Numerical Analysis of the Behavior of Suction Caissons in Clay

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a finite element model for simulating the behavior of suction caissons subjected to vertical loading, and the validation of the numerical model based on centrifuge experimental results. The pull out load versus displacement (Pu-d) curve obtained from finite element analyses (FEA), using the passive suction recorded in the centrifuge tests, was in close agreement with that obtained using the centrifuge pull out tests. Numerical simulation of passive suction is still a challenging problem, which is not fully solved at the present time. A new method, in which the water inside the caisson is simulated by a very soft poro-elastic material, was used to simulate the development of passive suction. Although the passive suction versus pull out displacement curve obtained using the FEA was slightly different from that obtained from the centrifuge tests, the magnitude of the maximum suction was almost the same, and the pull out force with displacement curve obtained using the FEA was in close agreement with that obtained from the centrifuge tests.