ABSTRACT
Most existing Winkler models use non-linear elastic soil reactions to capture the non-linear behaviour of foundations. These models cannot easily capture phenomena such as permanent displacement, hysteresis and the influence of combined loading on the failure states. To resolve these shortcomings, an elastoplastic Winkler model for suction caisson foundations under combined loading is presented. The proposed model combines Winkler-type linear elastic soil reactions with local plastic yield surfaces to model the non-linear soil response using standard plasticity theory, albeit in a simplified One-Dimensional (1D) framework. The results demonstrate that the model reproduces the appropriate foundation behaviour, comparing closely to Three-Dimensional Finite Element (3DFE) analyses but with the advantage of rapid computation time.
