, Journal of SM and FE,
Proceedings of ASCE, V01.96, SM3, 1970, pp. 1011-43.
Vesic, A.S.(1972), Expansoin of Cavities in Infinite Soil
Mass, Proc. ASCE (98), No. SM3.
GE 0 &%!&, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

ELECTROCHEMICAL HARDENING OF CLAY BY SACRIFICIAL ELECTRODE

A.V. Shroffl, N.H. Joshi2and Purvi Dave3
'Professor 6 Erstwhile Head, 'Lecturer, 'PG. Student, Applied Mechanics Department, Faculty of Technology b Engineering, M.S.
University of Baroda, Vadodara 390 001, India

-
SYNOPSIS The paper describes electrochemical hardening phenomenon of marine clay using sacrificial aluminurn
electrode as anode and galvanized steel cylinder as cathode. The effects of electrochemical treatment on physical, electrical,
chemical and .strength properties of clay are examined. X-ray diffraction and chemical analysis indicate changes in mined
composition of clay due to introduction of aluminum and zinc ions after treatment which causes hardening by ion exchange
in addition to decrease in moisture content resulting in a permanent stabilization of soil. This ultimate consolidated
strengthen mass is a result of chemimsmotic coupling and cementing of clay particles.

INTRODUCTION The aim of present investigation is to study the electro

Radii drainage, stabilization, precompmssion, stone
columns, thermal treatmenf gedexiiles, electro-chemical
hardening etc. are now well known techniques for
improvement of cohesive soils. Casagrande
(1939),Titkove (1961),Murayama and Mise (1953)
Chilinger and Raike (1967), Gray and Mitchell
(1969,70,77) showed usefulness of electro chemical
hardening for small saturated cohesive mass.When direct
current is passed between metal electrodes embedded m
saturated cohesive mass ,the anode rich in cation releases
cations which m i p t e through the soil towards cathode.
Ionexchange, mineral alteration alongwith electm
osmotic drainage result into permanent stabilization of
soil.
Electro-osmotic improvement occurs with reduced
discharge flow rate q=k, EA , where K,= electreosmotic
CD- eff of permeability ,K,= zdn/8nl, where (z) = Zeta
potential , D- dielectric constant of electrolyte, n=
porosity,q = viscosity of liquid, E= potentid gradient and
A= area of discharge. Gray and Mitchell showed K, = 0 at
zero water content which increases linearly to K, = 5 x 1O-'
mm2Nat an average water content of 60% .K,is i n v e r ~ ~ y
proportional to ion exchange capacity.
In electrochemical hardening , stabilizing electrolyte is
introduced either by solution and dispersion of the anode
material through electrolysis or by direct introduction of
additives at the anode which are rich in cations with
stronger bonding strength are replaced in the clay rich in
high-exchange capacity of weakly bonded cations will led
to ion exchange and improvement of soil properties.
Aluminium, calcium chloride, iron etc. are the materials
used for above purpose.
chemical hardening phenomenon on marine clay ushg
sacrificial aluminum electrode ns anode and galvanized
steel cylinder as cathode. The work includa study of
effect of electro chemical treatment on physical ,
electrical, chemical and strength properties of marine
clay. The experiments are conducted using low voltage
direct current and properties such as plasticity ,
equivalent specific resistivity, current density , strength,
moisture content ,void ratin and p" of marine clay sample
are measured with progress of treatment.
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
soil
Compressible, Low shearing strength marine clay with
kaolinite and mica as the predominant mineral type is
used in the present investigation. The properties of soil
are given in table1 .
Electrodes
Anode
Aluminum alloy rod supplied by hydraulic research
station, GERI, Vadodara was used as anode. It consists
of Al (94.1%), Zn (5.1%) and Sn (0.2%) with
dimensions30 cm length, 2.0 cm diameter and one end is
pointed.
Cathode
It consists of double walled Galvanized perforated steel
cylinder with 25 cm inside diameter and 28 cm height.

433
 Table-1. Propertiesof Marine Clay

speci6ic Property VahK

(a) Physical Properties

1. Colour of soil Bray

2. Liquid limit 64%
3. Plastic limit 31%
4.IS classification CH
5. specific gravity 2.43

(b) chedcal Properties

1. Predominent mineral Kaolinite

2. Soluble salt content in water 35 s/ lit
3. A a
l 24%'
4. Fefi 7%
5. Base exchange capacity 22 meq/lOO g

(c) Textural properties

1. Sand 12%
2. silt 36%
3. Clay
-7
52%

The inner wall is perforated and outer wall is plain with

Galvauized
1cm gap between them.
n steel cctlind
EXPERIMENTAL MEASUREMENTS AND
PARAMETERS

Fig. 1 shows experimental set up used which consists of a

double walled circular cell filled with soil and central
aluminum anode. The low D.C. voltage is supeed
between anode and cathode and regulated by
eliminator. The tests are performed at 2.5 , 4.5 and 5.6 The electrical quantities studied are equivalent resistivity
voltage D.C potential gradient. The current, resistanq of soil and current density.
and voltage are measured with the help of multimeters. Equivalent spec8c resistivity, s = R*A
The soil was tilled in the mould up to the depth of 23 cm where R = Specisc resistance of soil
= Wr, R= VoltagdCurrent in Q
with minimum air voids. The mould was kept in humid
room and evaporation losses are minimized ,by covering F Radial distance between anode and cathode
the sample using plastic sheet throughout the duration of rl
testing. The test started by applying 2.5 voltage D.C. A = jm&
supply continuously for 96 hours then it is increased to 1

4.5 voltage for further period of 96 hours and finally 96

hours of testing is performed at 5.6 voltage. In this way Where, rl= radius of anode, d= radial distance h
or
n
total period of treatment is 12 days (i.e. 288 hours). The center of anode to cathode, d= depth of sample
moisture content, shear strength and p" are measured at
three different depths viz: 2 cm, 8cm and 16 cm fiom top Current density (i) is defined as c u m t divided by
of soil and 2 cm (near anode) and 10 cm (near cathode) surface area of particular electrode
radial distances from center. The shear strength is i.e.
measured using vane shear apperatus. The powder . Current
I =-
dffictometer is used for X-ray difhction analysis &L

434
Where I)= diameter of anode or cathode and L= len@ of Moisture Content(9")
electrde. 0 40 80 120
"
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
2
Jiquid Limit and Plastic W t 4
I
The liquid limit of untreated soil is 64% which decreases B 6
to 53% after the treatment. The plastic limit reduces from $ 8
33% to 27% due to the electrockcal procesSing. The e 10
5
change in plasticity index is therefore from 31% to 26% a
i.e. according to plasticity chart classi6cation, the
tendency of soil is to shift from CH to CI type of soil.
Q$ l214
Moislure Content 16
18
Fig.2 shows variation of moisture content along the depth
of soil sample for different duration under three Mereni
voltage gradients near anode and Fig3 shows similar
graphs near cathode Both these figures indicate
moisture content variation is almost uniform at anodic
and cathodic region. The initial moisture content of soil void Ratio
was 114% which reduced to @ 33% to 35% at top and
@ 53% to 55% at bottom of soil sample after 288 hours The initial void ratio of saiurated clay sample was @
of treatment. Moisture content reduction is proportional 2.72-2.74 which reduced to .78 at top, .86at middle level
to voltage gradient i.e. at low voltage, reduction is less and 1.28 at bottom level near cathode where as these
and vise versn. Moisture reduction is rapid during initial values are .7,.82 and 1.24 respectively near anode. The
period of 48 hours under voltage application of 2.5V. variation of void ratio with progress of treatment is
When it is increased to 4.5V and hrther to 5.6V similar presented in FigAa & 4b. It can be observed that the rate
trend is observed. Initially , moisture content was of void ratio reduction is highest at highest voltage
uniform along the depth which can be observed firm gradient.
straight vertical line. This deviates to curvilinear with
difference in moisture content at top and bottom of
specimen increases with progress of treatment.
3 T-TOP
M- Content in (Yo)
0 40 80 120
0

5
8
10
c
a
15
1 1 O ! I 1

1 5.6V 4.1, 2.5V 0 100 200 300

Time In Hours
2o Fig.4a Void Ratio Vs Time Of Treatment near
Cathode
Fb2 Moisture Cantent Variation Near M e

435
 3
T-1’OP i
2.5

z 2
H
8 1.5
3> I
I
0.5 -3v 4.5 v 5.8 v
I
0 100 200 300
1
0 , Timeinhours
Fig. 6 Strength Against Time Of Treatment Near
M e And Cathode.

treatment. Top level of soil reflects highest strength while

bottom level reflects the lowest strength.The initial 1.8
kPa shear strength of untreated soil incresed to 50 Wa,
P“ vriation 40 kpa and 29 Wa at top, middle and bottom level
respectively near anode after 288 hours of treatment.
The p” variation with time of treatment near anode and Similarly the corresponding values near cathode are 16.5
cathode is presented in Fig.5.The initial p” of soil was kPa,15.8 Wa and 14.2 Wa. i.e. shear strength near
8.0 which reduced to 7 near anode and it increased to anode is 2 to3 times more compared to that near
10.5 near cathode after treatment.This indicates acidic cathode. Also the variation of strength from top to
reaction near anode and alkaline reaction near cathode. bottom level is marginal near anode which is fairly
uniform near cathode.The correlation between moisture
content and shear strength c m be studied from Fig.7.
The increse in shear strength due to reduction in moisture
..
/ CATFlODE -
lot
9.5 + L
: *,

5.W *,’
0
120
T -TOP
M -Middle
100
B -Bottom
s
-6
c, 80
5:
8
5:
8 60
6
.gj 40
0 40 60 80 100 E
2o

Anode and Cathode

ThnehH0~1~
F b 5 pH Variation with Thee OfTreatment Near ”I
0 1
-
.
2.5 Volts
..........
4.5 Volts
I 8
_ _ L .

I
5.6 Volts
I
I
Shear Strength 0 10 20 30 40 50
Shear Strength kPa
Fig.6 shows increase in shear strength with progress of
treatment near anode and cathode.From the graph, it can Fik7 Variation Of Strength W
ith Respect To
be observed that strength of soil increases with time of Moisture Content

436
content is obvious but at same moisture content, strength
of soil near anode is more compared to that near cathode
which is attributed to high cation exchange. Similar
argument is valid for void ratio.

Specific Resistivity

Fig.8 shows variation of specific resistivity against time

of treatment. The equivalent spec& resistivity decreases
during initial application of electric potential which after
reaching a minimum value, increases rapidly. This is true
when voltage gradient changed from 2.5V to 4.5V and
from 4.5V to 5.6V. The initial specific resistivity of 21
ohm-cm is increased to 99 ohm-cm after 288 hours of
treatment. -50 360
dhoursrn
F~J 9 Current Ihaui6yVlsTimc of
Treatment
880 4
P
340
l20
0
0 100 200 300
Time in hours
Fig. 8 Equivalent Speeidic Resistivity
V/s Time of Treatment

Current Density

Fig.9 shows anodic and cathodic current densities versus
-
time of treatment. The general trend of all the curves is
similar and bears inverse rehtionship with specific
resistivity. Under the effect of particular voltage gradient,
current density increases initially, after reaching a peak
value, it decreases sharply. This is true when voltage
gradient changed from 2.5V to 4.5V and from 4.5V to
5.6V.The initial anodic current density of 23.5 d c m '
reduced to 11.6 mA/cm* and initial cathodic current
density 23.5 mA/cm2 reduced to 12.7 d c m ' after 288
hours of treatment.
Examination Of Soil After Treatment
It is observed that initial 23 cm heiaht of soil samde
reduced to 20 cm after the treatme.n<Fig.lO shorn ihe
sectional view of treated soil which indicates diffusion of
aluminum ions in the soil after treatment. The initial 395
FklO. Sectional View OITreated Marine Clay
g of aluminum anode has lost 42g weight during
treatment. X-ray difEraction data indicates the
cementitious aluminum compound associated with basic
mineral in the lattice structure of clay matrix. From the
d i h t i o n data of Fig.11, peaks27, 12 and 10 and 8 and
12 indicate presence of blinite. Peak 9 and 15 indicates
possibilities of vermiculite and calcium aluminum
hydrate oxides respectively. Peaks 9 and b suggest the
presence of muscovite and peak 31 indicate presence of
lllite sodion i.e. Sodium potassium aluminum silicate.
Discassion
Major factors that innuencc the & , . - h ~ d
hardening are size of soil samples of electrode,
voltase Bradient electrolytein the clay

437
 moisture, void ratio and soil plasticity reduces. The
2K I
CPS resulting consolidated soil mess is less permeable and
chemically stable. The technique is useful for SEabiliZng
small quantity of soil mass.

References

Gray, D.H., MitcheU, J. K.," Fundamental Aspects of

E l e c t m o d s i0 Soils" Jn. SMFS, Proc. &E,
V01.95,NOSM3, 1969,pp 875-879.
5 Karpoff,K.P.,"Stabihtion ofFine Greined Soils by
Eleclro-osmotic and Electrochemical Methods
"Proc.Highway research Board, 32, 1953.pp.
526-540.

Murayama, S, Mise T.," Electnxhemid consolidation

of soil using Aluminum Electrodes P w .3rd
system etc. Since the soil possesses Na+ ,Cl- and water, ht.C o d Soil Mech. Zurich, 1,1953,pp 156159.
during the treatment,Na' migrate towards cathode where
Hz ~k Shukla, K. P."Electmchemid Treatment of Clays",
Roc.3rd Int. Cad.,Soil Mech. and Found. Eng.,
Na' + 2 e' + 2H@ -+ 2NaOH + Hz Zurich, 1,1953,pp 199-202.
Due to growth of NaOH near cathode, p" hrreases. C1- AV.S h e C. I Gaiar and P.V.Parikh," Electm
migrate to anode, Chemical Hardening of Marine Clay by Sacficial
Electrode ",IGGl985,Roorkee, U.P.
2CT + 2e- + Clz

2Cr + 2 6 + 2H@ -+ 2 H&l + 02

Thus, soil becomes acidic near anode. Besides this

migrates due to diffusion of anode.

AlOi + H'+ H@ + AI(0Hh

As AI(0Hh is an amphoteric colloid, it coagulates.
Al(0Hh is dehydrated by heat and electro osmosis
subsequently it becomes the crystallized bauxite.

Al(0Hh +AlqOH) + Al&

Al(0Hk and AI& are insoluble in water, chemically
stable and binds clay particles which yields stronger and
stable soil mass.

CONCLUSIONS

Electro chemical stabilization depends on chemico-

osmotic coupling which increase.s strength of soil. The

438
GEO Shore
-, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

DESIGN OF GEOSYNTHETIC REINFORCED RETAINING WALLS

J.N. Mandal
Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Pmai, Mumbai 400,076, India

SYNOPSIS - In this paper, the design of geosynthetics (geogrids) reinforced retaining walls are summarized. Seismic
analysis is considered for the design of geosynthetic reinforced soil retaining walls. Many designers do not have tools
required to complete all of stability analysis for site conditions. Most current geosynthetics reinforced retaining soil wall
design software products do not address all the components of the stability analysis. This paper is directed towards
researchers, practitioners,regulators and guidance for future research and development of codes for reinforced soil walls.

mass that acts as a gravity structure,

INTRODUCTION
The concept of reinforced earth technology is
developed by French engineer and architect Henri Vidal
in 1969. Since the development of the reinforced earth
techniques, various numerical (Finite Element
Methods) and experimental works have been proposed
for the design and analysis of reinforced soil walls by
Indian institute of Technology, Mumbai. Wandal et.al.
1980, Hoshiya and Mandal, 1983, 1985, Mandal and
Jamble, 1991, 1991(a),1992, Mandal and Labhane,
1992, Mandal and Jamble, 1994, Mandal and Shinde,
1994, Mandal, 1994, Mandal and Kapoor, 1995,
Mandal, 1998)
Drainage Fill
This is generally placed behind, within and beneath
wall facing units to collect ftee water and prevent
buildup of hydrostatic pressure.
Foundation Soil
The soil is just beneath the base of the reinforced zone.
The drainage will be placed within the foundation soil
to a blanket drain or permeable level base for wall
facing units.
Soil

The use of geosynthetics reinforced retaining walls
were realized with the introduction of geogrid soil
reinforcement in 1982 and subsequently the
introduction of segmental retaining walls in 1985.
Today geosynthetic reinforced retaining walls are
routinely used on private land development projects.
The various recent guidelines are documented by Elias
and Christopher 1997, FHWA, 1997 and AASHTO
1997.
REINFORCED SOIL WALL SYSTEMS
Reinforced Soil Zone
This zone is comprised of an infill soil containing
horizontal layers of geogrid reinforcement. The
reinforced may be acted upon by a uniform surcharge
loading, q andor be inclined at slope angle 0
Geogrid Reinforcement
The high strength geogrid incorporated within the
rteinforced zone to create a composite soiV geogrid
The cohesionless fiee draining materials are preferred.
Some soils with high percentages of fines and low
plasticity may be used with proper drainage conditions.
Facia
It is the solid structural element directly connected to
geogrid reinforcement placed in front of the
reinforcement zone to permanently contain the soil.
DESIGN BASICS
A Schematic diagram of geosynthetics reinforced soil
retaining wall is shown in Fig. 1. The calculation steps
to ensure adequate factors of safety against external and
internal stability of geogrid reinforced soil walls are
presented here. These calculation steps are summarized
in the general flow chart provided as Table 1. The
calculation steps for the local stability of facia are
summarized in the flow chart shown in Table 2.

439
Fig. 1 Principal Components of a Geogrid reinforced
Soil Wall.

Table 1 General Flowchart for Design Calculations of

Reinforced Soil Wall.

RESULTS

A Computer aided design (CAD) has been developed

for designing the geogrid reinforced retaining walls. A
plot of maximum earth pressure distribution and the
earth pressure distribution along the facing is given in
Fig.2. The variation of the maximum spacing with
depth is given in Fig.3. The levels of geogrid layers can
be chosen fiom the articulated precast concrete panel
dimensions and connection configurations. As the soil
is placed and compacted in lifts of predetermined
thickness the vertical spacing can be chosen, whenever
possible, as a multiple of lift thickness. The total length
vs. depth for geogrid is shown in Fig. 4. The design
chart for geogrid is shown in Fig. 5.
Table 2 Detailed Flowchart for Calculations on Local
Stability of Facia

440
Fig. 2 Relationship Between The Earth Pressure Vs.
Depth With Wheel Load Using Geogrid.
Fig. 3 Comparison Between The Lift Thickness a d
Depth in Dynamic and Static Case of Geogrid
SUMMARY
The geosynthetics wall design would be very time
consuming task on the part of a design engineer.
Therefore, it would be appropriate to develop design
guides by systematically varying certain parameters in
analysis (e.g. height of wall and slope angle of wall
face). Several innovative design graphs can be
generated. Graphs of different geosynthetics could be
similarly developed or the type of loading could be
included as separate variable. The paper proposes the
outline of a simple and fast calculation method for the
proper design of geosynthetic (geogrids) reinforced soil
retaining walls.
441
REFERENCE
AASHTO(1997). Interims to Standard Specifications for
Highway Bridges, Sixteenth Edition, 1996, American
Association of state of Highway and Transportation
o@cials, Washington, DC, USA.
Elias, V. and Christopher, B. R. (1997). Mechanically
stabilized Earth walls and Reinforced soil slopes, Design
and Construction guidelines, FmA-SA-96-071, U.S.
Department Transportation Federal Administration
Washington, DC, USA. 371 P.
FHWA (1997). Degradation reduction factors
geosynthetics. Federal Highway Administration
Geotechnology technical note, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Federal Highway Administration,
Washington, DC, U.S.A.,5P.
 \ \ \ I
VALUES OF k.. \ \ \ \
VALUES OF k. I hi I H
043 ’
Fig. 5 Design chart of Geogrid
Hoshiya, M. and Mandal, J. N. (1983). Analysis and
design of reinforced earth retaining walls by
Probabilization approach. Journal of Indian Geotechnical
society. Vol. 13, No.13, July, 132-147.
Hoshiya, M. and Mandal, J. N. (1985). Experimental
investigation of model reinforced retaining walls. Journal
of Indian geotechnical Sociew. Vo1.15, No.4, Oct. 165-
186.
Mandal, J. N. (1994). Geosynthetic world. New AGE
Internationalpublisher, New Delhi.
Mandal J. N. (1988). Reinforced soil and geotextiles,
Oxford,IBH andpublisher, New Delhi.
Mandal J. N. and Shinde, S. (1994). CAD of geogrid
reinforced steep slopes using backwrapping techniques.
International erosion Control Association, 25” Annual
conference ofICEA, Reno, U. S. A., Feb. 1528,229-237.
Mandal J. N. and Kapoor, P. (1995). Centrifuge model test
on reinforced cohesive soil walls. International R &L)
Conference, water and energy - 2001, CBIP, Vol. 1, New
Delhi, 378-389.
Mandal J. N. and Jamble, K. S. (1991) Computer aided
design of Geosynthetic Reinforced Retaining walls. f i e
I 40.35 .0.7
\ I;
I
international Journal of Geotartile and Geomembranes.
Vol. 9. U.K. 139-151.
Mandal J. N. and Jamble, K. S. (1991a). Finite Element
Analysis of Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil walls. Proc.
XYII. Ohio river valley, Soil seminar, Design and
Construction with geosynthetics, Oct.18, U.S.A. 181-185.
Mandal J. N. and Jamble, K. S. (1992). Analysis of
geosynthetics retaining walls by limit state eqillibrium
method. The International Journal of Construction and
Building Materials, Vol.6, No.3, Dec.,U.K., 173-177.
Mandal J. N. and Jamble, K. S. (1994). Strain
compatibility of geosynthetic Reinforced Soil retaining
walls. The International Journal of Construction and
Building Materials, Vo1.8, No.2,June, U.K. 83-81.
Mandal J. N. and Labhane, L. (1992). A Procedure for the
design and Analysis of Geosynthetic reinforced slopes.
Int. Journal on Geotechnical and Geological Engineers,
VOl.lO,OCt., U.K., 219-319.
Mandal J. N. (1999). A guide to geotextile testing. New
AGE International publisher, New Delhi.
Vidal, H. (1969). The Principal of Reinforced Earth.
Highway Research record, No.282, 1-16.
442
GE 0 Shore
-, International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

CONSIDERATION OF NON-HOMOGENEITY OF A GRANULAR PILE ON

SETTLEMENT
J.K. Sharma', M.R. Madhav2 and S. Chandra2
'Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, Engg. College Kota 324 010, India
2Professor, Department of Civil Enginem'ng, l.LT., Kanpur 208 016, India

SYNOPSIS - The present understanding of the behaviour of a single granular pile is based on its modulus of deformation
being constant with the depth. The consideration of non-homogeneityof granular pile in terms of its deformation modulus for
settlement analysis is more realistic and would reflect the interaction more accurately between the granular pile and the soil.
This paper presents an analysis of the response of a non-homogeneous granular pile based on the continuum approach in
terms of settlement influence factor, normalised load and mobilised stress distribution along GP-soil interface and the
percentage load transferred to the base. The results have been presented for normal ranges of non-dimensionalparameters for
floating and end bearing granular piles and may be used for more rational design of granular piles installed in soft coastal
deposits.

INTRODUCTION Various techniques have been used the world over to install
granular piles depending upon the proven applicability and
Most large cities have been developed along the coasts, on
availability of equipment in the locality. Vibro-replacement
the banks of large rivers and estuaries where the sub-soils
(Greenwood & Kirsch 1983), rammed stone column @atye
usually consist of soft materials of alluvial or marine origin
& Nagaraju 1975) and vibro-compozer (Aboshi et al. 1979)
and which were deposited in relatively recent times. The
are some of the common techniques. Granular piles are
coastal lowlands are generally covered with very soft soils
constructed in stages with granular material placed in lifts in
that are underlain by recent clay, mud and silt deposits with
the hole and compacted. Though the energy input for
relatively low strength, high natural water content, high
compaction at each stage of construction of granular pile
compressibility and sometimes high sensitivity. When
may be constant, increasing in-situ confining stresses of
infrastructures are constructed on soft compressible ground
surrounding soil with depth may lead to different degrees of
in these areas, two difficult geotechnical-engineering compaction leading to non-homogeneity of granular pile in
problems are encountered by geotechnical engineers viz., terms of its deformation modulus. Stone columns tend to
stability andlor bearing capacity during construction and
have large diameter in softer strata rather than get densified
settlements and lateral deformations during and after
construction. Large settlements cause loss of regular use of
the facility and lead to high maintenance cost. Among the
various ground improvement techniques p r a c t i d often No. of blows/305 mm (N)
such as preloading, sandlplastic drains, static, dynamic or 0 60 120
0 I I I I I I
vibro-compaction, granular piles (stone column), use of I #' f 50 0 50(cm
admixtures or geosynthetics,etc., granular piles (GP) are the
most appropriate choice due to technical feasibility, low
energy utilization and cost effectiveness especially in
developing cowtries like India.

A number of analyses have been developed for estimating

the settlement of sand compaction pile/granular pile
reinforced ground based on the unit-cell concept (Balaam &
Booker 1981, Schweiger & Pandey 1986 and Canneta &
Nova 1989, Van Impe & Madhav 1992, Poorooshasb &
Meyerhoff 1997). Solutions for the response of a single
granular pile are based on its modulus of deformation being
constant with depth, i.e., homogeneous granular pile (Mattes
& Poulos 1969; Butterfield & Banerjee 1971). The
t
consideration of non-homogeneity of granular pile is more Fig. 1 Installation Effects-SFT Value (N)with Depth
realistic and would reflect the interaction more accurately @.oh 1982) & Shape of Column@e Cock &
between the granular pile and the soil. D'hoore 1994).

443

Eb’ “b
Fig. 2 Definition Sketch - Non-homogeneous Granular Pile
(a) End Bearing, (b) Floating, (c) Variation of Modulus
of Deformation with Depth.
(inset Fig. 1). The diameter is in conformity with the CPT
values of the in situ soil before treatment. Since the in situ
soil conditions in soft soils are non-homogeneous (both their
undrained strength and the stiffness usually increase with
depth) the granular piles installed in them become
inherently non-homogeneous. The compactability of the
granular material increases with depth where the undrained
strength of the soil is larger. Non-homogeneous granular
pile material used at different stages of construction may be
the other cause of the non-homogeneity of the sand
compaction or granular pile. Fig. 1 is an example of the
densificationeffect in case of a reclamation fill consisting of
50 % of silt and clay fractions. The SPT N values increased
by more than 100 % as a result of stone column installation.
Variations in these parameters may lead to non-
homogeneity of granular pile in terms of its deformation
modulus. The simplest way of approximating this non-
homogeneity of granular pile is to consider its deformation
modulus to increase linearly with depth from ground surface
or top to its tip.
Granular piles are often constructed normally to penetrate
the soft layer fully, if it is not very thick (e.g. less than 12.0
to 15.0 meters) and to rest on a bearing stratum, or to
penetrate the soft layer partially and act as a floating pile
bearing on a deformable stratum. This paper presents an
analysis of response of a non-homogeneous.floatingor end
bearing granular pile based on the continuum approach in
terms of settlement influence factor, normalized axial load
and mobilized stress distribution variations along GP-soil
444
interface and the percentage load transferred to the base.
PROBLEM DEFINITION AND METHOD OF
ANALYSIS
Fig.2 (a) and (b) show respectively end bearing and floating
granular piles of diameter, d, and length, L, acted upon by a
load P. The granular pile is characterised by the deformation
modulus, E&, increasing linearly with depth as
Z
E , (z)= E-00 + 7- 7) (1)
qep- a non-homogeneity parameter expressed as,
q - E = - L . Egp~and E,L are the deformation moduli at
E-0
the top and tip of GP respectively. The soft soil and the base
are represented by their deformation moduli and Poisson’s
ratios as E, & vs and E$, & vb respectively. The relative
stiffness parameter is the ratio of the deformation modulus
of the granular pile at ground level to that of the soil i.e.,
Kwo (= E&‘). The relative stiffness of the bearing stratum
is E a .
The elastic continuum approach is employed to analyse the
behaviour of a non-homogeneous granular pile in an ideal
elastic soil mass. The analysis is based on finding out the
stress system, (2). along the soil-granular pile interface and
the base stress, pb, which satisfy the compatibility of
displacements along the interface for no slip or yield
condition (Mattes & Poulos 1969). The essential steps of the
analysis are-
Soil Displacements
GP is discretised into n cylindrical elements as shown in
Fig. 2 acted upon by shear stresses, 2, and with the base
having a uniform pressure, pb. The sail displacements of the
nodes on GP periphery and the centre of each element are
evaluated based on the influence of the elemental shear
stresses. Thus soil displacements equations for a floating
granular pile are
and for a granular pile resting on a stiff bearing stratum
(Poulos & Mattes 1969)
(3)
where { S‘) and { p‘} are soil displacement and normalised
soil displacement vectors respectively. {p’) is size of (n+l)
and ‘n’ for floating and end bearing GPs respectively. In
case of floating granular pile, {z&} is a column vector of
size (n+l) for the normalised shaft stresses and normal
stress on the base while in case of end bearing GP it is
column vector of size ‘n’ excluding the base pressure. To
account for the influence of the bearing stratum, the mirror
image approximation (Poulos & Mattes 1969) is used. [Iv]
is a square matrix of soil displacement influence
coefficients of size (n+l) q d 'n' for floating and end
bearing GP respectively. U-] is a square matrix of soil
displacement influence coefficients due to image elements where
I m]
- = [[U]- [zqzq{x>

is unit matrix of size (n+l). For granular pile

of size 'n'. resting on stiff bearing stratum (Eq.s (3) and (8)) the
interface shear stresses are
Granular Pile Displacements

For floating granular pile, pile displacements are based on The settlement of a single non-homogeneous granular pile is
the equilibrium relation for an infinitesimal element of GP P
s=-z
(Mattes & Poulos 1969) as ESd
d o , --4"
-- (4) where I is settlement influence factor which depends on
d z d various parameters related to granular pile and soil. The
where crz and 'tare the axial and shear stresses at depth z. overall response of the non-homogeneous granular pile is
The axial strain is evaluated.interms of settlement influence factor, normalised
E =--=
dSp uq -
- U,
(5) shear stress distribution along GP-soil interface and
percentage of load transferred to the base.
dz E g p O ( l + q)g: p
where Sp is pile displacement and E,(z) is the deformation RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
modulus of granular pile at depth z. Differentiating Eq. (5)
with respect to z and substituting it in Eq. (4),one gets Results are obtained for the following ranges of non-
dimensional parameters;
Km = E& = 10-400, E& = 1-1000, qw = 0-5, V, =
vb = 0.3, Ud = 5-40.
0.5,.
Using the finite difference technique, Eq. (6), in matrix form
is
The results obtained by the above analysis have been
{$]
[~plb~~+{xx>= (7) validated with those of Mattes & Poulos (1968) and Poulos
& Mattes (1969) for single compressible floating and end
where [Ip] is a square matrix of size, (n+l), of pile bearing homogeneous piles (qgp = 0) respectively. The
displacement influence coefficients and [X)- is a column agreements have been very close.
vector of size, (n+l). Details are available (Sharma 1999).
For a granular pile resting on stiff bearing stratum, the pile The variations of settlement influence factor, I, with
displacement equations are
(.+@>. [.4q
E,
(8)
0.4 1 I I
where c,

(9) 0.3

with [A1] is upper triangular matrix of size 'n' which U

incorporates the effect of non-homogeneity of the granular

pile. [ 1 ) and [l] are respectively column vector and square 0.2
matrix of size 'n' in which each term is unity. [A21 is lower
triangular matrix of size 'n' in which the diagonal and off
diagonal terms are 0.5 and 1.0 respectively. The details of
formulation may be referred from Sharma (1999). 0.1

Compatibility of Dsplacements
10 100 400
Satisfying the compatibility of displacements of the granular K@
pile and the soil, solutions are obtained in terms of interface Fig. 3 Variation of I with K for a Folating GP
shear stresses and displacements. For floating granular pile, gP0
-Effect Of
ffom Eq.s (2) and (7); gP'

445
relative GP-soil stiffness parameter, K d , for relative
lengths offloating granularpile, Ud=lO & 20 and Poisson
ratio of soft soil v, = 0.5, are depicted in Fig. 3 also
showing the effect of degree of non-homogeneity, qw. With
the increase of relative stiffness parameter, the settlement
influence factors decrease for all values of non-
homogeneity parameter, .q , The settlement influence
factor also decreases with the increase of the degree of non-
homogeneity, qgp. The effect of non-homogeneity is
pronounced in the range of K@ = 10 to 150. The settlement
influence factors for Ud = 10 at K@ = 50 for q w = 0, 1, 2
and 4 are 0.225, 0.211, 0.202 and 0.19 respectively. Hence
percentage decrease in settlement influence factors in
comparison to that of a homogeneous granular pile (qw'o) ......... =50
are 6.2, 10.2 and 15.6 for qw = 1, 2 and 4 respectively. The
0
- +ooo,I I I I 1

decrease in settlement factor with q, for all values of K@ 0 1 2 3 4

is less for longer GP in comparison to that for a shorter GP.
For a given degree of non-homogeneity parameter ,q , a
longer GP would have relatively smaller moduli at all
depths compared to a shorter one. A consequence of the
above fact is that the effect of degree of non-homogeneity
on I decreases with increasing values of Ud.
,For the granular pile resting on a st&f bearing stratum
= loo), the variation of settlement influence factor
with Kgp~is presented in Fig. 4 showing the influence of
degree of non-homogeneity (qw) for L/d = 10 & 20. The
trends of the curves are very similar to those for a floating
granular pile (Fig. 3) except that the values of I are larger in
case of Ud=20 in comparison to those for L/d=lO. The
effect of degree of non-homogeneity of granular pile is
pronounced for K@ in the range 10 to 150. The settlement
%P
Fig. 5 Variation of I with T) -Effect Of Ud 8z E b
gP
influence factors for Ud =10 & Kgp~= 50 and for q, = 0, 1,
2 and 4 are 0.123, 0.102, 0.088 and 0.071 respectively. The
percentage decrements in settlement influence factors in
comparison to that of homogeneous end bearing granular
pile are 17.1, 28.5 and 42.3 for q , = 1, 2 and 4
respectively. For relatively longer GP (L/d = 20) the
decrement in I with q, is less as compare to that for Ud =
10. This result follows from the fact that deformation
modulus at any depth for the same value of qw is less for
longer GP and due to the presence of bearing stratum at
depth.

The effects of relative length (Vd)of a granular pile and the

0.3 relative stiffness of bearing stratum (EdE,) on settlement
influence factor 0 with the degree of non-homogeneity
(q), are presented in Fig. 5 for K,o = 50. As noted earlier,
the settlement influence factor decreases with the increase
of q . The rate of decrease of I with qgpin case of a short
,
0.2 granular pile is slightly more due to higher values of
modulus of deformation of GP at shallower depths. The
U settlement influence factors of a floating granular pile for
LJd = 10 and 20 are 0.189 and 0.162 for q , = 0 while for
qgg = 2, they are 0.173 and 0.145 respectively. For a
0.1 granular pile resting on the stiff bearing stratum, the trends
of the results are similar to those for floating GP. In case of
long homogeneous (qep = 0) compressible end bearing
granular pile, only a small load is transferred to its lower
reaches due to the presence of the bearing stratum at great
0
10 100 400 depth. The same phenomenon had been reported by Mattes
KgPO & Poulos (-1969). Consequently, even if the modulus of
deformation of the GP is higher (q, > 0) due to non-
Fig. 4 Variation of I with KgPO for End Bearing GP homogeneity, its effect on the reduction in settlement would
-Effect of 11 be very little. For the s m reason, settlements of long GP
gP'

446
(Ud = 40) resting on a bearing stratum are little affected by
the relative stiffness of the bearing stratum. The values of I
for Ud = 40,are very close for the cases EdE, = 50 and
1000, a twenty fold increase in the bearing stratum stiffness.
The effect of relative stiffness of the bearing stratum on
settlement influence factor is more for shorter GP and its
effect increases with increase of non-homogeneity
parameter.
Variations of normalised shear stress T* (= z/(P/mL)) for
floating*and end bearing GP (EdE, = 50) with normalised
depth z (= z/L) can be seen in Fig. 6 for Ud =10 and = parameter of GP due to transfer of more load from the top
50 along with the influence of non-homogeneity parameter,
qw With the increase of degree of non-homogeneity of
floating GP, (E#, = l), shear stresses decrease in the upper
portion appro@matelyover half of its length and increase in
the lower half. The area of decrement of normalised shear
stresses in the upper half of floating GP between any value
of qw and qgp= 0 (homogeneous GP) is approximately
equal to the area of increment in the lower half for the same
respective values of qw. Thus consideration of non-
homogeneity of asoating GP redistributes the shear stresses
along GP-soil interface. In case of end bearing granular pile
the interface shear stresses in the upper region (about 85 %
of its length) get reduced due to the non-homogeneity of
end-bearing granular pile and get transferred to the lower
ryjon and the base. Beyond the normalised depth of about
z = 0.85, shear stresses increase slightly due to the transfer
of load from the upper region to the lower stiffer region.
Shear stresses at these depths are negative and result in a
‘psuedo-downdrag’ effect, i.e., the soil surrounding the GP
settles relatively more than the deformation of GP. From the
pattern of shear stresses, it can be concluded that due to
degree of non-homogeneity of end bearing granular pile,
-0.5
0.2 -
0.5
z * = z(n dL)P
1.5 2.5
9 0.4 -
II
*N
0.6 -
0.8 -
1.0 I I I I I
I I
Fig. 6 Variation of z* with z * -Effect of rl
gP’
447
larger loads are transferred to the base resulting in the
reduction of interfacial shear stresses. The effect of non-
homogeneity in reducing the interface shear stresses is more
for qw increasing from 0 to 1 in comparison to those with
qgpincreasing from 1 to 2 or 2 to 4.
The variations of percentage base load, (Pdp)xlOO, for
floating and end bearing GP with non-homogeneity
parameter, qw, can be seen in Fig.7 showing the influence
of relative length of GP for Kgp~= 50. The percentage base
load increases with the increase of non-homogeneity
region of granular pile to the base. The amount of load
transferred to the base for floating GP is much less in
comparison to that for an end bearing granular pile. The
rate of increase of % base load with qw is more in case of
end bearing or shorter GP as compare to that forfloating or
longer one due to the presence of bearing stratum and stiff
GP base and at a shallower depth (for same non-
homogeneity parameter, qw). The increments in % base
load of a non-homogeneous floating GP for non-
homogeneity parameter q w = 4 as compare to that for a
homogeneous one (qw = 0) are 1.4 and 0.6 for L/d = 10 and
40. The corresponding increments for non-homogeneous
end bearing GP (qw = 4) are 24 and 14 for Wd = 10 and
40, a seventeen to eighteen fold increase.
CONCLUSIONS
Consideration of the non-homogeneity of the granular pile
in the analysis represents closely its in-situ behaviour. The
results of the above analysis can be used for a more rational
design of granular piles. In the present paper, numerical
solutions for the top displacement, normalised shear
0
2
80
60
J L/d=5
*
40
c
20
0
.._.........__.....
!................
......... ......... * ................
......... ......... ..........
0 1 2 3 4
Fig. 7 Variation of Percentage Base Load of GP with rl
gP
-Effect of Lid.
stresses, load distribution and percentage of load transferred
to base are presented for non-homogeneous floating and
end bearing granular piles based on the elastic conlinuum
approach. Consideration of non- homogeneity of GP in the
analysis reflects its true behaviour and accounts for the
changes in the state of the GP and in-situ soil due to
installation, stiffening and improvement effects. The
reductions in settlements are of the order of 10 to 15 % and
20 to 40 % for respectively non-homogeneous floating and
end bearing granular pile as compared to the settlement of
homogeneous 'one depending on the degree of non-
homogeneity. With the increase of degree of non-
homogeneity of GP, the stresses along GP-soil interface get
transferred from the top to lower portion of the GP and to
the GP-base. Percentage of load transferred to the pile base
increases with the increase of degree of non-homogeneity
of the GP. In case of end-bearing granular pile this increase
is significant depending on the depth of the bearing stratum.
REFERENCES
Aboshi, H., Ichimoto, E., Enoki, M. and Harda, K. 1979.
The compozer- A method to improve characteristics of
soft clays by inclusion of large diameter sand columns,
Proc. Int. Con$ on Soil Reinforcement: Reinforced
Earth and Other Techniques, Paris, Vol. 1, pp. 211-216.
Balaam, N. P. and Booker, J. R. 1981. Analysis of rigid raft
supported by granular piles. Int. J1. for Numerical and
Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, Vol. 5, pp. 379-
403.
Mattes, N. S. and Poulos, H. G. 1969. Settlement of single
compressible pile. J1. of SMF Div., ASCE, Vol. 95, SMl,
pp. 189-207.
Loh, A. K. 1982. Soil improvement with stone columns for
rh
foundation of an oil tank. SEAGC, Hong Kong, pp.
585-598.
Poorooshasb, H. E.and Meyerhoff, G. G. 1997. Analysis of
behaviour of stone columns and lime columns.
Computers and Geotechnics, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 47-70.
Poulos, H. G. and Mattes, N. S. 1969. The behaviour of
axially loaded end-bearing piles. Geotechnique, Vol. 19,
pp. 285-300.
Schweiger and Pandey, G.N. 1986. Numerical analysis of
stone cohmn supported foundations. Computers and
Geotechnics, Vol. 2, pp. 347-372.
Sharma, J. K. (1999). Analysis and settlement of a single
and group of granular piles. Ph.D. Thesis submitted to
Department of Civil Engineering, I. I. T., Kanpur- 208
016, India
Van Impe, W. F. and Madbav, M. R. 1992. Analysis and
settlement of dialating stone column reinforced soil.
Osterreichische Zng. und Arch.-Zeitschn$, Vol. 137, pp.
114-121.

Butterfield, R. and Banerjee, P. K. 1971. The elastic

analysis of compressible piles and pile groups.
Geotechnique, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 43-60.

Canneta, G. and Nova, R. 1989. A numerical method for

the analysis of soft ground improved by columnar
inclusions. Computers and Geotechnics, Vol. 7, pp. 99-
114.

De cock, F. and D'hoore, S . 1994. Deep soil improvement

by rammed stone columns-Two case histories for large
diameter storage tanks. Proc. 51hInt. ConJ on Piling and
Deep Foundations, DFI 94, Brugges, pp. 5.21.1-5.21.9.

Datye, K. R. and Nagaraju, S. S. 1975. Installation and

testing of rammed stone columns. Proc. IGS Speciality
Session, 51h Asian Regional Conference on SMFE,
Banglore, pp. 101-104.

Greenwood, D. A. and Kirsch, K. 1983. Specialist ground

improvement by vibratory and dynamic methods-state of
the art report. Proc. Int. Con$ on Piling and Ground
Treatment for foundations, Inst. of Civil Engineers,
London, pp. 17-45.

448
GE 0&', International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

GEOCELLS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF EMBANKMENTS OVER SOFT

MA~UNECLAYS
G . Madhavi Lathal, K. Rajagopal' and N.R. Krishnaswamf
'Research Scholar, 'Associate Professor, 'Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras,
Chennai 600 036, India

SYNOPSIS - This paper studies the advantages of geocell reinforcement on the performance of earth embankments
constructed over soft foundation soils through laboratory model tests. Soft clay bed was prepared in a steel tank and a layer
of geocells was constructed.on top of the clay bed. Embankment models were constructed above this layer. The influence of
various parameters like tensile stiffness of geocell material, aspect ratio of cells, length of geocell layer and type of fill
material inside the cells on the load-deformation behaviour of the embankment was studied. Geocell reinforcement was
found to be advantageous in improving the load bearing capacity and reducing the deformations of the embankments. Based
on the experiments, a methodology useful for the preliminary design of geocell supported embankments is suggested.

INTRODUCTION MATERIALS USED

Earth embankments constructed either onshore or inside the
soil
seawater, perform major functions like transportation and
flood protection. In many cases, these embankments are The soil used for the preparation of soft clay bed was
prone to excessive settlements and bearing capacity failure classified as clay with intermediate plasticity (CI).
because of the IOW shear strength and high compressibil-ity Properties of the clay soil are given in Table 1. The type of
of the yiderlying marine soils. Lot of research has been soil used for the construction of the embankment was poorly
done and a number of ground improvement techniques have graded sand with some cohesion (SP) and is referred as
been reported as solutions to this problem. Among various clayey sand in this paper. Properties of this soil are given in
stabilisation techniques available, providing high strength Table 2.
geosynthetic reinforcement at the base of the embankment is
simpler, faster and cost-effective. The latest invention for
reinforcing the embankments over weak soils is geocell.
Geocells are three-dimensional form of geosynthetic Table 1 Properties of Clay Soil
materials with interconnected cells filled with soil. A layer
of geocells provided at the base of the embankment acts as
stiff rigid base to the embankment, promotipg uniform
settlements. It prevents bearing capacity &lure and
minimises excessive vertical and lateral deformations
besides minimising the construction time and cost.

Limited investigations were reported in literature on the

design and performance of geocell reinforcement. Bush et a1
(1990), Cowland and Wong (1993), and Hendricker et al
(1998) etc. studied the performance of geocell reinforced Table 2 Properties of Clayey Sand
earth structures.
Optimum moisture content at standard ' 11.5 %
comuaction IOMC)
In this paper, results fiom a series of load tests on model Maximum dry density at standard 18 kN/m3
embankments constructed over soft clay bed with and compaction (MDD)
without geocell reinforcement are presented. The results are
Angle of internal friction (at OMC, MDD) 34O
analysed to understand the mechanism of geocell
reinforcement in improving the load bearing capacity of soft Cohesive strength (at OMC, MDD) 12 Wa
foundation soil, reducing settlements and also to study the CBR value (at OMC, MDD) 1.3
influence of various parameters on the performance of Soil classification SP
geocell reinforced embankments.

449
Geogrids After leveling the clay bed, a layer of geocells was formed
on top of the clay bed. Bush et al (1990) explained the
Four different types of geogrids, uniaxial (UX), biaxial procedure for conshuction of geocell layer. Electric
(BX) geogrids and two grids made of non-oriented polymer resistance strain gauges were glued to the walls of geocells
(Np-1 and NP-2) were used for the formation of geocell at different locations using an adhesive. Lead wires from the
layer. Properties of the geogrids used in the test program are strain gauges were connected to strain meter. After the
given in Table 3. formation of geocell layer, pockets of geocells were filled
with soil and this soil was compacted to the desired density
using a steel rod with enlarged base. Above the geocell
Table 3 Properties of Geogrids layer, symmetrical half of the embankment was constructed
using clayey sand in lifts. Each layer was compacted with
calculated number of blows to achieve an average density of
Property of the UX 19 kN/m3. Fig.1 shows the profile of the embankment and
Geogrid the experimental set-up for load tests on embankments. Dial
gauges were placed at different locations of the
Ultimate tensile 40 20 4.5 7.5 embankment to measure vertical and horizontal
strength (kN/m) displacements. The positions of various dial gauges and
Failure strain (%) 28 25 10 55 strain gauges are shown in Fig. 1.
Initial modulus 267 183 75 95
W/m)
Secant modulus 200 160 70 70
(at 5% strain)
Secant modulus 95 125 45 50
(at 10% strain)
Aperture size 210 x 16 3 5 x 3 5 5 0 x 5 0 8 x 7
(mm)

TEST PROCEDURE

A steel tank of plan dimensions 1800 mm x 800 mm and

1200 mm depth was fabricated for conducting the model
tests on embankments. The tank was fitted with perspex
sheet on one side to visualise the failure ofthe embankment.
The other three sides of the tank were made smooth and
rigid to create plane strain conditions in the tank. Soft clay
bed of 600 mm depth was prepared in this test tank.For this
purpose, clay' was mixed with excessive amount of water
and consolidated under a surcharge pressure of 10 kPa for
one full week to achieve uniform properties. The density,
moisture content, vane shear strength and CBR value of the
clay bed were kept same for all the model tests by carefully
controlling the water added during mixing. The properties
of the soft clay bed are given in Table 4.

Table 4 Properties of Foundation Clay Bed

(b) Plan view

Fig. 1 Test Set -Up Showing The Positions of
In-situ void ratio 0.907 Dial Gauges And Strain Gauges

450
Surcharge pressure was applied on the embankment using a
hydraulic jack and the intensity of the pressure was
increased gradually, each incremental load applied when the
deformations under any particular load reached a steady
state value. Surcharge load was measured using a proving
ring. Uniform distribution of the surcharge pressure was
attained using the arrangement of two steel I-sections
running for full width of the tank and an expanded
polypropylene sheet placed on top of the embankment.
PARAMETERS STUDIED
Tests were conducted on models of embankments, varying
parameters like type of geogrid used for the formation of the
geocell layer, pocket opening size, height of geocell layer,
type of fill material inside the geocells and length of geocell
layer. Four diffeient types of geogrids were used for making
geocells. The height of geocell layer was varied from 100
mm to 250 mm in the increments of 50 mm. Two different
pocket sizes, 200 mm and 400 mm were tested. Clay and
clayey sand were used as fill material inside the geocells. In
all the tests, geocell layer was provided for the full length of
the tank, whereas it was truncated at the toe in one test.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The load-strain behaviour of different geogrids used to form
the geocells is shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2 Load-Strain Behaviour of Ceogrids
451
The uniaxial oriented geogrid (UX) has the highest ultimate
tensile strength and stiffness. The geogrids made of non-
oriented polymer (NP-1 and "-2) have very low strength
and stiffness. Biaxial geogrid (BX) is inferior to UX in
stiffness but is very much superior to NP-1 and "-2.
Failure Pattern
In all the embankment model tests, near circular type slip
surfaces were observed through the transparent sidewalls of
the test tank. The soil beyond the embankment was
observed to heave up as the embankment settled into the
soft clay soil. The geocells exhumed after each test showed
some stretching but did not show any signs of tensile failure
or the failure of bodkin joints.
Due to the limited depth of soft clay bed used in the tests,
the settlements of the embankment got restricted towards
the end of the test, as the foundation soil has become stiffer
after large settlements. As the embankment is free to move
in the lateral direction, the lateral deformations measured in
the embankment have showed the expected trends of
increasing deformations at higher surcharge pressures.
Hence for all comparative studies, the lateral deformations
have been used
Effect of Stiffness of Geogrid
The variations of lateral deformations at different surcharge
pressures for various model embankments are shown in
Fig.3.
Fig3 Prwum-Deformation Response For Model Embankmenbl
It is evident from the figure that the geocells made of
geogrids with higher stiffbess values were found to be more
effective in reducing the deformations. The embankments
supported on geocells made of uniaxial geogrids 0
showed the least deformations because of the comparatively
higher stiffness of these geogrids. On the other hand, the
embankments supported on geocells made of non-oriented
geogrids ("-1 and NP-2) showed softer response because
of their lower stiffness. Although both the non-oriented
geogrids have exhibited the same secant stiffbess in the
tension tests, the performance of embankments supported on
geocells made of NP-2 type geogrids was observed to be
better than that with NP-1 type geogrids. This may be
because of better confinement offered to the soil by NP-2
geogrids due to their smaller aperture openings.
The surcharge pressure at which the embankments are
deemed to have failed is defined as the pressure at which the
load-lateral deformation curve has the highest curvature.
This pressure is defined as the surcharge capacity and was
obtained as the intersection of tangent lines drawn from the
origin and through the straight portion at the end of the
curve. The surcharge capacity of embankments and the
corresponding deformations for different tests are reported
in Table 5.
It can be observed from the table that the geocell supported
embankments have exhibited higher surcharge capacities
and lower deformations compared to unreinforced
embankments, e.g. embankment supported on 100 mm thick
geocell layer made of UX grids developed almost twice the
pressure on unreinforced embankments.
Effect of Aspect Ratio
The aspect ratio (heightlpocket diameter) of individual cells
in the geocell layer was varied by changing either the height
of geocell layer or the pocket size of the cells. It may be
observed that the aspect ratio of geocell pockets plays an
important role in the performance of geocell layer.
For example, when the aspect ratio was increased fiom 0.25
to 0.5, the performance of the embankments was improved.
When the aspect ratio was increased to 0.625, further
improvement was found to be marginal. For the same aspect
ratio of 0.5, the embankments supported on geocell (made
of BX grid) 'with pocket dimensions (hxd) of 100x200 and
200x400 mm were observed to have almost similar
performance (Table 5).

Table 5 Results From Different Model Embankment Tests

Type of Height Pocket Aspect Type of Displacements Surcharge % Increase

Geogrid of size Ratio Infill Soil Recorded by Different Capacity in q From
Used For Geocell Dial gauges at Failure Unreinforced
Making Layer of the Embankment Case
Geocells 9 (kpa)
h (mm) (mm)
I I
I 50
100 95 90
~~

100 75 50
150 85 70
200 91 82
250 95 90
100 95 90
100 65 30
100 80 60
ux 100 85 70
(truncated a1
toe
NP-1 100 65 30
NP-2 100 cla e sand 70 40
*V is the average of.displacementsrecorded by V1, V2 and V3

452
Effect of Type of Infdl Soil

Comparison of the peformance of embankments supported

with geocells filled with clay and clayey sand showed that
even with clay soil fill, significant improvement could be
achieved (Table 5). The practical implication of this
observation is that locally available soil fills can be used in
geocells if good quality soils are not available at or near the
site if they satisfy other requirements like drainage.

Effect of Length of Geocell Layer

The performance of the embankment constructed on a short
length geocell layer (provided up to the toe) was almost
similar to the performance of the embankment coristructed
on full-length geocell layer. The surcharge capacity was
found to be almost same for both the cases. However, the
deformations (especially the heave of soil surface) were
found to increase significantly when the geocell layer was
truncated at the toe of the embankment as observed from
Table 5.

Measurement and interpretation of strains

Strain gauges fixed on diagonal geogrids recorded higher THEORETICAL ANALYSIS
strain values compared to those fixed on transverse
For preliminary analysis, geocell layer could be treated as a
geogrids. This is because of the expansion of cells, leading soil layer with cohesive strength ;greater than the infill soil
to hoop strain. Fig. 5 shows the variation of strain with
and angle of internal fiction same as the infill soil. This is
surcharge pressure in diagonal geogrid at exactly under the
because, geocells provide all-round confinement to the soil
load (S4) for embankments with different types of geocells.
due to the membrane stresses in the walls of geocells,
As it can be observed from the figure, the value of strain because of which apparent cohesion is developed in the soil.
increased with increase' in surcharge pressure. Interestingly,
Using the rubber membrane theory proposed by Henkel iiud
significant strains started developing only when the Gilbert (1952), Bathurst and Karpurapu (1993) analysed the
surcharge pressures exceed this ultimate pressure of
cohesive strength of soil encased in a single geocell in
unreinforced embankment (50 Wa) indicating that the triaxial compression. The same analysis was extended for
geocell started contributing to the stability of embankment
estimating the cohesive strength of the structure of multiple
after the soil had mobilised its full shear strength.
geocells by Rajagopal et al. (1999). This analysis could be
used to estimate the strength improvement in the foundation
At any particular surcharge pressure, lowest strain value soil due to geocell reinforcement.
was recorded for UX geocelb. This is due to the higher
stiifiess of this grid. The strain values measured by strain The additional confining pressure due to the membrane
gauge S7, which was placed on diagonal geogrid in cross- stresses can be written as (Henkel and Gilbert 1952),
plane direction at exactly under the load along S1 and S4,
were almost zero for all the model tests. This corroborates
the assumption that true plane-strain conditions were
created in the test tank for all the model tests.

453
where is the axial strain at failure, is the circumferencial
strain at failure, Do is the initial diameter of sample, D is the
diameter of the sample at an axial strain of and M is the
modulus of the membrane.
Axial strain in geocell layer can be calculated from the
following equation
1-J1-..
Ec =
J1-..
M is the modulus of the geocell material at axial strain
determined from the load-strain curves obtained from wide
width tensile strength test on geogrids. The cohesive
strength of the soil-geocell composite can be obtained from
Mohr-circle construction as [Bathurst and Kqurapu
(1993)l
(3)
Substituting the value of A03 obtained from equation (1) in
equation (3), we will get the apparent cohesion induced to
soil due to geocell confinement.
For preliminary design problems, if the geometry of the
embankment, properties of foundation and embankment
soils are given, we can perform slope stability analysis with
trial values of height of geocell layer and determine the
cohesive strength of geode11 layer required to get a design
value of factor of safety. Substituting this cohesive strength
in place of c, in equation (3), the additional confining
pressure to be obtained from geocell reinforcement (A03)
can be calculated. Using this Ao3, we can back calculate the
modulus of geocell M required for assumed values of
pocket-size of geocell from equation (1). The value of axial
strain in the walls of geocell can be suitably assumed.
Based on the laboratory model tests, a value of 0.03 for
and 0.05 for are recommended for preliminary designs.
454
CONCLUSIONS
The following important conclusions can be drawn from the
model tests conducted on geocell supported embankments.
Geocell reinforcement drastically improves the performance
of embankment constructed on weak soils. The
improvement can be understood in terms of increase in the
load bearing capacity, reduction in differential and total
settlements.
The optimum aspect ratio for the cells was obtained as 0.5
for the tests reported in this paper.
Stiffness of the geogrid used for making geocells is the
major factor that influences the performance of geocell
supported embankments. Embankments with stiffer geocells
perform better.
Slope stability analysis can be used for the preliminary
design of geocell supported embankments, accounting for
the additional confining effect due to geocell layer using
rubber membrane theory.
REFERENCES
Bathurst, R.J. and Karpurapu, R. (1993). Large scale triaxial
tests on geocell reinforced granular soils, Geotechnzcal
TestingJournal, 16:3:296-303.
Bush, D.I., Jenner, C.G. and Bassett, R.H.(1990). The
design and construction of geocell foundation mattress
supporting embankments over soft ground, Geotextiles and
Geomembranes,9:83-98.
Cowland, J.W. and Wong, S.C.K.(1993). Performance of a
road embankment on soft clay supported on a geocell
mattress foundation, Geotextiles and Geomembranes,
12~687-705.
Hendricker, A.T., Fredianelli, K.H., Kavazanjiam, Jr.E. and
Mc.Kelvey III, J.A. (1998). Reinforcement requirements at
a hazardous waste site, Proc. IV Int. Con$ on Geosynthetics,
Atlanta, USA, 1 465-468.
Henkel, D.J. and Gilbert, G.D. (1952). The effect of the
rubber membrane on the measured triaxial compression
strength of clay samples, Geotechnique, 3: 1:20-29.
Rajagopal, K., Krishnaswamy, N.R. and Madhavi Latha, G.
(1999). Behaviour of sand confined with single and multiple
geocells, Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 17:1999 (In
press).
GEO s_hore -- International Conference on Offshore,and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3, 1999

COMPUTERISED ANALYSIS OF SULPHATE ACTION ON MODEL CONCRETE PILES

A.M. Deshmukhl, Shanti Balasubramanianl and C. Venugopal*
'Civil Engineering Department, Goa College of Engineering, Farmagudi, Goa 403 401, India
'Scientist, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, &a 403 001, India

SYNOPSIS - Sulphate action severely a f f e c t s t h e durability o f marine structures. It is imperative t o

s t u d y precisely t h e effects o f magnesium sulphate o n pile foundations in t h e marine environment. In t h e
present paper an attempt is made t o assess a n d analyse t h e influence of magnesium sulphate on model
reinforced concrete piles. T h e sulphate action o n t h e corrosion rate of rebar in concrete h a s been
distinctly studied through sophisticated computerised potentiodynamic technique.The corrosion of rebar
h a s been evaluated on the basis of t h e relationship between corrosion current , potential, polarization
resistance and rate of corrosion. T h e 0 . 2 percent concentration of sulphate h a s yielded maximum rate of
corrosion. T h e potentiodynamic technique analysis appears t o be reliable a n d rapid.

Introduction Experimental Work

T h e experimental study comprised o f casting

T h e foundations of marine structures a r e exposed
t o the harsh environments. Sodium, Magnesium
a n d Calcium sulphate present in the sea water and
marine soil react aggressively and destructive
reactions in fresh and hardened concrete o c c u r .
The aggressiveness depends upon the
concentration. replenishment and level of water
t a b l e and quality of concrete. S i n c e t h e
Magnesium sulphate is known to have severe
damaging effect on t h e concrete and steel, it i s
imperative t o study its effects on pile foundations.
A study of literature reveals that sulphate ions
play a n important role in the destruction of
concrete. However, t h e degree of c o r t d o n o f
steel in concrete with respect to t h e concentration
o f sulphate i s not precisely known.Polarization is
a useful method for evaluating instantaneous
corrosion rates. In reinforced concrete, t h e
corrosion rate is very low.Hence, the
potent i o d y n a m i c p o 1a r i z a t i on method i s preferred
to galvanostatic method since t h e time t o reach a
study state of response is shorter (Walter, 1 9 8 7 )
In t h e present study the electrochemical method
i.e.. potentiodynamic polarization h a s been used to
isolate relationships between corrosion current
(Icorr). Potential (Ecorr), Polarization resistance
( R p ) and the corrosion rate.
number of model reinforced concrete piles, which
acted as concrete electrodes. Each pile had a
length o f 250mm and a diameter o f 50mm with a
centrally embedded mild steel bar o f 280mm
length a n d 6mm diameter. The exposed end of the
reinforcement had been protected from corrosion
by applying a n anti-corrosive paint. T h e model
piles had 1:2:4 concrete m i x with a water cement
ratio of 0.5 and curing period o f 2 8 d a y s in
potable water. Four concentrations of M g S 0 4 i.e.
0.2%,0.4%,10%,and 2 0 % had been used. The
lower concentrations had represented typical ones
in seawater while higher concentrations had been
adopted to accelerate t h e corrosion process. Model
piles had been immersed in t h e above
concentrations for a total exposure period of 150
d a y s and retrieved a t t h e end o f t h e exposure
period. Soon after retrieval, t h e piles had been
subjected to potentiostatic polarization for
determination o f rebars corrosion resistance.
Calomel electrode had been used as a reference
electrode and graphite rod as counter electrode.
Polarization had been achieved by varying t h e
potential from -500mV to +SOOmV.Icorr had been
recorded by using the corrosion Software
SOFTCORR. It had indicated t h e corrosion s t a t u s
o f t h e reinforcement and had been obtained by
Tafel extrapolation and linear polarization method
b y following standardized procedures (Gerchakov
e t . al( 1981),Patil( 1987))

455
R e s u l t s a n d Discussion
Results of t h e experimental work a r e presented
hereafter with d u e discussion. The v a l u e s of
sulphate content variation a n d Icorr values
obtained by t h e electrochemical method a r e
presented in Table. 1 . I t i s evident from t h e s e
observations that the reinforcing bar tend t o
corrode higher a t lower concentration o f 0 . 2 % as
compared to t h e higher sulphate concentrations
during t h e s a m e exposure period. The Icorr values
o f 2 . 5 5 , 0.24, 1.49 and 0 . 8 2 pA/cm2 a r e obtained
respectively at 0.2, 0.4, 10 & 20 % of M g S 0 4
concentrations. The corrosion rate decreases with
increase in t h e concentration o f M g S 0 4 . T h e
reason for lower corrosion rate at higher
concentrations of M g S 0 4 oould be attributed t o t h e
changes on the concrete surface and the formation
o f thick, white magnesium hydroxide o v e r t h e
surface. Another reason may be that d u e t o t h e
reaction o f t h e soluble sulphate with tricalcium
aluminate (C3A) in cement, formation of highly
expansive ettringite takes place. This ettringite is
responsible for causing expansive forces within
t h e concrete resulting in t h e development o f
cracks within and on t h e surface o f concrete.
The relationship between current and voltage
obtained from t h e software SOFTCORR in t h e
form o f polarization curves is presented in Fig.1.
The c u r v e s d o not reveal a well-defined Tafel
region. T h e reason could be attributed to t h e
concrete cover over the reinforcement.The
gradient variation o f t h e polarization curves a r e
d u e to the variation in the sulphate content which
may be t h e result of changes in the surface
conditions o f t h e reinforcing steel. It i s clear from
fig. 1 that the anodic polarization curve shifts
towards lesser corrosion current values (noble
area) a t higher concentration of M g S 0 4 , indicating
lower corrosion rate of reinforcing b a r in the
concrete. T h e Icorr is a measure of t h e corrosion
rate of t h e embedded steel in concrete. A decrea4e
i n Icorr indicates a n increase in corrosion
resistance and vice-versa. At t h e end o f t h e
exposure period of 1 5 0 days, specimens exposed
i n 20% of sulphate content, revealed a n Icorr o f
0 . 8 pA/cm2, which is the lowest value obtained for
a l l t h e concrete electrodes. I t can also be seen
that, higher Icorr values were btained for t h e
specimens exposed in lower concentration of
magnesium sulphate. The increase in Icorr with
t h e lower concentration of sulphate content may
b e due to t h e optimal sulphate concentration in the
456
interface of steel and concrete, which might have
caused the loss o f passivity. A t higher
concentration of sulphate, a decrease in Icorr
values i s observed. T h i s could be d u e t o t h e
reduced diffusion o f s u l p h a t e ions into the
concrete m a s s o r d u e to increase in concrete cover
by t h e sulphate attack at that concentration. T h e
steel might have regained i t s alkalinity d u e t o
reduction in t h e aggressive s a l t concentration
since deprivation is likely t o result. Therefore t h e
passivity of reinforcing steel m a y be t h e c a u s e for
t h e decrease in Icorr.
Conclusions
1.The corrosion rate i s maximum at lower
concentrations of M g S 0 4 (0.2%).
2.The higher concentrations of M g S 0 4 d o not
accelerate t h e corrosion o f rebar
3,Potentiodynamic technique reveals t h e behaviour
of anodic a n d cathodic tafel polarization o f
reinforcing bar in t h e presence o f sulphates.
4,Potentiodynamic technique a p p e a r s t o be rapid
and reliable.
References
1. Ahmad,S. and Bhattacharjee,B.( 1 9 9 5 ) . A simple
arrangement and procedure for in-situ
measurement of corrosion rate o f rebar embedded
in concrete, Corrosion Science, Vo1.37. No.5,
781 -791.
2. Gerchakov,S.M..L.R.Udey ,and F.Mansfeld.
(1981) . An improved method f o r t h e analysis of
polarization resistance data. Corrosion NACE 37
(1 2 ) 1696-700.
3 . Indian Standard, 10262-( 1982).Indian Standard
Recommended Guidelines for concrete mix
design.
4 . Indian Standard, 456-( 1978). Indian Standard
Code o f practice for plain a n d reinforced
concrete.
5. Neville,A.M (1983),Properties of concrete,
Third edition, The English Language Book
Society and Pitman Publishing.
6 . Page,C.L.,Threadaway,K.W.J.,Bamforth.P.R. (
1983),Corrosion of reinforcement in concrete.
7 . Patil,B.T., M.R.Gajendragad, and
T.Ramachandran ,G.Ranganna. and
 H.V.Sudhakar Nayak (1 987), Electrochemical
behavior of coated reinforcement in
concrete,Pages 1499-1505 in Proceeding o f the
tenth International conference on metallic
corrosion. November 1987,Madras. Oxford & 1000 -
IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.,New Delhi,India.
8. Patil.A.K.( 1994).Design of piled jetty for
seawater intake, Master of Engineering
D 1 s s e rt a t i o n. Man i p al In st i t U t e of T e c h n o I og y , 500-
M ipal .
9. Shanti.B.( 1996).A study of sulphate action on
concrete and steel, Master of Engineering 1U
D i s se rt a t i on .G oa U n i v e r si t y ,G oa . (3

10. Venugopa1.C (1992) Studies on corrosion of

3
J
0-
0
reiniorced concrete structures in marine >
en vi r o 11in e n t E 1e c t r oc h e rn i cal Method s, M .Tec h
Dissertation. Karnataka Regional Engineering
..
C o I 1 eg e, S u ra th kal .
11.WalterG.W.( 1987). Surface coatings
ineasurement and mechanisni of degradation p p l - 7
i n Proceeding of Conference on Pacific corrosion.
V o 1. I Me I bourn e .Au st r a1i a -1000
- 2- -1 0 1
-10 10 10 10 10
CURRENT

Table.1 Electrochemical Values For Rebar In Concrete A t

Various Concentrations Of M g S 0 4 .

MgSO? Colic Ecorr Icorr Pol. Res Corr Rate

____ __ -23 7
0.24 24.8
~ _ -200
_ _ _ _ 1_4 9_ ~ 29.0 0.7
-x2 n 82 m RI n4

457
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GEO &%&,International Conference on Offshore and Nearshore Geotechnical Engineering, December 2-3,1999
IEOT AND NGI
A CASE HISTORY OF SUCCESSFUL INSTITUTIONAL CO-OPERATION
Knut Schjetnel, Tom Lunne*, S.K. Singh3andR.K. Ghanekar'
'Senior Engineer, 'Division Director, NGI, Oslo, Norway, 'GGM & Head - IEOT, 'Suptdg. Engineer (Civil), ONGC, Pnnvel, Navi
Mumbai, India

SYNOPSIS : IEOT, an R&D institute of India's premier oil company ONGC, andNGI have had almost a decade long
institutional co-operation through two co-operation projects under Norwegian Government's aid programme. The first
project (1988-1993) achieved development of basic capabilities of IEOT in the field of Offshore Geotechnical
Engineering. Between 1993 and 1997, IEOT put the capabilities to practical application in a number of offshore soil
investigations and other useful studies for ONGC. The second project (1997-2000) sought to consolidatdEOT's expertise
with emphasis on new foundation concepts, research projects etc. The paper presents the experiences of this successful co-
operation highlighting the details of the projects, the challenges faced during the co-operation and its achievements.

INTRODUCTION commercially to other companies for onshore and

Institute of Engineering and Ocean Technology (IEOT),
one of the seven R&D institutes of Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation Limited (ONGC),was founded in 1983 with
an objective of increasing ONGC's technological
independence in the field of offshore technology. Under
an agreement between The Government of The Republic
of India and The Government of The Kingdom of Norway
for applied technology transfer, a co-operation project
was taken up to develop capabilities of IEOT in the fields
of Geotechnical Engineering, Structural Engineering,
'
offshore geotechnical problems.
This paper presents the experience of almost a decade
long co-operation between IEOT and NGI, outlining the
strategy adopted, challenges faced, lessons learnt and the
success achieved. The paper describes how proper
planning and execution of technological and managerial
activities resulted in a very successful institutional co-
operation cutting across geographical and cultural
boundaries.

Hydrodynamics and Concept Evaluation. A consortium of
5 Norwegian companies was formed to achieve the
objective. In the field of Geotechnical Engineering,
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) contributed
towards HRD, acquisition of software and development of
an advanced Geotechnical laboratory. After an initial
planning period, the implementation started in 1988 and
ended in 1993.
The project was ambitious in its scope and faced many
challenges during its course. However, the objectives set
forth at the beginning were achieved to a very large
extent.
In 1997, under another agreement between the two
governments for institutional co-operation between Indian
and Norwegian institutes, a new project was initiated by
IEOT and NGI. The focus was on consolidation of the
expertise already built up at IEOT.
In the intervening years, between 1993 and 1997, IEOT
had taken over the responsibility of carrying out soil
investigation jobs for ONGC's offshore structures. In
addition, IEOT had started offering its services
IND 032 - TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CO-
OPERATION PROJECT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND OCEAN
TECHNOLOGY
Background
In the early years of its existence, IEOT needed a
comprehensive program for human resources and
infrastructure development. This required co-operation
from agencies, which could provide the necessary
technical expertise, and an agency willing to finance the
needs. A combination was found in the Norwegian
Government's Program for Development Co-operation
through NORAD (Norwegian Agency for Development
Co-operation).
NORAD's policy for technology transfer is based on the
principle that I ! . . the technology transfer should as far as
possible take place within the organisational culture and
environmental conditions where the technology shall be
used and firther developed". Based on this general
policy and the requirements of IEOT, Terms of Reference
(TOR) were prepared for technology transfer and a formal

461
agreement between the Governments of India and
Norway was signed for development of IEOT.
To achieve the objectives set forth, co-operation was
sought from identified Norwegian institutions that had
developed high level of technical expertise in the
specified areas of development of IEOT. The
identification of the institutions was done by a delegation
of IEOT/ONGC officials who visited these institutions to
acquaint themselves with their facilities and expertise.
Overall Project Objectives
The technology transfer was sought in the following four
areas -
0 Geotechnical Engineering
0 Structural Engineering
0 Hydrodynamics
0 Concept Evaluation
The funds were to be allocated on the following elements,
Human Resource Development (HRD)
Collaborative Research Projects with
Norwegian Institutes
Computer Software Acquisition
Planning and Development of Structures and
Geotechnical Laboratories
In addition, funds were allocated for project co-
ordination. The emphasis was on HRD with a balanced
distribution of funds for software and laboratory
equipment.
Project Organisation
In order to execute the technology transfer in an effective
and co-ordinated manner, the following participating
Norwegian companies formed a ((Consortium))-
0 Norconsult International A.S., Sandvika,
Norway (NORCONSULT)
0 SINTEF, Trondheim, Norway (SINTEF)
Veritas Offshore Technology and Services,
Hovik, Norway (VERITEC)
0 Norwegian Petroleum Consultants AS., Asker,
Norway (NPC)
0 Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo,
Norway (NGI)
NORCONSULT was chosen as the main consultant to act
on behalf of the Consortium in all contractual matters and
co-ordination activities. The main consultant was
responsible for the co-ordination of procurement,
462
installation and commissioning of all equipment, for
ensuring effective management and quality control within
project duration and budget. NORAD acted as the
contract prtner with the consortium. IEOT was the
Executing Agency, providing the project management
services and co-ordinating the services provided by the
Consortium under contract with NORAD.
SMTEF provided services in the field of hydrodynamics,
VERITEC in the field of structural engineering, NPC in
the field of concept evaluation and NGI provided services
in the field of geotechnical engineering.
The project was divided into two phases, the planning
phase and the implementation phase.
Terms of Reference for Geotechnical Engineering
The Terms of Reference (TOR) for geotechnical
engineering aimed at developing capabilities of IEOT for
the following,
Planning of laboratory testing & planning and
supervision of field investigations
Laboratory testing of soil samples
Interpretation of laboratory & field data and
evaluation of soil design parameters
Geotechnical analysis and design of offshore
foundations
- review
Design
R&D in connection with development of new
concepts for offshore structures
Planning of instrumentation and monitoring of
structures
Special geotechnical problems e.g. mud slides and
other geo-hazards
All activities, including HRD, planning and development
of the geotechnical laboratory, acquisition of software
etc., were focussed to achieve the objectives set forth
broadly in the TOR.
The Strategy and Implementation
The overall implementation strategy was arrived at after
consideration ofthe following factors,
Background and experience of the IEOT engineers
participating in the project
Current activities of IEOT
Current offshore practices in ONGC and scope for
improvement
Future developments in Indian waters
Existing and upcoming infrastructure of IEOT e.g.
buildings, laboratory area, computer hardware etc.
Much of the strategy was decided during the initial
planning phase and was fine-tuned as the project
progressed.
Most of the participating engineers f?om IEOT were
graduate civil engineers with either no previous
experience or only a few years experience in ONGC. Few
had experience in geotechnical engineering related to
offshore structures. The structures in Indian waters were
fixed piled platforms, movable jack-up rigs and a large
pipeline network. The IEOT building was under
construction at the time and the procurement and
installation of equipment needed to be timed with the
construction.
Human Resource Development
Keeping in view the background of the participating
engineers, a balance was sought between classroom
training and on-the-job training. Due to the dearth of ‘real‘
jobs at IEOT at that time, all activities in Norway were
planned to be on-the-job training.
The areas covered under the classroom and on-the-job
training sessions included soil investigation, evaluation of
soil design parameters, analysis and design of foundations
and field instrumentation and performance monitoring.
Further details of the areas covered are included in
Appendix - I.
A total .of 14 IEOT engineers visited NGI for on-the-job
training in groups of three at various point of time during
the course of the project. The duration of their stay was
normally about three months. A total of 20 NGI personnel
visited IEOT for various activities for periods varying
between 3 and 8 weeks.
Development of the Geotechnical Laboratory
A spacious area was earmarked for the geotechnical
laboratory in the IEOT building. The equipment, in
addition to the normal classification test equipment,
included incremental and constant-rate-of-strain (CRS)
oedometers, triaxial test equipment with hdilities for
cyclic testing, direct simple shear (DSS) test equipment
with facilities for cyclic testing, resonant column and
special bender elements for measurement of initial shear
modulus, G,,,. The equipment also included horizontal
and vertical sample extruders, tools and accessories for
sample preparation for various tests, ovens, electronic
balances etc. Data acquisition for CRS oedometers,
triaxial and DSS tests was computer-controlled and the
required hardware and software were also procured for
the purpose.
463
The details of activities related to development of the
geotechnical laboratory are presented in Appendix - I.
Acquisition of Computer Software
The acquisition of computer software was dictated by the
analysis and design aspects defined in the TOR. The
software procured ranged from simple worksheets to
complex Finite Element programs including the SPLICE
module as part of the SESAM software package.
The details of activities related to the acquisition of
software are included in Appendix - I.
IND 040 - INSTITUTIONALCO-OPERATION
BETWEEN IEOT AND NGI
The Review Committee
A review committee, consisting of one representative
each from NORAD & ONGC and Director (IEOT), was
set up near the end of the IND 032 program. The scope of
work of the committee included review of the
achievements vis-i-vis the objectives, appropriateness of
the TOR, appropriateness and level of technology
transfer, appropriateness of methodology applied for
HRS), appropriateness of investment ratio between HRD
and equipment, performance of the Norwegian
Consortium and current & expected use of IEOT’s
services. The sources of information for the committee
were various documents and interviews with concerned
personnel. The documents included, besides those relqted
to administrative work, course material, course evaluation
reports, reports prepared by IEOT personnel during
training sessions and other reports by IEOT on problems
solved.
The committee gave a very positive report on all of the
aspects under its scope of work; for example it stated that
“...the methodology applied for human resources
development has been very close to ideal. The training in
Norway and India has produced the most desired
combination towards achieving the objectives of the
Project”. The committee further recommended “. .. that
the fruitfil interaction with the Norwegian institutions
which has developed as a result of the current project is
encouraged to continue under new forms of
collaboration”.
The New Proposal and Intervening Years
IEOT and NGI sought assistance for another co-operation
project under IND 040 - Indo-Norwegian Program on
Institutional Co-operation. MD 040 is established under
another agreement between Governments of Norway and
India and is funded by NORAD. After necessary
approvalsythe project was initiated in April 1997 and will
continue till March 2000.
In the years between the two co-operation projects, IEOT
was entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out soil
investigation for ONGC's offshore structures. IEOT had
started offering its services commercially to companies
other than ONGC as well. Some software was developed
by IEOT engineers to suit the needs of the activities being
performed by them. New personnel were joining the
Geotechnical Section of IEOT and were gaining
experience through involvement in various projects.
Overall Objective of IND 040 Program
The overall objective of the program is to contribute
towards impToving the performance of institutions in
India and Norway through enhancing the technical and
managerial competence of the institutions involved in the
co-operation. This is sought to be achieved through a
systematic plan for competence building by way of
fellowships, exchange of staff, joint workshops/
seminars/study tours, joint research projects and
acquisition of relevant equipment.
Objective of institutional co-operation program
Between IEOT & NGI
The overall objective of the Institutional Co-operation
between IEOT and NGI is to consolidate the existing
expertise of IEOT in the area of Offshore Geotechnical
Engineering in terms of HRD, software and equipment.
The institutional co-operation project has a much more
focused and smaller scope in terms of activides and
funds compared to the IND 032 program. Hence,
management and co-ordination of various activities were
taken up by NGI and IEOT themselves.
Strategy and Implementation
Major activities planned under the institutional co-
operation were -
a Joint projects with emphasis on new foundation
concepts
0 Joint research projects
0 Consolidatiodsupplementation of the
geotechnical laboratory
a Software acquisition
a Hosting an international conference at IEOT
A number of projects were taken up within the overall
scope of the co-operation. The topics, scope and time
frame were decided jointly. NGI personnel involved had
the responsibility mainly as advisers or guides. The needs
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of the geotechnical laboratory for spares and accessories
were worked out jointly. Some new software were
identified jointly for procurement and update of older
versions of some software was done. The shift in the
strategy, compared to earlier co-operation, is obvious -
instead of training, the emphasis is on joint work with
substantial input from IEOT engineers in all activities.
IEOT engineers visited NGI, in 4 batches of 3 engineers
each, to work on the on-going projects. Engineers were
selected to keep a balance between more experienced
engineers and comparatively less experienced ones. The
duration of the visit on an average was 6 weeks. Also,
about 12 NGI personnel visited IEOT in connection with
the on-going projects for duration of 1 to 2 weeks.
Joint Practical Projects
A number of joint practical projects were taken up in the
following areas -
New foundation concepts e.g. bucket foundation
and suction anchors
0 Soil investigation in deep waters and deep water
geo-hazards
Analysis and design of foundations for near-shore
structures and shore protection works
Environmental geotechnology
Feasibility studies for development of expert
systems and model testing facilities
Emphasis was placed on Indian conditions while
formulating the project details. The projects on new
foundation concepts involved advanced testing on soil
samples from Indian offshore including cyclic DSS and
triaxial testing.
Joint Research Projects
Model Testing of Suction Anchors in Marine Sand
The objective of the project is to design and develop a
model testing facility and perform a series of tests on
suction anchors in marine calcareous sand. IEOT
engineers under guidance from NGI have designed the
facility. The fabrication was done at Panvel. A portion of
the instrumentation required has been imported from
Norway. The project is currently underway.
Establishment of a Geotechnical Reference Research
Site
An established reference site can be used to test new in-
situ test equipment, to develop new in-situ and laboratory
testing procedures, to develop local correlations and to
perform field model tests. The scope of this project is
however limited to identification of potential sites in or
near Mumbai. The field and laboratory work required for
establishment is proposed to be taken up by IEOT in the
near future.
GEOSHORE - International Conference on Offshore
& Near-Shore Geotechnical-Engineering
Major objectives for hosting GEOSHORE are -
0 Offer an opportunity to the international
geotechnical community for technical and business
interaction
Give exposure to IEOT's capabilities to the
international geotechnical community
Highlight the achievements of the co-operation
between IEOT and NGI
Plans for Future Co-operation
The second co-operation program between IEOT and NGI
was a logical extension of the first one - from
development of basic capabilities to consolidation of the
existing capabilities - with an intervening period when the
basic capabilities were augmented through IEOT's own
efforts and practical experience. With the success of the
two co-operation projects behind, IEOT and NGI plan to
extend the co-operation by venturing into joint research
and commercial projects. The strategy and modalities of
such a co-operation, with or without external support, are
being worked out.
THE CHALLENGES - THE LESSONS
Challenges in Technology Transfer
During the first co-operation project, the lack of
background of IEOT engineers in offshore geotechnics
was a major problem for NGI in formulating course
contents. To keep a balance between basic and advanced
knowledge, theoretical and practical training, and, to meet
the objectives of the project at the same time, within the
time frame and budget of the project was a big challenge.
The challenge was successfully negotiated by NGI by
planning an optimum combination of classroom and on-
the-job training at IEOT and by making all training at
NGI on-the-job training. The complexity of course
contents was gradually increased with successive training
in a given area. Initially, in the TOR, it was proposed to
take up collaborative research projects with Norwegian
institutions also. However, during the course of the
program, it was realised that the idea was a little
premature and was not pursued.
A major challenge for IEOT engineers was to assimilate a
vast amount of knowledge of a new field of activity in the
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given time frame. However, putting in extra working
hours negotiated the challenge.
The intervening years, between the two co-operation
projects, with a stream of jobs from ONGC and other
companies, helped IEOT engineers in applying the
acquired knowledge. A level of competence and
confidence was gained by IEOT engineers, which made
the second co-operation project much easier to formulate
and implement.
Cultural Challenges
A long-term technology transfer co-operation is by no
means a mechanical process. The "human element" is
extremely important which is influenced by the cultural
differences existing between the two interacting parties.
Norway and India are as apart culturally as they are
geographically. The influencing factors, experienced by
both NGI and IEOT personnel, included differences in
climate, working environment, cost of living, ways of
living and social relations. Hot weather, monsoon, hot
food, stomach problems and managing leisure time in
India were some of the things NGI personnel had to adjust
to. Similarly, very cold climate (and snow for some),
making own food, higher cost of living and managing
leisure time in Norway were some of the things IEOT
personnel had to adjust to.
However, these problems were foreseen to some extent.
At NGI, each new group of IEOT engineers, as soon as
they arrived, went through a day's course on "Living and
Working in Norway" given by a professional consultant.
This definitely helped the personnel to quickly adjust to
the new cultural environment. In case of Norwegian
personnel visiting IEOT, a record was maintained of their
experiences, which helped the successive visitors. The
visits of Norwegian personnel to IEOT were generally
much shorter compared to the visits of IEOT personnel to
NGI and hiring of services of a consultant was not
warranted. A guiding document made available to the
personnel prior to their visit could have been an
alternative. No such efforts were required during the
second co-operation project as many of the personnel
involved were already familiar with the conditions. Each
batch of IEOT engineers visiting NGI had at least one
who had been to NGI in the earlier co-operation so that
the adjustment process for new engineers could be
speeded up. However, It was an enriching experience for
personnel from both sides to face these actually
underrated challenges.
ACHIEVEMENTS
As a direct result of the two co-operation projects
between IEOT and NGI and in-house efforts of IEOT,
IEOT now has a team of competent geotechnical
engineers and a state-of-the-art geotechnical laboratory.
The expertise and confidence developed due to the co-
operation and in-house efforts have been translated into
practical achievements. Major activities and achievements
of Geotechnical section of IEOT are presented in
Appendix - 11.
The achievements are impressive considering the
relatively young age of the institute. It is believed that at
the end of IND 040 program, IEOT engineers will be able
to contribute significantly in ONGC's deep-water
endeavours with respect to soil investigation, new
foundation concepts and geo-hazard evaluation. With the
experience gained, IEOT engineers will also be able to
formulate and carry out research projects in areas of
interest to ONGC.
The following are major factors recognised to have
contributed towards the success and achievements of the
co-operation -
Effective planning and implementation of project
activities
Commitment and perseverance of NGI and IEOT
personnel
Continuation of the trained manpower in IEOT
over the years
Positive inter-personal relations between IEOT &
NGI staff
Recognition of IEOT capabilities and delegation of
responsibility to it by ONGC management
LONG TERM PERSPECTIVE - WHAT IS NEXT ?
The Geotechnical Section of IEOT has in several aspects
reached international standards in its engineering skills.
The group has the potential to become a centre of
excellence in Geotechnical Engineering in India. The
group also has the potential to serve not only the needs of
ONGC but other agencies too in offshore as well as on-
shore areas. Continuous upgrading of capabilities is
essential for this potential to be actually realised.
The following could serve as guide lines for the section's
future course of action to preserve and augment the
achievements of the Institutional Co-operation,
Enhanced thrust on commercialisation of its
activities
Continuation of the trained manpower in IEOT
despite the general transfer policy of ONGC
Collaboratiodco-operation with Indian and foreign
institutions
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More emphasis on research compared to present
0 More autonomy in decision making
0 Diversification of its activities into on-shore and
neat-shore areas
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors wish to thank all personnel of IEOT and NGI
who contributed towards the success of co-operation
programs IND 032 and IND 040. Special thanks are due
to Dr. P.K. Pant, Director (IEOT) during IND 032
program, who was instrumental in bringing about the co-
operation. Authors also want to record appreciation of the
support and help extended duringIND 040 programme by
Mr. P.L. Narayana, Chief of Monitoring Unit, Indo-
Norwegian Program on Institutional Co-operation, New
Delhi. Last but not the least; grateful acknowledgement is
made of contribution of NORAD without which the co-
operation would not have been possible.
NOTE - The views expressed in this paper are authors'
personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views
and policies of their organisations.
REFERENCES
Agreement between The Government of The Republic of
India and The Government of The Kingdom of Norway
regarding support to the Institute of Engineering and
Ocean Technology
Agreement between The Government of The Kingdom of
Norway and The Government of The Republic of India
concerning Institutional Co-operation
Guidelines for IND 040 Institutional Co-operation
Program
Report on Project Review of the Institute of Engineering
and Ocean Technology (IEOT)
Terms of Reference for the performance of NORAD
project IND 032. Institute of Engineering and Ocean
Technology (IEOT), India.
Project Documents, IND 040 - Institutional Co-operation
between IEOT and NGI
Course content documents for IND - 032 Program
Personal communicationwith IEOT and NGI personnel
 APPENDIX - I + Planning of layout and specifications for other
infrastructure e.g. electric supply, compressed air
A) Details of areas covered under classroom and on-the- system etc.
job training sessions, + Tendering and Procurement
+ Preparation of documents
+ Soil Investigation - + Evaluation of proposals
- Offshore Soil Investigation + Recommendations
Sampling and In-situ Testing + Purchase
0 Interpretation.of results + Shipment to India
On-board laboratory testing + Installation and commissioning at IEOT
+ Testing and training of personnel
- Onshore Laboratory testing -
0 Planning of testing programs for various C) Details of activities related to acquisition of software,
platform concepts
Carrying out classification, consolidation + Identification of needs and relevant software
and strength testing + Procurement
Interpretation of test results + Installation and testing at IEOT
- Evaluation of Soil Design Parameters
+ Training of personnel on the user's manuals
Integration of in-situ and laboratory test APPENDIX - I1
results
Derivation of soil profiles Major activities and achievements of the Geotechnical
Evaluation of soil design parameters Group of IEOT -
Reporting
+ Since 1994, IEOT has been carrying out soil
+ Analysis and Design investigation for ONGC's offshore structures
- General foundation design aspects, independently. So far soil investigation for 12
international practices and codes offshore platforms and 4 pipeline routes has been
- Pile Foundations successfully performed by the geotechnical section of
Axial and lateral capacity IEOT.
Driveability
Cyclic response and seismic analysis + IEOT assists ONGC, on regular basis, in rig moves
Tension piles by performing Jack-up rig leg penetration
Riskanalysis predictions.
- Foundation aspects of Jack-up rigs with
individual spud-cans or mats + A number of important studies have been carried out
- Geotechnical aspects of offshore pipelines by IEOT which include pile refusal studies, study on
- Seafloor instability change in casing policy, design reviews for
- Foundations for gravity platforms foundations of offshore platforms, soil parameter
- Use of various software for analysis correlation studies, mud movement studies, Jack-up
leg punch-through problems etc.
+ Field Instrumentation and Performance Monitoring
- Introduction to instrumentation as geotechnical + IEOT has carried out a number ofsoil testing jobs for
tool offshore pipeline routes for companies other than
- Various sensors and instruments ONGC on commercial basis.
- Measurement of various geotechnical
parameters + IEOT has also diversified into on-shore jobs. The
- Data acquisition systems project scope includes preparation of technical bid
- Case studies and evcfluation, supervision of fieldwork and
laboratory testing, analysis and design / design
B) Details of activities for development of Geotechnical review.
Laboratory,
+ A number of software have been developed by IEOT
+ Identification and specification for laboratory engineers to meet the requirements of their regular
equipment jobs

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