Spudcan Fixity under Combined Cyclic Loading

Abstract

This thesis reports a series of centrifuge experimental tests conducted at 100-g acceleration using a small spudcan model and specimens of kaolin clay to examin the spudcan fixity. The results indicates that the lattice confers a significant lateral soil resistance, and the presence of the lattice will also cause the location of maximum bending moment to be up-shifted towards to the soil surface. The rotational fixity of the spudcan shows distinct changes over time, which is attributed to consolidation and settlement effects. Comparison of fixity of spudcan with and without lattice leg indicates that the lattice leg can lead to a large increase in lateral resistance of deeply penetrated spudcans. A series of numerical simulations, associated with the effective stress Eulerian-Lagrangian approach, are conducted for verification by comparison with centrifuge results. Lastly, the short-term yield envelopes for spudcan with/without lattices are also examined with the help of numerical modelling.