Due to their ability to provide larger horizontal and moment capacities, skirted footings are increasingly being considered as a viable alternative to spudcans, which have been the traditional footings for jack-ups. However, existing research on skirted footing often focuses on understanding its behaviour in clay or sand under different combined loading conditions and little is known of its behaviour in layered soil. This paper presents the vertical bearing resistance profile of spudcan and skirted footing in sand overlying clay obtained from centrifuge model tests, as well as the results of investigating the effect of skirt height on the development of skirted footing bearing resistance. The paper also promotes the feasibility of adopting skirted footing as an alternative foundation for jack-up rig installed in potential punch-through sites.
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