ABSTRACT
In particular during storm events, a build-up of excess pore pressures may occur in the soil around cyclically loaded offshore foundations. Such accumulated excess pore pressure reduces the effective stresses in the soil and hence negatively affects the structural integrity. Even though the consideration of this degradation effect on the bearing capacity is commonly demanded by the involved certification or approval bodies, no general applicable and accepted method for the calculative verification currently exists. The paper presents a novel approach which allows for the transfer of the soil behavior obtained in cyclic DSS tests to the bearing capacity of the foundation structure by means of a 3D numerical model. The respected transfer function enables the consideration of site-specific cyclic DSS test results by taking into account the mean stress, the cyclic shear stress amplitude and the number of load cycles at each integration point of the numerical model. Hence, the numerical approach may contribute to the optimisation of common foundation solutions as well as to the verification of innovative foundation structures even in complex soil conditions.
