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A parametric study on the vertical pullout capacity of suction caisson foundation in cohesive soil

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Abstract

The pullout capacity of suction caisson foundation plays a vital role in its field performance. This study presents numerical investigation on the vertical pullout capacity of suction caisson foundation in cohesive soil under both drained and undrained conditions. The influence of soil cohesion, internal friction angle and caisson aspect ratio on the ultimate vertical pullout capacity of suction caisson foundation has been investigated. It is noted that the upper limit of pullout capacity is governed by undrained condition and the lower limit by drained condition. The pullout capacity increases with increasing soil cohesion, friction angle and caisson aspect ratio when caisson diameter is kept constant, whereas it decreases with increasing caisson aspect ratio when caisson length is kept constant. Mathematical models have been developed for both drained and undrained pullout capacity. The pullout capacity values have been compared with those of available analytical and simplified relationships, and it has been found that the developed models can accurately predict the vertical pullout capacity of suction caisson foundation.

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Abbreviations

A :

Area of caisson base

D :

Caisson diameter

E :

Young’s modulus of elasticity

f :

Bearing capacity correction coefficient

K :

Earth pressure coefficient

L :

Caisson length

L/D :

Caisson aspect ratio

N c :

Bearing capacity factor

OCR:

Over-consolidation ratio

Pu :

Ultimate pullout capacity

Pu d :

Ultimate pullout capacity under drained condition

Pu ud :

Ultimate pullout capacity under undrained condition

t :

Caisson wall thickness

R inter :

Interface between soil and caisson wall

W c :

Caisson weight

s u :

Undrained shear strength

s u,avg :

Average undrained shear strength

s u,tip :

Undrained shear strength at caisson tip

c :

Soil cohesion

γ sat :

Saturated soil unit weight

γ unsat :

Unsaturated soil unit weight

γ c :

Caisson unit weight

γ′ :

Submersed unit weight of soil

σ′ v,bottom :

Vertical effective stress

ϕ :

Soil friction angle

ψ :

Dilation angle

ν :

Poisson’s ratio

δ :

Caisson displacement

α :

Skin friction factor

ξ s :

Shape factor

ξ d :

Depth factor

ξ e :

Embedment factor

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Bhagalpur College of Engineering, Bhagalpur, 813210, India

    Suchit Kumar Patel

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, 781039, India

    Baleshwar Singh

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  1. Suchit Kumar Patel
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  2. Baleshwar Singh
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Correspondence to Suchit Kumar Patel.

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Patel, S.K., Singh, B. A parametric study on the vertical pullout capacity of suction caisson foundation in cohesive soil. Innov. Infrastruct. Solut. 4, 1 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-018-0188-6

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