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This paper reports results from an investigation on the tapering effects on the installation and pull-out performance of suction caissons. A numerical finite element approach has been used for the study. The finite element models have first been calibrated/verified against several available experimental data for the installation of the upright suction caissons in clay. The verified models have then been used to examine the behaviour of the tapered suction caissons during the pull-out and installation phases. Numerical results indicate that tapered caissons present considerable enhancement in their pull-out capacity comparing to those from corresponding upright caissons. Also it has been noticed that in general tapered caissons of positive wall slopes need extra forces, in comparison to their equivalent upright caissons, to achieve a full penetration. However, at least with those models studied, these extra forces have found to be less than twenty five percent when the wall slope varies from zero (upright) to 15%. This is while the additional pull-out capacities that might be achieved from these tapered suction caissons could reach to several hundred percents. An almost linear relationship has been observed between the total installation force and the caisson’s wall slope.

This paper reports results from a numerical investigation into the suction caissons penetration in sand. Two dimensional axisymmetric models have first been calibrated and verified against several laboratory and field test data from other researchers. Soil nonlinearities and soil/caisson interactions have been taken into account. The verified models have then been used to evaluate the effects from various soil/structure characteristics on the performance of the suction caissons during the installation phase in sand. The results of the current study show that the total installation force required for the full penetration of the caisson has a second order relationship with the soil/caisson interface strength reduction factor. The soil cohesion has also been found to have a second order effect on the total installation force. The soil internal friction angle, and the soil modulus of elasticity have each been noticed to present an increasing linear effect on the total installation force. It has also been observed that while the caisson diameter remains constant, with an increase in the caisson length the total installation force almost linearly increases. This is the same when the caisson length is kept constant but its diameter increases. Dilatancy angle and Poisson’s ratio have been realized to have a second order monotically increasing effect on the total installation force.

Suction caissons have a fair base in the offshore industry, however, prediction of their behaviour and capacities still need extra attentions. Understanding their modes of failure is crucial for any analytical solutions. In this paper, failure mechanisms noticed in a numerical study of the suction caissons behaviour under vertical pull-out loading are reported. The employed finite element models have been calibrated by and verified against different available experimental data. In principal four distinctive modes of failure have been recognized. The first mode corresponds to a shear sliding failure in the soil plug along the caisson’s wall interior. This mode of failure has been mainly found in drained but comparatively weak soils. The second mode of failure noticed under drained conditions in soils with enhanced strength characteristics is a local tension failure occurring in the bottom of the soil plug. In this case the detached soil plug accompanies the caisson in its movement upward. The third mode corresponds to a restricted shear failure outside the caisson. It develops to a local wedge initiating halfway through the caisson walls and extending out to the soil surface. This failure mode has been mostly noticed with clays under undrained conditions. The foruth mode has been found to be a general shear failure in the soil underneath and around the caisson. It occurs in a wider spread body of the soil and has been noticed with the undrained sands. The load-displacement curves present a virtually bi-linear behaviour.

Since their inception suction caisson foundations have presented themselves as proven means of anchoring floating production systems and fixed offshore structures. The pull-out capacity of suction caissons remains a critical issue in their applications, and in order to produce effective designs, reliable methods of predicting the capacity are required. In this paper results from a numerical investigation on the behaviour of the suction caissons in clays against pull-out loading have been presented. Soil nonlinearities, soil/caisson interactions and the effects from the suction on the behaviour have been taken into account. A linear relationship has been observed between the soil cohesion values and the pull-out capacity. Under drained conditions, beyond specific limits of soil cohesion values, the increase in the cohesion value have found to demonstrate no further influence on the pull-out capacity. The soil internal friction angle has been noticed to have an exponential increasing effect on the pull-out capacity. With constant values of the caisson diameter, an increase in the aspect ratio noticed to have a second order effect of the friction originated part and a linear influence on the cohesion originated part of the resistance. With constant values of the caisson length, an increase in the aspect ratio values has found to result in an exponential decrease of the pull-out capacity. Based on the obtained numerical results simple formulations and approximations have been proposed in order to estimate the effects of the studied parameters on the pull-out capacities.