Modulus weighting method for stiffness estimations of suction caissons in layered soils

This paper presents a new approach, called the modulus weighting method (MWM), for estimating the static stiffness of suction caisson foundations in layered soil conditions. The existing simplified design models for estimating caisson stiffness are limited to non-layered soil conditions, but layered conditions are often found in real-world scenarios. A three-dimensional (3D) finite-element analysis (FEA) study was conducted to develop and validate the MWM approach, and the results showed that it performs well in comparison to the 3D FEA results while being much more computationally efficient.