• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.14 no.12
• /
• pp.5-12
• /
• 2013

In this study, weathered granite model tests were performed to investigate the variation of volumetric water content and matric suction by the adsorption and desorption processes of artificial rainfall. It has been compared with numerical analysis in unsaturated condition. As the results, the behaviors of volumetric water content and matric suction were distinguished by the seepage distance separated into higher, middle and lower area, and the drainage layer located at the bottom of the experimental device. In the adsorption process, the instantaneously large change of matric suction and water content were related to the increase of permeability in soil. However, in the desorption process, the change of matric suction and water content were gradually small because of the decrease of permeability. The volumetric water content and matric suction showed the difference according to the seepage distance, however the typical characteristic curves were made by the adsorption and desorption processes.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.27 no.10
• /
• pp.25-33
• /
• 2011

Suction buckets have been widely used for offshore structures such as anchors for floating facilities, and the foundations of offshore wind energy turbines. However, the design guidelines for suction buckets have not been clearly suggested. Therefore, this study performed the numerical analysis by using ABAQUS (2010) to evaluate bearing capacities and load-movement behaviors of the suction bucket in NC clay. For the numerical analysis, the depth ratio L/D (L=embedded length of skirt; D=diameter of a bucket) was varied from 0.25 to 1.0. The analysis results showed that the L/D ratio has a significant effect on the bearing capacity, and the vertical and horizontal capacities respectively increased by about 40% and 90%, when L/D ratio increased from 0.25 to 1.0. At the vertical loading, the bucket showed the similar failure mode with a deep foundation, so the shaft and toe resistances can be separately evaluated. At the horizontal loading, the bucket with L/D=O.25 showed the sliding failure mode and the bucket with $L/D{\geq}0.5$ showed the rotational failure mode.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.95-103
• /
• 2024

The global increase in population and subsequent scarcity of terrestrial living spaces necessitates exploration of alternative habitats. Research into the development of underwater living areas provides promising avenues for the expansion of human living spaces and the use of marine environments. This study focuses on the failure envelope of suction caisson foundations subjected to combined loads in a marine setting, utilizing finite element analysis. The foundation is assumed to be embedded in clay characterized by a linear increase in undrained shear strength with depth, employing the von Mises constitutive model for the clay. The resulting failure envelope is represented as a tilted ellipse which expands as the undrained shear strength increases, maintaining a constant ratio between the major and minor axes. A comparative analysis of two suction caisson foundations with varying length-to-diameter ratios revealed that this ratio influences the dimensions of the failure envelope, with a tendency for the major-to-minor axis ratio to increase as the length-to-diameter ratio increases. These findings are critical for the design of suction caisson foundations in offshore environments.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.66 no.2
• /
• pp.273-283
• /
• 2018

Currently, the dynamic amplification effect of suction is described using the wind vibration coefficient (WVC) of external loads. In other words, it is proposed that the fluctuating characteristics of suction are equivalent to external loads. This is, however, not generally valid. Meanwhile, the effects of the ventilation rate of louver on suction and its WV are considered. To systematically analyze the effects of the ventilation rate of louver on the multi-dimensional WVC of ultra-large cooling towers under suctions, the 210 m ultra-large cooling tower under construction was studied. First, simultaneous rigid pressure measurement wind tunnel tests were executed to obtain the time history of fluctuating wind loads on the external surface and the internal surface of the cooling tower at different ventilation rates (0%, 15%, 30%, and 100%). Based on that, the average values and distributions of fluctuating wind pressures on external and internal surfaces were obtained and compared with each other; a tower/pillar/circular foundation integrated simulation model was developed using the finite element method and complete transient time domain dynamics of external loads and four different suctions of this cooling tower were calculated. Moreover, 1D, 2D, and 3D distributions of WVCs under external loads and suctions at different ventilation rates were obtained and compared with each other. The WVCs of the cooling tower corresponding to four typical response targets (i.e., radial displacement, meridional force, Von Mises stress, and circumferential bending moment) were discussed. Value determination and 2D evaluation of the WVCs of external loads and suctions of this large cooling tower at different ventilation rates were proposed. This study provides references to precise prediction and value determination of WVC of ultra-large cooling towers.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.36 no.10
• /
• pp.5-19
• /
• 2020

With increasing demand for offshore structures, the demand for temporary structures to help the offshore construction work has increased. A cofferdam is a temporary barrier to stop the inflow of water in the construction site and allows working in the dry condition when the construction is done within the water. However, it is a major cause of construction delays and increased costs because additional works are required to block the water inflow. Recently, in order to overcome the limitations of the conventional cofferdam methods and to increase economic efficiency, a large-diameter steel cofferdam method has been proposed which can be installed quickly in the seabed by using the suction pressure. In this circular steel cofferdam method, the top side of the cofferdam including the top-lid is always exposed above the sea level in order to use it as a water barrier, unlike the conventional suction bucket foundation. After installation, the top-lid of the cofferdam is removed and the water filled inside the cofferdam is discharged to make the interior dry condition. In this study, the circular steel cofferdam with a 5 m inner diameter was fabricated and the installation tests were conducted at the Saemaguem test site. During the experiment, variation of suction pressure, leakage between connections, structure deformation, and inclination of the steel cofferdam were measured and post-analyzed. This study verified the new circular steel cofferdam method and confirmed that the suction installation method can be successfully used for various purposes on offshore structures.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.21 no.11
• /
• pp.870-877
• /
• 2020

A suction bucket foundation, especially useful at depths of more than 20m, is a method of construction. The method first places an empty upturned bucket at the target site. Then, the bucket is installed by sucking water or air into it to create negative pressure. For stability, it is crucial to secure the verticality of the bucket. However, inclination by the bucket may occur due to sea-bottom conditions. In general, a repeated intrusion-pulling method is used for securing verticality. However, it takes a long time to complete the job. In this paper, we propose a real-time suction bucket verticality monitoring system. Specifically, the system consists of a sensor unit that collects raw verticality data, a controller that processes the data and wirelessly transmits the information, and a display unit that shows verticality information of a circular steel pipe. The system is implemented using an inclination sensor and an embedded controller. Experimental results show that the proposed system can efficiently measure roll/pitch information with a 0.028% margin of error. Furthermore, we show that the system properly operates in a suction bucket-based model experiment.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.5-12
• /
• 2021

Owing to economically efficient and easy installation, bucket foundation is a promising solution for offshore wind turbines. This paper aims at finding the behavior of suction caissons and soil surrounding the foundation by using three-dimensional finite element analysis. Under various loading conditions, a wide range of foundation geometries installed in dense and medium dense sandy soil was considered to evaluate ultimate horizontal load and overturning moment capacity. The results show that the rotation and displacement of the bucket due to monotonic loading are largely dependent on the foundation geometry, soil density and load eccentricity. Normalized diagrams and equations for the ultimate horizontal load and overturning moment capacities are presented that are useful tool for the preliminary design of such foundation type.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.23-32
• /
• 2013

In order to evaluate the bearing capacity behaviour of a monopod suction bucket foundation for an offshore wind tower at the western sea of Korea, a centrifuge load test and numerical analyses were performed. The monopod bucket foundation was designed to be installed in a silty sand layer. The model soil was prepared to simulate a target site by using soil samples having similar properties and controlling relative density. In-flight miniature cone penetration test and bender element array were used to confirm that the model soil had represented the target site conditions. The load - rotation curve of the centrifuge load test was analysed. A series of numerical analyses were performed to validate the experimental conditions. Self-weight of the model, distance to the boundary and elastic modulus of the soil layer were varied to study their effects on the load - rotation curves.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.29 no.11
• /
• pp.119-127
• /
• 2013

Recently, several researches on the development of new economical foundation types have been performed to support floating structures as many offshore structures have been constructed. This study focused on the evaluation of bearing capacity of group suction piles, which are connected by a concrete pile cap. The offshore floating structures are mainly subjected to horizontal loading, so the horizontal bearing capacities of the group suction piles were analyzed by performing 3-dimensional finite element analyses. The group suction piles are expected to behave as a rigid pile due to its shallow embedded depth. Therefore, the detailed soil modeling was necessary to simulate the bearing behavior of soils under low confining pressure. The modulus and the strength of soils were modelled to increase with effective confining pressure in soils. For the parametric study, the center-to-center spacing between piles was varied and two soil types of clay and sands were applied. The analyses results showed that the yielding load of the group pile increased with the increase of the pile spacing and the yielding load of the group piles with 5D spacing was about 3 times larger than that of the single pile with free rotation.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.36 no.11
• /
• pp.71-81
• /
• 2020

The large circular steel pipe for a marine bridge foundation has been developed as a construction method capable of performing the role of the working platform and cofferdam. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the wireless remote sensing system for monitoring the stability of the large circular steel pipe during construction and operation through field tests. The artificial seabed ground with an water level of 4 m is constructed for field tests. The large circular steel pipe with a diameter of 5 m and height of 9.5 m is installed into the ground by suction, and the embedded depth is 5 m. The inclinometer and strain gauges are installed on different surfaces of the upper module, and the tilt angle and stress are monitored throughout the entire construction process. As results, tilt angles are measured to be constant during the suction penetration. However, the tilt angle is larger in the x-axis direction. In addition, even when installed on different surfaces, the tilt angle in the same axial direction is measured to be almost the same. The stresses measured by strain gauges increase during suction penetration and decrease during pull-out. Based on measured stresses, it is found that the eccentricity is acting on the large circular steel pipe. This study shows that a wireless remote sensing system built with an inclinometer and strain gauge can be a useful tool for the stability monitoring of the large circular steel pipe.