Bearing Behaviour of Spudcan Foundation on Uniform Clay During Deep Penetration

In order to design a safe spudcan foundation, it is important to predict its bearing behaviour accurately based on the corresponding soil failure mechanisms. Thus, the performance of spudcan foundation, during deep penetration into uniform soil, is investigated physically and numerically. In physical testing, a series of centrifuge tests are carried out in a drum centrifuge. The half-spudcan model tests with subsequent Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) analysis are conducted to reveal soil failure mechanisms during spudcan penetration. And the full spudcan model tests are conducted to investigate the bearing capacity of spudcan. In numerical simulation, FE analyses are performed considering smooth and rough soilspudcan interface. From the physical tests and numerical analyses, it is observed that the cavity is formed above the spudcan as it is penetrating into uniform clay. At certain penetration depths, the soil underneath the spudcan starts to flow back on top of the spudcan, which leads the spudcan to be embedded with further penetration. Soil flow mechanisms, at various penetration depths, play a key role in footing bearing response. And the ultimate undrained bearing capacity factor of Nc = 10.5 (smooth) and 12 (rough) are obtained at deep penetration.