In-situ strength profiling micaceous sands for offshore foundation design

This article presents an alternative procedure for in-situ strength profiling the supporting soil volume of offshore foundation structures. A particular focus is placed on coarse-grained materials with large fines and mica content. Soil types which are generally encountered offshore in South-East Asia and North America. The in-situ strength properties of such soils are challenging to evaluate using existing methodologies such as in-situ relative density relations. As an alternative procedure, it is suggested to calibrate the correlation between the in-situ properties and laboratory strength measurements based on the shear wave propagation velocity. Utilising this procedure decreases the statistical spread and uncertainties related to material property determination while a greater correlation can be made with the 3D geophysical ground model allowing for position-specific profiling without cone penetration data.