Installation of Suction Caissons in Dense Sand and the Influence of Silt and Cemented Layers

Suction caissons have been used in the offshore industry in the last two decades as both temporary mooring anchorages and permanent foundation systems. Although there have been more than 500 suction caissons installed in various locations around the world,understanding of this concept is still limited. This thesis investigates the installation aspect of suction caissons, focusing on the installation in dense sand and layered soils, where sand is inter-bedded by silt and weakly cemented layers. The research was mainly experimental, at both normal gravity and elevated acceleration levels in a geotechnical centrifuge, with some numerical simulations to complement the experimental observations. This study firstly explored the suction caisson installation response in the laboratory at 1g. The influence and effect of different design parameters, which include caisson size and wall thickness, and operational parameters including pumping rate and the use of surcharge were investigated in dense silica sand. The sand heave inside the caisson formed during these installations was also recorded and compared between tests. The 1g study also investigated the possibility of installing suction caissons in layered sand-silt soil, where caissons were installed by both slow and rapid pumping. The heave formation in this case is also discussed. The mechanism of heave formation in dense sand and deformation of the silt layer was further investigated using a half-caisson model and the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. The installation response at prototype soil stress conditions was then investigated in a geotechnical centrifuge. The effects of caisson size, wall thickness, as well as surcharge were investigated in various types of sand, including silica sand, calcareous sand dredged from the North Rankin site in the North West Shelf (Australia), and mixed soil where silica sand was mixed with different contents of silica flour. Comparison with the 1g results was also made. The general trend for the suction pressure during installation in homogenous sand was identified. The installation in layered soil was also investigated in the centrifuge. The installation tests were performed in various sand-silt profiles, where the silt layers were on the surface and embedded within the sand. Comparison with the results in homogenous sand was made to explore the influence of the silt layer. Installations in calcareous sand with cemented layers were also conducted. The penetration mechanism through the cemented layer is discussed, and also compared with the penetration mechanism through the silt layer. Finite element modelling was performed to simulate key installation behaviour. In particular, it was applied to simulate the sand deformation observed in the PIV tests. The likely loosening range of the internal sand plug during suction installation in silica sand was estimated. By investigating the development of hydraulic gradient along the inner wall, the principle underlying the suction response for different combinations of selfweight and wall thickness was identified. FE modelling was also performed to explore the influence of the hydraulic blockage by the silt layer. This study found that the caissons could penetrate into all soils by suction installation. Among the key findings are the observations that the suction pressure increases with depth following a distinct pressure slope, corresponding to a critical hydraulic condition along the inner wall; and the installation was possible in both layered sand-silt and uncemented-cemented soils if sufficient pumping was available. While the caisson could penetrate the weakly cemented layers well with no notable adverse effects, problems were observed in the installation in layered sand-silt soil. These include piping failure in slow pumping rate installation at 1g, and the formation of extremely unstable soil heave during installation

Installation of Suction Caissons in Dense Sand and the Influence of Silt and Cemented Layers

Suction caissons have been used in the offshore industry in the last two decades as both temporary mooring anchorages and permanent foundation systems. Although there have been more than 500 suction caissons installed in various locations around the world,understanding of this concept is still limited. This thesis investigates the installation aspect of suction caissons, focusing on the installation in dense sand and layered soils, where sand is inter-bedded by silt and weakly cemented layers. The research was mainly experimental, at both normal gravity and elevated acceleration levels in a geotechnical centrifuge, with some numerical simulations to complement the experimental observations. This study firstly explored the suction caisson installation response in the laboratory at 1g. The influence and effect of different design parameters, which include caisson size and wall thickness, and operational parameters including pumping rate and the use of surcharge were investigated in dense silica sand. The sand heave inside the caisson formed during these installations was also recorded and compared between tests. The 1g study also investigated the possibility of installing suction caissons in layered sand-silt soil, where caissons were installed by both slow and rapid pumping. The heave formation in this case is also discussed. The mechanism of heave formation in dense sand and deformation of the silt layer was further investigated using a half-caisson model and the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. The installation response at prototype soil stress conditions was then investigated in a geotechnical centrifuge. The effects of caisson size, wall thickness, as well as surcharge were investigated in various types of sand, including silica sand, calcareous sand dredged from the North Rankin site in the North West Shelf (Australia), and mixed soil where silica sand was mixed with different contents of silica flour. Comparison with the 1g results was also made. The general trend for the suction pressure during installation in homogenous sand was identified. The installation in layered soil was also investigated in the centrifuge. The installation tests were performed in various sand-silt profiles, where the silt layers were on the surface and embedded within the sand. Comparison with the results in homogenous sand was made to explore the influence of the silt layer. Installations in calcareous sand with cemented layers were also conducted. The penetration mechanism through the cemented layer is discussed, and also compared with the penetration mechanism through the silt layer. Finite element modelling was performed to simulate key installation behaviour. In particular, it was applied to simulate the sand deformation observed in the PIV tests. The likely loosening range of the internal sand plug during suction installation in silica sand was estimated. By investigating the development of hydraulic gradient along the inner wall, the principle underlying the suction response for different combinations of selfweight and wall thickness was identified. FE modelling was also performed to explore the influence of the hydraulic blockage by the silt layer. This study found that the caissons could penetrate into all soils by suction installation. Among the key findings are the observations that the suction pressure increases with depth following a distinct pressure slope, corresponding to a critical hydraulic condition along the inner wall; and the installation was possible in both layered sand-silt and uncemented-cemented soils if sufficient pumping was available. While the caisson could penetrate the weakly cemented layers well with no notable adverse effects, problems were observed in the installation in layered sand-silt soil. These include piping failure in slow pumping rate installation at 1g, and the formation of extremely unstable soil heave during installation

Determinants Influencing Liquidity of Listed Steel Firms in Vietnam

This study is conducted to investigate the impact levels of determinants influencing liquidity of listed steel firms on Vietnam Stock Exchange. Data were collected from audited financial statements of 25 listed food processing firms from 2014 to 2017. This research employs the least squares method (OLS) and tests to determine the influence of factors on the liquidity of listed sample firms. The results indicate that return on assets (ROA), operating period (AGE) and asset structure (AS) have positive impacts on the liquidity. In contrast, the firm size and debt ratio has the opposite effects. Based on the findings, a number of recommendations are proposed to increase the liquidity ratio of listed firms in the future. Keywords: Liquidity, steel firms, determinants, Vietnam Stock Exchange DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-7-10 Publication date:March 31st 201

Determinants Influencing Consumers’ Attitude Towards Online Shopping: An Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model

This research is conducted for investigating determinants influencing consumers’ attitude towards online shopping. The survey was based on 423 Vietnamese Internet users. Data collected was analyzed in accordance with the process from Cronbach's Alpha to EFA and multiple regression technique. The results show that consumers’ attitude towards online shopping was impacted by perceived usefulness, compatibility and trust. Based on the findings, some recommendations are given for retailers to improve customers’ attitude toward online shopping in the context of Vietnam in particular and in emerging countries in general. Keywords: Attitude, Online shopping, Perceived usefulness, Trust

Experimental study of the long-term shortening of reinforced concrete columns under maintaining concentric axial load

This paper presents the results of an experimental study to measure the shortening of reinforced concrete (RC) columns under long-term maintaining concentric axial load. Long-term axial deformation due to shrinkage and creep of the concrete were recorded beside deformation due to mechanical load. Eight RC cylinder - columns (content of reinforcement 1.5% and 2%) with diameter of 150 mm and height of 600 mm were tested during the period of 600 days to determine their shortening. The experimental results showed that the long-term deformation of RC columns occurs primarily during the first year of loading. The deformation creep of concrete is much greater than the shrinkage deformation. The reinforcement content has a significant effect on the long-term deformation of concrete columns

Experimental study of the long-term shortening of reinforced concrete columns under maintaining concentric axial load

This paper presents the results of an experimental study to measure the shortening of reinforced concrete (RC) columns under long-term maintaining concentric axial load. Long-term axial deformation due to shrinkage and creep of the concrete were recorded beside deformation due to mechanical load. Eight RC cylinder - columns (content of reinforcement 1.5% and 2%) with diameter of 150 mm and height of 600 mm were tested during the period of 600 days to determine their shortening. The experimental results showed that the long-term deformation of RC columns occurs primarily during the first year of loading. The deformation creep of concrete is much greater than the shrinkage deformation. The reinforcement content has a significant effect on the long-term deformation of concrete columns

New primitives of controlled elements F2/4 for block ciphers

This paper develops the cipher design approach based on the use of data-dependent operations (DDOs). A new class of DDO based on the advanced controlled elements (CEs) is introduced, which is proven well suited to hardware implementations for FPGA devices. To increase the hardware implementation efficiency of block ciphers, while using contemporary FPGA devices there is proposed an approach to synthesis of fast block ciphers, which uses the substitution-permutation network constructed on the basis of the controlled elements F2/4 implementing the 2 x 2 substitutions under control of the four-bit vector. There are proposed criteria for selecting elements F2/4 and results on investigating their main cryptographic properties. It is designed a new fast 128-bit block cipher MM-128 that uses the elements F2/4 as elementary building block. The cipher possesses higher performance and requires less hardware resources for its implementation on the bases of FPGA devices than the known block ciphers. There are presented result on differential analysis of the cipher MM-12

Determinants Influencing Quality of Finance and Accounting Education: The Case Study of Vietnam

The quality of undergraduate program in general and in the discipline of finance and accounting in particular is one of the big concerned issues in society. For a long time, Vietnam has trained a large number of bachelor students which exceeds the real needs, especially in the field of economics. In the dimension of this study, we investigate the impact levels of determinants on quality of financial and accounting education in the context of the 4th Industrial Revolution. Data were collected by receiving questionnaire feedbacks from students of Trade Union University of Vietnam. By employing the tests of Cronbach’s Alpha, exploratory factor analysis and multivariate regression, the results show that four determinants including (i) role of trainers, (ii) innovation of the training program, (iii) applying information technology; (iv) and social behavior skills of students influence positively the quality of education in the field of finance and accounting. Keywords: Education quality, finance and accounting, Vietna

Dynamic response analysis of truss bridges under the effect of moving vehicles

With the characteristics of heavy and concentrated loads, the influence of moving loads on the dynamic response of the bridges is significant. Therefore, in this paper, the dynamic response of a large-scale truss bridge is studied to consider the effect of the various parameters of moving loads. The considered main parameters consist of moving mass, moving velocity, and type of moving loads. The nonlinear dynamics of the bridge based on time history analysis are obtained using the Wilson-  method. four time history – based dynamic analysis method including modal superposition in frequency domain, modal superposition in time domain; direct time integration, and direct solution in the frequency domain are employed to analysis the obtained results. To compare the effectiveness of the aforementioned method. A large-scale railway truss bridge is employed for dynamic response analysis. The obtained results give more insight into the nature of the problem and help to determine the significant parameters of moving load affecting the bridge response