Analysis of vertical bearing capacity of single-row pile group of an offshore platform

The vertical bearing capacity of a special pile group of platform in an offshore gas field has been studied. Large diameter d (2.134 m), deep penetration l (96 m), small spacing s_a (3.507 m), and only one row piles are the usual characteristics of the pile group foundation in offshore engineering. According to the requirements of the related design code, the super pile group effect has to be considered. However, with the usual design code, when s_a/d, the ratio of spacing to diameter, is less than 2.0, there is no way to consider the pile group effect. In this paper, considering the occlusion effect of soil plug of pipe pile, several methods have been introduced to study the super pile group effect of the vertical bearing capacity. These methods include linear elastic theory method, the method recommended by the Code of Pile Foundation in Port Engineering (JTJ254-98), and the method with virtue of the existing pile group model test results. Meanwhile, the plugged and unplugged conditions have been considered, respectively. Through the analysis, the factors of safety in extreme and normal operation states are obtained, and the results satisfy the design specifications.