Analysis of Liquefaction Potential of Hydraulically Placed Subsea Berms

by James A. Sladen, EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, Canada,
Raymond D. D'Hollander, EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, Canada,
John Krahn, EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, Canada,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Civil Engineering in the Arctic Offshore

Abstract:

The use of hydraulically placed sand for the construction of artificial islands for hydrocarbon exploration in the Beaufort Sea has necessitated detailed geotechnical evaluations of their liquefaction potential. Laboratory testing of Beaufort Sea sands has enabled a model for the behaviour of very loose sands to be developed which includes the mechanism of liquefaction. The results of these tests, interpretted in terms of a 'collapse surface' in effective-stress'void ratio space are summarized. A necessary condition for liquefaction is for the soil state to lie on this surface. A method is developed which allows this model to be applied to analysis of liquefaction potential. This method models many of the observed features of liquefaction failures better than presently used methods. The proposed method is particularly useful in the back analysis of actual flow slide failures and, as such, enables a correlation between field experience and in situ and laboratory testing to be made.

Subject Headings: Soil liquefaction | Soil analysis | Soil pressure | Offshore structures | Laboratory tests | Failure analysis | Soil properties | Beaufort Sea

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