The Sand Mattress Method of Slope Protection
The sand mattress concept offers promise as an economical alternative to sand bag armor for two distinct applications: (1) slope protection for exploratory islands and/or causeway facilities,...
Effects of External Loadings on Large-Diameter Buried Pipelines
Development of oil and gas resources in the far north has involved extensive use of buried steel pipelines. Buried pipelines, particularly onshore, are frequently subjected to heavy superimposed...
Soil-Pipeline Interaction During Ground Movement
The problem of the elastic interaction is examined between a pipeline or a group of connected flexible connected pipelines and the surrounding soil medium, which is induced by ground movement....
Overview of Soil and Engineering Geologic Conditions in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Bering Seas
General soil and engineering geologic conditions that are likely to affect exploratory drilling and development activities in six Alaska OCS lease sale areas are discussed. Important conditions...
Strength-Deformation Properties of Arctic Silt
Hydrocarbon exploration and production activities in the Beaufort Sea require construction of gravity structures capable of withstanding extremely large ice loads at sites where the subsea...
Undrained Cyclic Behaviour of Beaufort Sea Silt
Cyclic loading behaviour of Beaufort Sea silt has been studied under triaxial conditions, with and without static shear stress, to define the resistance to liquefaction or cyclic straining...
Wave Induced Liquefaction and Scouring in Yukon Prodelta Silts
The scouring potential of the Yukon prodelta has been investigated. The results obtained from geologic, hydrodynamic and geotechnical considerations indicate that probable liquefaction...
Cyclic Multiaxial Cubical Cell Experiments on a Norton Sound Silt
A servo-controlled multiaxial cubical test apparatus has recently been used to investigate the behavior of the foundation soil for a gravity structure in Norton Sound of the Alaska Outer...
Analysis of Liquefaction Potential of Hydraulically Placed Subsea Berms
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...
Fracture Theory for Nonhomogeneous Brittle Materials with Application to Ice
Brittle heterogeneous materials generally fracture with a dispersed zone of microcracking at the fracture front. The deformation and failure of these materials can be described by a nonlocal...
Spalling and Buckling of Ice Sheets
The effect of local eccentricity in the vertical direction on the magnitude of compressive strength of wide ice sheets is studied theoretically. Two new failure modes are identified: indentation...
Geotechnical Characteristics of Seafloor Sediments: Norton Sound, Alaska
During the past few years the USGS has been conducting studies in the northern Bering Sea aimed at identifying geologic and environmental conditions that may be hazardous to offshore resource...
Bering Sea Crude Oil Transportation Systems
A study to evaluate and compare the technology and costs associated with crude oil transportation alternatives in the Bering Sea has been conducted. Existing and proposed offshore loading...
Structural Solutions for the Enhancement of Gravity Foundations on Very Soft Arctic Soils
Very soft soils in several offshore Arctic areas cause a major concern in the design of gravity foundations, particularly in view of the high magnitudes of ice loads. Preliminary studies...
Stochastic Finite Element Analysis of Gravity Platform Foundation
Gravity foundation design requires determination of total and differential settlement, vertical stress distribution beneath the raft and maximum shear stresses in the sand layers in the...
Foundation Response of Arctic Structures to Time-Dependent Ice Loadings
Arctic structures are subjected to a variety of time-dependent loadings, the most important of which are those due to ice. An approach is presented for estimating the strength and deformation...
Thaw Settlement as a Result of Permafrost Deterioration
An overview is given of floor and footing failure as a result of deterioration of permafrost. Consideration of causes for the deterioration and methods of repair are addressed in general...
Improving Arctic Seafloor Soil Stability
Soft, low strength soil layers at or beneath the Beaufort seafloor mean that soil strengthening may be necessary to ensure the stability of oil exploration and production structures under...
Seabed Strengthening in the Arctic by Deep Mixing
Improvement of soft soil sites in the Beaufort Sea would increase the versatility and usefulness of bottom-founded gravity structures for both mobile drilling units and permanent production...
Pile Creep Designs for Frozen Layered Profiles
A concept of relative creep stiffness suitable for the evaluation of the long-term, uniform creep behavior of non-ice type, frozen soils is presented. This concept extends the current...
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