To address the challenges of extraction difficulties and penetration risks associated with traditional spudcan jackup platforms, a new jack-up platform featuring a pile-leg mat foundation is proposed. The horizontal bearing capacity of hybrid foundations under the influence of dynamic loads is a critical factor that requires close attention. This research numerically examined the dynamic response of a hybrid foundation to horizontal cyclic loading on a sandy seabed. A user-defined subroutine was employed to incorporate the Cyclic Mobility (CM) model within Abaqus, facilitating the analysis of sand response under different densities. The horizontal cyclic bearing capacities of the foundation were investigated considering the effects of different loading conditions, sand density, and pile-leg penetration depth. Simulation results indicate that the cyclic loading amplitude, frequency, and load mode significantly influence the generation of soil excess pore water pressure (EPWP), subsequently affecting foundation displacement and unloading stiffness. Under cyclic loading, the loose sandy seabed shows the most pronounced fluctuations in EPWP and effective stress, leading to surface soil liquefaction. While surface soil in medium-dense and dense sand conditions remains non-liquefied, their effective stress still varies significantly. Increasing the pile-leg penetration depth enhances the foundation's horizontal bearing capacity while affecting its vertical bearing capacity slightly.

For an offshore photovoltaic helical pile foundation, significant horizontal cyclic loading is imposed by wind and waves. To study a fixed offshore PV helical pile's horizontal cyclic bearing performance, a numerical model of the helical pile under horizontal cyclic loading was established using an elastic-plastic boundary interface constitutive model of the clay soil. This model was compared with a monopile of the same diameter under similar conditions. The study examined the effects of horizontal cyclic loading amplitude, period, and vertical loads on the horizontal cyclic bearing performance. The results show that under horizontal monotonic loading, the bearing capacities of a helical pile and monopile in a serviceability limit state are quite similar. However, as the amplitude of horizontal cyclic loading increases, soil stiffness deteriorates significantly, leading to greater horizontal displacement accumulation for both types of piles. The helical pile's bearing capacity under horizontal cyclic loadings is approximately 60% of that under monotonic loading. With shorter cyclic loading periods, horizontal displacement accumulates rapidly in the initial stage and stabilizes over a shorter duration. In contrast, longer cyclic loading periods lead to slower initial displacement accumulation, but the total accumulated displacement at stabilization is greater. When vertical loads are applied, the helical pile exhibits more stable horizontal cyclic bearing performance than the monopile.

The tripod foundation (TF) is a prevalent foundation configuration in contemporary engineering practices. In comparison to a single pile, TF comprised interconnected individual piles, resulting in enhanced bearing capacity and stability. A physical model test was conducted within a sandy soil foundation, systematically varying the length-to-diameter ratio of the TF. The investigation aimed to comprehend the impact of altering the height of the central bucket on the historical horizontal bearing capacity of the foundation in saturated sand. Additionally, the study scrutinized the historical consequences of soil pressure and pore water pressure surrounding the bucket throughout the loading process. The historical findings revealed a significant enhancement in the horizontal bearing capacity of the TF under undrained conditions. When subjected to a historical horizontal loading angle of 0 degrees for a single pile, the multi-bucket foundation exhibited superior historical bearing capacity compared to a single-pile foundation experiencing a historical loading angle of 180 degrees under pulling conditions. With each historical increment in bucket height from 150 mm to 350 mm in 100 mm intervals, the historical horizontal bearing capacity of the TF exhibited an approximately 75% increase relative to the 150 mm bucket height, indicating a proportional relationship. Importantly, the historical internal pore water pressure within the bucket foundation remained unaffected by drainage conditions during loading. Conversely, undrained conditions led to a historical elevation in pore water pressure at the lower side of the pressure bucket. Consequently, in practical engineering applications, the optimization of the historical bearing efficacy of the TF necessitated the historical closure of the valve atop the foundation to sustain internal negative pressure within the bucket. This historical measure served to augment the historical horizontal bearing capacity. Simultaneously, historical external loads, such as wind, waves, and currents, were directed towards any individual bucket within the TF for optimal historical performance.

At present, the improvement of the horizontal bearing capacity of the piles by pre-consolidation of the soft soil foundation has been well recognized by practising engineers. However, how to estimate the increment of horizontal bearing capacity of piles during the pre-engineering process is still difficult. In this article, a practical calculation method for estimating the increment of horizontal bearing capacity of piles is established based on the Bowles[1] method and by considering the impact of pre-drainage and pre-consolidation treatment of the layered soft soil foundation. This method provides an effective way to calculate the shear strength index and pre-consolidation treatment time based on the shear strength of undisturbed soft soil by laboratory test. Meanwhile, the elastoplastic solution of the horizontally loaded pile and the calculation formula of the plastic zone depth of layered soft soil foundation are analytically derived, based on the influence of elastoplastic yielding of soils surrounding the pile. In addition, the source code for computing the horizontal displacement of the pile top and the maximum bending moment of the pile body are given. Finally, the horizontal displacement, bearing capacity and the maximum bending moment of piles in the sluice pile foundation engineering case in Zhejiang Province are calculated according to the proposed method. The results of the field tests before and after the pre-consolidation treatments are compared. It is found that the estimated results are close to the test results, which may provide a good reference for similar engineering designs.