Field testing of one-way and two-way cyclic lateral responses of single and jet-grouting reinforced piles in soft clay

Piles supporting transmission towers, offshore structures (such as wind turbines), or infrastructures in seismic areas are frequently subjected to either one-way or two-way cyclic lateral loadings. Relatively little attention, however, has been paid to compare and understand the effects of different loading regimes (one-way or two-way cycling) on lateral responses of piles in soft clay. For this reason, a series of field tests in soft clay are carried out to compare one-way and two-way cyclic responses of single piles and of jet-grouting reinforced piles. The field tests reveal that the single pile subjected to two-way cycling experiences much more rapid degradation in lateral stiffness and capacity, but accumulates much smaller residual pile deflection (δ _p), than the single pile under one-way cycling. This is because the reverse part of the two-way cycling also generates plastic strain, causing additional softening and strength reduction in the soil surrounding the pile. After each cycling, non-zero bending moment (i.e. locked in moment, or M _L) is retained in the single piles, and the M _L increases with the δ _p. The one-way cycling leads to two times larger M _L than the two-way cycling, as it causes greater δ _p. The maximum M _L in the pile after one-way cycling can be up to 40% of the maximum bending moment induced during the previous cyclic loading stage. After application of jet-grouting surrounding the upper part of the single pile, it greatly reduces degradation of lateral pile stiffness, accumulation of δ _p and therefore development of M _L. Compared to the field measurements, the API (API RP 2A-WSD, recommended practice for planning, designing, and constructing fixed offshore platform-working stress design, 21st edn. API, Washington, 2000) code underestimates the lateral stiffness of the pile under one-way cycling, while overestimates that of the pile under two-way cycling, leading to a non-conservative prediction of bending moment in the latter pile.     

Numerical simulations and parametric study of SDCM and DCM piles under full scale axial and lateral loads

The new kind of reinforced Deep Cement Mixing (DCM) pile namely, Stiffened Deep Cement Mixing (SDCM) pile is introduced to mitigate the problems due to the low flexural resistance, quality control problem and unexpected failure of DCM pile. The SDCM pile consists of DCM pile reinforced with concrete core pile. Previously, the full scale pile load test and the full scale embankment loading test were successfully conducted in the field. To continue the study on the behavior of SDCM and DCM piles, the 3D finite element simulations using PLAXIS 3D Foundation Software were conducted in this study. The simulations of full scale pile load test consisted of two categories of testing which are the axial compression and the lateral loading. For DCM C-1 and C-2 piles, the clay–cement cohesion, C_DCM, and clay–cement modulus, E_DCM, were obtained from simulations as 300 kPa and 200 kPa as well as 60,000 kPa and 40,000 kPa, respectively. For the SDCM piles, the simulation results show that increasing length ratio, L_core/L_DCM, increased the bearing capacity whereas the sectional area ratio, A_core/A_DCM, has only small effects on the bearing capacity for the axial compression loading. The verified parameters such as the clay–cement cohesion, C_DCM, and clay–cement modulus, E_DCM, from simulations of axial compression tests were 200 kPa and 30,000 kPa, respectively. On the other hand, increasing the sectional area ratio, A_core/A_DCM, significantly influenced the ultimate lateral resistance while the length ratio, L_core/L_DCM, is not significant in the ultimate lateral load capacity when the length of concrete core pile is longer than 3.5 m. In addition, the tensile strength of DCM, T_DCM, and concrete core pile, T_core, are very important to the lateral pile resistance. The back-calculation results from simulations of tensile strength were 5000 kPa and 50 kPa for the T_core and T_DCM, respectively.     

高速铁路超长桥桩承载特性试验研究

超长桩广泛已应用于土木工程各个领域,但黄土地区超长桩的承载性状和变形特性尚不十分清楚,需要进一步研究。通过对郑西铁路客运专线某特大桥的4根超长桩现场测试项目的资料分析,得出了超长桩桩身轴力及侧阻力的变化规律,对超长桩的承载特性有了更为清晰的了解。试验结果表明,在桩顶竖向荷载作用下,桩身轴力随荷载的增加发生了局部调整,砂性土层的桩侧摩阻力具有增强效应,黏性土层的桩侧摩阻力具有退化效应;单桩竖向刚度随桩顶荷载的增加而减小,单桩竖向刚度降低40 %～70 %。     

能源桩与周围土体之间荷载传递模型的改进及其桩身承载特性研究

桩-土相互作用问题是岩土工程桩基础问题的关键点与难点,目前针对桩身在循环温度荷载与上覆结构荷载双重作用下的能源桩承载特性研究较少。在传统理想弹塑性模型及双曲线模型的基础上,采用分段非线性的方法对桩-土荷载传递骨干曲线进行了修正,并基于Masing’s循环准则,提出了适用于能源桩的桩-土荷载传递模型。利用改进的桩-土荷载传递模型对能源桩承载特性进行数值分析,着重研究了桩-土荷载传递参数比R对能源桩受力情况的影响。此外,为了探究在上覆结构荷载及循环温度荷载双重作用下,能源桩与周围土体之间的真实荷载传递关系及其结构热力学特性,开展了针对能源桩与周围土体之间相互作用问题的室内模型试验,监测了其桩身轴向应力及侧摩阻力随温度及深度变化的趋势,并与基于改进荷载传递模型的数值计算结果进行了对比。室内模型试验监测及数值计算结果显示：能源桩在上覆结构荷载及温度循环荷载双重作用下,其受力行为受改进的桩-土荷载传递循环曲线控制;基于改进的桩-土荷载传递循环曲线而建立的数值模型计算结果与试验结果基本吻合,改进的桩-土荷载传递模型能够较好发地反映能源桩实际的承载特性。     

能量桩单桩工作特性简化分析方法

基于荷载传递法,建立了热力耦合作用下能量桩单桩工作特性的简化分析方法。该方法中将桩-土荷载传递函数取为双曲线,采用曼辛法则模拟温度循环过程中桩-土界面的卸载和再加载特性,通过再加载过程中刚度的折减近似考虑塑性变形的积累。利用矩阵位移法求解控制方程组后可直接得到任意温度-力学组合作用下的桩体变形、桩身轴力、桩侧阻力和桩端阻力,无需事先假设温度位移零点的位置。通过与试验数据的对比分析,验证了所提方法的可靠性。结合算例,研究了能量桩的长期工作特性。结果表明,温度循环会造成自由桩的桩顶沉降增加,固定桩的桩顶应力减小,温度循环的影响与桩顶静力荷载水平和土体刚度的衰减程度密切相关。     

轴向荷载对斜桩水平承载特性影响试验及理论研究

斜群桩受水平荷载作用时,群桩中的基桩受到径向荷载、轴向荷载和弯矩的共同作用。为研究轴向荷载对斜桩水平承载特性的影响,完成了3根单桩以及1组1×2斜桩的大尺寸模型试验。试验结果表明：轴向拉力作用会降低斜桩的水平刚度和极限承载力;而轴向压力作用则会使其水平刚度和极限承载力提高。基于桩侧浅层土体楔形破坏假定,推导了考虑轴向荷载影响的斜桩水平极限土抗力计算公式,提出了桩侧土抗力的p-y曲线方法,并通过模型试验及现场试验验证其合理性。     

Axial Performance of Helical Tapered Piles in Sand

The axial capacity of novel spun-cast ductile iron (SCDI) tapered pile fitted with a lower helical plate is investigated. Seven instrumented piles, five SCDI tapered and two steel straight shafts, were installed in sand soil using mechanical torque. The piles were tested under axial compressive loading and their ultimate capacities were determined. To assess the cyclic loading effect on the piles performance, two load sequences were adopted: four piles were subjected to monotonic loading, and three were subjected to initial cyclic loading followed by monotonic loading. The installation torque was monitored and the resulting capacity-to-torque ratio was compared to the literature reported values. Tapered helical piles displayed a stiffer response and yielded higher capacities compared to the straight ones. Strain gauges were used to evaluate the piles load transfer mechanism, and demonstrated increased shaft resistance due to the pile taper. The taper helped compact the sand within the zone adjacent to the pile, originally disturbed by the helix penetration, hence increased the soil strength and stiffness. These effects were prominent for larger ratio of shaft/helix diameter. Finally, 3D finite element analyses were conducted to evaluate the axial performance of the system and demonstrated its enhanced frictional resistance. The experimental and numerical results confirmed the superior performance of the proposed system in sands.     

Nonlinear three-dimensional analysis of pile group supported columns considering pile cap flexibility

A numerical method that takes into account the coupling between the rigidities of the piles, the cap, and the column has been developed for analyzing the response of pile group supported columns. Special attention is given to consideration of pile cap flexibility. A load transfer approach using t–z/q–z and p–y curves is used for the analysis of single piles. The finite element technique is used to combine the pile stiffness with the stiffness of the cap and column. The numerical method developed has been verified by comparing the results with other numerical methods for pile groups. Through comparative studies, it has been found that the maximum load on the individual piles in a group is highly influenced by pile cap flexibility. The prediction of the lateral loads and bending moments in the pile cap is much more conservative in the present analysis than in FBPier 3.0 and shows a definitely larger lateral load and bending moment for various cap thicknesses.     

循环荷载下圆柱形桩与楔形桩复合地基工作性状对比试验研究

为探讨循环荷载作用下夯实水泥土圆柱形桩与夯实水泥土楔形桩复合地基工作性状的差异,通过室内模型试验,并在桩顶及桩周土表面埋设微型土压力盒,进行循环荷载下夯实水泥土圆柱形桩和楔形桩的4桩复合地基及单纯软土地基工作性状对比试验,探讨循环应力比和加载周数对夯实水泥土圆柱形桩和楔形桩复合地基永久沉降、桩-土应力比的影响规律。研究软土地基加固方法对永久沉降和桩-土应力比的影响,揭示了循环应力比与桩-土应力比的关系。研究结果表明：采用夯实水泥土桩加固软土地基,能提高地基的临界循环应力比,增强地基抵抗循环荷载的能力;在相同的加荷周数和循环应力比的加载条件下,采用夯实水泥土楔形桩加固软土地基对降低地基永久沉降的效果比采用夯实水泥土圆柱形桩的效果要好,且楔形桩的楔角越大,降低永久沉降的效果越明显。循环应力比越大,桩-土应力比越大;桩-土应力比随楔形桩楔角的增大而增大,随加载周数的增加而降低,并存在一临界加载周数;当加载周数小于临界周数时,桩-土应力比随加载周数迅速降低;当加载周数超过临界周数时,桩-土应力比几乎不随加载周数的变化而变化。     

Response of Pile Groups Driven in Sand Subjected to Combined Loads

Although the loads applied on piles are usually a combination of both vertical and lateral loads, very limited experimental research has been done on the response of pile groups subjected to combined loads. Due to pile–soil–pile interaction in pile groups, the response of a pile group may differ substantially from that of a single pile. This difference depends on soil state and pile spacing. This paper presents results of experiments designed to investigate pile interaction effects on the response of pile groups subjected to both axial and lateral loads. The experiments were load tests performed on model pile groups (2 × 2 pile groups) in calibration chamber sand samples. The model piles were driven into the sand samples prepared with different relative densities using a sand pluviator. The combined load tests were performed on the model pile groups subjected to different axial load levels, i.e., 0 (pure lateral loading), 25, 50, and 75% of the ultimate axial load capacity of the pile groups, defined as the load corresponding to a settlement of 10% of the model pile diameter. The combined load test results showed that the bending moment and lateral deflection at the head of the piles increased substantially for tests performed in the presence of axial loads, suggesting that the presence of axial loads on groups of piles driven in sand is detrimental to their lateral capacity.     

大直径深长钻孔灌注桩竖向承载力特性试验研究

在唐山LNG罐区对9根大直径钢筋混凝土灌注桩进行了竖向荷载现场试验,其中桩端后注浆工艺试桩3根,三岔双向挤扩工艺试桩3根,挤扩支盘工艺试桩3根。基于现场静荷载和桩身应力测试结果,分析了3种不同施工工艺钻孔灌注桩竖向荷载传递规律。试验结果表明：3种不同施工工艺的大直径深长钻孔灌注桩试桩荷载-沉降曲线没有明显拐点,后注浆工艺试桩荷载传递过程表现为摩擦桩的特性,桩侧阻力几乎承担全部荷载,而三岔双向挤扩支盘工艺和挤扩支盘工艺试桩荷载传递过程表现为端承摩擦桩的特性,桩端阻力占总荷载的20%～30%;3种不同施工工艺试桩的轴力及桩-土相对位移变化规律基本相似,桩侧桩端阻力非同步发挥且相互影响,桩侧摩阻力均表现出强化现象。对整个罐区要求单桩承载力特征值不小于8 100 kN。3种施工工艺的钻孔灌注桩承载力均能满足要求。     

斜坡桩水平循环特性模型试验及有限杆单元解

为了揭示斜坡效应和循环弱化效应共同影响下的斜坡桩水平循环特性,进行了不同循环次数、荷载幅值及坡度下的单向水平循环加载试验,并将水平静载试验作为对照,揭示了桩顶位移、桩身弯矩及地基反力等变化规律。综合考虑二阶效应及桩-土相互作用的影响,对单元刚度矩阵进行了改进,提出了有限杆单元解。将理论预测曲线等与实测曲线及幂级数法计算结果进行了对比,验证了有限杆单元解的合理性。结果表明：桩身弯矩及位移均随循环次数非线性增加,最大弯矩位置逐渐从无量纲深度z_α=1.25下移到z_α=1.75;桩顶无量纲位移y0,α与循环次数n之间的关系符合幂函数y0,α=An0.11;当荷载幅值由20 N增加到40 N时,最大无量纲弯矩由0.010增加到0.029,位置均保持在z_α=1.7附近;当坡度由30°增加到60°时,最大无量纲弯矩由0.011(z_α=1)增加到0.025(z_α=2.5)。     

Pile Head Cyclic Lateral Loading of Single Pile

This paper presents an elastic continuum model using an extended nonlinear Davies and Budhu equations, which enables the nonlinear behavior of the soil around the long elastic pile to be modeled using a simple expression of pile-head stiffness method. The calculated results were validated with the measured full-scale dynamic field tests data conducted in Auckland residual clay. An idealized soil profile and soil stiffness under small strain (i.e. shear modulus, G _s and shear wave velocity, V _s of the soil) determined from in situ testing was used to model the single pile tests results. The predictions of these extended equations are also confirmed by using the three-dimensional finite-element OpenSeesPL (Lu et al. in OpenSeesPL 3D lateral pile-ground interaction: user manual, University of California, San Diego, 2010). A soil stiffness reduction factor, G _s /G _s,max of 0.36 was introduced to the proposed method and model. It was found to give a reasonable prediction for a single pile subjected to dynamic lateral loading. The reduction in soil stiffness found from the experiment arises from the cumulative effects of pile–soil separation as well as a change in the soil properties subjected to cyclic load. In summary, if the proposed method and model are accurately verified and properly used, then they are capable of producing realistic predictions. Both models provide good modelling tools to replicate the full-scale dynamic test results.     

Numerical analysis of pile response to open face tunnelling in stiff clay

Three-dimensional (3D) finite element analyses have been performed to study the behaviour of a single pile and 3 × 3 and 5 × 5 pile groups during open face tunnelling in stiff clay. Several governing factors, such as tunnelling-induced ground and pile settlement, axial pile force changes and shear transfer mechanism at the pile–soil interface, have been studied in detail. Tunnelling resulted in the development of pile head settlement larger than the free-field soil surface settlement. In addition, axial force distributions along the pile change substantially due to changes in the shear transfer between the pile and the soil next to the pile, which triggers tunnelling-induced tensile forces in the piles with tunnel advancement. It was found that the relative displacements and the normal stresses at the pile–soil interface drastically affected shear transfer. The extent of slip length along a pile increased as the tunnelling proceeded. The apparent allowable pile capacity was reduced by up to approximately 42% due to the development of tunnelling-induced pile head settlement. Shear stress on the pile was increased for most of the pile depth with tunnel advancement, which was associated with changes in soil stresses and ground deformation, and hence, the axial pile force was gradually reduced with tunnel advancement, indicating the development of tunnelling-induced tensile pile force. The maximum tunnelling-induced tensile force on the pile was approximately 0.33P_a, where P_a is the allowable pile capacity applied to the pile head prior to tunnel excavation. The range affected by tunnelling in the longitudinal direction may be identified as approximately −2D ∼ +(1.5–2.0D), where D is the tunnel diameter, from the pile centre (behind and ahead of the pile axis), in terms of pile settlement and axial pile force changes based on the analysis conditions assumed in the current study. Larger pile head settlements and smaller changes in axial pile forces were computed for piles that were part of groups. It has been found that the serviceability of piles experiencing adjacent tunnelling is more affected by pile settlement than by axial pile force changes, in particular for piles inside groups. The magnitude of the tunnelling-induced excess pore pressure was small and may not substantially affect pile behaviour.     

The P-y Response of Laterally Loaded Flexible Piles in Residual Soil

This paper describes the main features related to lateral displacements with depth after successive lateral loading–unloading cycles applied to the top of reinforced-concrete flexible bored piles embedded in naturally bonded residual soil. The bored piles under study have a cylindrical shape, with 0.40-m in diameter and 8.0-m in length. Both bored piles types (P1 and P2) include an embedded steel pipe section in their center as longitudinal steel reinforcements: pile type P1 has another 16 steel rods as steel reinforcement to concrete while pile type P2 has no further steel reinforcement. Pile type P1 has three times as much stiffness (EI) and four and a half times the plastic moment (M_y) than pile type P2. A similar load–displacement performance was observed at initial loads as for small displacements of both piles. At this initial loading stage, the response of the reinforced concrete piles is a function of the soil characteristics and of a linear elastic pile deformation. During this stage, piles can even be understood as probes for evaluating soil reactions. For larger horizontal displacements, after the concrete section starts undergoing large deformations, approaching the ultimate bending moment, pile behavior and consequently the load–displacement relation starts to diverge for both piles. For pile P1 the values of relevant lateral displacements are extended to about 2.5-m in depth, while for pile P2 lateral displacements are mostly constrained to about 2.0-m in depth. Measurements of horizontal displacements of pile P1 against depth recorded with a slope indicator show that, after unloading, lateral loads at distinct stages (small and near failure loads), exhibits a much higher elastic phase of the system response. An analytical fitting model of soil reaction is proposed based on the measured displacements from slope indicator. The integration of a continuous model proposed for the soil reaction agrees fairly well with the measured displacements up to moments close to plastic limit. Results of load–displacement show that the stiffer pile (P1) was able to mobilize twice as much lateral load compared to pile P2 for a service limit displacement of about 20 mm. The paper shows results that enable the isolation of the structural variable through real scale pile load tests, thus granting understanding of its importance and enabling its quantitative visualization in examples of piles embedded in residual soil sites.

     

Field study on the behavior of pre-bored grouted planted pile with enlarged grout base

This paper presents the results of field tests performed to investigate the compressive bearing capacity of pre-bored grouted planted (PGP) pile with enlarged grout base focusing on its base bearing capacity. The bi-directional O-cell load test was conducted to evaluate the behavior of full scale PGP piles. The test results show that the pile head displacements needed to fully mobilize the shaft resistance were 5.9% and 6.4% D (D is pile diameter), respectively, of two test piles, owing to the large elastic shortening of pile shaft. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that the PHC nodular pile base and grout body at the enlarged base could act as a unit in the loading process, and the enlarged grout base could effectively promote the base bearing capacity of PGP pile through increasing the base area. The normalized base resistances (unit base resistance/average cone base resistance) of two test piles were 0.17 and 0.19, respectively, when the base displacement reached 5% D_b (D_b is pile base diameter). The permeation of grout into the silty sand layer under pile base increased the elastic modulus of silty sand, which could help to decrease pile head displacement under working load.

     

考虑沉桩效应的群桩非线性荷载-沉降解析

考虑沉桩效应对桩周土体力学特性的影响,采用指数函数型荷载传递曲线分别建立了静压桩的桩侧和桩端荷载传递模型。在此基础上,根据群桩加载过程中桩周土体的变形模式,基于荷载传递法描述桩-土界面的非线性行为,采用剪切位移法考虑群桩之间的相互作用,提出了考虑沉桩效应的群桩非线性荷载-沉降混合计算方法。通过开展离心模型试验对该计算方法解答进行了验证,研究了沉桩效应和桩-土界面非线性特征对群桩承载特性的影响。研究结果表明,沉桩效应对桩周土体起到挤密作用,使得桩周土体的强度和刚度增大,从而提高了群桩的承载特性。群桩加载过程中桩-土界面刚度随沉降变形而逐渐减小,使得群桩荷载-沉降曲线呈现出明显的非线性特征。     

循环加载下X形桩竖向承载特性模型试验研究

实际工程中桩基经常受到各种动荷载作用,如高铁路基中的加固桩长期承受列车行车时产生的循环动荷载作用,桩基在循环荷载作用下的承载特性研究对动荷载下的工程设计至关重要。X形桩是一种在传统圆形截面桩基础上发展而来的新型异性桩技术,其承载机制不同于传统圆形截面桩。为了深入研究X形桩在循环荷载作用下的动力特性和荷载与沉降规律,开展了砂土中X形桩竖向循环加载大比尺模型试验。试验结果表明,随着循环加载的进行,X形桩顶产生累计沉降,且循环荷载比越大,加载频率越高,桩顶沉降越快;循环加载初期,X形桩顶动刚度降低,桩身轴力响应增大,桩侧摩阻力发生弱化,之后逐渐趋于稳定,且桩身下半段侧摩阻力较大;在同等加载条件下X形桩与等截面圆形桩相比,承受动荷载能力较强,桩侧摩阻力较大,长期循环加载作用下产生的累计位移较小。研究结果可为X形桩在动荷载作用下的工程设计提供参考依据。     

Cyclic and seismic response of single piles in improved and unimproved soft clays

Presented in this paper are results of two centrifuge tests on single piles installed in unimproved and improved soft clay (a total of 14 piles), with the relative pile–soil stiffness values varying nearly two orders of magnitude, and subjected to cyclic lateral loading and seismic loading. This research was motivated by the need for better understanding of lateral load behavior of piles in soft clays that are improved using cement deep soil mixing (CDSM). Cyclic test results showed that improving the ground around a pile foundation using CDSM is an effective way to improve the lateral load behavior of that foundation. Depending on the extent of ground improvement, elastic lateral stiffness and ultimate resistance of a pile foundation in improved soil increased by 2–8 times and 4–5 times, respectively, from those of a pile in the unimproved soil. While maximum bending moments and shear forces within piles in unimproved soil occurred at larger depths, those in improved soil occurred at much shallower depths and within the improved zone. The seismic tests revealed that, in general, ground improvement around a pile is an effective method to reduce accelerations and dynamic lateral displacements during earthquakes, provided that the ground is improved at least to a size of 13D × 13D × 9D (length × width × depth), where D is the outside diameter of the pile, for the pile–soil systems tested in this study. The smallest ground improvement used in these tests (9D × 9D × 6D), however, proved ineffective in improving the seismic behavior of the piles. The ground improvement around a pile reduces the fundamental period of the pile–soil system, and therefore, the improved system may produce larger pile top accelerations and/or displacements than the unimproved system depending on the frequency content of the earthquake motion.     

Approximate computer analysis of pile groups subjected to loads and ground movements

This paper describes the development of an approximate approach for the analysis and design of piles subjected to axial and lateral loading and also to vertical and horizontal ground movements. The analysis involves a number of simplifications in order to make it feasible to implement. For example, it considers the behaviour of a ‘representative’ pile in a group to characterize the behaviour of all piles in the group, and adopts approximations to derive free-field interaction factors from the conventional interaction factors for direct loading. The analysis has been implemented via a computer program called EMbankment PIle Group (EMPIG) and has the ability to incorporate the following features:

• 1. single piles or pile groups,
• 2. applied vertical, lateral and moment loading on the pile cap,
• 3. the effects of axial and lateral soil movements caused by embankment construction,
• 4. a layered soil profile,
• 5. non-linear axial and lateral response of the piles.

Comparisons between solutions from EMPIG and other independent programs suggest that it is capable of providing results of adequate accuracy for practical design purposes. The analysis has been used to investigate the effects of pile rake on a typical bridge abutment group. The presence of raked piles can have a detrimental effect on group behaviour, especially in the presence of ground movements. Large lateral deflections can be generated and axial forces and moments in the piles are increased. Comparisons are also made with the results of centrifuge model tests on abutment pile groups. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.