Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society ISSN:1229-2427(Print) 2288-646X(Online) 한국지반공학회 논문집

The preliminary design of suction pile as the supporting system for concrete floating structures was performed for the pilot project of the southwest coast area in Korea. Prior to starting design work, site conditions of the area including ground and hydraulic conditions, and a 100-year return period external force were throughly evaluated. The suction pile for mooring of the offshore floating structures has to satisfy the lateral resistance against external force as well as the penetration ability according to the soil conditions such as soil types, shear strengths, effective stresses, and seepage forces. In the design, the required penetration depths, which were stable for lateral resistance, were evaluated with the diameters of cylindrical suction pile as the final installing ones. And the design suction pressures at each penetrating depths, at which sand boiling did not occur, were assessed through the comparison of penetration and penetration- resistance forces. As a result, it was impossible for suction piles with the diameter range of 3.0～5.0 m to penetrate into required penetration depths. On the other hand, suction piles with the diameter range of 6.0 m and 7.0 m satisfied both the horizontal stability and the penetration ability by design suction pressures at the required penetration depths of 8.5 m and 8.0 m, respectively.