Centrifuge modeling of an offshore water-intake project under ice loading

Sheet pile is a potential structural type for an offshore water-intake project for a thermal power plant in China because of its advantages of low cost and easy construction. However, the soil in offshore areas is under-consolidated and has a high water content. Therefore its bearing capacity is low, and the safety of water-intake structures under various loads is of major concern. Consequently the centrifuge modeling technique was used to study the stability of a structure in terms of its deformation, stress distribution, and bearing capacity under ice loading. The results show that the sheet pile structure works well under certain ice loads, and the earth pressure acting on the passive side contributes most of the bearing capacity. The lateral displacement of the structure increases significantly when the ice load exceeds the critical load. The position of the ice load has an obvious effect on the mechanical behavior of the structure, although increasing the structure’s embedded depth cannot improve the bearing capacity significantly.