Jacket platforms are fixed base offshore structures used to produce oil and gas in relatively shallow waters worldwide. Their pile foundation systems seemed to perform better than what they were designed for during severe hurricanes. This observation has led to a common belief in the offshore oil and gas industry that foundation design is overly conservative. The objective of this research is to provide information to help improve the state of practice in designing and assessing jacket pile foundations to achieve a consistent level of performance and reliability. A platform database consisting of 31 structures was compiled and 13 foundation systems were analyzed using a simplified foundation collapse model, supplemented by a 3-D structural model. The predicted performance for most of the 13 platform foundations is consistent with their observed performance. These cases do not preclude potential conservatism in foundation design because only a small number of platform foundations were analyzed and only one of them actually failed. The potential failure mechanism of a foundation system is an important consideration for its performance in the post-hurricane assessment. Structural factors can be more important than geotechnical factors on foundation system capacity. Prominent structural factors include the presence of well conductors and jacket leg stubs, yield stress of piles and conductors, axial flexibility of piles, rigidity and strength of jackets, and robustness of foundation systems. These factors affect foundation system capacity in a synergistic manner. Sand layers play an important role in the performance of three platform foundations exhibiting the largest discrepancy between predicted and observed performance. Site-specific soil borings are not available in these cases. Higher spatial variability in pile capacity can be expected in alluvial or fluviatile geology with interbedded sands and clays. The uncertainties in base shear and overturning moment in the load are approximately the same and they are slightly higher than the uncertainty in the overturning capacity of a 3-pile foundation system. The uncertainty in the overturning capacity of this foundation system is higher than the uncertainty in shear capacity. These uncertainties affect the reliability of this foundation system. / text

This study presents the applications of plastic limit analysis to offshore foundations and anchors, including the drag embedment anchors (DEAs) for mobile offshore drilling units (MODU’s) and spudcan foundations for jack-up platforms. In deep waters, drag embedment anchors are an attractive option for mooring of semisubmersible platforms due to low installation cost and high holding capacity; on the other hand, jack-up platforms are more stable than semisubmersible platforms but only can be placed in shallow waters. The analyses of anchor capacities are developed for an idealized anchor comprising a rectangular fluke, a cylindrical shank, and a metal chain connected to the shank at the padeye. The anchor trajectory prediction during drag embedment is also developed by considering anchor behavior in conjunction with the mechanics of the anchor line. The results of simulations show that anchors approach at equilibrium condition rapidly during the embedment and both the normalized holding capacity and the anchor line uplift angle remain constants in this stage. Besides the geometry of the fluke, the properties of the shank and soil are also crucial factors in the anchor-soil interaction behavior. Partial failure of mooring systems for floating structures will subject drag anchors to loads having an appreciable component outside of the intended plane of loading. Partial failure of mooring systems during hurricanes in recent years have generated an interest in understanding drag anchor performance under these conditions. The analysis presents the simulations of three dimensional trajectories of an anchor system subjected to an out-of-plane load component. For the conditions simulated in the example analyses, the anchor experienced a modest amount of continued embedment following partial failure of the mooring system; however, the ultimate embedment and capacity of the anchor is much less than what would have developed if the anchor had continued in its original trajectory within the plane of intended loading. The analyses of the spudcan foundation of jack-up units include preloading, bearing capacity, and the displacement assessment. When the contribution of the soil moment resistance is considered, a three-stage assessment procedure is recommended: superposing environmental forces on the plot of yield surface, determining the value of yield function corresponding to the external forces, and computing the factor of safety of the spudcan. The results of the assessment may be ambiguous while the different yield functions are employed to analyze the spudcan in soft clay.

Deep foundations, such as piles and suction caissons, are used throughout an offshore oil and gas production facility in deepwater. Ideally, the values of geotechnical properties for foundation design are determined by results from geotechnical investigation programs performed at the site of the foundation. However, the locations for facilities are not known exactly when soil borings are drilled and the footprint of a facility in deepwater can be very large with numerous foundation elements spread out over miles. Therefore, it is not generally feasible to perform a site-specific investigation for every foundation element. The objective of this research is to assess, analyze and model spatial variability in geotechnical properties for offshore foundations. A total of 97 geotechnical investigations from 14 offshore project sites covering the past twenty years of deepwater development in the Gulf of Mexico are compiled into a database. The geologic setting is primarily a normally to slightly overconsolidated marine clay, and the property of interest for the design of deep foundations is the undrained shear strength. The magnitude and characteristics of variability in design undrained shear strengths are analyzed quantitatively and graphically. Geostatistical models that describe spatial variability in the design shear strength properties to the distance away from the available information are developed and calibrated with available information from the database. Finally, a methodology is presented for incorporating the models into a reliability-based design framework to account for spatial variability in foundation capacity. Design examples are presented to demonstrate the use of the reliability methodology. Based on the design undrained shear strength profiles for the past 20 years in this Gulf of Mexico deepwater area, the design undrained shear strength varies spatially but does not depend on the time or method for site investigations. There are nonlinear spatial relationships in the point shear strength laterally and vertically due to stratigraphy such that depth-averaged shear strengths are correlated over further distances than point shear strengths. The depositional forces are an important factor causing spatial variations in the undrained shear strength, with greater variation and less spatial correlation in the more recent hemipelagic deposits (about upper 60 feet) than the deeper turbidite deposits and along the shelf versus off the shelf. The increased conservatism required in deep foundation design due to spatial variability when site specific strength data are not available is generally small with less than a five percent increase required in design capacity in this geologic setting. / text

The lack of knowledge about the behaviour of footings for jack-up rigs under storm loads poses a design problem which can be tackled by model testing. The areas of prime concern are the ultimate loads on footings under combined loading, which affects the safety of the rig, and the rotational stiffness, which affects the interaction between the foundation and the structure. A programme of loading tests was performed on model footings on clay, and was divided into two stages: monotonic loading and cyclic loading. The clay samples were obtained by consolidating Speswhite kaolin slurry in cylindrical tanks 450mm in diameter. The strength and compressibility characteristics of the samples were verified by means of standard laboratory tests. The model footings were 50mm and 100mm in diameter and several shapes were tested: circular flat plate, cones of various angles and model spud-cans. Loads and displacements were monitored using appropriate instrumentation and a data logger. A series of central vertical loading tests provided data for comparison with existing bearing capacity theories. Combined loading tests were performed applying a displacement controlled horizontal load at a fixed height above the footing which was also subjected to a fixed vertical load. The main series of tests involved a parametric study of the relevant variables. Special tests allowed the assessment of the effect of embedment of the footing and the interaction of a flexible leg with the foundation. Cyclic loading tests were carried out using a load controlled system which applied a sinusoidal load simulating wave action. Effects of currents were investigated by introducing an offset to the loading cycle. The influence of amplitude and period of loading as well as the influence of vertical load were also investigated. Special tests were carried out to cover some peculiarities of real loading conditions. Fitting of a three-parameter hyperbola to the test results provided a systematic and accurate method of analysis of monotonic loading tests, leading to valuable information involving stiffness and ultimate loads. Analysis of cyclic loading tests yielded useful qualitative information regarding the progress of settlement and the variation of rotational stiffness and damping ratio with the number of cycles.

This thesis is concerned with four different types of offshore foundations, namely gravity foundations, jack-up foundations, the mudmats for piled jacket structures and caisson foundations for jacket structures. In most applications, these can be idealised as circular rigid foundations. Unlike onshore foundations, offshore foundations are subjected to large horizontal and moment loads. This research used the finite element method to examine the elastic behaviour and stability of circular footings under combined loading. Due to the circular shape of the footings and the combination of vertical, horizontal and moment loads, three dimensional finite element analysis was used. In-depth analyses of the elastic behaviour of circular footings under combined loading (V,H,M) were performed. The vertical stiffness coefficient was investigated using two dimensional axi-symmetric analyses whereas three dimensional analyses were used to examine the other coefficients. Different features of offshore foundations such as footing embedment and cone angle were taken into consideration. Based on the numerical results, a set of empirical expressions for elastic stiffness coefficient was derived. For footing stability calculations, large horizontal or moment loads can cause the footing to lose contact with the soil, or cause the footing to slide relative to the soil. In finite element analyses, this loss of contact and sliding are modelled by interface elements. A new zero-thickness iso-parametric interface element was formulated for both two and three dimensional analyses. An exact close formed solution for integration of the stress-strain relationship (for the two dimensional interface element) was found. The element is then used to explore footing stability. It was shown that by using a yield criteria which allows the interface to behave as either frictional or cohesive interface, depending upon the normal stress, numerical stability is achieved. The footing stability was examined by establishing the bearing capacity envelope. The envelopes for footings on undrained clays were established for surface flat strip footings and for surface flat circular footings. The effects of soil strength varying with depth, cone angle and embedment on the bearing capacity envelope were also investigated.

In recent years oil and gas mining has moved into increasingly deeper water in search of undeveloped fields. As water depths approach and exceed 3000 m conventional offshore foundation systems become inefficient and ineffective in stabilising platforms and floating production storage units. The trend of supporting structure design in deep water has been to install catenary and taut leg mooring systems. Consequently, many types of anchoring systems are being developed and used in order to withstand large mooring forces. The SEPLA (Suction Embedded Plate Anchor) is ideal for use in this situation. This project has employed advanced numerical techniques and centrifuge testing to study pullout behaviour of plate anchor foundations in different soil profiles and suction caisson installation effect with the aim of generating a robust framework for design. The behaviour of strip and circular plate anchors during vertical pullout in uniform and normally consolidated clays has been studied by means of small strain and large deformation finite element analyses. Both fully bonded (attached), and ‘vented’ (no suction on rear face), anchors have been considered. The current numerical results were compared with existing laboratory test data, finite element results and analytical solutions. This study showed that the ultimate pullout capacity factors (Nc) for deep embedment were 11.6 and 11.7 for smooth and rough strip anchors and 13.1 and 13.7 for smooth and rough circular anchors respectively. When the anchor base was vented, the soil stayed attached to the anchor base for deep embedment, and the pullout capacity was therefore the same as for the attached anchor. The separation depth ratio, Hs/B or Hs/D was found to increase linearly with the normalised strength ratio, su/γ'B or su/γ'D. / Numerical simulation has been conducted to assess the bearing capacity for inclined pullout plate anchors. This bearing capacity analysis was performed by embedding the anchors in clay with different initial inclinations and different embedment ratios. Both the attached anchor base and vented base were evaluated. The results showed that the bearing capacities of the inclined plate anchors were associated with the inclination angles and base conditions. The separation depth of the plate anchors can be assessed by a simple equation from vertically pulled out plate anchors. Large deformation finite element analyses of plate anchor keying in clay has been performed. The effects of anchor thickness, anchor padeye eccentricity, anchor-soil interface roughness, soil shear strength, anchor submerged weight and soil disturbance have been studied with anchors in uniform or normally consolidated clays. The numerical results were compared with transparent soil test and existing centrifuge test data. The study showed that the RITSS method works well in simulating the anchor keying process. Anchor padeye eccentricity played an important role in anchor keying. A normalised anchor geometry ratio was used to estimate the loss in embedment during plate anchor’s keying. Both finite element analysis and centrifuge tests have been conducted to study the suction caisson installation effect. In finite element analysis, the soil disturbed zone varied from 3 times the caisson wall thickness to a full area inside a caisson. / Centrifuge tests of suction embedded plate anchors were conducted in normally consolidated kaolin clay and transparent uniform soil. It can be concluded that the reduction in anchor capacity due to soil disturbance after suction caisson installation depends on re-consolidation time and soil sensitivity. The soil disturbance also reduced the loss of embedment during the anchor keying process.

The gradual depletion of shallow water hydrocarbon deposits has forced the offshore oil and gas industry to develop reserves in deeper waters. Dynamically installed anchors have been proposed as a cost-effective anchoring solution for floating offshore structures in deep water environments. The rocket or torpedo shaped anchor is released from a designated drop height above the seafloor and allowed to penetrate the seabed via the kinetic energy gained during free-fall and the anchor’s self weight. Dynamic anchors can be deployed in any water depth and the relatively simple fabrication and installation procedures provide a significant cost saving over conventional deepwater anchoring systems. Despite use in a number of offshore applications, information regarding the geotechnical performance of dynamically installed anchors is scarce. Consequently, this research has focused on establishing an extensive test database through the modelling of the dynamic anchor installation process in the geotechnical centrifuge. The tests were aimed at assessing the embedment depth and subsequent dynamic anchor holding capacity under various loading conditions. Analytical design tools, verified against the experimental database, were developed for the prediction of the embedment depth and holding capacity.