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FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS FOR PULL-OUT CAPACITY OF SIMPLE AND

FINNED SUCTION PILE

Chapter · May 2018

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Abhishek Devidas Chaudhari Rohan Deshmukh

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 FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS FOR PULL-OUT CAPACITY OF SIMPLE
AND FINNED SUCTION PILE
Rohan R. Deshmukh1, Abhishek D. Chaudhari2
1,2
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, K.K.W.I.E.E.R, Nashik-422 003, India.
E-mail: rohandeshmukh520@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Vertical pullout capacity is one of the important design parameters when a caisson is subjected to an
applied tensile load generated from pulling action from mooring cable. The different angles and different
height of the pull out force is consider in this study. In addition, this study shows how multiple boreholes
with different soil profiles and surface levels can be used to model an inclined soil surface. The objective of
this study is to investigate the bearing capacity factors of suction foundations in cases of tension. These
factors include the embedment depth, the degree of no homogeneity and the foundation displacement. The
results is useful for the design of suction foundations and have potential applications in offshore marine
engineering. Also study include finding effect of fins and combination of fins & triangular horizontal plate
on pull out capacity of pile.

Keywords Suction Pile, Pull-out capacity, Angle of Pull-Out, Depth of pull-out, Finite Element Analysis,
Finned Suction Pile

1 INTRODUCTION
A suction caisson is a reinforced concrete or steel foundation which can sink into the ground by its
own weight and then the water is pumped out of the caisson to produce a suction force. Suction foundations
have a larger diameter and longer side wall compared to traditional pile foundations and shallow
foundations. This foundation is commonly used for carrying huge axial and lateral loads of large offshore
structures. In this study the load capacity of an off-shore foundation will be considered. A suction pile is a
hollow steel pile of large diameter, with a closed top, that is installed in the seabed by pumping water from
the inside. The resulting pressure difference between the outside and the inside is the driving force that
installs the pile in the soil [ ]. The installation process itself will not be modeled. This study include
investigation of the load carrying capacity of the anchor after installation.

Fig. 1: Suction Caisson Installation Sequence [ ]

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 The current study consist finding out pull-out capacity of suction pile on different height of pile,
different angle of loading, effect of different thickness of pile, effect of fins, effect of fins & horizontal
triangular plate on pull-out capacity.

2 MOTIVATION AND OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to find out the,
1. Effect of angle on pull-out force (P),
2. Effect of depth (connection point of mooring cable on pile) on pull-out force,
3. Effect of fin on pull-out capacity of suction pile.

Suction Pile

Fig. 2: Loading Location on Suction Pile Fig. 3: Generation of 3-D Mesh for Pile in Clayey Soil

3 METHODOLOGY
Finite element Plaxis 3D foundation software is used to model clayey sand and suction pile. Physical
properties of pile and clayey sand are given in Table 1 and 2. Non-linear analysis is done by following
construction stage analysis. Lateral load (pull-out force) is applied on the suction pile at different depth of
pile and simultaneously at different angle of loading.
Different suction pile design is taken account for improving lateral resisting capacity of pile such as
Suction Pile with Fin (SPWF), Suction Pile with Fin & Plate (SPWFP) and result comparison is carried out
with Simple Suction Pile (SSP). The material is use for fin and plate is same that of steel pile material and
fins & plate are connect with pile by welding process.
Table 1 Physical Properties of Suction Pile
Length (meter) Diameter (meter) E (KN/m2) υ γ (KN/m3)
10 20 2.1×108 0.2 78.5
Table 2 Physical Properties of Clayey Sand
C
Soil Type E (KN/m2) υ γ'(KN/m3) φ°
(KN/m3)
Clay undrained 0.20 0.16 1.56 1.00 33

The clayey sand is taken account for non-linear finite element analysis with undrained condition in
this study by using Plaxis 3D foundation software. The size of clayey sand model is 80m by 80m, which is
four times than pile diameter and height of model is 100m, which is ten times than pile length.

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 Fig. 4: Simple Suction Pile (SSP) Triangular
Plate
Fins

Fins

Fig. 5: Suction Pile With Fin (SPWF) Fig. 6: Suction Pile With Fin & Plate (SPWFP)

4 IMPORTANT OUTCOMES
In this study pull-out force is applied at top, middle and bottom of pile, Study proves that pile proves
better for top pull-out loading. The different Pull-out loading ranging from 2 MN to 10MN is considered in
this study [ ]. The different angle of Pull-out loading, ranging from 10o to 80o is considered in this study.
Non-linear finite element analysis with fixed boundary condition at bottom, roller alongside and free at top
for clayey sand model is directly taken by Plaxis. The height of water is +50m above sea-bed level is also
taken account to simulate actual offshore situation, because the water head in sea also contribute in loading
on pile. In order to improve lateral resisting capacity of pile, The fins are provided at the top of pile, length
of fins are exactly half of the pile length and they are placed mutually orthogonal to each other along the
periphery of pile. After this triangular steel plates are welded on both sides of each fins to improve more
lateral resisting capacity of pile.

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 Graph 1: Comparison of SSP at Various Angle and Depth for Horizontal Displacement
From Graph 1 it is concluded that Simple Suction Pile (SSP) proves better for higher angle of loading (80o to
60o) at top loading location (1 to 2m) and as soon as angle of loading decreases below 60o for top loading
location lateral resisting capacity also decreases. For middle and below middle ( 3m to 6m ) loading location
as soon as angle of loading decreases the lateral resisting capacity also decreases but it is always lesser than
top loading location due to rotational effect is produced in pile during middle and below middle loading
location.

Graph 2: Comparison of SPWF at Various Depth and Angle for Horizontal Displacement

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From Graph 2 it is concluded that Suction Pile With Fin (SPWF) proves better than SSP for higher angle of
loading (80o to 60o) at top loading location (1 to 2m) and as soon as angle of loading decreases below 60 o for
top loading location lateral resisting capacity also decreases.

Graph 3: Comparison of SPWFP at Various Depth and Angle for Horizontal Displacement
From Graph 3 it is concluded that Suction Pile With Fin & Plate (SPWFP) proves better than SPWF & SSP
for higher angle of loading (80o to 60o) at top loading location (1 to 2m) and as soon as angle of loading
decreases below 60o for top loading location lateral resisting capacity also decreases.

Graph 4: Comparison of SSP, SPWF, SPWFP Horizontal Displacement Vs Load

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 From Graph 4 it is conclude that Suction Pile with Fin & Plate (SPWFP) proves better in lateral resisting
capacity than Suction Pile with Fin (SPWF) and Simple Suction Pile (SSP). The horizontal displacement of
different pile for different pull out load is given in table 3.

Table 3 Values of Horizontal Displacement for different pile type, loading at 1m (12 to 20 MN, 40o)
Horizontal Displacement (mm)

Pile Type SSP SPWF SPWFP

Load (MN)
12 75.29 71.48 68.97
14 95.58 90.96 88.21
16 121.48 115.85 111.73
18 163.05 153.25 143.61
20 264.01 230.98 195.32

The Graph 4 and Table 3 shows that minimum horizontal displacement 68.97mm for SPWFP, 71.48mm for
SPWF and maximum horizontal displacement 75.29mm for SSP and loading is 12 MN. Even for maximum
lateral loading 20MN SPWFP gives better results and thus fin and plate combination improves the lateral
resisting capacity of pile.

CONCLUSION
 It is concluded that for Simple Suction Pile (SSP) for top loading location (mooring cable
location) proves better at higher angle of loading but as soon as angle decreases lateral
resisting capacity decreases.
 Suction Pile with Fin (SPWF) has more lateral resisting capacity than SSP due to steel fins
arrangement at top of pile which reduces lateral deflection of pile.
 Suction Pile with Fin & Plate (SPWFP) has more lateral resisting capacity than SSP and
SPWF due to combine action of fins and supported horizontal triangular plate on both sides
of fin.

REFERENCES

Keawsawasvong Suraparb and Boonchai Ukitchon (2016), Finite element limit analysis of pullout capacity
of planar caissons in clay, Computers and Geotechnics 75, pp 12-17
Patel S.K. and Baleshwar Singh (2012), Study on vertical pullout behavior of Suction caisson foundation in
clayey soils, Proceedings of Indian Geotechnical Conference (2012), Delhi, India.

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