Effect of Elastic Deformations on the Capacity of Laterally Loaded Caissons

Abstract

Suction caissons are one of the most common anchoring systems used in offshore foundations. With increasing exploration in offshore energy, it becomes important to do research on suction caissons.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the elastic behavior of suction caissons. A 3D finite element simulation is used for this purpose and performed in ABAQUS. In order to enhance accuracy of simulation elastic deformation of caissons, calibration factors are calculated by comparing displacements from simulations and the theoretical solution. The parametric study is conducted for three parameters, which are thickness, load attachment location, and soil strength profile. The surrounding soils is transformed into springs by extracting nodal forces and displacement of caissons. The spring properties are compared with these from previous research, which obtains spring properties from a 2D model.

Results show that the effect of caissons’ elastic behavior on capacity is different with that of caisson’s rigid behavior. Also, the spring properties in this study are different from those in other research.