Malikai development project features Malaysia's first tension leg platform (TLP) installation. The TLP tendon piles were designed by leveraging practice and experience from the Gulf of Mexico whilst taking site-specific earthquake design criteria into consideration. A comprehensive site investigation was performed for site characterization, geohazard assessment, and development of data for facilities design.

The TLP is tethered to the seafloor with eight tendons, each of which is connected to a 2.44 m diameter by 130 m long, 425 tonne foundation pile. Pre-service load cases, including transportation/handling and stability at self-penetration free-standing condition, plus in-place load cases, including hull and tendon damage cases, and earthquake condition, were considered in the design. An extensive seismic design analysis was carried out involving site response analysis to determine the kinematic effect as well as inertia loading on pile design as per ISO 19901-2 based on site specific seismic design criteria.

The TLP foundation piles were installed in May through June, 2016. Actual piling performance observed in the field matched model predictions. The recorded self-weight penetration of all eight piles was within the predicted range. The piles were driven using an underwater hydraulic hammer to a target penetration depth of 124 m and the measured blow-count agreed with "best-estimate" predictions of drivability.

This paper presents the overall design process, including site investigation, the selection of TLP site to avoid geohazards, detailed geotechnical and structural design of piles. Pile installation records and field observations are also presented and compared to pre-installation predictions.

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