Simulation Calculation on the Failure Mode of the Big-size Sandbag Cofferdam on Soft Foundation

Abstract

The offshore engineering develop fast in recent years, a new method named “big-size sandbag cofferdam” is applied to many practical projects in China. The sandbag is made of geotextile with large sizes in length and width. Sandbags are filled with pumped sea sand and stacked together layer by layer. Many theoretical obstacles remain unsolved, which has restricted the application of this advanced technology. Based on an instability project located in Bohai Bay, the failure mode of the big-size sandbag cofferdam on soft foundation was studied. The results show that the deformation of cofferdam was concentrated on the bottom sandbag, under the action of insufficient foundation bearing capacity and overburden load, the stress of the geotextile at the bottom layer increase sharply during the fast filling, then exceed its ultimate tensile strength, and the cofferdam would be pulled apart from the bottom to top, lead to a continuous penetrating sliding surface failure of big-size sandbag cofferdam.