Offshore Geotechnical Engineering

Due to fundamental differences in construction and installation techniques, offshore geotechnical engineering has grown as a specialty. The early chapters of this critical volume provide a brief overview of the marine environment, offshore site investigation techniques, and interpretation of soil behavior. The book then examines the geotechnical design of piled foundations, shallow foundations, and anchoring systems. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the book also examines the design of mobile drilling rigs, pipelines, and geohazards. The final section explores general concepts surrounding design and reliability in the offshore environment.

Design practice in offshore geotechnical engineering has grown out of onshore practice, but the two application areas have tended to diverge over the last thirty years, driven partly by the scale of the foundation and anchoring elements used offshore, and partly by fundamental differences in construction and installation techniques. As a consequence offshore geotechnical engineering has grown as a speciality.

The structure of Offshore Geotechnical Engineering follows a pattern that mimics the flow of a typical offshore project. In the early chapters it provides a brief overview of the marine environment, offshore site investigation techniques and interpretation of soil behaviour. It proceeds to cover geotechnical design of piled foundations, shallow foundations and anchoring systems. Three topics are then covered which require a more multi-disciplinary approach: the design of mobile drilling rigs, pipelines and geohazards.

This book serves as a framework for undergraduate and postgraduate courses, and will appeal to professional engineers specialising in the offshore industry.