Journal article

Optimization of perforation drilling for mitigating punch-through in multi-layered clays

MS Hossain, MJ Cassidy, R Baker, MF Randolph

Canadian Geotechnical Journal | CANADIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING | Published : 2011

Abstract

"Spudcan" foundations for mobile drilling rigs continue to exhibit a high failure rate in the offshore oil and gas industry. The more frequent use of larger jack-ups in highly stratified regions, such as the Sunda Shelf in Southeast Asia, contributes to this concerning increase in "punch-through" incidents, which can lead to buckling of a leg or even toppling of the rig. An industry practice known as "perforation drilling" is sometimes used to mitigate the punch-through risk in layered clays, extracting soil from the upper strong layer before the jack-up is installed. This paper reports results from centrifuge model tests exploring the efficiency of perforation drilling. The soil conditions ..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by University of Western Australia


Funding Acknowledgements

The research presented here was undertaken with support from The University of Western Australia through the Research Development Award (RDA12104358). This work 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 Geo-technical Science and Engineering, through Centre of Excellence funding from the State Government of Western Australia and in partnership with The Lloyd's Register Educational Trust. This support is gratefully acknowledged, as is the assistance of the drum centrifuge technician, Mr. Bart Thompson.