A new look at the phenomenon of offshore pile plugging

Abstract

Open‐pipe piles are widely used for offshore structures. During the initial stage of installation, soil enters the pile at a rate equal to the pile penetration. As penetration continues, the inner soil cylinder may develop sufficient frictional resistance to prevent further soil intrusion, causing the pile to become plugged. The open‐ended pile then assumes the penetration characteristics of a closed‐ended pile. The mode of pile penetration significantly alters the soil‐pile interaction during and after installation. This affects the ultimate static bearing capacity (mainly in granular materials), the time‐dependent pile capacity (in clays), and the dynamic behavior and analysis of the piles.

Following a summary demonstrating the effects of pile plugging, a review of the common view of offshore pile plugging is undertaken. The interpretation of plugging by referring to the average plug length has led to the erroneous conclusion that in most piles significant plugging action does not occur.

Establishment of an analogy between soil samplers and open‐ended piles enabled correct identification of plugging by referring to the incremental changes in plug length. Examination of case histories of plugging of offshore piles revealed that beyond a certain penetration depth‐to‐diameter ratio, most piles are plugged.     

Behavior of soil plugs in open‐ended model piles driven into sands

Calibration chamber tests were conducted on open‐ended model piles driven into dried siliceous sands with different soil conditions in order to clarify the effect of soil conditions on load transfer mechanism in the soil plug. The model pile used in the test series was devised so that the bearing capacity of an open‐ended pile could be measured as three components: outside shaft resistance, plug resistance, and tip resistance. Under the assumption that the unit shaft resistance due to pile‐soil plug interaction varies linearly near the pile tip, the plug resistance was estimated. The plug capacity, which was defined as the plug resistance at ultimate condition, is mainly dependent on the ambient lateral pressure and relative density. The length of wedged plug that transfers the load decreases with the decrease of relative density, but it is independent of the ambient pressure and penetration depth. Under several assumptions, the value of earth pressure coefficient in the soil plug can be calculated. It gradually reduces with increase in the longitudinal distance from the pile tip. At the bottom of the soil plug, it tends to decrease with increase in the penetration depth and relative density, and to increase with the increase of ambient pressure. This may be attributed to (1) the decrease of friction angle as a result of increase in the effective vertical stress, (2) the difference in the dilation degree of the soil plug during driving with ambient pressures, and (3) the difference in compaction degree of soil plug during driving with relative densities. Based on the test results, an empirical equation was suggested to compute the earth pressure coefficient to be used in the calculation of plug capacity using one‐dimensional analysis, and it produces proper plug capacities for all soil conditions.     

喷涂聚脲弹性体技术在海港码头预应力大管桩上的应用

针对北仑电厂预应力大管桩表面潮湿,需候潮作业,施工条件复杂,施工作业时间短的特点,从表面处理、参数的设定、喷涂施工、质量控制及验收和存在问题及解决方案等方面,介绍了喷涂聚脲弹性体技术在已建海港码头预应力大管桩表面防腐保护工程中的应用情况。可为类似结构物的设计、施工、维护及管理提供参考。     

中国对虾(Fenneropenaeus Chinensis)自然感染与人工感染WSSV抗病力的比较

取30个通过人工授精和自然交尾建立的中国对虾家系,分别进行人工感染和自然感染实验。实验过程中,两实验组样本总体存活率在35%左右时统计各家系的存活率,以分析其抗白斑综合征病毒情况。用四格表的卡方检验分析中国对虾各家系存活率,结果发现23个家系的存活率在两种感染方式实验间差异不显著(P0.05),两种感染方式实验间家系存活率一致性为77%。用独立样本T检验对两种感染方式实验中4个杂交组合的存活率进行比较,结果发现4个杂交组合的存活率在两种感染方式实验间差异不显著(P0.05),说明人工感染和自然感染实验对中国对虾抗病力的反映情况基本是一致的。另外,对两个实验中各家系的抗病力进行分析,综合结果表明有5个家系对WSSV可能有较强的抗病力。     

海洋平台隔水套管群桩性状的研究

海洋平台的隔水套管群桩与土共同作用研究是一个很复杂的课题,目前国内外研究资料甚少,因此在平台导管架设计中,一般不考虑隔水套管群桩承受水平力作用,这与实际不相符合。本文结合工程课题,在调查研究和模型试验的基础上,对隔水套管群桩在水平力作用下的工作性状与破坏机理、群桩的水平力及其主要影响因素、单桩与群桩情况下应力应变关系等方面进行较深入的研究;并提出砂土地基隔水套管群桩效应经验公式,弥补了现行计算方法的缺陷和不足。研究成果可供工程设计参考使用。     

Floc size variability under strong turbulence: Observations and artificial neural network modeling

The flocculation of cohesive sediment in the presence of waves is investigated using high-resolution field observations and a newly-developed flocculation model based on artificial neural networks. Vertical profiles of suspended sediment concentration and turbulent intensity are estimated using measurements of current profile and acoustic backscatter. The vertical distribution of floc size is estimated using an artificial neural network (ANN) that is trained and validated using floc size measurements at one vertical level. Data analysis suggests a linear correlation between suspended sediment concentration and turbulence intensity. Observations and numerical simulations show that floc size is inversely related to sediment concentration, turbulence intensity and water temperature. The numerical results indicate that floc growth is supported by low concentration and low turbulence. In the vertical direction, mean size of flocs decreases toward the bottom, suggesting floc breakage due to increasing turbulence intensity toward the bed. A significant decrease in turbulent shear could occur within the bottom few-cm, related to increased damping of turbulence by sediment induced density stratification. The results of the numerical simulations presented here are consistent with the concept of a cohesive sediment particle undergoing aggregation-fragmentation processes, and suggest that the ANN can be a precise tool to study flocculation processes.     

Development of the cyclic p–y curve for a single pile in sandy soil

Pile foundations that support transmission towers or offshore structures are dominantly subjected to cyclic lateral load induced by wind and waves. For a successful design, it is crucial to investigate the effect of cyclic lateral loads on the pile behavior that is loaded laterally. Although the p–y curve method is generally utilized to design the cyclic laterally loaded pile foundations, the effect of cyclic lateral loads on the pile has not been properly implemented with the p–y curve. This reflects a lack of consideration of the overall stiffness change in soil–pile interaction. To address this, a series of model pile tests were conducted in this study on a preinstalled aluminum flexible pile under various sandy soil conditions. The test results were used to investigate the effect of cyclic lateral loads on the p–y behavior. The cyclic p–y curve, which properly takes into account this effect, was developed as a hyperbolic function. Pseudo-static analysis was also conducted with the proposed cyclic p–y curve, which showed that it was able to properly simulate cyclic laterally loaded pile behavior in sandy soil.     

Investigation on the Effect of Geometrical and Geotechnical Parameters on Elongated Offshore Piles Using Fuzzy Inference Systems

Among numerous offshore structures used in oil extraction, jacket platforms are still the most favorable ones in shallow waters. In such structures, log piles are used to pin the substructure of the platform to the seabed. The pile’s geometrical and geotechnical properties are considered as the main parameters in designing these structures. In this study, ANSYS was used as the FE modeling software to study the geometrical and geotechnical properties of the offshore piles and their effects on supporting jacket platforms. For this purpose, the FE analysis has been done to provide the preliminary data for the fuzzy-logic post-process. The resulting data were implemented to create Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) classifications. The resultant data of the sensitivity analysis suggested that the orientation degree is the main factor in the pile’s geometrical behavior because piles which had the optimal operational degree of about 5° are more sustained. Finally, the results showed that the related fuzzified data supported the FE model and provided an insight for extended offshore pile designs.     

Vertical dynamic impedance of pile considering the dynamic stress diffusion effect of pile end soil

A new analytical model is presented to analyze the dynamic stress diffusion effect of pile end soil on the vertical dynamic impedance of the pile. The surrounding soil of the pile is modeled by using the plane strain model and the pile is simulated by using one-dimensional elastic theory. Finite soil layers below the pile end are modeled as conical fictitious soil pile with stress diffusion angle which reflects the dynamic stress diffusion effect of pile end soil. By means of the Laplace transform and impedance function transfer method, the analytical solution of the vertical dynamic impedance at the pile head in frequency domain is yielded. Then, a comparison with other models is performed to verify the conical fictitious soil pile model. Finally, based on the proposed solution, the selected numerical results are compared to analyze the influence of dynamic stress diffusion effect for different design parameters of the soil-pile system on the vertical dynamic impedance at the pile head.