Variation of suction pressure during caisson installation in sand

Abstract

This work presents good-quality data on the installation of model suction caissons in dense silica sand. The tests were carried out in a beam centrifuge. The results are coherent with others obtained in 1g laboratory tests in dense sands (Villalobos, 2007). For instance: (a) there is a beneficial effect of hydraulic gradientsi (generated by the suction) in reducing the load required to penetrate a caisson into the ground due to changes in effective stresses; (b) increase of the caisson self-weight reduces the suction required to penetrate the same skirt depth, and also reduces inside the caisson; and (c) there is an initial transitional state of high suction variation, which diminishes until a steady condition of constant suction variation with depth is reached.