Copyright 2000, Offshore Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2000 Offshore Technology Conference held in
Houston, Texas, 14 May 2000.
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Abstract
Suction caissons are a relatively new design concept being
considered for use as foundations in a wide variety of offshore
applications. Unlike many other offshore developments, there
is no onshore equivalent of suction caissons to use in the
development of design guidelines. This contrasts with the
development of offshore piling theory. It is therefore essential
to identify key behavioural patterns and important mechanisms
that govern capacity under a wide variety of loading regimes.
This would allow the establishment of a broad framework of
response and thus focus subsequent site or project specific
investigations.
This paper is intended to add to this framework by
detailing key results from an experimental investigation into
the response of the foundation subjected to a variety of cyclic
loading regimes. The model tests are conducted at 1g using a
complex loading apparatus capable of applying independent
control on vertical, horizontal and moment loading at cyclic
rates of up to 1Hz. The foundation is embedded in oil-
saturated sand in a medium to a very dense state, and the
typical period of cycling is such that offshore loading
conditions are modelled.
Important areas studied during the testing programme were
(i) cyclic loading of the foundation into tension, (ii) cyclic
horizontal and moment loading under constant vertical loads,
and, (iii) the relationship between cyclic loading and
monotonic loading. These experimental results provide
powerful insights into load-displacement relationships that
could lead to the development of simple analytical or
numerical models.
Introduction
Offshore structures are subjected to large loads from wind and
waves which result in complex loading on the foundation.
Wave loading is typically periodic in nature with a dominant
period of 15-20 seconds being typical during a large storm.
The response of foundations on sand under these loading
conditions is best described as partially drained. There is
sufficient time during the loading cycle for small amounts of
fluid movement and volume change to occur within the soil
matrix before the application of the next part of the cycle.
One of the critical responses of a caisson is considered to
be to tensile loading. Large strains may occur before the
maximum tensile capacity is mobilised or cavitation of the
fluid occurs
13
. The serviceability of the platform probably
requires deformations to be kept much smaller. The
performance of caissons under repeated (cyclic) loading of
variable amplitude is therefore of vital importance in design.
The loading on the foundation is usually idealised to the
general planar loading condition comprising of {V, M/2R, H}
components as set out by Butterfield et al
1
. The drained
response of the foundation to this three degree-of-freedom
loading has been studied in detail for flat footings
8
and caisson
footings
4
. The behaviour of the footing can be encapsulated
within a work hardening plasticity theory with the advantage
that the footings are represented by a 'macro-model' which
may be incorporated within structural analyses
5,6
. To develop
such a framework it is usual to observe response within a
three-dimensional yield surface such as that shown in Figure
1. This enables the development of a model which predicts the
displacement response to all components of loading as set out
by Cassidy
5
. These plasticity macro models, though developed
for monotonic loading, provide a useful baseline to the
development of a model capable of predicting response to
cyclic combined loading regimes. The experimental
programme was formulated with the aim of developing a
plasticity macro model. Further detail is given by Byrne
3
.
Description of Experimental Techniques
The testing has been carried out using a multi axis loading rig
at the University of Oxford. This loading rig is shown in
Figure 2, and has been described in detail in other papers
8
and
theses
11,10
. The loading rig is capable of applying three degree
of freedom loading {V, M/2R, H} with loads and
displacements measured to a very high accuracy (~2N, ~2m).
A large sample tank allows eight different test sites to be used,
thereby removing the effects of sample inhomogeneity from
the observed response characteristics. Mangal
10
found that
OTC 12194
Experimental Investigations of the Cyclic Response of Suction Caissons in Sand
B.W. Byrne and G.T. Houlsby
2 B.W. BYRNE AND G.T. HOULSBY OTC 12194
slight inhomogeneities between samples resulted in difficulties
in interpretation of transient loading tests on saturated sand.
The main feature of the loading rig in relation to the work
described in this paper is the improved control on each of the
three independent loading axes. This control has been
implemented within a VisualBasic control programme that co-
ordinates data-logging and movement of the three stepper
motors independently.
Typical control commands are issued from the programme,
via a RS232 link, to a stepper motor control unit. This unit
accepts ASCII commands, which specify displacements,
velocities and accelerations in terms of steps and seconds
where appropriate. Where the movement of the axis is entirely
displacement controlled the unit will instruct the stepper motor
to travel a certain distance at the specified velocity and
acceleration. Where much better control is required on the axis
movement a digital PID
7
control loop is used. In this case the
velocity and direction of the stepper motor is used as the
control signal. Typically the new control signal depends on the
error and can be determined by:

+ + =

edt
T dt
de
T e k u
i
d
1
........................................ 1
where e is the error, k is the gain, T
d
is the derivative time and
T
i
is the integral time. The error used in the algorithm is the
current value (as taken from the analogue-digital conversion)
less a set-point that must be specified. The derivative and the
integral are evaluated numerically within the programme. To
control the contribution of the derivative part of the algorithm
it has been necessary to adopt an exponential smoothing
process on the error. To determine the values of the gain,
derivative time and integral time a series of preliminary
experiments were undertaken in which attempts were made to
follow a step change in load (or displacement). These
parameters depend heavily on the mean vertical load applied
to the footing, the range in loads applied, as well as the
stiffness of the soil sample.
The soil specimen used for the majority of the testing was
an oil saturated silica sand sample. The saturation by 100
centistoke silicon oil was necessary to model drainage times
appropriate to offshore structures. The sand was a Baskarp
Cyclone sand with characteristics shown in Table 1. The
geotechnical properties of the soil sample could be determined
from the bulk dry density measurement, as well as
interpretation of cone penetration tests. The range of relative
densities of different samples were between 80% and 95%
whilst some cone penetration tests of one sample are shown in
Figure 3 for a 7.94mm diameter cone. It was then possible to
infer from these measurements the localised relative density
and friction angles using relationships determined by
Mangal
10
. With the sand in a saturated state it was necessary
also to determine the drainage characteristics, which could be
determined by carrying out consolidation tests. A typical test
consists of applying a step change in load and measuring the
resulting decay in the pore pressure response. This is shown in
Figure 4 where the t
50
can be seen to be of the order of 70
seconds. It was usual to carry out a large number of
consolidation tests to observe the change in consolidation
characteristics as the test progressed. The t
50
times usually
decrease as the degree of consolidation of the soil sample
increased with a continuing history of cyclic loading.
In the initial development of the research it was expected
that there would be certain events that would cause or
precipitate failure as indicated by the framework set out by
Bye et al
2
(illustrated in Figure 5). They suggested that there
were zones of cyclic amplitudes that could be sustained but
once these zones had been surpassed the response of the
foundation degraded - this implies that extreme events are a
critical mechanism for foundation failure. With this in mind it
was necessary to develop a load train that incorporated an
extreme event such as would occur when large waves pass
through an offshore structure. The approach used is called
'Constrained NewWave'
16,17
- a state of the art deterministic
random wave loading theory. 'Constrained NewWave' enables
an extreme event to be placed within a sequence of random
loading such that statistically it is indistinguishable from a
random occurrence of that event. It is a very powerful
technique which has been used to decrease the amount of
computation required to develop extreme value response
statistics
5
. One of the main features is that the shape of the
'NewWave' extreme event is proportional to the
autocorrelation function of the random seastate. This method
was used for developing load paths, such as that shown in
Figure 6, in order to study the effects of extreme loading
events. This is believed to be a more satisfactory
representation of the physical reality than the more usual
application of many sinusoid cycles. The usual methods create
an unrealistic amount of degradation of the foundation, and
perhaps lead to very conservative methods for design.
It was possible to conduct multiple sub-tests as long as
account was taken of the loading history. In some cases up to
130 tests were performed. For example, it was typical to load
up to a small mean vertical load, carry out a suite of different
loading tests, load to a larger mean vertical load, carry out
another suite of loading tests and so on. It was important to
ensure that each consecutive mean vertical load was greater
than any vertical loads reached during the cyclic loading (thus
ensuring normal consolidation). Once this was exhausted
overconsolidated behaviour was examined. This was felt to be
a more important approach to the testing then to complete a
large number of tests on individual virgin sites. The
justification for this comes from the fact that foundations on
offshore structures are usually exposed to initial bedding-in
loading before being exposed to the larger storm loadings.
Furthermore it is usual for storms to build up before the peak
intensity is reached. It was possible to investigate the initial
loading behaviour at the beginning of each test, and then
continue to explore other aspects of behaviour as the test
progressed. This maximised the value of each test site.
Transient Vertical Response
A typical loading path is shown in Figure 6 for cyclic loading
about a mean vertical load of 200N. The corresponding
OTC 12194 EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE CYCLIC RESPONSE OF SUCTION CAISSONS IN SAND 3
displacement response is shown in Figure 7 and the load
displacement response in Figure 8. It is clear that the response
is very asymmetric, with much larger displacements required
to mobilise similar load levels in tension than in compression.
A large number of these cyclic loading tests were carried out
with parameters such as the mean load and cyclic period being
varied. Due to the large amount of data created, a method of
data reduction that still exhibited the main features of each
cyclic test was developed and is shown in Figure 9. The
displacements are broken into elastic and permanent
displacement components during each half cycle about the
mean load. This method allows the cyclic tests of different
periods about the same mean load to be compared. However, it
is necessary to use dimensional analysis to compare results
across different mean loads. An appropriate dimensionless
relationship has been found to be of the form;

=
3
'
,
D
V
V
V
f
V
p
m
m
p
m
a

................................................ 2
where V
m
is the mean load, D is the diameter, is the footing
displacement, p
a
is atmospheric pressure, and ' is the effective
unit weight of the soil. If it is assumed that the bearing
capacity is much greater than the mean loads being tested, then
the influence of the factor
3
' / D V
m
on the displacements may
be small. We can seek therefore a relationship simply between
m a
V p / and
m p
V V / . The application of these
dimensionless forms is shown in Figures 10 and 11 for cyclic
loading tests about different mean loads (though each of these
is small compared to the bearing capacity). Clearly the non-
dimensional variables provide the basis for a relationship
between displacement and load. In all cyclic load tests
performed there was no threshold of loading above which the
cyclic performance degraded. There was also no influence of
cyclic period even though the cyclic loading tests were carried
out such that the response was partially drained, considering
the typical t
50
times shown in Figure 4.
Of interest is the soft tensile response as shown in Figure
8. This soft tensile response can be explored further by
carrying out monotonic tensile pull tests such as shown in
Figure 12. If the tensile displacement is kept within small
displacements (in this case less than one millimetre) than there
is no degradation of response and no influence of rate of
loading. The displacement rates for the responses shown differ
by four orders of magnitude. If the pull tests are taken to larger
displacements (several millimetres) then there is evidence of a
degradation of the performance with the capacity at small
displacements becoming limited to the weight of the soil plug.
If the pull tests are taken to even larger displacements it is
clear that cavitation limits the capacity as shown in Figure 13.
The soft response at small displacements is evident, as is a
much stiffer response at larger displacements (5-10mm of
displacement). It is obvious that this stiffer secondary response
will be rate-dependant, as during this stage there is significant
loosening of the soil (volume change). The stiffness of the
response will depend on how fast fluid can move within the
soil matrix to allow this volume change to occur. The initial
soft response is clearly affected by a previous history of large
displacement tensile movements which tend to increase the
displacement required to mobilise the rate dependant
behaviour. It is clear that the framework of response depicted
by Bye et al
2
incorporates this boundary between degradation
and non-degradation for tension. It is not immediately obvious
why there should be a degradation boundary on the
compression side. However, it is likely that this corresponds to
the compression half cycle that precedes the large tensile event
that breaches the tensile degradation boundary. It is clear from
the results that loading in the compression zone which does
not pass the tension boundary does not trigger any foundation
failure. The location of these boundaries is therefore
influenced by the response characteristics of the structure,
which determine the relationship between extreme peaks for
tension and compression.
From this discussion it is likely that design for caisson
response will be for serviceability requirements rather than for
capacity. One final point is made in Figure 14, where a cyclic
loading test is compared to a monotonic test. The monotonic
test effectively passes through the extreme points of all the
cycles. It is believed that this concept allows cost effective
research that may make use of monotonic tests, and infer
cyclic behaviour from the results, with only a few high quality
cyclic tests used to confirm inferred behaviour.
Transient Combined Loading Response
Research was also conducted on the combined cyclic loading
response of the caissons. Tests were carried out where the
mean vertical load was kept constant whilst the foundation
was cycled under horizontal loading, or moment loading, or a
combination of both. Typical loading consisted of cyclic
loading from a normally consolidated position as well as
overconsolidated load states. In service, loading for offshore
foundations will be overconsolidated as the foundation has
usually experienced enough loading that the load state is
within the yield surface. When cyclic combined loading was
applied to a normally consolidated footing there was
substantial downward movement and significant pore fluid
pressures. As the footing penetrates into the soil the yield
surface expands so that the footing load state moves to an
overconsolidated state. From this state only substantial
deviatoric loads cause excessive plasticity and effective stress
changes. This implies that it is preferable to provide drainage
so that initial consolidation can occur quickly and in a
controlled fashion (most probably just after installation).
When conducting combined loading with the footing
within the yield surface it became clear that different
responses were obtained for different values of the mean
vertical load. This is shown in Figure 15 where individual
moment rotation tests but for different vertical loads show
stiffness of response increasing with vertical load. Also shown
are results from cyclic load tests which conform to Masing
12
rules. As in the vertical loading tests there appeared to be no
effect of loading rate for tests conducted when the load state
was overconsolidated. It is possible to compare the results
4 B.W. BYRNE AND G.T. HOULSBY OTC 12194
shown in Figure 15 using a normalisation similar to the
vertical loading;

=
m m
a
V
R M
f
V
p
R
2 /
2 ............................................ 3
where 2R is the rotational displacement and M/2R is the
rotational load. This is shown in Figure 16 for some of the
tests shown in Figure 15. The tests conducted under the larger
vertical loads are reduced so that they form the stiffer response
at the centre of the moment rotation loops. The initial loading
of each curve conforms well to a backbone curve which is
fitted with a hyperbolic function. The importance of the
hyperbolic function in relation to theoretical modelling is
described below. Horizontal loading follows a very similar
pattern.
Theoretical Modelling of Cyclic Loading
It is important that any experiments are interpreted within an
appropriate theoretical framework, and not merely treated as
an empirical collection of data. An appropriate framework for
the understanding of the behaviour of foundations has been
found to be plasticity theory. The reasons for this are (a)
theories can be constructed which reproduce the behaviour of
the foundations well, and (b) the resulting models can readily
be included in a numerical analysis of a complete offshore
structure.
Plasticity theories for slow monotonic loading of
foundations had been established prior to this research, and
monotonic data were simply fitted within these existing
frameworks
4,5,8
. The important recent theoretical developments
relate to the understanding of cyclic loading. The results of a
typical cyclic test have been shown in Figure 8 and 17. A
remarkable feature about this result (which is typical of any
cyclic horizontal or moment load test on a foundation) is that
continuous smooth curves are obtained as the load is cycled. A
conventional plasticity model could not model this type of
behaviour, but instead would result in well-defined yield
points at which a sudden change of stiffness would occur. The
magnitude of plastic deformation predicted on reverse loading
would also be at least an order of magnitude smaller than that
observed.
An obvious conclusion would be that plasticity theory is
inappropriate for modelling cyclic loading, but given its
proven success for modelling monotonic loading this is
excessively pessimistic. An appropriate framework that does
describe cyclic loading is continuous hyperplasticity. An
exposition of the theory would be inappropriate here as it
involves a considerable amount of mathematical development,
and this is fully documented within journal papers
9,14,15
. In
essence the theory replaces the plastic strain in conventional
plasticity theory with a continuous field of an infinite number
of plastic strain components, each associated with a separate
yield surface. This is achieved within a manageable
mathematical framework by deriving the plasticity theory
entirely from two potentials. For the case of the infinite field
of plastic strains these potentials are functionals (functions of
functions) of the plastic strain. Conventional plasticity theory
is a special case of the new approach. The result is that
theories can be constructed in which responses of the character
shown in Figure 17 can be modelled. The mathematical
structure of the theories is relatively simple (although
unfamiliar to those used to conventional plasticity). For
example, Figure 17 shows the result of a moment test in which
cycles of increasing amplitude have been applied (this test was
carried out specifically to aid model development). Figure 18
shows the fitted response using the continuous hyperplastic
model. Whilst the fitting is not exact, the model captures the
main features of the cyclic test. Only three parameters are
required to define the behaviour shown in Figure 18 - these
being required to define a hyperbolic function that fits the
backbone curve.
Conclusions
The response of shallow foundations on sand to various
loading conditions has been explored with particular reference
to the suction caisson foundation. It was observed that the
design for vertical tensile loading will be focussed on
serviceability requirements rather than capacity (which is
ultimately limited by cavitation of the pore fluid). The
degradation of behaviour as indicated by the framework set
out by Bye et al
2
was not observed in the current experiments
except where monotonic pull tests were taken to large
displacements. A data reduction method and a set of
normalisations were suggested which enabled the comparison
of a large quantity of cyclic data. A new theoretical approach
to modelling cyclic loading was described and an example
simulation shown. This theory accurately predicts the
continuous change in stiffness that is observed in load
reversals during cyclic loading of foundations.
Acknowledgements
The first author would like to acknowledge the generous
funding from the Rhodes Trust and EPSRC for the work.
Support from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of
1851 is also gratefully acknowledged.
References
1. Butterfield, R., Houlsby, G.T. and Gottardi, G. (1997).
Standardised Sign Conventions and Notation for Generally
Loaded Foundations. Geotechnique 47, N
o
4, UK.
2. Bye, A., Erbrich, C., Rognlien, B., and Tjelta, T.I. (1995).
Geotechnical design of bucket foundations. Proc. of Offshore
Technology Conference, OTC 7793.
3. Byrne, B.W. (2000). Investigations of suction caissons in dense
sand. Forthcoming DPhil thesis, Oxford University.
4. Byrne, B.W. and Houlsby, G.T. (1999). Drained behaviour of
suction caissons on very dense sand. Offshore Technology
Conference, Houston, Texas. Paper 10994.
5. Cassidy, M.J. (1999). The nonlinear dynamic analysis of jackup
platforms under random ocean waves. DPhil Thesis. Oxford
University.
6. Cassidy, M.J. and Houlsby, G.T. (1999). On the modelling of
foundations for jack-up units on sand. Offshore Technology
Conference, Houston, Texas. Paper 10995.
OTC 12194 EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE CYCLIC RESPONSE OF SUCTION CAISSONS IN SAND 5
7. Clarke, D.W. (1984). PID Algorithms and their Computer
Implementation. Trans Inst M C, Vol. 6, N
o
6, pp 305 - 316.
8. Gottardi, G., Houlsby, G.T. and Butterfield, R. (1999). The Plastic
Response of Circular Footings on Sand Under General Planar
Loading. Geotechnique 49, N
o
4, pp 453 - 470.
9. Houlsby, G.T. and Puzrin, A.M. (2000). A thermomechanical
framework for constitutive models for rate-independent
dissipative materials. International Journal of Plasticity, in
press.
10. Mangal, J.K. (1999). Partially drained loading of shallow
foundations on sand. DPhil Thesis, Oxford University.
11. Martin, C.M. (1994). Physical and numerical modelling of
offshore foundations under combined loads. DPhil Thesis,
University of Oxford.
12. Masing, G. (1926). Eiganspannungen und Verfestigung beim
Messing. Proceedings of the Second International Congress of
Applied Mechanics, pp 332-335.
13. McManus, K.J. and Davis, R.O. (1997). Dilation induced pore
fluid cavitation in sands. Geotechnique 47, N
o
1, pp 173-177.
14. Puzrin, A.M. and Houlsby, G.T. (2000). A thermomechanical
framework for rate-independent dissipative materials with
internal functions. International Journal of Plasticity, in press.
15. Puzrin, A.M. and Houlsby, G.T. (1999). Fundamentals of
kinematice hardening hyperplasticity. Report N
o
OUEL 2218/99.
The University of Oxford.
16. Taylor, P.H., Jonathan, P., and Harland, L.A. (1995). Time
domain simulation of jack-up dynamics with the extremes of a
gaussian process. Proc of Conference on Offshore Mechanics
and Arctic Engineering, Vol 1A, pp. 313-319.
17. Tromans, P.S., Anaturk, A. and Hagemeijer, P. (1991). A new
model for the kinematics of large ocean waves - application as a
design wave. Proc of 1st International Symposium on Offshore
and Polar Engineering, Edinburgh, Vol 3, pp 64-71.
Coefficient of Uniformity, C
u
3.64
Specific Gravity, G
s
2.69
Minimum density,
min
12.72 kN/m
3
Maximum density,
max
16.85 kN/m
3
Critical state friction angle,
cs
32.5
Permeability (80% Rd with water), k 7 x 10
-6
m/s
Oil - Kinematic viscosity, 100 mm
2
/s (at 25 C) (compared to 0.897 mm
2
/s for water)
Oil - Specific gravity, G
s
0.96 (at 25 C)
Oil - Bulk Modulus, K 800 MPa for < 1% (compared to 2200 MPa for water at 25 C)
Table 1 - Properties of the Baskarp Cyclone Sand and Silicon Oil.
V
H
M/2R
Yield surface
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0 100 200 300 400
Time (s)
d
V

o
r

d
u

(
N
)
-0.01
0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.08
d
w

(
m
m
)
Change in fluid load, du
Change in Load, dV
Change in displacement, dw
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
-200 0 200 400 600 800
Cone Penetration Resistance (kPa)
D
e
p
t
h

o
f

P
e
n
e
t
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
m
m
)
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
95 195 295 395 495
Time (s)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

L
o
a
d

(
N
)
Static Load
T
e
n
s
i
o
n








































Static Load
C
y
c
l
i
c

L
o
a
d
Calculated Cyclic
Amplitude
C
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
o
n
Figure 1 - Typical combined load yield surface. Figure 2 - Three degree of freedom
loading rig at Oxford.
Figure 3 - Cone penetration tests conducted to
determine soil sample properties.
Figure 4 - A typical consolidation loading test to
determine drainage properties.
Figure 5 - The framework for determining suction
caisson cyclic capacities by Bye et al (1995).
Figure 6 - A typical 'constrained NewWave'
loading sequence used for caisson cyclic tests.
B.W. BYRNE AND G.T. HOULSBY 6 OTC 12194
-0.3
-0.25
-0.2
-0.15
-0.1
-0.05
0
0.05
0.1
95 195 295 395 495
Time (s)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

D
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
-0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0 0.1
Vertical Displacement (mm)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

L
o
a
d

(
N
)
Displacement
Time
Time
Load
Vpeak
Vpeak
perm
perm
temp
temp
Mean Load
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
-0.016 -0.011 -0.006 -0.001 0.004

tempnorm
V
n
o
r
m
V=600N
V=200N
V = 800N
V=100N
-2
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
-0.005 -0.003 -0.001 0.001 0.003 0.005

permnorm
V
n
o
r
m
Figure 10 - Normalised elastic displacement
response for caisson tests at different mean loads.
Figure 11 - The normalised permanent
displacement response.
Figure 7 - The displacement response for the
extreme event loading sequence.
Figure 8 - The asymmetric load displacement
response.
Figure 9 - Methodology for reducing a large amount of cyclic data.
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE CYCLIC RESPONSE OF SUCTION CAISSONS IN SAND OTC 12194 7
-200
-150
-100
-50
0
50
100
150
200
-1.5 -1.3 -1.1 -0.9 -0.7 -0.5 -0.3 -0.1
Vertical Displacement (mm)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

L
o
a
d

(
N
)
Weight of
soil plug
Pull tests at different rates for
small displacements showing no
degradation.
Pull tests at the same rate for
larger displacements showing
degradation.
-2500
-2000
-1500
-1000
-500
0
500
-45 -40 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5
Vertical Displacement (mm)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

L
o
a
d

o
r

P
o
r
e

F
l
u
i
d

L
o
a
d

(
N
)
Total load response
Pore fluid response
Cavitation limit
reached
Initial soft response
Increased external
friction
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
-2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5
Vertical Displacement (mm)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

L
o
a
d

(
N
)
Cyclic Loading about V=200N
Pull test from V=200N
Figure 12 - The soft initial tensile loading response for monotonic pull tests.
Figure 13 - The large displacement tensile response where capacity is limited by cavitation.
Figure 14 - A comparison between cyclic loading tests and a monotonic pull test.
B.W. BYRNE AND G.T. HOULSBY 8 OTC 12194
-50
0
50
100
150
200
250
-0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Displacement, 2R (mm)
M
o
m
e
n
t

L
o
a
d
,

M
/
2
R

(
N
)
V=50N
V=100N
V=300N
V=200N
V=500N
V=700N
V=1000N
Results from cyclic test results
-0.5
-0.4
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
-0.04 -0.03 -0.02 -0.01 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
2R (p
a
/ V
m
)
0.5
M

/

2
R
V
m
Vm=100N
Vm=300N
Vm=500N
Vm=1000N
Hyperbolic Fit
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1
2R (mm)
M
/
2
R

(
N
)
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1
2R (mm)
M
/
2
R

(
N
)
Figure 17 - An experimental moment rotation test
consisting of cycles of increasing stress.
Figure 18 - A theoretical simulation of the
experimental test shown in Figure 17.
Figure 15 - The comparison between monotonic moment rotation tests and cyclic loading tests under
different levels of vertical load.
Figure 16 - Normalised moment rotation tests conducted under different levels of mean vertical load.
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE CYCLIC RESPONSE OF SUCTION CAISSONS IN SAND OTC 12194 9