A two-phase coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian FEM for offshore spudcan analysis

Abstract

This paper reports a development of a two-phase coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian FEM for analyzing the short-and long-term response of offshore spudcan footing. The proposed method is composed of three integral components which are effective stress Eulerian analysis for the shrot-term installation behavior of spudcan, mesh-to-mesh solution variable mapping and coupled-flow Lagrangian analysis for the post-installation, long-term working behaviour of spudcan. By combining the advantages of Eulerian and Lagrangian finite element methods, this coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian FEM is tailored to solve offshore foundation problems which often see rapid and large-scale undrained soil flow during installation followed by much longer periods of embedment in the ground during operation. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.