A New Pressurised Grouted Connection for

Steel Tubulars
P. J. Dowling, A. S. Elnashai and B. C. Carroll
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
LONDON

SYNOPSIS
The paper presents a new method for enhancing the
strength of grouted connections using pressurised
grout. Previous related research and design rules are
reviewed, attd the basis of a new finite element
analysis is outlined. The results of model tests on the
new connection show good agreement with the
analysis.
1 INTRODUCTION
The piled steel jacket fixed platform is a widely used
structure in the offshore oil industry. The connection
between the steel jacket and the supporting piles is
usually made by injecting cement grout to fill the
annular space between the two. In some cases, such
a joint forms the only structural connection between
the platform and the foundations, hence it is
responsible for transmitting all the axial loads to the
ground.
Bearing in mind the obvious importance of such
connections on the safety and serviceability of oil
platforms, considerable research effort has been
directed towards developing design rules to tackle
this class of problem. The first set of design rules was
published by the American Petroleum Institute (l)
which was based on a very limited number of
e x p e r i m e n t s . A comprehensive e x p e r i m e n t a l
research project was later funded by the UK
Department of Energy and conducted at Wimpey
Laboratories Ltd. This resulted in another set of
design rules ('-) which was later modified according to
the recommendations from a Working Party formed
by the Department. C3~
The above design rules allow for the use of weld
beads as mechanical shear keys. This is intended to
increase the bond strength and reduce the scatter in
experimental results. However, shear keys might be
impractical in some cases, e.g. repair of existing
tubulars and piles driven through platform legs. An
alternative to shear keys is the prestressing of the
grout annulus, which utilises the available hoop
strength of the tubular to enhance the friction
between steel and concrete. The increase in friction
obtainable is only restricted by the hoop stiffness of
the joint, hence large prestressing forces can be
applied. In the following, a brief review of past
experimental and analytical work on composite
tubular connections is given.

2 LITERATURE SURVEY
Several previous research projects on tubular
composite connections have been completed at
Imperial College. In 1974, Demil O) tested a limited
number of concrete-filled steel tubes of different
geometric layouts. It was concluded that the surface
condition of the steel pipe is the most important
factor affecting bond strength, and that neither the
concrete compressive strength nor the radial
stiffness of the tube has any significant effect on the
strength of the joints.
In 1975, Virdi and Dowling (-~) tested some eighty
concrete-filled steel tubes. The test specimens
covered a wide range of parameters and some very
useful conclusions were drawn. The authors also
presented a hypothesis to describe the development
and breakdown of the bond strength.
In 1977, Javadi (~') performed a three-phase test
p r o g r a m m e on pile-sleeve assemblies. The
specimens consisted of two equal diameter steel
tubes placed in a steel sleeve, with a grout annulus
filling the gap between the two. The number of tests
performed are thought to be too limited (thirteen
specimens in all). The effect of triaxial confinement
on the grout was studied by testing two joints with
welded steel rings at the extremities. Finite element
analyses were performed using rather sophisticated
semi-loof solid and shell elements, but were
restricted to linear elastic material properties, which
is inadequate for ultimate strength assessment.
The most comprehensive experimental research
programme to date was conducted by Billington et
al. (7-'~) at W i m p e y L a b o r a t o r i e s . Some 400
specimens were tested, which covered most of the
significant parameters involved. A design formula
was derived taking into account parameters such as:
radial stiffnesses of the components, concrete
compressive strength, shear connector geometry,
steel surface roughness and length-to-diameter ratio.
Nevertheless, an important parameter was not
investigated, namely the radial contact pressure at
the interface. The project also lacked the support of
an analytical study to complement the understanding
of this complex problem.
On the analytical side, most of the work done on
bond between steel and concrete has been focused
on steel bars embedded in concrete. One of the
earliest attempts to develop a numerical model for

A New Pressurised Grouted Connection for Steel Tubulars

concrete reinforced with steel bars is due to Ngo and

Scordelis Om who used a linear stress-strain bond
relation. Nilson ~t~) followed suit, but used an
incrementally non-linear relation based on the
experiments of Bresler and Bertero. Oz~ Matsuishi et
al., (t3~ analysed composite plates using incremental
plasticity for concrete, while the steel plates were
modelled by bar elements with negligible bending
stiffness. Use was made of a simple linkage element
for bond, with a linear uncoupled stiffness matrix.
No attempt was made to account for other strongly
non-linear effects such as concrete non-linearity,
steel plasticity and non-linear bond relations.
T h e r e are no publications dealing with the
ultimate strength of tubular composite connections
from an analytical viewpoint.

0]9

I~.

steel plasticity
concrete non-linearity and fracture
bond-slip
large displacement.
T h i s a n a l y t i c a l m o d e l was d e v e l o p e d by
Elnashai. ~14) In this reference, Sections 2.1 through
2.5 are discussed in great detail. In the following, a
brief description of the approach used is given.

3.1

Concrete non-linearity

DUE TO RADIAL STRESSES

DUE

PRES'RESS N/mm2

SLIP ~m

6"
Figure 2

Bond-~lip constitutive relation

types of cracks are allowed for as shown in Figure 1.

The material properties used are as follows:
E = 51790 N/mm z
v = 0.14
f = 70 N/mm"where E o v~ and [~ are the Young's modulus,
Poisson ratio and cube crushing strength of concrete,
respectively.

3.2

Bond-slip

Use is made of a simple linkage element based on

the work of Ghabbousi et al., ~1") with some
modifications. The element has two nodes and four
degrees of freedom. The constitutive relation used is
derived from recent experimental work performed
at Imperial College. Across the interface the
element possesses tensile and compressive strengths
equal to those of concrete, representing chemical
adhesion and contact crushing respectively. Along
the interface, a curve derived from the experimental
results is used (Figure 2).

3.3

A general triaxial non-linear constitutive relation

has been implemented. This relation together with a
failure surface given in the octahedral description, is
based on the extensive research on multiaxial
strength of concrete conducted at Imperial College
by Kotsovos and his colleagues. (iS) The computer
subroutines developed take account of concrete
tensile cracking and compressive crushing. Three

K = I0 +'}5~
P

(3" BON~ STRESS N/~m2

ANALYTICAL APPROACH

It is the authors" belief that the constitutive relations

used in non-linear finite element analysis are of
much more importance than the sophistication of the
finite element. Hence an attempt is made to include
all e n v i s a g e d n o n - l i n e a r p h e n o m e n a in the
numerical model, while using simple isoparametric
8-noded axisymmetric finite elements. The nonlinear effects studied are as follows:

33

Steel plasticity

Use is made of results obtained from another

Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC)
sponsored research project on plastic buckling of
structures. (tT) Von Mises yield criterion is implem e n t e d within an i n c r e m e n t a l linear-elastic
perfectly-plastic approach. Material properties used
are as follows:
E~ = 2 1 ( ~ 0 0 N / m m 2
v, = 0.3
]'.v = 270.0 N/mm 2

TO ~ D O P STRESSES

where E,, V, and fy are the Young's modulus,

Poisson ratio and yield stress of steel, respectively.

3.4

Figure I

('rack p~tttern.s

Large displacements

T h e Updated Lagrangian formulation was used in

the analyses. The stresses and strains are always
defined in terms of the latest approximation to the
geometry of the structure. This is also taken into
consideration in updating the global stiffness matrix.

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A New Pressurised Grouted Connection/'or Steel Tubulars

3.5 Solution procedure
Both applied load increments and displacement
increments were tried, with the latter giving a drastic
reduction in the number of iterations required to
achieve equilibrium. The modified NewtonRaphson strategy was used, with the stiffness matrix
updated at the beginning of each load step and after
five iterations.
4 EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH
The prestressing technique should use materials and
practices currently in use or available for offshore
operations. In addition, costly techniques such as
under-water welding should be avoided.
The general details of the proposed prestressed
joint, as described by Carroll, (tg) are shown in
Figure 3. The joint consists of an inner tube and
outer sleeve, between which is the grout annulus.
The sleeve has fixed to its inner wall a steel
membrane, thus forming a sealed annulus or 'flatjack'. The sequence of operations is first to cast the
inner annulus, and once this has gained sufficient
strength, pressurised grout is pumped into the
pressure annulus and allowed to harden. The
pressure source may be removed once this annulus
has set.
4.1 Experimental models
Figures 4(a) and 4(b) show the overall geometry of a
series of small scale experimental models which have
been made and tested in the laboratory in order to
prove the prestressed joint. The models are made
from an inner tube, 168.3 mm outside diameter and
9.5 mm wall thickness, and a sleeve, 244 mm outside
diameter and 7.1 mm wall thickness. The overall
width of the grout annulus is approximately 30 mm.
The pressure annulus is formed by fixing a steel
membrane, 1 mm thickness, to the sleeve inner wall.
A collar is attached to the sleeve wall and the grout
pressure pump is fixed to this collar for pressurising.
Preliminary studies had shown that the pressure
annulus should be minimised to 1 mm width in order
to reduce the losses due to initial shrinkage of the
pressurised grout. Initially models with a pressure
annulus width of 10 mm, 5 mm, and 1 mm were
made, but only the models with the smaller pressure
gaps (5 mm and 1 ram) were pressurised.
To provide uniform surface conditions for the test
models, all surfaces in the grout annulus were shot
blasted.
4.2 Pressurisation
The sequence of casting the models was to first cast
the inner grout annulus. After curing and strain
gauging, the pressure annulus was filled and
pressurised. The grout used for both castings was a
Portland cement grout with a water-cement ratio of
0.34 maximum and containing a super-plasticiser.

35

During pressurising the initial maximum pressure

varied from about 14 N/mm z to 21 N/mm2. After
losses this reduced to between 7 N/mm 2 and 17
N/ram 2. Once maximum pressure had been reached
the pressure system was locked on for up to 72 hours
and then released. During this period, the pressure
was monitored using circumferential strain gauges
fixed to the tubes and read by a data-logging system.
Full-bridge strain gauge circuits were used to
eliminate temperature drift.
4.3 Push-out t e s t s
Push-out tests on the pressurised models and on
control models (un-pressurised) were carried out in
a 300 tonne testing rig. The models were loaded by a
piston sitting in the bottom of the inner tube, so that
the inner tube was in tension and the sleeve in
compression. During loading, strains in both
circumferential and axial directions, and slips at the

""-"--'--

_.._.._........._ J NO t r o n s d u c e r $
Of. 120" i n t e r v o l $

~"-'-~

".....~-'"- determine

----"-z_

gauges to
DOnd
StreSS dis Lrll~JtlOn
A~lai

,/
~"

21 NO C i r c u m f e r e n t i a l
gouges on sleeve and
pile at 120" i n t e r v o l s

LOADING

PISTON

3 NO v e r t l c a l qouge$
at 120" ,nl[erval S

Figure 5

-T

Typical instrumentation and loading arrangement

36

Journal of Constructional Steel Research." Vol. 3, No. 3." 1983

top of the s p e c i m e n were r e c o r d e d . The

arrangement for loading and typical instrumentation
is shown in Figure 5.
Loading was carried out in increments until failure
load as evidenced by large slips and a fall in load was
reached. The load was then released. Re-loading
was carried out until maximum load was again
reached, and the load removed.

A
- -

CC~C~ETE,

S'EEL J

i
i

,1

5 DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
Computer runs were performed on both stressed and
unstressed joints. The basic finite elements meshes
are shown in Figure 6. The numerical results
confirmed the favourable effect of applying a
prestress to increase the strength of the joints as
shown in Figure 7, curve B. Furthermore, the
c o m p a r i s o n b e t w e e n the e x p e r i m e n t a l and
numerical slip--stress curves are very favourable, as
shown in Figure 8, with the ratio of experimental
and numerical ultimate strength ranging between
0.98 and 0.83. The higher tolerances were obtained
from highly prestressed joints. This is attributed to
the fact that the concrete constitutive model is based
on concrete strengths of 35-70 N/mm z, while the
grout used has a strength well above this value
(about 80-100 N/mm"). Nevertheless, the results
obtained adequately demonstrate the feasibility, and
indeed the necessity, of numerical modelling of this
class of problem. In Figure 9, the deformed shapes
and crack patterns for plain and stressed joints are
given. Such information, which is unattainable from
experiments, is a valuable contribution to the
fundamental understanding of the behaviour.
Loss of prestress in the experimental model is due
to initial intrinsic shrinkage, followed by long term
shrinkage and creep. Intrinsic or chemical shrinkage
of cement pastes is a phenomenon which occurs due
to the fact that the products of hydration occupy a
smaller volume than the original cement/water mix.
Usually this results in an increase in the porosity of
the paste and does not cause significant bulk volume
change. However, when the paste sets under a high
pressure, then, during the initial hardening period
the structure is unable to withstand this pressure and
significant volume changes result. In the grout
annulus this volume change will result in a loss in i
circumferential strain and prestress pressure.
Figure 10 shows the variation in strain for two
models with pressure annuli of 5 mm and 1 mm
respectively. In both cases the strain remains almost
.1"
constant for the first few hours after pressurising.
Then a sharp drop occurs and a plateau is reached
after about 16-20 hours. The loss at the end of a 40
hour period is about 15 per cent for the I mm
annulus and 55 per cent for the 5 mm annulus. It
should be noted that using a higher initial strain in
the smaller annulus also results in a smaller relative
loss of strain.

i
i

Figure 6 Finite element meshes

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/.

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l~tt

K L | M t Nt $

re

e~t

lgP

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~0~

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Figure 7 Effect of applied prestress on bond strength

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Figure 8 Comparison of experimental and theoretical IoaddLsplacernent curves

A New Pressurised Grouted Connection for Steel Tubulars

LOAD STEP 19

LOAD STEP 21

LOAD STEP 15

4-

37

LOAD STEP 21

-q

4-

4-

,,.b

,I

I
I

.j_

"t
Y

t
Deformed

shapes

for u n s t r e s s e d

joints

Deformed

shapes
Prestress

for

prestressed

joints

= 7 N/mm2

Figure 9 Deformed shapes and crack patterns

"n...

,.1,

.nr,

I~r*a~d
-4

'5 t

N/m~P

~,

,
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Figure I0
shrinkage

o'~

o',

o',

o;

o'6
o,,o~oe,ment

Curves showing loss o[ hoop strain due to initial

Figure I I

o';

o~,

(ram)

Experimental bond stress-displacement curves

38

Journal of Constructional Steel Research: Vol. 3, No. 3:1983

Table I
Prestressing pressure
(N,'mm:)

Push-out load
(tonne)

Bond strength
(N/mm")

0
7.2
14.0
16.8
17.3

23.2
66.0
106.0
130.0
132.4

1.18
3.42
5.50
6.75
6.87

Drying shrinkage and creep in the annuli are

minimised since the pressure annulus is sealed and
the inner annulus has a curing membrane applied to
its end faces. Measurements taken after several
months under pressure have shown that the further
long term loss is indeed small. Monitoring of the
long term strains is continuing at present.
Push-out testing was done at about an average of
7-14 days after pressurisation. The results of a series
of tests containing a control model and four
pressurised models are shown in Table 1. Loaddisplacement curves for the control model and a
pressurised model at 16.8 N/ram ~ effective prestress
are shown in Figure 1 I. This demonstrates clearly
the increase in bond strength duc to prestressing. A
further feature of these curves is the increased
stiffness of the pressurised models. It was noted
during testing that on re-loading after initial failure
the models were able to carry the same maximum
load.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The prestressing of grouted tubuhtr connections
used for steel jacket offshore oil platforms can
increase the bond strength by a factor of about 6,
hence economy and structural safety can be
enhanced.
Preliminary tests show that, in spite of the
shrinkage of the prestressing grout, an appreciable
percentage of prestress can be maintained.
A method of applying this prestress is suggested
and successfully tested. It consists of the pumping of
high strength grout in a flexible prestressing annular
chamber which in turn transmits the compressive
stress to the grout annulus, thus enhancing the
contact pressure.
A numerical model has been developed, taking
into account all non-linear phenomena concerned.
Results from this model gave valuable information
on the development and spread of grout fracture,
and the breakdown of bond between the two
materials.
Results from the numerical model compared
favourably with the experimental data. It confirmed
the constructive effect of applied prestress on the
bond strength of grouted tubular joints. It is hence
practicable to perform extensive parametric studies
using the numerical model to reduce the amount of
experimental work to a minimum. A limited number
of experiments can then be performed to confirm the

results obtained from numerical analyses. This will

without doubt reduce the expenditure involved in
updating and extending existing design formulae.
A CKNOWLEDGEMENT

This paper forms part of a research project funded by

the Science and Engineering Research Council. The
authors are grateful for this support. The concrete
model, bond-slip element and the axisymmetric
element developed for this research were linked to the
Finite Elements Programme (FINAS) developed by
Trueb.
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AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE. Recommended practice for
planning, designing, and constructing fixed of~shore
platforms. Specifications A P I - R P 2 A , Texas, January 1976.
2 DEPARTMENTOF ENERGY. Offshore Installations: Guidance on
design and construction. L o n d o n , 1977.
3 DEPARTMENTOF ENERGY. Report of the Working Party on the
strength of grouted pile~sleeve connections for offshore
structures. O T P 1 I, L o n d o n , 1982.
4 DEMIL, C. A. Nature and strength of bond in concrete-filled
steel tube coh~mns. MSc Dissertation, Imperial College.
1

6
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10

11

12

13

London. 1974.
VlaOl. K. S. and OOWI.ING, P. J. Bond strength in concrete-filled
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Contributions discussing this paper should be received by the

Editor before I January 1984.

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