Journal article

Experimental study of effect of geometry on reinstallation of jack-up next to footprint

V Kong, MJ Cassidy, C Gaudin

Canadian Geotechnical Journal | CANADIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING, NRC RESEARCH PRESS | Published : 2013

Abstract

Mobile jack-up drilling rigs often need to return to a site where a previous installation has left footprints in the seabed. Reinstallation near these depressions is a problematic operation because the jack-up's circular spudcan footings become subjected to eccentric and (or) inclined loading conditions. This can lead to structural failures within the jack-up legs and (or) excessive leg tilt and hull displacement. This paper reports a comprehensive set of geotechnical centrifuge experiments that investigated the effect of footprint geometry on the reinstallation response. Artificial conical shaped footprints were manually cut in the centrifuge sample, ensuring consistent shapes and minimizin..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

The first author acknowledges the support of an Australian Postgraduate Scholarship during her Ph.D. studies. The support from the drum centrifuge technician Bart Thompson is also gratefully acknowledged. This research forms part of the activities of the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS), currently supported as a node of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Geotechnical Science and Engineering and by the Lloyd's Register Foundation.