Centrifuge model study on Spudcan-pile interaction

Abstract

Most of the offshore drilling in shallow water depths is performed using mobile jack-up rigs supported on spudcan foundation. Jack-up rigs are usually employed to carry out drilling or work-overs close to jacket platforms. Geotechnical centrifuge model tests have been conducted to investigate the effects of spudcan penetration and extraction on adjacent platform piles embedded in both clay and clay overlying sand layers. Lateral and vertical responses of both free-headed and fixed-head piles were monitored. A practical range of key contributing factors to the pile responses have also been systematically examined, such as pile length, pile socket length in sand, spudcan-pile clearance, etc. In addition, to visualize the spudcan movement process and reveal the corresponding mechanism, half-spudcan tests have been employed with subsequent analysis of high resolution photographs taken during the tests using particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. The resulting soil displacement vectors can be used to correlate the adjacent pile responses well.