Mitigation of punch-through in stiff-over-soft clay by changing spudcan shape

Abstract

This study focuses on easing or eliminating potential punch-through in two-layer stiff-over-soft clay deposits by tweaking spudcan shapes. The effectiveness of skirted spudcans with and without holes, relative to a generic spudcan used conventionally, is tested. Three-dimensional large deformation finite element (LDFE) analyses are carried out systematically; encompassing a parametric study on the length of the skirt on the bottom periphery, number of holes through the spudcan base, and the slope of the spudcan base. Numerical results lead to selection of two skirted spudcans with and without holes, and both with a skirt length of ∼0.23 spudcan diameter. The performance of those two spudcans..