The Pull-out Capacity of Suction Caissons in Model Investigations

A small-scale model experiment on the pull-out resistance of suction caissons is described. The pull-out force and suction developed within the caisson in the extraction process were recorded during the experiment. A simple breakout model, together with an elementary static formulae, is applied to predict the results obtained experimentally. There is a reasonably good agreement between the experimental results and predictions. An extensive discussion of the approach applied is included. The analysis presented in this paper is original, as it differs from other approaches mentioned in this paper, and leads to acceptable predictions. At the end, the results are also compared with another approach for predicting the capacity of suction caissons.