Study of the Bearing Capacity at the Variable Cross-Section of A Riser-Surface Casing Composite Pile

Reducing the cost of offshore platform construction is an urgent issue for marginal oilfield development. The offshore oil well structure includes a riser and a surface casing. The riser, surface casing and oil well cement can be considered special variable cross-section piles. Replacing or partially replacing the steel pipe pile foundation with a variable cross-section pile to provide the required bearing capacity for an offshore oil platform can reduce the cost of foundation construction and improve the economic efficiency of production. In this paper, the finite element analysis method is used to investigate the variable cross-section bearing mode of composite piles composed of a riser and a surface casing in saturated clay under a vertical load. The calculation formula of the bearing capacity at the variable section is derived based on the theory of spherical cavity expansion, the influencing factors of the bearing capacity coefficient Nc are revealed, and the calculation method of Nc is proposed. By comparing the calculation results with the results of the centrifuge test, the accuracy and applicability of the calculation method are verified. The results show that the riser composite pile has a rigid core in the soil under the variable cross-section, which increases the bearing capacity at the variable cross-section.