State of the art subsea foundation design

- supporting industry needs

Professor Susan Gourvenec
Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems, University of Western Australia
ARC Centre for Geotechnical Science and Engineering
Energy and Minerals Institute
SUT Technical Meeting, 26 February 2014

Julimarfield,Apache.www.apachecorp.com

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

Subsea development

B=5m,L=10m
d=1m
V~500 600kN
Ideallysmallandlightenoughto
beinstalledbypipelayingvessel

Pazfloor,Angola.ImagecourtesyofSubsea7

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

Subsea structure

 Subseamudmatssubjectedtoloadingin6dof
Selfweight,biaxialhorizontalloads(fromthermalexpansionof
pipelines)
Verticalandhorizontaleccentricityofloads=biaxialmomentsand
torsion

Jumper
Hx

Hy
Pipeline

V
Mudmat

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

Subsea foundation - VH2M2T

 Classicalbearingcapacitytheory

qult =( +2)suxlotsofreductionfactors,e.g.sc,dc,ic,B,L,F,

VHM,notorsion,andHMpoorlypredicted

Output=singleallowableverticalloadorbearingpressure

Noindicationofeffectofdifferentloadcomponentsonproximitytofailure.

Conventionaldesignmethod
Toolargeforpipelaying
vesseltoinstall.
Requiresecondvesselon
site=$$$

Optimizeddesignmethod

Smallenoughfor
pipelayingvesseltoinstall.

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

The geotechnical design issue

 Failureenvelopedesignmethod
Explicitlyaccountforeffectofappliedloads,V,Hx,Hy,Mx,My,T
Explicitlyaccountforeffectofgeometry,B/L,d/B
Explicitlyaccountforshearstrengthprofile,kB/su0 ,surfacecrust
Determinehowindividualvariablesaffectthedesignoutcome.
Indicatedisplacementsatfailure.

Fengetal.,2014,Gotechnique

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

1. Alternative design method

 Be wary of oversimplification.
Choice of appropriate su is central to calculation
affected by various conditions, inc. cyclic loading.
Assumptions of undrained load response.

But
Neat tool for preliminary sizing.
Indicates influence of design input independent variables.
Augment with more detailed analysis for detailed design.
Tool demonstrates how improved site investigation data
can have significant impact on design.

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

Caveats

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

Industry impact

 Mudmatwithcornerpinpiles
Increasein6dofloadcapacityovermatalone,inparticularlateraland
torsionalresistance.
Smallerfootprintsizes.

Gaudinetal.,2011,SUTLondon
Dimmocketal.,2013,ASCEJGGE

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

2. Hybrid subsea foundation

 Mudmat withcornerpinpiles

Gaudinetal.,2011,SUTLondon
Dimmocketal.,2013,ASCEJGGE

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

2. Hybrid subsea foundation

 Optimalspacingofinternalshearkeys
Preventshearingwithintheconfinedsoilplug.

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

3. Internal skirt spacing

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

Internal skirt spacing

Failureenvelopes&failuremechanisms

2
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

Moment, M y(x)/ABsu0

B0L0,
B1L1, B2L2,#
B4L4,
B5L5, Solid
Increasing
skirts

-1.5 -1.2 -0.9 -0.6 -0.3

6, &
solid
3
2

M/HB
0

0.3

0.6

Horizontal load, H x(y)/Asu0

0.9

1.2

1.5

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

Internal skirt spacing

Designcharts

Critical number of internal skirts

08
8 10
10 20
20 100
> 100

VH2M2T
V/Vu 0.5
=kB/su0
orkL/su0

6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

Feng&Gourvenec,OMAE,2013
Manaetal.,ASCEJGGGE,2012

0.05

0.1
0.15
Equivalent embedment ratio d/B or d/L

0.2

Gain:
Vu,cons/Vu
Fully
consolidated
gain

Increaseininsitushearstrengthunderfoundationandstructureself
weightpriortoinserviceloading.

2.2

1.8
1.6

1.4
1.2
1
0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

Preload: V
Preload,
vpp/V
/vuu

0.5

0.6

0.7

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

4. Consolidated shear strength

Proportion of fully
consolidated gain

Gaincanbescaledlinearlyasafunctionofthedegreeofconsolidation

Degree of consolidation, U = w/wf

Gourvenecetal,Gotechnique,2014

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

Consolidated shear strength

 Federalfundingfora3yearprojecttodevelopageotechnicaldesign
frameworkformobilefoundations.

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

5. Mobile foundations

1.

6dof failureenvelopedesignmethodologyandcalculationspreadsheet

2.

Pinpiles hybridsubseafoundation

3.

Skirtspacing

4.

Consolidatedshearstrength

5.

Mobilefoundations

Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au www.cofs.uwa.edu.au

Toolbox for optimized design

Acknowledgements:
ColleaguesatCOFS,inparticularMarkRandolph,Christophe
Gaudin,XiaoweiFeng,DivyaMana,CristinaVulpeand
MichaelCocjin

AustralianResearchCouncil
Ourindustrypartners,inparticularSubsea7
EMIforsponsoringthisevening
SUTfortheinvitationtotalk

Thank you for your attention!

Pleasefeelfreetocontactme:
Susan.Gourvenec@uwa.edu.au
www.cofs.uwa.edu.au,www.emi.uwa.edu.au