Influence of Relative Pile-Soil Stiffness and Load Eccentricity on Single Pile Response in Sand Under Lateral Cyclic Loading

The environment prevalent in ocean necessitates the piles supporting offshore structures to be designed against lateral cyclic loading initiated by wave action, which induces deterioration in the strength and stiffness of the pile-soil system introducing progressive reduction in the bearing capacity associated with increased settlement of the pile foundation. A thorough and detailed review of literature indicates that significant works have already been carried out in the relevant field of investigation. It is a well established phenomenon that the variation of relative pile-soil stiffness (K _rs ) and load eccentricity (e/D) significantly affect the response of piles subjected to lateral static load. However, the influence of lateral cyclic load on axial response of single pile in sand, more specifically the effect of K _rs and e/D on the cyclic behavior, is yet to be investigated. The present work has aimed to bridge up this gap. To carry out numerical analysis (boundary element method), the conventional elastic approach has been used as a guideline with relevant modifications. The model developed has been validated by comparing with available experimental (laboratory model and field tests) results, which indicate the accuracy of the solutions formulated. Thereafter, the methodology is applied successfully to selected parametric studies for understanding the magnitude and pattern of degradation of axial pile capacity induced due to lateral cyclic loading, as well as the influence of K _rs and e/D on such degradation.     

Proposed nonlinear 3-D analytical method for piled raft foundations

The load distribution and deformation of piled raft foundations subjected to axial and lateral loads were investigated by a numerical analysis and field case studies. Special attention is given to the improved analytical method (YSPR) proposed by considering raft flexibility and soil nonlinearity. A load transfer approach using p–y, t–z and q–z curves is used for the analysis of piles. An analytical method of the soil–structure interaction is developed by taking into account the soil spring coupling effects based on the Filonenko-Borodich model. The proposed method has been verified by comparing the results with other numerical methods and field case studies on piled raft. Through comparative studies, it is found that the proposed method in the present study is in good agreement with general trend observed by field measurements and, thus, represents a significant improvement in the prediction of piled raft load sharing and settlement behavior.     

Field loading tests of screw micropiles under axial cyclic and monotonic loads

Unlike conventional grouted micropiles, screw micropiles have been recently introduced to the foundation industry. Full-scale field tests of screw micropiles were carried out at a cohesive soil site. The screw micropiles have a diameter varying from 76 to 114 mm and a length varying from 1.6 to 3 m, and spiral threads welded on the lower half of the steel tubular shaft. Site investigation from cone penetration tests (CPT) and laboratory testing implies that the soil was medium to stiff, low plasticity clay. Six axial monotonic and three axial cyclic load tests were performed on three micropiles. One micropile was instrumented with strain gauges to investigate the shaft load distribution during loading. The axial cyclic loading was intended to simulate cyclic inertia load during vertical ground motions. Results showed that the micropiles behave as frictional piles during monotonic tests; the unit shaft resistance and adhesion coefficient were calculated and compared with results in the literature. The end installation torque was estimated using CPT shaft resistance and was shown to agree reasonably with the measured torque. Under axial cyclic loading, the micropiles underwent small cumulative displacements and the magnitude of the displacement decreased with increasing pile length and diameter. Cyclic loading redistributed the load transfer along different segments of the micropile. Negative skin resistance was observed along the smooth pile shaft when the pile underwent decreasing axial loading.

     

陆上风轮机梁板基础受力特性简化分析

提出一种多向荷载同时作用下的刚性桩筏基础简化计算方法,基于Mindlin解,分析桩顶面-桩顶面、桩顶面-土表面、土表面-土表面的相互作用关系。推导多向荷载下桩土体系柔度矩阵,得到刚性桩筏基础的受力和变形的关系,通过与有限元对比证明了文中方法的正确性,在此基础上对耦合荷载作用下的风机基础的受力和变形特性进行分析。研究表明,耦合荷载作用下风机基础将会产生竖向不均匀沉降,并会引起桩顶轴力的的巨大的差异。     

A modification to dense sand dynamic simulation capability of Pastor–Zienkiewicz–Chan model

A modification to the nonlinear Pastor–Zienkiewicz–Chan (PZC) constitutive model without any change in the number of model parameters is introduced in order to simulate stiffness degradation of dense sands at dynamic loading. The PZC model is based on generalized plasticity and was verified by good prediction of liquefaction and undrained behavior of saturated sand. The PZC is a robust model that can predict drained dynamic behavior of sands, especially stiffness increase in loose sand at reloading of dynamic loading. Yet, this model does not show stiffness degradation of dense sand at reloading. The modification is made through modifying the stress memory factor, H _DM, which is multiplied by the plastic modulus, H _L. This modification does not influence reloading behavior of loose sand. The modified PZC model is verified via results of drained cyclic tests. Two cyclic triaxial tests on loose and dense specimens, along with two cyclic plane strain tests on dense sand are utilized for validation. The model simulation shows that the modified PZC model is able to predict the stiffness degradation of dense sand at reloading well.     

Finite element simulations of the behavior of piled‐raft foundations using a multiphase model

Finite element simulations of the behavior of a piled raft foundation have been carried out using a multiphase model conceived as an improved homogenization approach. According to this model, the ground reinforced by a group of piles is treated as a homogeneous continuous medium. In this approach, no specific interface elements are necessary to account for the mechanical interaction between the piles and the ground: this interaction is described by means of two scalar parameters, one stiffness parameter and one which can easily be derived from the maximum ground‐pile friction. The implementation of the model into a finite element code provides an efficient tool for the analysis of the influence of the pile number or length on the settlement and bearing capacity of a square piled raft foundation and of the way the total applied load is shared between the raft and the piles. Results are compared with a standard 3D finite element analysis. The comparison highlights the fact that the proposed approach remains to be improved to account for tip resistance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

往复荷载下层状地基柔性筏板-群桩共同作用分析

提出一种层状地基中柔性筏板-群桩共同作用分析方法,探讨筏板刚度对桩筏基础沉降的影响,并成功预测了往复荷载下桩筏基础的长期沉降。筏板刚度采用Mindlin板理论的有限单元法分析;桩-土体系的刚度矩阵中,桩顶面-桩顶面、桩顶面-土表面以及土表面-土表面的相互作用分析采用层状剪切位移法借助层状地基的Burmister位移解求得。基于层状地基中柔性筏板-群桩的沉降计算方法以及往复荷载下土体压缩模量的衰减特性得到了桩筏基础的长期沉降预测方法。与已有文献方法和离心模型试验结果的对比分析表明,柔性筏板-群桩共同作用方法得到的沉降值具有较高的精度。     

Experimental and theoretical investigation on the compression behavior of sand-marine clay mixtures within homogenization framework

In this paper, the compression behavior of sand-marine clay mixtures was investigated, both experimentally and theoretically. The test data reveal that the Normal Compression Line of a sand-clay mixture depends on both the sand fraction and the initial water content of the clay matrix. The local stress in the clay matrix σ′_c is approximately close to the overall stress of the sand-clay mixture σ′ for a sand mass fraction of 20%. The stress ratio, σ′_c/σ′, falls significantly with increasing overall stress for a sand fraction of 60%, which may be attributed to the formation of clay bridges between adjacent sand particles. A compression model was formulated within the homogenization framework. First, a homogenization equation was proposed, which gives a relationship between the overall stiffness E and that of the clay matrix Ec. Then, a model parameter ξ was incorporated considering the sensitivity of the structure parameter on the volume fraction of the clay matrix. Finally, a simple compression model with three model parameters was formulated using the tangent stiffness. Comparisons between the experimental data and simulations reveal that the proposed model can well represent the compression curves of the sand-marine clay mixtures observed in the laboratory.     

上部结构－桩基—地基共同作用数值分析及桩基变刚度调平优化设计

本文采用有限元法对高层建筑上部结构—桩筏基础—地基共同作用及相互影响进行了研究。研究表明:高层建筑上部结构—桩筏基础—地基共同作用及相互影响时,基础总体沉降和差异沉降随楼层的增加呈非线性变化趋势,上部结构中存在次应力,弯矩和轴力比常规法设计偏大;随楼层的增加,桩体对荷载的分担比在减少,土体分担比在增加;随着上部结构刚度的增加,荷载向角桩、边桩集中;增加筏板厚度,能减少一定的差异沉降和基础平均沉降,从而减少上部结构的次应力,提高地基土的荷载分担比,同时筏板下桩顶反力分布更不均匀,因此需要从筏板受力,以及考虑筏下桩、土的受力来综合确定一个合理的筏板厚度,使设计安全经济;随着地基土变形模量的提高,地基土分担的上部荷载增加,桩顶反力趋向平均,筏板最大弯矩逐渐减小。桩筏基础在均匀布桩条件下呈中间大边缘小的“碟型”分布。差异沉降是由于上部结构次生应力和筏板内力产生的。通过对地基土刚度以及桩长、桩径、桩距等五种桩基刚度的调整,并分析不同刚度对基础差异沉降影响可知:改变桩长的布桩形式并结合地基土刚度调整的中心布桩形式是高层建筑桩筏基础最佳设计方案。     

考虑基础刚度影响的风机梁板式桩筏基础模型试验研究

梁板式桩筏基础作为新型风机基础,前景广阔,适当优化结构,可节约成本。采用大型室内模型试验,研究了梁板式桩筏基础在不同筏板刚度情况下的受力变形特性,同时讨论了桩土荷载分担比的关系。研究表明,在工作荷载范围内,适当增大筏板刚度,桩平均轴力增加,外圈桩承担的荷载增大,内圈桩的轴力减小,环梁及肋梁弯矩减小,但继续增加刚度,对桩身轴力、环梁弯矩、肋梁弯矩的影响并不大;随着荷载的增大,土体承担的荷载比逐步增大,趋于稳值。随着梁板式基础刚度增加,基础内外差异沉降减少,但是达到一定刚度后再增加刚度对变形影响较小。梁板式基础刚度的变化会影响基底反力分布的均匀性,且存在一个最优刚度,使基础底部反力分布最为均匀,本次试验中12梁的梁板式基础基底反力比6梁和实体基础更均匀。桩基的分布和梁的分布存在相互影响,改变梁的分布会影响桩顶力,而桩基在梁底下又会使梁的应力产生重新分布。研究成果可为设计桩筏基础提供参考依据。     

Experimental study on the mechanical behaviors and particle breakage characteristics of calcareous sand from South China Sea under repeated one-dimensional impacts

The behavior of calcareous sand under repeated impact considerably differs from that of silica sand. Notably, calcareous sand is important in engineering projects in the South China Sea, such as pile driving. To understand the behavior of calcareous sand under multiple impacts, the improved split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) system was selected for one-dimensional impact tests of silica and calcareous sand with particle sizes of 0.25–0.50 mm. The sand specimens were impacted 1, 3, 7 and 10 times. The test results reveal that the dynamic apparent stiffness of silica sand is approximately 6–8 times that of calcareous sand. The dynamic apparent modulus values of the two sands increase with an increase in the number of impacts, N. For calcareous sand, the compression index C_c decreases with an increase in N, and silica sand shows the opposite trend. The yield pressure p_c of calcareous sand under impact loading is approximately 40% of that of silica sand. With an increase in N, the energy absorption capacity, energy dissipation rate and damage variables of the two sands exhibit a downward trend. In addition, the energy absorption efficiency of calcareous sand is better than that of silica sand. During the process of impact, a large number of sand particles will break, and particle breakage will change the particle size distribution (PSD), thereby significantly affecting the physical and mechanical properties of the corresponding soil. Based on the test results and fractal theory, an evolution model is established to characterize the PSD evolution in the breakage state for uniformly graded calcareous sand. Moreover, a Markov chain model is proposed to describe the PSD evolution of nonuniformly graded specimens. The predicted results of both models show agreement with the experimental values.

     

开挖卸荷对既有群桩竖向承载性状的影响分析

既有建筑下增层开挖对已有桩基础的影响不同于基坑开挖对坑内桩基的影响。基于工程实例验证的有限元参数,用硬化土弹塑性模型模拟土体,用接触面单元模拟桩土相互作用,建立了桩筏基础-地基-增层开挖三维有限元模型,对增层开挖后群桩基础的竖向承载性状进行研究。分析了桩顶刚度、桩身轴力、桩侧摩阻力、桩端阻比以及土体回弹的变化规律,并研究了不同桩端土体刚度和增层开挖深度对这些参数的影响。结果表明,增层开挖后群桩中不同基桩表现出不同的承载性状,增大桩端土体刚度可明显提高单桩承载力和端阻比临界值;随着增层开挖深度的增加,侧阻和端阻的发挥程度也随之提高。研究结果有望为地下室增层开挖施工中的结构托换变形控制和补桩设计提供依据。     

考虑基坑开挖影响的群桩基础竖向承载性状数值分析

对土体采用Mohr-Coulomb弹塑性本构模型,用接触面单元模拟桩-土相互作用,利用ABAQUS建立桩筏基础--地基--基坑开挖三维有限元分析模型。对基坑开挖影响下的群桩基础竖向承载性状进行了分析,讨论了桩顶反力分布、桩身轴力、桩侧摩阻力以及开挖引起的桩身水平位移及其弯矩的变化规律,并进行了考虑基坑开挖与不考虑基坑开挖的群桩基础竖向承载性状的对比分析。通过研究,取得了基坑开挖对高层建筑桩筏基础影响的基本认识,这些认识对于改进桩筏基础设计理论有一定的参考意义。     

多向荷载作用下层状地基刚性桩筏基础分析

提出一种多向荷载作用下层状地基中刚性桩筏基础的计算方法。基于剪切位移法,采用传递矩阵形式分析了竖向荷载下桩顶面-桩顶面相互作用;引入修正桩侧地基模量,采用有限差分法分析了水平荷载下桩顶面-桩顶面相互作用;基于层状弹性半空间理论,分析了多向荷载下桩顶面-土表面、土表面-桩顶面、土表面-土表面的相互作用关系。建立了桩土体系柔度矩阵,得到了多向荷载下层状地基中刚性桩筏基础的受力和变形的关系以及桩的内力和变形沿桩身分布规律。通过与有限元对比,验证了该方法的合理性和修正地基模量的优越性,并对多向荷载作用下的桩筏基础进行了计算分析,计算结果表明,水平力将会引起桩筏基础的倾斜。     

A simplified nonlinear analysis method for piled raft foundation in layered soils under vertical loading

This paper presents a simplified nonlinear solution for piled raft foundations in layered soils under vertical loading. Based on the elastic–plastic analysis of a single pile in a layered soil, the shielding effect between a receiver pile and the soil is taken into account to modify the conventional interaction factor between two piles. An approximate approach with the concept of the interaction factor is employed to study the nonlinear behavior of pile groups with a rigid cap. Considering the variation of soil properties, the solution to multilayered elastic materials is used to calculate the settlement of the soil. The interactions between pile–soil–raft are taken into account to determine the stiffness matrix of the piled raft. By solving the stiffness matrix equations, the settlement and the load shared by the piles and raft could be obtained. Compared with results of the available published literatures, the proposed solution provides reasonable results.     

Scour effects on the response of laterally loaded piles considering stress history of sand

Scour is the removal of soils around pile foundations of bridges or offshore platforms, resulting in reduced capacity of the foundations in either lateral or vertical direction. A common way to analyze the scour-affected pile foundations is to remove the scoured soil layers while keeping the properties of the remaining soil unchanged. However, this approach ignores the fact that the remaining soil experiences different stress histories before and after scour, which can be expected to change the properties of the remaining soil. As a result, the resistance of the remaining soil provided to the pile foundation may be different. The present study focused on the response of laterally loaded pile foundations in sand under scour considering the stress history of the remaining sand. Relative density and coefficient of lateral earth pressure of the sand were evaluated when it changed from a normally consolidated (NC) soil to an over-consolidated (OC) soil due to scour. The relative density was then used to estimate other properties of sand, e.g., unit weight, friction angle, and modulus of subgrade reaction of the sand based on their correlation. The lateral load–deflection (p–y) curve for a pile in sand was modified and input into the computer software, LPILE Plus V 5.0, to account for the effect of the stress history induced by scour. A field test was referenced as an example to compare the calculated results from the modified p–y curves with those from the initially developed p–y curves for the tested sand. The results showed that the change in the over-consolidation ratio (OCR) resulted in the most significant effect on the lateral soil resistance among all the effects due to the changes in the properties of the remaining sand. The sand changing from an NC to OC state increased the lateral soil resistance to the pile foundation. Ignoring the stress history would result in a conservative design of laterally loaded piles under scour.     

An approximate analysis procedure for piled raft foundations

A piled raft foundation comprises both piles and a pile cap that itself transmits load directly to the ground. The aim of such a foundation is to reduce the number of piles compared with a more conventional piled foundation where the bearing effect of the pile cap, or raft, is ignored. This paper describes a ‘hybrid’ approach for the analysis of piled raft foundations, based on a load transfer treatment of individual piles, together with elastic interaction between different piles and with the raft. The numerical analysis is used to evaluate a simple approximate method of estimating the overall response of the foundation from the response of the component parts. The method leads to estimates of the overall foundation stiffness, the proportion of load carried by the pile group and the raft, and an initial assessment of differential settlements. Parametric studies are presented showing the effect of factors such as raft stiffness and pile spacing, length and stiffness, and a worked example is included demonstrating the accuracy of the approximate design approach.     

Analysis of piled raft coefficient and load-settlement on sandy soil

A piled raft foundation is a combined foundation, which is developed to utilize the load-carrying capabilities of both raft and piles. To obtain an optimum piled raft design, it is important to properly evaluate and consider the load-sharing behavior between the raft and piles, which changes according to the settlement level of the piled raft. In this study, 27 three-dimensional finite element models were analyzed to investigate the piled raft coefficient with linear and nonlinear load-settlement behaviors. The length of piles was varied between 10, 15, and 20 m. The spacing between pile centers was varied between 3D, 5D, and 7D, and the pile diameter was kept constant. The number of piles and the distance between the exterior piles and the edge of the raft were maintained at 9 and 1 m, respectively. The sand conditions varied between dense, medium, and loose. The results indicated that the piled raft coefficient increases when the load-settlement curve is linear and decreases when the load-settlement curve is nonlinear. The influence of the incremental increase in pile length on the piled raft coefficient is more pronounced in short piles than in longer piles. The raft thickness has a negligible effect on the piled raft coefficient.     

Design method of piled-raft foundations under vertical load considering interaction effects

The paper has proposed a design method considering interaction effects for a piled raft foundation. In this method, the raft is considered as a plate supported by a group of piles and soil. The ultimate load capacity of the pile group is taken into account in calculating the settlement when the foundation is subjected to a large vertical external load. In addition, this method supports estimation of the nonlinear behaviour of the piled raft foundation by considering the nonlinear behaviour of the piles.A step-by-step procedure to apply the proposed method to calculate the settlement and distribution of the bending moment of the piled raft foundation is introduced. To verify the reliability of the proposed method, models of a 16-pile raft and a 9-pile raft with different pile lengths embedded in homogeneous silica sand were tested in a centrifuge and comparisons were made between the results of the proposed method, the results of centrifuge tests, and those of Plaxis 3D. Good agreement between centrifuge modelling and the proposed method is demonstrated, thus showing the potential of the proposed method.     

Simplified uncertainties analysis of continuous buried steel pipes on an elastic foundation in the presence of low stiffness zones

In conventional design, continuous buried steel pipes are designed based on their transverse behavior where low stiffness zones of soil, uncertainties in soil and structure properties are not considered. Winkler’s analytical model and the FOSM method are used to estimate uncertainties in terms of the coefficient of variation in the differential settlement (CV_Δ) and the bending moment (CV_M) as the function of the uncertainties in the subgrade reaction modulus (k_s) and the low stiffness zone length beneath the pipe. Results show that the values of CV_Δ and CV_M are very different depending on the uncertainties of k_s and the length of the low stiffness zone.