Centrifuge modelling of pipe-soil interaction in clay with crust layer

Seabed in regions, such as the Gulf of Guinea and North West Shelf of Australia, may exhibit a crust layer where the undrained shear strength can be an order of magnitude higher than that of the immediately underlying sediment. This can complicate design of steel catenary risers, where fatigue depends on the cyclic vertical stiffness of the pipe-soil interaction. Potential punch-through of the riser into the underlying soft soil may invalidate design assumptions based on the pipe-soil stiffness within the crust layer. The long-term evolution of pipe-soil stiffness within the crust layer, which exhibits similar properties to an over-consolidated soil, is also poorly understood. This paper describes centrifuge model tests undertaken in a clay sample with a crust layer, simulating the punch-through process of a pipe under load control and investigating the pipe-soil stiffness during long-term cyclic loading tests under displacement control. Results confirm that the potential for punching-through the crust layer depends strongly on the relative ratio of pipe diameter to crust layer thickness. The long-term evolution of pipe-soil stiffness showed a steady increase after an initial remoulding stage in contractile soils (normally consolidated and lightly over-consolidated), but a steady reduction in the heavily over-consolidated, more dilatant, crust. The magnitude of pipe-soil stiffness changes (during both remoulding and reconsolidation) is governed by the over-consolidation ratio of the soil and the amplitude of the cyclic displacements. This study provides insights on the relevant cyclic stiffness to consider when assessing SCR fatigue life in over-consolidated soils and soils exhibiting a superficial crust layer.     

软粘土中挤土桩桩周土重固结沉降计算分析

挤土桩在沉桩过程中,由于挤土效应将引起桩周土体产生较高的超孔隙水压力,随着桩周土体中孔隙水压力的缓慢消散,土体会出现较大的重固结沉降,对周围的建筑物产生不利影响。由于软粘土中挤土桩的重固结沉降包含有几何非线性和材料非线性又涉及三维的渗流固结问题,计算较为复杂。基于ADINA有限元程序和三维Biot固结有限元理论,定义桩周土为多孔介质材料,按照圆柱形空腔体扩张理论来模拟沉桩过程,分析了打桩完成后粘性土超孔隙水压力的消散和桩周土随时间固结沉降情况,得出了一些初步成果。并与软粘土中某挤土桩工程的地表实测沉降结果进行了比较,结果表明,考虑弹塑性本构关系和三维渗流固结的有限元模型能较好地模拟挤土桩重固结沉降过程,为挤土桩的进一步研究奠定基础。