offshore structure foundations

By:

Sagar Rathod 1RV16CV081

Under guidance of:

Venugopal . G
Assistant Professor , Civil EngineerinDepartement
 INDEX:

1. HISTORY

2. INTRODUCTION

3. TYPES OF OFFSHORE STRUCTURES

4. FOUNDATION OF OFFSHORE STRUCTURES

5. LITERATURE SURVEY

6. CASE STUDIES

7. REFERANCES
 1. HISTORY OF OFFSHORE STRUCTURES

The Offshore Structures

•First well drilled out of sight of land in
1947 in 6.0m w.d. Today, we are drilling
in 3000m
•First offshore platform installed in 1947
in 6.0mToday, platforms are installed in
depths exceeding 2500m
•World’s tallest structure was installed
offshore in 1979 in 114mToday, a fixed
platform stands in excess of 550m
•First subsea tree installed in early 1960’s
in less than 90m Today, subsea trees are
installed in over 2750m
The Offshore Structures - India
•Offshore Oil & Gas Exploration
•Sagar Samrat - Jack up Rig
•Commercial find —Mumbai High —
Western Offshore India First offshore
platform —NA Platform 1977
•Eastern Offshore India
Subsea Structures in 1200m water
depth KG Block
 OFFSHORE STRUCTURES:

INTRODUCTION

• Consist of offshore wind power plant , oil and gas

stations .
• Requires high strenth foundation with high servicibilty
period.
• usually the working conditon of offshore structures is
extreme.
 TYPES OF OFFSHORE STRUCTURES:

1. Fixed Platforms
• Steel template Structures
• Concrete Gravity Structures

2. Compliant tower
• Compliant Tower
• Guyed Tower
• Articulated Tower
• Tension Leg Platform

3. Floating Structures
• Floating Production System
• Floating Production, Storage and Offloading System
 Fixed Platforms
The fixed type of platform shall exhibit a low natural period and deflection again
environmental loads.
1. Steel template Structure
Øtall vertical section made of tubular steel
members supported by piles driven into the sea
be with a deck placed on top.
Øfixed platform is economically feasible for
installation in water depths up to 500m.
2. Concrete Gravity Platform
Ø platforms are very common in areas with
strong seabed geological conditions either
with rock outcrop or sandy formation.
Ø basically concrete shells assembled in
circular array with stem columns projecting
to above water to support the deck and
facilities.
Ø constructed in water depths as much as
350m.
Fig 1.

Fig 2.Fixed Template type platformFig 3.Concrete Gravity

Platform
2. COMPLAINT STRUCTURES

• Compliant Tower
• Guyed Tower
Ø consists of a narrow, flexible tower and a piled
Ø extension of complaint tower with guy wires
foundation that can support a conventional
tied to the seabed by means of anchors or piles
deck for drilling and production operations
Ø minimises the lateral displacement of the
Ø usually used in water depths between 300m
platform topsides
and 600m.

• Tension Leg Platforms

• Articulated Tower
Ø vertically moored floating structure normally
Ø an extension of tension leg platform, tension
used for the offshore production of oil or gas,
cables are replaced by one single buoyant shell
and is particularly suited for water depths
with sufficient buoyancy and required restoring
around 1000m to 1200 metres (about 4000 ft)
moment against lateral loads.
Ø consists of a floating structure held in place by
Ø s well suited for intermediate water depths
vertical, tensioned tendons connected to the
ranging from 150m to 500m.
sea floor by pile-secured templates
Fig 4. Complaint Fig 5. Articulated Tower Fig 6. Tension leg platform Tower
Tower
 3.Floating Structures

• Floating Production System

Ø consists of a semi-submersible unit which is equipped with drilling and production equipment.
Ø anchored in place with wire rope and chain, or can be dynamically positioned using rotating
thrusters
Ø used in a range of water depths from 600m to 2500m feet.

• Floating Production, Storage and offloading System

Ø consists of a large tanker type vessel moored to the seafloor.
Ø designed to process and stow production from nearby subsea wells and to periodically offload the
stored oil to a smaller shuttle tanker
 Types of Loads

1. Gravity Loads 2.EnvironmentalLoads 3. Seismic Loads

Ø Structural Dead Loads Ø Wind Loads
Ø Facility Dead Loads Ø Wave Loads
Ø Fluid Loads
Ø Current Loads
Ø Live Loads
Ø Drilling Loads Ø Buoyancy Loads
Ø Ice Loads
Ø Mud Loads
FOUNDATION OF OFFSHORE STRUCTURES.
 FOUNDATION TYPES:

1. SHALLOW WATER FOUNDATION( <500M) 2. DEEP WATER FOUNDATION(>500M)

Gravity anchor types include:
Ø Spudcans Boxes
Ø Piles Grillage and Berm
Embedded anchor types include:
Ø Gravity base structures (GBS)
Anchor piles
Ø Concrete caissons
Suction caissons
Ø Steel Buckets Drag anchors (fixed fluke)
Vertically loaded drag anchors (VLA)
Suction embedded plate anchors (SEPLA)
Dynamically penetrated anchors (DPA)
 1. SPUD CANS

• consist of a buoyant triangular unit resting on

three or more retractable legs.
• supports drilling and other topside equipment
• moves onto the intended location with legs
retracted, then releases the legs onto the
seabed, and raises the hull out of the water, as
shown on Figure a,b,c,d.
• Spudcans are roughly circular in plan,
typically they have a shallow conic a l
underside (in the order of 15 to 30 degrees to
the horizontal) with a sharp protruding spigot.
 2.PILED FOUNDATION
• can be used either in shallow or deep water,
the link to the working platform is what
differs
• In shallow water, the connection is typically
made by a steel lattice structure commonly
called a jacket
• two construction methods used for piles that
are constructed offshore: driven and grouted.
a) Driven Piles
Ø Pile diameters range from 0.76 m up to 2.5 m,
but exceptionally a diameter of 5.1 m has
been successfully used on offshore wind
turbines.
Ø Typical diameter to wall thickness ratios (d/t)
are between 20 and 60,lower value represents
the greatest curvature that can normally be
achieved in a steel rolling machine and
highest value represents a curvature beyond
which wall-buckling or section ovalisation
effects
Ø driving piles to sea surface is as follows,
 b) Grouted Piles

• involves the grouting of a steel section, which is

inserted in a previously drilled hole.
• to avoid collapse of loose uncemented material
near the seabed, it is often necessary to drive a
primary pile first; alternatively stabilizing mud
can also be used
• only used if an adequate drilling barge is already
on the site, since it is more expensive to install
and has longer construction period than driven
piles
• grouted piles are more reliable tan driven piles in
case of sea bed consist of calcarious materials or
other crushible materials.
• grounting process of piles is as shown in figure.
 3.GRAVITY BASE STRUCTURES

• designed to be founded at or just below the seafloor,

transferring their loads to the soil by means of
shallow footings.eg: offshore wind power plants.
• sliding is dominant mode of failure,to prevent this
concrete or steel skirts and dowels are employed
• designed to penetrate the seabed and thus force the Ekofisk tank condeep gravity base
failure surface deeper below the seafloor.
• Skirts also provide protection against scour and
piping
• GBS have developed from Ekofisk tank to cpndeep
gravity base over period of time.
• a hybrid concrete-steel solution, i.e. a mixed
structure which has a concrete base and a steel
lattice structureapplied at sites where calcareous
muddy silts and sands dominate, because of their
lighter weight when compared to concrete GBS.
Hybrid gravity based structure
 4.CONCRETE CAISSONS FOR TENSION LEG PLATFORMS

• comprise individual or clusters of small concrete caissons

or “bucket” foundations
• foundation system has the particularity that the resistance
is provided by a combination of concrete self-weight and
the interaction between the caisson and seabed .

5. STEEL BUCKETS FOR

JACKETS
• used as an alternative to pile foundations for jackets.
• used extensively for offshore wind turbine foundations
• suction foundations are steel cylindrical structures, closed
on one end and open on the other.
• Bucket foundations often exceed 5 m diameter, some reach
10 or 20 meters
• Adjecent figure shows the installation of bucket foundation
for jacket structure.
 DEEP AND ULTRA-DEEP WATER
FOUNDATIONS
• GRAVITY ANCHORS
• consist of heavy weight steel structures (box,
or grillage), filled or covered with granular fill
(either rock-fill, or heavier material such as
iron ore), and placed on the seafloor.
• box anchor filled with iron ore, which provides
ballast, and on the right a covered grillage.
• Grillage anchor is considerably more efficient
Box Anchor Grillage Anchor
in terms of quantity of steel for a given holding
capacity, but is much less efficient in terms of
the quantity of ballast required.
 PILE ANCHORS
• are very effective in many soils, and can either be
drilled in and grouted using an offshore mobile
drilling rig, or driven in with an underwater
hammer.
• anchor pile system consists of a mooring chain or
cable, and the pile
• In a catenary mooring systeM, anchoring force
that it provides includes the weight of the line, the
friction on the seabed, and the frictional resistance
from the soil , as well as the pull-out resistance of
the pile itself.
SUCTION CAISSONS
• operate as anchors, and vertical capacity is granted
by the weight of the plug of soil inside and the
friction on the outer surfaces, and in addition, the
characteristic negative end-bearing resistance.
• have large diameters, typically more than 5 meters
in diameter and are 20 to 30 meters in length, with
a length to diameter ratio (L/d) in the range of 3 to
6.
• Mooring loads are applied by an anchor line
attached to the side of the caisson at a depth that
optimises the holding capacity
 VERTICALLY LOADED DRAG ANCHOR
• drag anchors comprise a broad fluke rigidly
connected to a shank
• Depending on soil conditions, penetration
depths usually range from 1 to 5 fluke
lengths (typical fluke lengths being 1 to 8 m),
and anchors can be dragged through a
distance of 10 to 20 times the fluke length, Vertically loaded drag anchor
typically a holding capacity of 20 to 50 times
the anchor weight is mobilized.
SUCTION EMBEDDED PLATE ANCHOR
• uses a suction caisson (or “follower”) to
embed a rectangular plate anchor, providing a
known initial penetration depth for the
anchor, at a specified geographical location.
• installation consists of 3 steps: caisson
penetration, caisson retraction, and anchor
keying Sucton embabed plate anchor
installation
 DYNAMICALLY PENETRATED ANCHOR

• offshore exploitation moves to water

depths of around 3000 ,In this scenario,
dynamically penetrated anchors (DPA),
and in particular Torpedo anchors, have
proven to be a reliable alternative use.
• TAs are cone-tipped, cylindrical steel pipes
filled with concrete and scrap metal.
• They penetrate the seabed relying on the
kinetic energy they acquire while free
falling from heights of between 30 m and
150m above the seabed
• come in various sizes from 0.76 m to 1.07
m in diameter, 12 m to 17 m in length, and
241 kN to 961 kN in weight.
 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR FOUNDATION:

1. Ultimate limitable state

2. Servicable limit state

3. Fatigue limit state

4. Robouteness and ease of installation.

 Literature review
Authors Title Publication Conclusion
Pedro Gomes OFFSHORE FOUNDATIONS: TECNICO Both of the torpedo and the
Simões de Abreu TECHNOLOGIES, DESIGN LISBOA SEPLA solutions have setback a
et al (2006) AND APPLICATION in common which is their
patented installation
method.estimation of the
penetration depends on soil, the
precise soil strength profile and
the presence of stiff elements
Subhamoy Challenges in design of University of .Offshore WindTurbines are low
Bhattacharya et al foundations for Offshore Surrey stiffness and sensitive to the
(2014) Wind Turbines . dynamic loading imposed . large
overturning moments are
disproportionately higher that the
vertical load is main creteria in
foundation design.
Paul A Friez Offshore structure design Encyclopedia of offshore structure foundation are
(2016) and construction. Life Support mainly jacket ,tower,compliant
Systems tower,jackup ,monotower and
(EOLSS) gravity structure.
Ioannis Foundation Research Gate heavy mudmats and ground
Chatzigianneli et Engineering of improvement to a transient design
al (2009) Offshore “Jacket” condition (placement of jackets on the
Structures sea floor and construction of
foundation piles), was substituted by
a “temporary solution” involving
temporary reusable brackets and
piles.

Sergio Sánchez et Foundations in Journal of marine Monopiles are the most used
al Offshore Wind Farm science and foundations in shallow (0–15 m) and
(2019) engineering intermediate depths (15–30 m).
Jacket and tripod structures remain
as strong competitors to monopiles
when the seabed depth is higher than
30 m.
Torgeir Moan et al Offshore Structure ASCE fatigue analysis,static and dynamic
(2016) analysis is carried out in design of
foundatio Long-term wave climate is
the starting point fatigue analysisyn
and sea loads and load effects are
incresed by considering several
factors in ssuming required factor of
 CASE STUDIES :
1.Case Study of Offshore Pile System Failure in Hurricane Ike
• Platform EC368A is a 3-leg, steel jacket platform located in approximately 110m of water offshore
the coast of Louisiana. It was installed in 2003 and loaded by Hurricane Ike in 2008(after 5 years of
construction).
• platform was constructed by placing the jacket on the seafloor, driving the steel pipe piles through
the jacket legs into the soils, connecting the piles to the jacket legs with shims at the top of the legs,
and then welding the platform deck to the pile heads above the jacket legs.
• the design axial load was 11,900 kN in tension, the required axial capacity was 1.5 times the design
load or 17,800 kN in tension, and the selected pile length was 67.1 m.
• eye of Hurricane Ike passed within 64 km to the southwest of Platform EC368A on September 12,
2008.
• Based on the hurricane hindcast (Oceanweather 2008), the maximum wave height was 22 m and the
maximum wind speed was 114 km/h at Platform EC368A. For reference, the maximum wave height
was 15 to 20 percent higher than the design wave height associated with the 100-year metocean
conditions.
• the base shear in Hurricane Ike was approximately 30 to 40 percent higher than the design base shear.
• Hurricane resulted in pile tilted about 4 degress,pile are pulled out upto 1m from sea bed hence axial
pull-out failure of Pile C, was identified as the cause of failure for Platform .
2.Failure Case Study of Offshore Battered Drilled Shafts Due to Seabed Rock Scouring
• Construction of 3,440m long grand bridge crossing from A Island to B Island started in 2008 .
• the foundation of bridge constructed is of group pile system.
• The bridge consists of a total of 38 piers with 31 of them founded on battered piles.
• soil is made of a layer of sedimentary sand, weathered rock over granite and schist bedrock.
• The average water depth in the region of the main bridge span is 20~23 m.
• The piers in the shallow depth region consist of four drilled shafts with a diameter equal to 1.8 m.
Piers in the deep regions consist of four drilled shafts with a diameter equal to 1.8 m battered to
enhance the lateral resistance.
• the piers supporting the main bridge span, six 2.5 m diameter battered drilled shafts are used for high
lateral resistance.
• In August 2011 during construction, pier No. 21 of the 34 piers bridge, collapsed overnight. A month
later, pier No. 18 also collapsed.
• The pile foundation of the collapsed piers was investigated, and it was found that the piles showed
tensile failure in the bearing layer of weathered rocks.
• High tidal velocities and waves also cause scour around the piles which is a potential safety hazard
• Due to the high flow velocities at the construction site, seabed scour was assumed to be the main
cause of pile failure ,particularly large amount of seabed scour was observed at the location of pier
P17 through P19
Referances: