Estudo do jateamento em solos argilosos e sua aplicação à engenharia de fundações offshore / Study of water jets in clay and its application to offshore foundation engineering design

AUTOR(ES)
FONTE

IBICT - Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia

DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2012

RESUMO

Most of all petroleum produced in Brazil is encountered in marine deposits where the water depth may exceed 1000 meters. Recent discoveries of new offshore oil fields have motivated studies in this area designed to develop new techniques applied to oil exploration. For the extraction of oil deposits floating platforms are commonly used, supported by anchorage systems on the seabed. This work examines a new technique for installing anchors for offshore oil platforms, that can work as alternatives or complement to existing techniques, and consists of applying water jets to remove the soil allowing the anchor to penetrate into the seabed. In this study, the behavior of two clays (A and B) was analyzed during vertical jets used to induce the penetration of metal tubes into the clay. The tests were performed in laboratory using small rectangular tanks with acrylic walls, filled with soil. The geometry of the cavity formed by water injection was observed through the walls of the tanks. The influence of the installation technique in the adhesion mobilized between the clay and the pile shaft was evaluated by tensile load tests, performed in the same tubes used in jetting tests, whose results were compared with load tests on tubes introduced without the jetting technique. In tests with jets two distinct erosion mechanisms have been identified which are considered characteristic of clays with a high void ratio: mass and surface erosion. The maximum depth of eroded area did not coincide with the jet centerline in almost all tests. The jet penetration in the clay bed reduces with increasing depth of the jet, and also with the resistance of the clay. The diameter of the hole at the jet outlet decreased with increasing depth. The geometry of the eroded hole in each clay was shown to be a function of jet velocity and diameter, and empirical equations were developed to estimate these dimensions. After installation of the tubes using the jet technique, the average reduction in the adhesion between the clay and the pile shaft was 42% in clay A and 41% in clay B. Analysis of the results as a function of jet velocity and flow rate indicated small influence of these parameters on the variation of soil-tube adhesion.

ASSUNTO(S)

water jets clay soils solo argiloso foundations estruturas offshore offshore anchors load tests fundações (engenharia)

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