Numerical Simulation of the Tensile Resistance of Suction Buckets in Sand

The bearing behavior of a suction bucket foundation under tensile load is strongly influenced by the drainage conditions, which depend on the loading rate, the soil permeability and the bucket dimensions. The paper presents numerical simulations based on a coupled pore fluid diffusion and stress analysis which allows the description of the load-bearing behavior in dependence of the mentioned parameters. Quite complex interaction effects between the suction pressure inside the bucket and the skin friction on skirt perimeter become evident. A main challenge in the modeling is the consideration of soil liquefaction due to an upwards directed seepage. Two approaches, which are assumed to be a lower and an upper bound solution are presented and compared.