The Study Of Suction Foundation Bearing Capacity

The suction foundation consists mainly of a cylinder structure with a watertight top plate and an opened bottom. The foundation could be penetrated into sea bottom when pumping water out from the foundation chamber. The principle of the suction installation has been accepted in engineering and spread in applications in offshore tanker moorings and also as foundation of platforms (so called the bucket foundation platforms) in the last two decades. Considering the relatively not so much experience gained so far for the suction structures as that for the traditional jacket platforms, there are still something to do for a more sophisticated design of suction structures towards a more profound understanding of their behaviors both under extreme loads in their service life and also during offshore installation operations.In this paper, the load capacity (both the horizontal and vertical load capacity) formulas for single chambered suction pile set up in clay and sand, respectively. The compiled computer programs of deduced formulas are acceptable by comparing the calculating results to trial results. Base on the theories of finite element for plant and shell, the simplifying methods for boundary conditions of the bucket foundation are brought out. And at the end, the conclusions are drawn and advices are put forward.In this paper, boundary layer model is applied to a special pile—suction foundation. And soil pressure is analyzed in dynamic action. It is also tested whether appliance of boundary layer model to the theory of suction foundation is reliable or not.The suction foundation structures will avail itself of the advantages of mobile, short installing period and the repeatable usage in offshore projects.