Skirted Caisson Foundations for Offshore Structures

NGI has over 35 years of experience with the design and installation of skirted caisson foundations for offshore structures. These foundations were first used with Gravity Base Structures (GBSs), now there is an increased focus on application of skirted caisson foundations in the offshore wind industry.

The test device designed by NGI with double suction piles used to penetrate and recover an instrumented skirt section 22m into the seabed during the large scale field tests at the Gullfaks Field (1985). A novel water injection system was installed inside the tip of the suction anchors to reduce the penetration resistance in sand layers. Skirted caisson foundations for offshore structures were first used with Gravity Base Structures (GBS) in water depths ranging from 40 to 300 m, with under base suction used to assist penetration of the skirts into the foundation soils. In 1989, the Gullfaks C platform was successfully installed using a foundation comprising 16 large diameter skirt piles penetrating 22 meters into the seabed. A large scale offshore test (Tjelta et al., 1986) was performed in 1985 to demonstrate the feasibility of penetrating the skirts through clay with underlying sand. This application paved the way for development of this foundation type into what is now more commonly known as bucket or suction pile/caisson/anchor foundations.

During the past two decades, NGI has been involved with more than 100 skirted caisson design/installation projects world-wide, encompassing more than 500 individual foundations for structures such as: GBS and jacket structures, seabed manifolds and templates, jack-up platforms and also as riser and mooring anchors for FPSOs. Applications have been in water depths of up to Statoil's Draupner jacket, the first (1994) with 2000 m and in soil conditions including soft clay, bucket foundations. NGI did model and field testing very stiff glacial till, dense homogenous sand and for the concept development, and provided mixed layers. installation supervision and instrumentation.

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Suction anchors in different shapes for different soil conditions. Left: 33m tall and slender suction piles designed and installed by NGI in soft clay for the Exxon Diana floating platform in 1500 m water depth in the Gulf of Mexico (1999). Middle: 14m diameter suction caissons for mooring of an offshore LNG terminal outside Boston (Northeast Gateway) designed by NGI for APL (2006). Right: Domed top suction anchors for BP installed at the Skarv Field in hard glacial till (2010). According to NGI's design the anchors were subjected to 15 Bar suction during penetration to target depth.

Left: Single Anchor Loading System (SAL) from Advanced Production and Loading AS with a multicaisson suction anchor. Geotechnical design performed by NGI (2002). Centre:BP's Shah Deniz Jack-up rig en route to the Caspian Sea (2006). The caisson foundations, designed by NGI, were floated separately and mated to the legs under water. Underbase grouting was prepared and conducted offshore by NGI. Right: Skirted foundation designed by NGI for Encana's PFC platform (MSCGusto design) at the Deep Panuke Field offshore Nova Scotia, Canada. Successfully installed in 2011.

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Left: NGI's seabed shear wave source for seismic surveys uses a suction caisson to provide optimal coupling to the seabed. Right: Tie-down system for a lifting barge with temporary suction anchors and active suction for increased tension capacity developed for Master Marine AS. A field model test of an anchor designed by NGI was successfully undertaken in 2002 and demonstrated application of the active suction concept in very dense find sand (Johansson et al., 2003). In recent years, there has been an increased focus on application of skirted caisson foundations in the offshore wind industry. Feasibility studies undertaken by NGI for several offshore wind energy projects have shown the potential application of this foundation concept to offshore wind turbines (OWTs). So far this foundation type has not succeeded in the projects which NGI have participated, though alternative structural configurations and changes in regulatory Conceptual application of skirted caisson requirements, such as limits on installation noise, foundations to offshore wind turbines may increase possibilities for wider application of the skirted caisson concept. NGI provides the following services related to skirted caisson foundations for OWTs:
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Soil investigation/laboratory tests including foundation design basis Geotechnical design Installation assistance (hardware and supervision) Monitoring systems (installation and long term)

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NGI has operated a range of pumping and monitoring equipment dedicated for suction anchor installation services and can provide both system design and supply of hardware. NGI also provides onboard consulting services during skirted caisson installation. For long-term monitoring of foundations and structures we provide turn-key monitoring solutions from the seabed to topside.

NGI Pump skid system with hydraulic supply from the surface for shallow waters (left) and self propelled pump skid from Framo-NGI for deep waters (right). NGI has managed two major Joint Industry Projects within this technical area:
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Application of offshore "bucket" foundations and anchors in lieu of conventional designs (1994 1998) Skirted offshore foundations and anchors in sand (1997 - 2001)

___________________________________________________________________________________ Further information is given in the following (more references available on request):
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Andersen, K.H. (2009), Bearing capacity under cyclic loading - offshore along the coast, and on land. The 21st Bjerrum Lecture presented in Oslo, 23 November 2007. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 45, No. 5, pp. 513-535. Andersen, K.H., Murff, J.D., Randolph, M.F., Clukey, E.C., Erbrich, C.T., Jostad, H.P., Hansen, B., Aubeny, C., Sharma, P. and Supachawarote, C. (2005), Suction anchors for deepwater applications. Keynote Lecture, International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics, 1. Perth 2005. Proceedings, pp. 3-30. Eide, O. and Andersen K.H. (1984), Foundation engineering for gravity structures in the northern North Sea. International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. St. Louis, Mo. 1984. Proceedings, Vol. 4, pp. 1627-1678. Hansteen, O.E.;Jostad, H.P.;Tjelta, T.I. (2003), Observed platform reponse to a "monster" wave. Field Measurements in Geomechanics, Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium, Oslo, Norway, 23-26 September 2003, Edited by Frank Myrvoll, Taylor & Francis, pp 73-86.

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Johansson P., Aas P.M. and Hansen S.B. (2003), Field model tests for a novel suction anchor application. Field Measurements in Geomechanics, Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium, Oslo, Norway, 23-26 September 2003, Edited by Frank Myrvoll, Taylor & Francis, pp 145-153. Skau, K.S., Jostad, H.P., Kaynia, A.M. (2010), 3D FE samvirke analyser av Troll A plattformen. Fjellsprengningsteknikk - bergmekanikk - geoteknikk. Oslo 2010. Foredrag 38.1 - 38.10. Tjelta, T.I., Guttormsen, T. And Hermstad, J. (1986), Large scale penetration test at a deep water site. Offshore Technology Conference, 18. Houston, Texas 1986. Proceedings, Vol. 1, pp. 201212.

Contacts
Expert Adviser - Dicipline Leader Subsea Technology, Offshore Energy, Instrumentation and Monitoring per.sparrevik@ngi.no Tel: +47 924 91 449

Acting Head of Section, Offshore Energy, Offshore Geotechnics morten.saue@ngi.no Tel: +47 930 24 077