Pile Structures in the Marine Environment

Piles are used to transmit structural loadings to the subsoil when the surface sediments cannot support the load. They may be single or in groups, and may be fully or partially embedded. Recent advancement in installation equipment has allowed diese members to be driven in any desired environment and up to 460 m of water depth. The versatility of pile foundations has made them adaptable to most types of conditions and requirements. A detailed discussion of classical methods employed on land has been presented by Kezdi (1975). Methods employed offshore have been discussed by McClelland et al. (1967,1969), McClelland (1974), McQelland and Cox (1976), Randolph (1983), and Randolph and ( urvenec (2011). Methods and techniques applicable to the marine environment will be discussed in the following sections. 

The design of pile foundations for offshore structures must be able to satisfy the following criteria  

The piles and pile groups must have sufficient capacity to resist maximum anticipated loads with adequate factors of safety. 

Pile steel and grout stresses must remain within allowable limits under extreme loading conditions. 

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