Numerical Study on Spudcan Penetration-Consolidation-Uplift in Soft Soil Using Large Deformation Simulation

This paper presents a numerical approach to perform large deformation simulation of spudcan penetration-consolidation-uplift process in soft soil. The coupled pore fluid flow and stress are simulated with large deformation finite element analysis, by using the remeshing and interpolation technology using small strand (RITSS) method in ABAQUS v2016. The surrounding soil is simulated by using modified Cam clay model. The simulation is validated by comparting with centrifuge test results. The calculation results show that the maximum uplift force of spudcan has a linear relationship with the penetration depth, and the negative excess pore pressure at the spudcan invert is almost equal to the hydrostatic pressure. By analyzing the soil velocity vector diagram at the corresponding position of the maximum uplift force at different penetration depths, three failure mechanisms of the soil at the position corresponding to the maximum uplift force are summarized.