An integrated study of foundation systems on calcareous sediments

Summary

In anticipation of future development of offshore facilities around Australia, this project was undertaken to meet challenges posed by deep water and the possible lack of substantial cemented near-surface sediments.

It aimed to formulate a design framework for alternative foundation systems, in weak calcareous sediments, that was calibrated through physical model tests.

Project outcomes included soil characterisation, demonstration of the validity of a newly developed load transfer curve formulation for weak sediments, and validation of current design approaches for estimating penetration resistance of cylindrical skirts into uncemented sediments.

Keywords: offshore foundations, calcareous sediments, North West Shelf, load transfer curves, cylindrical skirts