In this presentation first we define the drained and undrained behaviour in the soil.
Then the parameters causing the soil to behave drained or undrained are elaborated. It is followed by a short discussoin on the methods of measuring these parameters and how the uncertainty in design can be reduced by a well planned site investigation.
These slides were presented at AOG 2014.
Source: http://www.diversifiedexhibitions.com.au/~public/aog/conference-pdfs/adapting_optimising_challenging_Seabeds/Challenging-seabeds-Rismancian-Ramsey-230pm.pps
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What I am going to talk about
What do I mean by “Drained” and “Undrained”?
Relevant soil parameters, and methods of assessing these parameters
Drained vs. undrained breakout resistance
Flaws of current methods
Conclusions
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What do I mean by “drained” and “undrained”?
“Fully Drained is the condition under which water is able to
flow into or out of a mass of soil in the length of time that
the soil is subjected to some change in load.”
“Fully Undrained is the condition under which there is no
flow of water into or out of a mass of soil in the length of
time that the soil is subjected to some change in load.
Changes in load cause changes in pore water pressure,
because the water cannot move into or out in response to
the tendency of volume change.”
Partially drained is the “twilight zone” between fully
drained and fully undrained behaviour.
(Duncan and Wright 2005)
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Example: Cone Penetration Test, Offshore WA
Is this test indicating
undrained/drained or
partially drained
conditions in the
surficial soils?
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
0 0.5 1
Depthbelowmudline(m)
Cone penetration resistance, qc (MPa)
-0.05 -0.025 0 0.025 0.05
Pore pressure (MPa)
Generated pore
pressure, u2
Hydrostatic
pore pressure,
uo
This slide is an example of a CPT performed in NWS Australia. Studying the excess pore pressures graph shows that both
negative and positive excess pore pressures have been generated during this test, indicating an undrained condition based on
the definition. However, we are not sure if it was really undrained or partially drained. Also we do not know how much the
viscous effect contributed in the penetration resistance.
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Twilight Zone: Partially Drained
Zone Soil Type
1a SILTS and low Ir
CLAYS
1b CLAYS
2 Essentially
drained SANDS
3 Transitional
soils
1
10
100
1000
-2 -1 0 1 2
Qt(-)
Δu/σ′vo (-)
2
3 1a
1b
Refer to Schneider et al. (2008) for the boundary lines.
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Twilight Zone: Partially Drained
Zone Soil Type
1a SILTS and low Ir
CLAYS
1b CLAYS
2 Essentially
drained SANDS
3 Transitional
soils
1
10
100
1000
-2 -1 0 1 2
Qt(-)
Δu/σ′vo (-)
2
3 1a
1b
Refer to Schneider et al. (2008) for the boundary lines.
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Twilight Zone: Partially Drained
Zone Soil Type
1a SILTS and low Ir
CLAYS
1b CLAYS
2 Essentially
drained SANDS
3 Transitional
soils
1
10
100
1000
-2 -1 0 1 2
Qt(-)
Δu/σ′vo (-)
2
3 1a
1b
Refer to Schneider et al. (2008) for the boundary lines.
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1
10
100
1000
-2 -1 0 1 2
Qt
Δu/σ′vo
2
3 1a
1b
Twilight Zone: Partially Drained
Zone Soil Type
1a SILTS and low Ir
CLAYS
1b CLAYS
2 Essentially
drained SANDS
3 Transitional
soils
Refer to Schneider et al. (2008) for the boundary lines.
When we plot the results of the CPT
example from the previous slide on
Schnider et al. (2008) chart, it is noted that
the behaviour of this soil generally was
partially drained. Can we use the results of
this CPT in the design of drained or
undrained cases?
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Drainage is a Function of the Normalised Velocity
CPT
Spudcan
penetration
Pipeline
penetration
Partially drained
penetration
Undrained
penetrationPenetrationresistanceSpool
Drained
penetration
Twilight zone
Normalised velocity of vd/cv is used to assess the drainage behaviour of soil. Where v is the penetration rate, d is the diameter of
the penetrometer and cv is the coefficient of consolidation. Randolph and hope (2004) and Schneider et al. (2007) among other
researchers showed that for V>30-100 the behaviour is undrained and for V<0.01-0.03 the behaviour is drained.
Therefore, for the same soil penetration resistance of a spudcan can be lower than the recorded resistance by a CPT.
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Parameters Affecting Drainage Behaviour of Soil
Rate and duration of loading/shearing
– Estimated from
installation/operation conditions
Drainage length
– Estimated from the geometry of the
problem
Coefficient of consolidation
– Laboratory methods
• Rowe cell
• CRS
• Indirectly from permeability
– Estimated from in-situ tests:
• Dissipation tests
• Twitch tests
• Parkable piezoprobe
(Chatterjee et al. 2014)
(Randolph and Hope 2004)
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Parameters Affecting Drainage Behaviour of Soil
Rate and duration of loading/shearing
– Estimated from
installation/operation conditions
Drainage length
– Estimated from the geometry of the
problem
Coefficient of consolidation
– Laboratory methods
• Rowe cell
• CRS
• Indirectly from permeability
– Estimated from in-situ tests:
• Dissipation tests
• Twitch tests
• Parkable piezoprobe
(Chatterjee et al. 2014)
(Randolph and Hope 2004)
Range of uncertainty: Up to 1.5
times
Range of uncertainty: 100 to 1,000
times
But it can be decreased!
Range of uncertainty: Depends on
the application. Sometimes very
high.
13. www.fugro.comDate
What I am going to talk about
What do I mean by “Drained” and “Undrained”?
Relevant soil parameters, and methods of assessing these parameters
Drained vs. undrained breakout resistance
Flaws of current methods
Conclusions
14. www.fugro.com
Twilight zone
Lateral
equivalent
friction factor,
H/W′
Normalised time, T = cvt/D2
Short breakout duration;
impermeable soil
Long breakout duration;
permeable soil
Drained
behaviour
Undrained
behaviour
Slow thermally-
induced buckling
‘Snap’
buckling
Significant difference in lateral equivalent friction factor
dependent on breakout duration
Dilatant soil (e.g.
silty SAND/sandy
SILT in NWS)
Why Drainage is the Question
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Lateral
equivalent
friction factor,
H/W′
Normalised time, T = cvt/D2
Short breakout duration;
impermeable soil
Long breakout duration;
permeable soil
Drained
behaviour
Undrained
behaviour
Slow thermally-
induced feed-in
‘Snap’
buckling
Dilatant soil (e.g.
silty SAND/sandy
SILT in NWS)
Why Drainage is the Question
More permeable soil
(or longer breakout duration)
Insignificant difference in lateral equivalent friction factor
dependent on breakout duration
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Lateral
equivalent
friction factor,
H/W′
Normalised time, T = cvt/D2
Short breakout duration;
impermeable soil
Long breakout duration;
permeable soil
Drained
behaviour
Undrained
behaviour
Slow thermally-
induced feed-in
‘Snap’
buckling
Dilatant soil (e.g.
silty SAND/sandy
SILT in NWS)
Why Drainage is the Question
Insignificant difference in lateral equivalent friction factor
dependent on breakout duration
Less permeable soil
(or shorter breakout duration)
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Conclusions and Discussions
Every soil type can behave drained/partially-drained/undrained
depending on:
– Rate or duration of loading
– Drainage length
– Coefficient of consolidation (cv)
Site investigations should be specifically targeted to suit the field events
and design requirements
In specific soils (e.g. silty sands/sandy silts) both drained and undrained
behaviours should be checked
Narrowing down the range of the above parameters, significantly
reduces uncertainties (e.g. by in-situ estimation of cv)
There is no means of being conservative or unconservative.