Study on settlement law of underwater protective caissons based on centrifugal model tests
Underwater protective caissons can effectively protect subsea production systems from risks,such as the dragging of the ship anchors and fishing nets,the impact of the submarine landslides and iceberg.However,if the settlement of the caisson exceeds the allowable value,the instability of the Christmas tree in the caisson,and the fracture of the manifold,caisson crossover,subsea pipe and umbilical cable will occur,leading to major engineering accidents(i.e.oil and gas leakage).Centrifugal model tests were performed to study the settlement law of the underwater protective caisson in the process of the foundation installation and self-weight consolidation.The Weibull Curve was used to fit the prediction formula of the final settlement.The final settlement predicted by the centrifugal model tests was compared with the results obtained from the numerical simulation and standard theoretical calculation.It can be found that the settlement values predicted by the three methods are close.The centrifugal model test results show that obvious rebound deformation is observed at the bottom of the foundation pit after the foundation pit excavation.During the consolidation process after the caisson installation,the rebound value of the soil at the bottom of the foundation is decreased,but the rebound deformation still exists.
underwater caisson foundationfoundation settlementcentrifuge model testfinite element analysis
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