A new method to predict the bearing capacity-penetration curve of spudcans in multi-layered clay soils

Analysis and design with simple correlations are always of interest to engineers. Predicting the bearing capacity of a spudcan in a multi-layered clay soil is one of the challenges facing jack-up designers and the installation process. In this paper, simple correlations are presented for the prediction of the bearing capacity-penetration curve of the spudcan using numerical modeling results and analyzing the parameters affecting the bearing capacity of a spudcan in a multi-layered clay soil. Multivariate regression was used to obtain these correlations and their quality was evaluated by comparing the numerical modeling results to the prediction correlations. Moreover, some examples were solved using data obtained from previous research and the resultant curves were compared with the reference curves. The results showed that the presented correlations had good accuracy in predicting the bearing capacity of spudcans in various profiles of multi-layered clay soils.