• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.255-270
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• 2023

One of the main parameters that affect the design of suction caisson-supported offshore structures is uplift behavior. Pull-out of suction caissons is profoundly utilized as the offshore wind turbine foundations accompany by a tensile resistance that is a function of a complex interaction between the caisson dimensions, geometry, wall roughness, soil type, load history, pull-out rate, and many other parameters. In this paper, a parametric study using a 3-D finite element model (FEM) of a single offshore suction caisson (SOSC) surrounded by saturated soil is performed to examine the effect of some key factors on the tensile resistance of the suction bucket foundation. Among the aforementioned parameters, caisson geometry and uplift loading as well as the difference between the tensile resistance and suction pressure on the behavior of the soil-foundation system including tensile capacity are investigated. For this purpose, a full model including 3-D suction caisson, soil, and soil-structure interaction (SSI) is developed in Abaqus based on the u-p formulation accounting for soil displacement (u) and pore pressure, P.The dynamic responses of foundations are compared and validated with the known results from the literature. The paper has focused on the effect of geometry change of 3-D SOSC to present the soil-structure interaction and the tensile capacity. Different 3-D caisson models such as triangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, and octagonal are employed. It is observed that regardless of the caisson geometry, by increasing the uplift loading rate, the tensile resistance increases. More specifically, it is found that the resistance to pull-out of the cylinder is higher than the other geometries and this geometry is the optimum one for designing caissons.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.17-36
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• 2013

Settlement of the piled raft can be estimated even after years of completing the construction of any structure over the foundation. This study is devoted to carry out numerical analysis by the finite element method of the consolidation settlement of piled rafts over clayey soils and detecting the dissipation of excess pore water pressure and its effect on bearing capacity of piled raft foundations. The ABAQUS computer program is used as a finite element tool and the soil is represented by the modified Drucker-Prager/cap model. Five different configurations of pile groups are simulated in the finite element analysis. It was found that the settlement beneath the piled raft foundation resulted from the dissipation of excess pore water pressure considerably affects the final settlement of the foundation, and enough attention should be paid to settlement variation with time. The settlement behavior of unpiled raft shows bowl shaped settlement profile with maximum at the center. The degree of curvature of the raft under vertical load increases with the decrease of the raft thickness. For the same vertical load, the differential settlement of raft of ($10{\times}10m$) size decreases by more than 90% when the raft thickness increased from 0.75 m to 1.5 m. The average load carried by piles depends on the number of piles in the group. The groups of ($2{\times}1$, $3{\times}1$, $2{\times}2$, $3{\times}2$, and $3{\times}3$) piles were found to carry about 24%, 32%, 42%, 58%, and 79% of the total vertical load. The distribution of load between piles becomes more uniform with the increase of raft thickness.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.267-284
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• 2012

In most of the design offices, analysis of the frame is carried out without considering the effect of the rigidity of mat. The analysis of the superstructure without modelling the foundation properly and conversely analysing the foundation system without considering the stiffness of the superstructure may mislead the estimation of the forces. This paper examines the parameters, which affect the interaction and they are grouped into relative stiffness factors ${\kappa}_{rs}$ and ${\kappa}_{sb}$. An interaction analysis is performed for the five storeyed space frame of 3 bays ${\times}$ 5 bays, using ANSYS finite element code. The soil was treated as an isotropic, homogenous and elastic half space medium and the following conclusions were drawn from the analyses. The differential settlement is reduced due to interaction and the performance of the mat depends on ${\kappa}_{sb}$ values. The moments $M_x$ and $M_y$ in the corner column at all the storey levels are higher in the case of the interaction analysis than in the conventional analysis. The axial forces in the peripheral columns increased and to that extent, the inner column axial loads are reduced. In the beam, more variation is seen in the support moments than in the span moments.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.596-601
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• 2000

The paper presents free vibration and stability analyses of a non-uniform Timoshenko beam resting on a two-parameter elastic soil. The soil parameters can vary along the spat and is assumed to be two-parameter model including the effects of both transverse shear deformation and elastic foundation Governing equations related to the vibration and the stability of the beam are derived from Hamilton's principle, and the resulting eigen-value problems can be solved to give natural frequencies and critical force by finite element method. Numerical results for both vibration and stability of beams under an axial force are presented and compared with other available solutions. Finally, vibration frequencies, mode shapes and critical forces are investigated for various thickness ratios, shear foundation parameter, Winkler foundation parameter and boundary conditions of tapered Timoshenko beams.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.575-584
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• 2019

The groundwater level (GWL) is an important subsoil condition for the design of foundation. GWL tends to fluctuate often with seasonal variation, which may cause unexpected, additional settlements with some reductions in the safety margin of foundation. In this study, the effects of fluctuating GWL on the load carrying and settlement behavior of footing were investigated and quantified. A series of model load tests were conducted for various GWL and soil conditions using a hydraulically-controlled chamber system. Changes in load level and rising and falling GWL fluctuation cycle were considered in the tests. Settlements during GWL rise were greater than those during GWL fall. The depth of the GWL influence zone ($\underline{d}_{w,inf}$) varied in the range of 0.3 to 1.5 times footing width and became shallower as GWL continued to fluctuate. Design equations for estimating GWL-induced settlements for footings were proposed. The GWL fluctuation cycle, load level and soil density were considered in the proposed method. Changes in settlement and factor of safety with GWL fluctuation were discussed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.597-608
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• 2022

One of the most important parameters affecting nonlinearsoil-structure interaction, especially rocking foundation, is the vertical factor of safety (F.S_v). In this research, the effect of F.S_v on the behavior of rocking foundations was experimentally investigated. A set of slow, cyclic, horizontal loading tests was conducted on elastic SDOF structures with different shallow foundations. Vertical bearing capacity tests also were conducted to determine the F.S_v more precisely. Furthermore, 10% silt was mixed with the dry sand at a 5% moisture content to reach the minimum apparent cohesion. The results of the vertical bearing capacity tests showed that the bearing capacity coefficients (N_c and N_γ) were influenced by the scaling effect. The results of horizontal cyclic loading tests showed that the trend of increase in capacity was substantially related to the source of nonlinearity and it varied by changing F.S_v. Stiffness degradation was found to occur in the final cycles of loading. The results indicated that the moment capacity and damping ratio of the system in models with lower F.S_v values depended on soil specifications such cohesiveness or non-cohesiveness and were not just a function of F.S_v.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.271-291
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• 2023

Settlement estimation in cohesion materials is a crucial topic to tackle because of the complexity of the cohesion soil texture, which could be solved roughly by substituted solutions. The goal of this research was to implement recently developed machine learning features as effective methods to predict settlement (S_m) of shallow foundations over cohesion soil properties. These models include hybridized support vector regression (SVR), random forests (RF), and coot optimization algorithm (COM), and black widow optimization algorithm (BWOA). The results indicate that all created systems accurately simulated the S_m, with an R² of better than 0.979 and 0.9765 for the train and test data phases, respectively. This indicates extraordinary efficiency and a good correlation between the experimental and simulated S_m. The model's results outperformed those of ANFIS - PSO, and COM - RF findings were much outstanding to those of the literature. By analyzing established designs utilizing different analysis aspects, such as various error criteria, Taylor diagrams, uncertainty analyses, and error distribution, it was feasible to arrive at the final result that the recommended COM - RF was the outperformed approach in the forecasting process of S_m of shallow foundation, while other techniques were also reliable.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.381-395
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• 2024

With the wide application of urban subway tunnels, the foundation pits of new stations and existing subway tunnels are becoming increasingly close, and even zero-distance close-fitting construction has taken place. To optimize the construction support scheme, the existing tunnel's vertical displacement is theoretically analyzed using the two-stage analysis method to understand the action mechanism of the construction of zero-distance deep large foundation pits on both sides of the existing stations; a three-dimensional numerical calculation is also performed for further analysis. First, the additional stress field on the existing tunnel caused by the unloading of zero-distance foundation pits on both sides of the tunnel is derived based on the Mindlin stress solution of a semi-infinite elastic body under internal load. Then, considering the existing subway tunnel's joints, shear stiffness, and shear soil deformation effect, the tunnel is regarded as a Timoshenko beam placed on the Kerr foundation; a sixth-order differential control equation of the tunnel under the action of additional stress is subsequently established for solving the vertical displacement of the tunnel. These theoretical calculation results are then compared with the numerical simulation results and monitoring data. Finally, an optimized foundation pit support scheme is obtained considering the pit corner effect and external corner failure mode. The research shows a high consistency between the monitoring data,analytical and numerical solution, and the closer the tunnel is to the foundation pit, the more uplift deformation will occur. The internal corner of the foundation pit can restrain the deformation of the tunnel and the retaining structure, while the external corner can cause local stress concentration on the diaphragm wall. The proposed optimization scheme can effectively reduce construction costs while meeting the safety requirements of foundation pit support structures.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.155-163
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• 2023

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the coupled effect of SSI and pounding on dynamic responses of unequal height adjacent buildings with insufficiently separation distance subjected to seismic loading. Numerical investigations were conducted to evaluate effect of the pounding coupling SSI on a Reinforced Concrete Frame Structure system constructed on different soil fields. Adjacent buildings with unequal height, including a 9-storey and a 3-storey reinforced concrete structure, were considered in numerical studies. Pounding force response, time-history and root-mean-square (RMS) of displacement and acceleration with different types of soil and separations were presented. The numerical results indicate that insufficient separation could lead to collisions and generate severe pounding force which could result in acceleration and displacement amplifications. SSI has significant influence of the seismic response of the structures, and higher pounding force were induced by floors with stiffer soil. SSI is reasonable neglected for a structure with a dense soil foundation, whereas SSI should be taken into consideration for dynamic analysis, especially for soft soil base.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.249-259
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• 2015

This paper introduces the structural design and construction method for the foundation of the TOKYO SKYTREE, a new digital broadcasting tower in Tokyo, which has a height of 634 meters. The surface layer of the ground is occupied by soft soil, thus the foundation of this tower is an SRC continuous underground wall pile, designed and developed to have horizontal rigidity and pull-out resistance. The structural integrity and construction method of the wall pile was verified with an on-site full scale pull-out test concluding a maximum load of 40,000 kN.