GEOTECHNICAL ASPECTS OF FOUNDATION INVESTIGATIONS FOR PRODUCTION PLATFORMS AT NORTH RANKIN

1980 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 257
Author(s):  
R.W. King

Production platforms required for the development of the North Rankin gas/condensate field will be founded on deep deposits of loose to weakly cemented calcareous material of predominantly marine origin. Although the data base for foundation design in these materials is extremely limited, experience has shown that calcareous sediments exhibit unusual engineering characteristics and that in situ load tests appear to be the most reliable indicator of soil-bearing potential.The foundation investigations performed at North Rankin, in 1978, integrated conventional soil sampling techniques with cone penetrometer testing (CPT), which is a small-scale load test that provides a semicontinuous profile of soil resistance. This being the first time that CPT had been used extensively in calcareous sediments, a series of innovative prototype in situ load tests were performed to provide data for calibration of the core resistance profile.A modified carbonate classification system was introduced into the programme and, together with detailed geological analysis of specimens, it provided an insight into subtle variations in lithology and cementation throughout the profile.These new developments and the comprehensive nature of the investigation produced a large amount of data that are relevant to other locations where similar sediments exist.As a result of these investigations and subsequent studies, Woodside Petroleum Development has been able to progress confidently in the definition of a suitable foundation system and the design of the North Rankin platforms.

2018 ◽  
Vol 251 ◽  
pp. 04038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Baca ◽  
Jaroslaw Rybak

Presented laboratory testing program of tubular steel piles is a part of a bigger research program which contained static load tests in full scale and numerical simulations of conducted research. The main goal of the research is to compare static load tests with different working conditions of a shaft. The presented small scale model tests are the last part of the research. The paper contains the testing methodology description and first results of model pile axial loading. The static load tests in a small laboratory scale were conducted in a container filled with uniformly compacted medium sand (MSa). The first results of the investigation are presented in this paper, with the comparison of two pile capacities obtained for different roughness of the pile shaft (skin friction). The results are presented as load-displacement curves obtained by means of the Brinch-Hansen 80% method.


1984 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Torrens ◽  
T. Getty

In any discussion of the historical development of what was later to be named Biostratigraphy it is often assumed that a modern basis for the subject had already been reached by the cumulative work in the subject up to 1815; culminating in that of William Smith (1769-1839) and Alexandre Brongniart (1770-1847). But to this time fossils had only been used to identify (and discriminate between) often repetitive lithological units or to establish a relationship between rock units in different areas. The practical demonstration that particular lithological units could be regularly subdivided with significant consequences, on the basis of their contained fossils was a later achievement over several generations. One of the first to free stratigraphical palaeontology from such a lithological control was the forgotten Englishman Louis Hunton (1814-1838). In this paper Hunton's origins from a successful alum making family in the north-east of Yorkshire in the north of England and his short life and scientific work are described for the first time. The family business of alum making from the highly fossiliferous local alum shales, which were extracted open-cast, directly introduced Hunton to stratigraphical palaeontology. He followed up this work by study in London, where his pioneering paper was read to the Geological Society of London in 1836. He died less than 2 years later but had helped lay a foundation for major biostratigraphic advances by his insistence that only fossils collected in situ should be used in such work and then that the species, of especially ammonites, in his Yorkshire strata had particularly limited and invariable relative positions within that lithological sequence. His work is also compared with that of his contemporary W.C. Williamson and the conclusion reached that Hunton, because of his emphasis in the merits of ammonites, deserves more to be remembered as a pioneer of Jurassic biostratigraphy.


Author(s):  
Valentina Bobykina ◽  
Valentina Bobykina ◽  
Boris Chubarenko ◽  
Boris Chubarenko ◽  
Konstantin Karmanov ◽  
...  

For the first time, the quantitative characteristics of the Vistula Spit shore dynamics based on the ground-based monitoring data for 2002-2015 were presented. On the sea shore, 3 sections can be distinguished by the direction of coastal processes, i.e. the stable section to the north of the Strait of Baltiysk, the eroded 4-km section to the south of the Strait of Baltiysk, with maximum erosion rate up to 2 m/year; in the remaining area of the Spit (21 km) to the Polish border there is an alternation of stable, eroded and accumulative areas. Since 2011, a steady erosion (in the stable segments of the third section) and general weakening of the erosion rate (in the second section) have been recorded. 50% of the length of the lagoon shore was the subject to annual active erosion (0.2 - 1.4 m/year). The beaches of the sea and lagoon shores of the Vistula Spit were mainly composed of medium sands. The alongshore variability in particle size distribution on the sea and lagoon shores (according to the 2015 survey data) actually fail to correlate with long-term dynamic processes, with the exception of the steadily eroded 4-kilometer area on the sea coast to the south of the Strait of Baltiysk. Variations in the composition of sediment along the shore on the shoreline are most likely associated with the results of the latest wave processing (or storm processing and eolian transport in the case of an average beach sample).


2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 1816-1831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pouyan Asem ◽  
Paolo Gardoni

This paper presents analyses of the measured peak side resistance of rock sockets constructed in weak claystone, shale, limestone, siltstone, and sandstone. The peak side resistance is obtained from in situ axial load tests on drilled shafts, anchors, and plugs. The parameters that affect the development of peak side resistance are determined using in situ load test data. It is found that peak side resistance increases with the unconfined compressive strength and deformation modulus of the weak rock, and decreases with the increase in length of the shear surface along the rock socket sidewalls. The increase in socket diameter also slightly decreases the peak side resistance. Additionally, it is found that the initial normal stresses do not significantly affect the measured peak side resistance in the in situ load tests. The in situ load test data are used to develop an empirical design equation for determination of the peak side resistance. The proposed model for peak side resistance and the reliability analysis are used to determine the corresponding resistance factors for use in the load and resistance factor design framework for assessment of the strength limit state.


Heritage ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 864-888
Author(s):  
Adria Sanchez-Calvillo ◽  
Elia M. Alonso-Guzman ◽  
Wilfrido Martinez-Molina ◽  
Marco A. Navarrete-Seras ◽  
Jose L. Ruvalcaba-Sil ◽  
...  

Adobe masonry is one of the oldest construction systems still in use today, Mexico has an enormous cultural heritage with traditional adobe houses being very representative of the rural communities and their culture. The 2017 Puebla Earthquake on September 19th struck the country causing the loss, destruction, and damage of historic buildings in several Mexican states, with the traditional earthen dwellings being the most vulnerable structures to these events. The fast abandonment of the local materials and techniques entails further research regarding the characterization of these construction systems, therefore, reconstruction efforts first require the recovery of the construction technique. After the seismic events, adobe samples of the remaining adobe structures of Jojutla de Juarez were collected. This population was one of the most affected in all the country, and, because of the major losses suffered, the study was conducted to determine the material properties of the dwellings’ adobe shards and natural quarry clays of the region. The characterization included destructive and non-destructive tests, mineralogical and granulometry analyses, and composition of the adobe samples of the buildings, as well as the aggregates. As a novelty, the compressive strength of the pieces was tested by two methods: the traditional compression strength test and the point-load test, in order to obtain the indicative values and the correlation equations between both tests. From the formal analysis and the laboratory, it was observed that the adobes from Jojutla presented different compositions which combined with the building malpractices and alterations to the traditional systems caused unpredictable behavior during the earthquake. The conduction of point-load tests in situ, as a part of a complete characterization methodology, could be an alternative to study the mechanical properties of patrimonial or damaged building samples before its disappearance.


1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. W. Biggar ◽  
D. C. Sego

A pile load test program carried out in Iqaluit, Northwest Territories, to provide design information for the Short Range Radar sites is described. The program consisted of testing 10 steel pipe piles with various surface modifications backfilled with clean sand and 4 Dywidag bars backfilled with Ciment Fondu™ grout. All tests were performed in saline permafrost. This paper describes the site conditions, installation procedures and pile uplift load testing procedures, and results of the pile load tests. The beneficial effect of modifications to the pile surface and backfill material is identified. The analysis and discussions of the results are presented in a companion paper. Key words : permafrost, saline, piles, load tests, field, in situ, capacity.


Author(s):  
Alexandra Reynolds

This small-scale study draws on a higher education context where French-speaking students, in situ at Bordeaux University, participated in the Sharing Perspectives Foundation’s flagship Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange (E+VE) program (2018-2019). French-speaking students interacted in English on the topic of Newcomers and Nationalism via weekly webinars with non-native English-speaking students from other participating universities in Europe and the Southern Mediterranean region. Authenticity is a complex concept involving the degree of implication and meaning speakers give to their interactions (Gilmore, 2007; Pinner, 2016; Widdowson, 2003). The study therefore addresses the question of how participant feedback can help us to assess E+VE in terms of authenticity. The methods used to investigate this research question were the qualitative analysis of the French students’ reflective journals, questionnaires, and interviews. The results show that E+VE is conducive to authentic learner experiences. This study has also enabled a definition of ‘authenticity’ as a transformative language learner experience in virtual exchange.


Author(s):  
Bayanova Т.B. ◽  
Drogobuzhskaya S.V. ◽  
Subbotin V.V. ◽  
Serov P.А. ◽  
Steshenko Е.N. ◽  
...  

Baddeleyite is a significant mineral successfully applied in the U-Pb geochronology for the precise dating of mafic rocks from layered intrusions with the platinum group element (PGE) and Cu-Ni mineralization. The Fennoscandian Shield hosts several layered Pt-Pd, Co-Cr-Ni, and Ti-V occurrences in the Northern (Karelian) and Southern (Karelian-Finnish) belts. The aim of this study is to estimate the content and distribution of rare earth elements (REE) in baddeleyite and to calculate temperatures (Т, ̊С) of the U-Pb system closure and baddeleyite crystallization compared to zircon from Cu-Ni and Pt-Pd deposits in the north-eastern Fennoscandian Shield. For the first time, baddeleyite crystals from Cu-Ni (Monchepluton) and Pt-Pd (Monchetundra) reefs of the Monchegorsk ore area have been studied in situ by the laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to measure the U-Pb age of formation and the REE content.


PalZ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Suarez-Gonzalez ◽  
Joachim Reitner

AbstractOoids (subspherical particles with a laminated cortex growing around a nucleus) are ubiquitous in the geological record since the Archean and have been widely studied for more than two centuries. However, various questions about them remain open, particularly about the role of microbial communities and organic matter in their formation and development. Although ooids typically occur rolling around in agitated waters, here, we describe for the first time aragonite ooids forming statically within microbial mats from hypersaline ponds of Kiritimati (Kiribati, central Pacific). Subspherical particles had been previously observed in these mats and classified as spherulites, but these particles grow around autochthonous micritic nuclei, and many of them have laminated cortices, with alternating radial fibrous laminae and micritic laminae. Thus, they are compatible with the definition of the term ‘ooid’ and are in fact very similar to many modern and fossil examples. Kiritimati ooids are more abundant and developed in some ponds and in some particular layers of the microbial mats, which leads to the discussion and interpretation of their formation processes as product of mat evolution, through a combination of organic and environmental factors. Radial fibrous laminae are formed during periods of increased supersaturation, either by metabolic or environmental processes. Micritic laminae are formed in closer association with the mat exopolymer (EPS) matrix, probably during periods of lower supersaturation and/or stronger EPS degradation. Therefore, this study represents a step forward in the understanding of ooid development as influenced by microbial communities, providing a useful analogue for explaining similar fossil ooids.


2001 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 931
Author(s):  
E. MPOSKOS ◽  
D. KOSTOPOULOS

The Rhodope Metamorphic Province represents an area of continental collision between the Balkan domain to the north and the Pangaeon domain to the south. Today, exposed astride the suture zone are Palaeozoic and Mesozoic protoliths of both continental and oceanic provenance that underwent Alpine deformation and metamorphism in a subduction zone setting. From petrostructural studies the picture that emerged is one of a central, structurally lower, marble-dominated terrain (i.e. a metamorphic core complex), and a surrounding, structurally higher, gneiss-dominated terrain. Here, for the first time, we report the presence of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic indicator minerals such as coesite, diamond and Si-Ti-Na-P-rich (i.e. majoritic) garnet in amphibolitized eclogites and garnet-biotitekyanite gneisses from localities scattered throughout the structurally higher terrain. These findings, corroborated by optical microscopy, electron microprobe analyses and in situ laser Raman microspectroscopy, suggest that the protoliths of these rocks were dragged down to mantle depths exceeding 200 km. The individual pressure-temperature paths published before for various subunits of the structurally higher terrain should henceforth be regarded as peculiarities of the exhumation path followed by the subunits.


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