Estimation of elastic settlement for skirted strip foundations subjected to vertical loading

Settlement calculations are an essential part of the design of offshore foundations, although most of the existing studies on skirted foundations focus on bearing capacity. In this study, finite element analysis is used to evaluate the elastic settlement (vertical displacement) of skirted strip foundations of arbitrary stiffness embedded in either a homogeneous or nonhomogeneous soil stratum with finite layer depth. Graphical solutions are presented, which enable the determination of the drained and undrained settlements at the center and edge of the skirted foundations. Closed-formed expressions that approximate the numerical solutions well are also proposed. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate how the solutions and expressions can be readily applied in hand calculation for preliminary design purpose.