Skirted Foundation For Penetrating Soft Material

A jack-up rig comprising a working platform, a plurality of legs, and a plurality of skirted foundations, wherein each leg has two ends, one end coupled to the working platform for providing support and the other end is coupled with one skirted foundation so that the skirted foundations provide anchor and support for the jack-up rig;

• wherein the skirted foundation comprises:
• a spudcan footing having an upper part and a base, wherein the upper part and the base are coupled at their peripherals to form an outer edge, wherein both the upper part and the base have a flat or conical configuration, and wherein the upper part supports one leg of a jack-up rig, and the base has a flat bottom or downward slope;
• and
• a skirt having an upper end being integrally coupled to the spudcan footing and downwardly projected to encircle the base and a lower end for penetrating seabed, wherein the skirt comprises a plurality of circumferential openings adjacent to the base of the spudcan footing and located within the top half of the skirt height, and wherein the openings are configured to allow soil to flow out of the interior space defined by the skirt and the base as the foundation descends into the seabed.

A method for installing a skirted foundation, wherein the skirted foundation comprises a spudcan footing having an upper part and a base, wherein the upper part and the base are coupled at their peripherals to form an outer edge, wherein both the upper part and the base have a flat or conical configuration, and wherein the upper part supports one leg of a jack-up rig, and the base has a flat bottom or downward slope, and a skirt having an upper end being integrally coupled to the spudcan footing and downwardly projected to encircle the base and a lower end for penetrating seabed, wherein the skirt comprises a plurality of circumferential openings adjacent to the base of the spudcan footing and located within the top half of the skirt height, and wherein the openings are configured to allow soil to flow out of the interior space defined by the skirt and the base as the foundation descends into the seabed;

• wherein the method comprises:
• lowering the foundation into soft material on the seabed;
• and
• facilitating the outflow of the soft material from the interior space defined by the skirt and the base through the Opening;
• thereby increasing the bearing capacity of the foundation.