Driven Piles OE4624

OE 4624 - Offshore Soil Mechanics Axially and laterally loaded piles
- 152 -
6 Axially and laterally loaded piles
6.1 Introduction
In this chapter the theory of axially and laterally loaded piles will be discussed. After an
introduction of different offshore piles, the axially loaded pile theory will be discussed. This will be
followed by the theory of pile plugging. Finally the laterally loaded pile theory will be discussed.
The theories will be completed with several examples from current design methods.
6.1.1 Working area
Before designing an offshore foundation, an extensive investigation of the working area is
necessary. This is already discussed in chapter Offshore site investigation. What aspects do we
have to take into account? Is the working area shallow or deep water? This is important for the
determination of the type of foundation. In shallow water usually a pile foundation is chosen,
floating constructions are usually used in deep water. What conditions (vertical/horizontal loads,
waves, weather, geotechnical hazards) do we have to take into account? Examples of the possible
hazards are illustrated in figure 6-1.
figure 6-1: hazards;
- 153 -
Case Foundation type (text van Baaijens, gebruiken?)
The OSM Field is an extensive one under a relatively sloping sea bed where the water depths
vary from about 90 meters at one edge of the field located about 150 km from shore to 800
meters at the other extreme some 100 km further from the coast. Seismic work indicates that
there are two relatively high points in the reservoir: One near the shallow water end - in about
115 meters water depth and the other at the deeper end in roughly 750 meters of water. No
drilling has been done, yet.
There is no existing offshore infrastructure in the vicinity of this field, but sufficient onshore
facilities - for fabrication of equipment or for the storage and export or utilization of the produced
oil or gas - are available along the coast.
The wave climate is usually relatively calm with occasional severe typhoons.
Exploration drilling will have to be carried out to check the seismic data. This will involve at
least two wells - one at each of the reservoir peaks. This drilling will be done with a floating
drilling rig using a spread mooring and drag-embedded anchors.
The field is expected to be large enough to justify two production platforms - one near each of
the reservoir high points. The shallow end of the field will be developed using a fixed, pile-
supported steel tower structure. A floating production system with a spread mooring and suction
anchors is one option for the deeper area. An alternative to be considered here is a tension leg
platform.
A jack-up rig will be brought in to provide tender-assisted drilling from the main production
platform at the shallower location as well as to drill a few satellite water injection wells in the
area.
The deeper production centre will have to be developed with floating equipment - both for
drilling and for production.
Field export pipelines will carry the oil and gas from the production facilities in the deeper part
of the field to the platform in the shallower part for booster pumping to shore. These - as well as
any satellite well flow lines - will be laid using a dynamically positioned lay vessel. The two
pipelines from the shallower platform to shore will be laid using a conventional lay-barge using
anchor handling tugs and a spread of up to 12 drag-embedded anchors. This latter contractor is
also responsible for the shore approach of these pipelines.
6.1.2 Pile foundations
Pile foundations are used for offshore platforms, but they are as well used as anchors for
floating structures. Examples are a tension leg platform and floating production vessels (FPSO).
The mean focus of this course can be found in foundation in the shallow part of the sea. In this
- 154 -
part often pile foundations are used. Why do we use deep pile foundations instead of shallow
foundations on the bottom? Pile foundations are used in situations if there is an existence of soft
soils, when high horizontal loads are present and if there is a danger of scouring. Offshore piles
are mostly made of steel. This because steel pipes are easy to handle and they can handle high
axial loads. The offshore piles are open piles. Its not possible to use closed piles in the offshore
field. It is not possible to drive a closed pile into the ground, because the pile will break. Another
advantage of open piles is the fact that the piles can be transported in pieces and connected in
place. Open steel piles can handle a high axial capacity (>50 MN 5000 cars). The diameter
varies from 30 to 155 (= 0.76 to 4.0 m). Typical wall diameters are between 1/30 - 1/60 of the
diameter. The installation depth could be up to 120 m depth. The number of piles per platform
leg depends on the size of the structure. Do we have to put one pile at each corner for small
platforms or do we have to put more piles for big platforms? This will be solved using the
available experience with the use of open steel piles onshore and offshore. The Dutch Standard
Rules the NEN 6743 deals with open steel piles.
The piles can be installed:
- Driven (by far most common);
- Drilled and Grouted (Calcareous sediments or rock);
- Grouted Driven (new technology).
Trends in offshore industry are the use of larger diameter piles and underwater hydraulic
hammers replacing above water steam hammers.
6.1.3 Driven Piles
The installation consists of stabbing the pile through guides; followed by the driving of the pile
to the design depth, see figure 6-2. Problems could be the pile drivability (if unknown rock/hard
layers will be penetrated), premature plugging (the pile is open and it has to behave as a open
pile pending the driving in, more resistance) and potential low friction in calcareous sands.
Offshore piles are relatively long (friction piles) and depend on the friction part.
6.1.4 Drilled and Grouted Piles
The installation consists of drilling of a hole with a larger diameter than the pile and inserting
the pile, see figure 6-2. The installation of the pile goes simultaneously with the grouting process.
The grout is injected to get more friction. A rougher surface is created, resulting in more capacity
of the pile.
Problems could concern the stability of the hole. The drilled hole could collapse before
installing the pile. This technique is expensive, because it is time consuming. End bearing is
usually ignored. The pressure of the grout is important for the friction. Grouting pressure may
- 155 -
limit the friction; less pressure gives less friction. The problems with low friction in calcareous
sands can be solved by the use of drilled and grouted piles. Uncontrolled grout flow is also a
problem.
6.1.5 Grouted Driven Piles
This will be the technique of the future. The installation consists of the driving a pile and
subsequently grouting the pile under pressure through holes, see figure 6-2.
Problems could be an unknown extent of grout coverage. The effects of the pressure of the
grout are unknown. More experience and research is needed before this technique can be used.
figure 6-2: pile installations;
6.1.6 Soil parameters
In offshore cases the shaft friction dominates the axial bearing capacity of a pile. What factors
influence the shaft friction? Off course the initial ground conditions. Correlations are available with
certain tests to get the design strengths/parameters. The soil in the surrounding pile area gets
disturbed during construction (driving and drainage), resulting in stress level changes. An
important fact plays the pile surface roughness (skin friction). Is the surface rough or smooth,
steel or teflon? The time effect: the time between loading and installation. Another important fact
is anisotropy. The soil could have stronger directions.
The strength of clay is determined by the shear strength (
u
c ,
u
s ) and by CPTs (Cone
Penetration Test), an example is given in figure 6-3. The relation between the undrained shear
strength
u
c and the cone resistance q
c
is about 1/15 to 1/20.
- 156 -
figure 6-3: undrained shear strength profile against the depth;
The strength of sand is determined by the internal angle of friction ( ), the weight of
overburden and by CPTs, an example CPT-plot is given in figure 6-4.
figure 6-4: CPT plot, cone resistance, friction and pore pressure;
The key parameters in pile designing are the friction and the end bearing (t and
b
q ). The
design parameters should easily follow from the site investigation tests. Relations are needed
between design parameters and the undrained shear strength (
u
c ), the vertical effective stress
( '
v
o ) and with CPTs (
c
q ). The design parameters in terms of in-situ soil parameters must be
assessed. The maximum resistance value is called the quake value. The displacements continue
using the same force, this is failure of the soil. For clay the maximum resistance is related to the
measured soil strength (shear strength) multiplied with factor o. In figure 6-5 two examples are
illustrated of strength determination for clay and sand.
- 157 -
o
1
, o
3
o
2
c
u
o
1
, o
3
o
2
c
u
o
1
, o
3
o
2 Strength
o
1
, o
3
o
2 Strength
figure 6-5: soil parameters for clay and sand;

6.2 Axial pile capacity
The response of a foundation pile to an axial load is applied at its top is in general strongly
non-linear, and may involve large irreversible deformations. Throughout this chapter the
behaviour of the soil surrounding the pile will be characterized by the response of a non-linear
spring, see figure 6-6. The response of this spring is completely determined by the local
displacement of the pile. This means that all vertical stress transfer in the soil is disregarded.
Models to take this effect into account have been developed (Poulos, 1986) for elastic soils.
figure 6-6: load transfer analysis simulated by means of springs;
6.2.1 Pile in linear material
Consider a pile of constant cross sectional area A, consisting of a linear elastic material, with
modulus of elasticity E . The circumference of the pile is denoted by O. The normal force N in
the pile can be related to the friction along the circumference by the equation of equilibrium
0
dN
O
dz
t = . (6.2)
- 158 -
N
N N + A
t t
figure 6-7: element of axially loaded pile;
The normal force N is related to the stress by
N A o = ,
and the stress is related to the strain by Hookes law for the pile material
E o c = .
Finally, the strain is related to the vertical displacement w by
dw
dz
c = .
Thus the normal force N is related to the vertical displacement w by
dw
N EA
dz
= . (6.3)
Substitution of equation (6.3) into equation (6.2) gives
2
2
0
d w
EA O
dz
t = . (6.4)
The further analysis depends upon the relation between the shear stress t and the
displacement w. In this section it will be assumed that the shear stress t is proportional to the
vertical displacement w
cw t = , (6.5)
where c has the character of a sub-grade modulus.
Substitution of equation (6.5) in (6.4) gives
2
2
0
d w
EA cOw
dz
= . (6.6)
This is the basic differential equation for an axially loaded pile supported by continuous linear
springs.
When all the physical and geometrical parameters are constant the general solution of the
differential equation (6.6) is
1 2
exp exp
z z
w C C
h h
| | | |
= +
| |
\ . \ .
, (6.7)
where h is a characteristic length, defined by
- 159 -
E A
h
O c
, (6.8)
and where
1
C and
2
C are integration constants, to be determined from the boundary
conditions. For a pile of length l , loaded at its top these boundary conditions are
0 z = : N P = , (6.9)
and
z l = : 0 N = , (6.10)
when it is assumed that there is no point resistance.
Using the boundary conditions the constants
1
C and
2
C can be determined. The final
expression for the vertical displacement then is
cosh[( ) / ]
sinh( / )
Ph l z h
w
EA l h
= . (6.11)
The corresponding formula for the normal force in the pile is
sinh[( ) / ]
sinh( / )
l z h
N P
l h
= . (6.12)
It can easily be seen that this solution satisfies the two boundary conditions. The solution is
shown graphically in figure 6-8.
P
N
z
P
figure 6-8: normal force in pile;
The depth of influence of the load at the top is determined by the value of the parameter h .
This parameter also determines how long a pile must be to be considered infinitely long.
Therefore it is interesting to estimate the value of h . This will be done for an important particular
case, namely a tubular steel pile. Let the diameter of the pile be D and the wall thickness d .
Then O D t = and A Dd t = . Furthermore an expression of the type /
s
c E D = relates the
sub-grade constant to the elasticity of the soil (
s
E ). Thus equation (6.8) becomes
/
s
h EDd E = . (6.13)
- 160 -
The ratio of the elastic moduli of steel and soil is of the order of magnitude 1000 (or perhaps
even more), the radius of the pile may be 1 m, and the wall thickness may be 0.050 m. In that
case one obtains 7 h ~ m, indicating that the order of magnitude of this parameter is 10 m, or
perhaps more. Thus, if the mechanism of load transfer considered here is applicable (and it will
appear that this is certainly not always the case), a pile longer than say 10 m or 20 m can be
considered as infinitely long.
If l the solution (6.11) reduces to
exp( / )
Ph
w z h
EA
= , (6.14)
and the formula for the normal force in the pile becomes
exp( / ) N P z h = . (6.15)
It may be noted that in all these cases the shear stress is proportional to the displacement,
see equation (6.5). Thus the maximum shear stress occurs at the top of the pile, and the shear
stress decreases exponentially with depth. Although this seems perfectly reasonable under the
assumptions made, it may be in conflict with the shear strength properties of the soil, as will be
elaborated in the next sections.
6.2.2 Pile in cohesive material
For a pile in cohesive material, such a clay, the shear stress along the shaft of the pile can not
be larger than some limiting value, see figure 6-9. In the plastic branch the shear stress remains
constant, even if the displacement increases.
w
t
0
t
0
w
figure 6-9: cohesive material;
The maximum shear stress is denoted by
0
t . Its magnitude will be close to the undrained
shear strength
u
s of the clay, but is not necessarily the same, because it may be influenced by
the roughness of the pile wall, and by the behaviour of the clay (e.g. dilatant properties). It has
- 161 -
also been observed that the maximum shear stress is larger when the pile is in compression than
when it is in tension. This may be due to the lateral deformation of the pile.
The elastic branch can be characterized by the sub-grade modulus, see equation (6.5).
Another way to characterize the elastic branch is through the maximum shear stress
0
t and the
quake
0
w , which is the displacement necessary to generate the maximum shear stress. Actually,
this parameter is often considered more convenient, and easier to estimate. The relation with the
sub-grade modulus is
0
0
c
w
t
= . (6.16)
The quake may be estimated by noting that the elastic shear deformation of the soil is limited
to say about 1 % or 2 %, and that the deformation will occur around the pile, in a zone which can
be expected to be about as large as the radius of the pile. This means that the order of
magnitude of the quake will be about 1 % of the pile diameter,
0
0.01 w D ~ . (6.17)
It may be noted that this means that the sub-grade modulus is about 100 /
u
c s D = .
Comparing this to the correlation /
s
c E D = shows that these correlations are in agreement if
the modulus of elasticity of a clayey soil is about 100 times the undrained shearing strength. This
is a relation that is indeed often found in engineering practice.
It may also be noted that in kick deposits of natural clay the shear strength often increases
with depth. Keeping the quake constant in such a material automatically ensures that the stiffness
in the elastic branch also increases with depth, which is in agreement with experimental evidence.
All these considerations support the preference for the parameter
0
w , the quake, to characterize
the elastic branch of the response.
6.2.3 Solution for an infinitely long pile
For an axially loaded pile in a homogeneous cohesive material the distribution of shear
stresses along the pile shaft is shown in figure 6-10, provided that the load P is large enough to
produce sliding of the pile along the soil at the top part. If it is assumed that the depth over
which plastic deformations occur is d , the problem consists of two parts, one ( d z l < < ) in
which the shear stress is proportional to the displacement, and another one ( 0 z d < < ) in which
the shear stress is constant. If it is assumed that the pile is long enough to be considered as
infinitely long the solution in the elastic part is similar to the solution (6.14) for a pile in a
completely elastic material, except that the top is now at the level z d = ,
0
exp[ ( ) / ] w w z d h = . (6.18)
- 162 -
The normal force in this part is
0
exp[ ( ) / ]
EAw
N z d h
h
= , (6.19)
which means that the normal force at the top of the elastic part is
0
d
EAw
N
h
= . (6.20)
P
d
z
t
figure 6-10: shear stress along pile in clay;
In the plastic part the differential equation is , with (6.4),
2
0 2
d w
EA O
dz
t = . (6.21)
The solution of this problem will not be given in detail here. It is a relatively simple differential
equation, and the boundary conditions follow immediately from the given load at the top, and the
known force and displacement at the bottom of the plastic region.
The final solution of the problem in the plastic part is
2 0
0
(1 ) ( )
2
O d z
w w d z
h EA
t
= + + . (6.22)
The maximum displacement
t
w occurs at the top of the pile, of course. Its value is
2
0
0
(1 )
2
t
Od d
w w
h EA
t
= + + . (6.23)
The normal force in the plastic region is found to be
0
0
( )
EAw
N O d z
h
t = . (6.24)
The normal force at the top is
0
0
EAw
P Od
h
t = + . (6.25)
By noting that
- 163 -
0 0
/ / h EA cO EAw O t = = , (6.26)
the relation between the force at the top ( P ) and the displacement at the top (
t
w ) can be
written as
2
0 2
(1 )
2
t
d d
w w
h h
= + + , (6.27)
0
(1 )
Ph d
w
EA h
= + . (6.28)
This is a parameter representation of the force-displacement relation of the pile. After
elimination of the parameter / d h one obtains
2
0 0
1
[1 ( ) ]
2
t
w Ph
w EAw
= + . (6.29)
This solution applies only if 0 d > , otherwise the relation between
t
w and P is linear,
passing through the origin and the point
0
w w = ,
0
/ P EAw h = . The relation between P and
t
w is shown in figure 6-11.
P
w
figure 6-11: load-displacement curve for pile in clay;
After a first linear branch the displacement increases more rapidly with the load, as an ever-
increasing part at the top of the pile becomes plastic. There is no limit load, as the pile is infinitely
long.
It should be noted that the analysis presented in this section assumes that the shear stress
along the pile shaft is zero when the displacement is zero. This will be the case if the pile is
loaded for the first time, and if there are no initial normal forces in the pile. After several times of
loading to a level at which plastic deformations are produced, an equilibrium system of stresses
may remain in the pile after unloading. The analysis then is much more complicated, and is best
performed numerically.
- 164 -
6.2.4 Solution for a pile of finite length
For a pile of finite length in a homogeneous cohesive material, loaded by an axial force, it can
be assumed that the plastic deformations will start in a zone of length d near the top of the pile.
The analysis is restricted to monotonic loading of an initially unstressed pile. It should be noted
that after once loading the pile beyond the initiation of plastic deformations and subsequent
unloading, permanent displacements of the pile top are generated and a system of stresses
remains in the pile after unloading. The actual stresses and deformations then depend upon the
loading history of the pile. This is excluded here by assuming that the pile is free of stress before
the loading.
In the elastic zone, for d z l < < , the differential equation is (6.6),
2
2
0
d w
EA cOw
dz
= , (6.30)
with the solution
1 2
exp( / ) exp( / ) w C z h C z h = + , (6.31)
where / h EA cO = . Using the condition that the normal force is zero at the bottom end of
the pile, i.e. for z l , it follows that the solution can be written as
1
2 exp( / ) cosh[( ) / ] w C l h l z h = . (6.32)
At the depth z d = this displacement must be equal to the value of the quake,
0
w , i.e. the
displacement necessary to reach plasticity. This determines the constant
1
C , and the solution can
be written as
d z l < < :
0
cosh[( ) / ]
cosh[( ) / ]
l z h
w w
l d h
. (6.33)
The normal stress in the elastic part of the pile is
d z l < < :
0
sinh[( ) / ]
cosh[( ) / ]
w dw l z h
N EA EA
dz h l d h
= =
. (6.34)
It can easily be verified that the solution in the elastic part of the pile satisfies the conditions
that for z l = the normal force is zero, and that for z d = the displacement is equal to
0
w .
In the plastic part of the pile the differential equation is equation (6.21), which can also be
written as
0 z d < < :
2
0
2 2
w d w
dz h
= . (6.35)
The solution of this linear differential equation is
0 z d < < :
2
0 1 2 2
1
2
z
w w D z D
h
= + + , (6.36)
- 165 -
where
1
D and
2
D are constants, to be determined from the boundary conditions. These
constants can best be determined from the continuity conditions at the level z d = , where the
displacement w and the normal force N must be continuous. This gives
0 0
1 2
tanh[( ) / ]
w d w
D l d h
h h
= , (6.37)
2
2 0 0 0 2
1
tanh[( ) / ]
2
d d
D w w w l d h
h h
= + + . (6.38)
The displacement
t
w of the top of the pile is found to be
2
2
0
1
1 tanh[( ) / ]
2
t
w d d
l d h
w h h
= + + . (6.39)
If the normal force at the top of the pile is denoted by P , the minus sign denoting that P is
a compressive force, it is found that
0
/ tanh[( ) / ]
tanh( / )
P d h l d h
P l h
+
= , (6.40)
where
0
P is the normal force at the moment when the displacement of the top of the pile
reaches the value of the quake, i.e.
0
0
tanh( / )
w
P EA l h
h
= . (6.41)
Equations (6.39) and (6.40) form a parameter representation of the relation between the force
P at the top of the pile and the displacement
t
w of the top of the pile. They apply only if the
force P is sufficiently large for plastic deformations to develop. In the elastic range the response
is a linear relation, through the point
0
w w = for
0
P P = .
The maximum possible value of the length of the plastic zone is d l = . Then equation (6.40)
gives
max
0
/
tanh( / )
P l h
P l h
= . (6.42)
With (6.41) thiss gives
0
max 2
w
P EAl
h
= . (6.43)
Using the definition of h and the relation
0 0
w ct = it finally follows that
max 0
P Olt = , (6.44)
which simply states that the maximum possible force is the maximum shear stress multiplied
by the area of the pile. That is a trivial result, but it is encouraging that the general solution
indeed leads to this maximum value.
- 166 -
As an example figure 6-12 shows the load displacement curve for the case that / 4.0 l h = .
The figure has been constructed by letting / d l vary from 0.00 to 0.99 and then by calculating
the force and displacement according to equations (6.40) and (6.39) respectively.
It can easily be verified that the solution of this section, as expressed by equations (6.39) and
(6.40), reduces to the solution given in the previous section for a pile of infinite legth, see
equations (6.27) and (6.28), when the pile length l tends towards infinity.
P
w
figure 6-12 load-displacement curve;
6.2.5 Pile in frictional material
For an axially loaded pile in a homogeneous frictional material such as sand, it can be
expected that the shear stress can not be larger than the maximum value as given by Coulombs
relation
' tan
f h
t o o = , (6.45)
where '
h
o is the effective horizontal normal stress, and o is the friction angle between pile
and soil. It has been assumed, for reasons of simplicity, that the soil is cohesionless. The
expected distribution of shear stresses along the pile shaft is shown schematically in figure 6-13.
This figure is based upon the notion that the normal stresses in a soil increase linearly with depth.
Using Coulombs relation (6.45) it then follows that this is also the case for the maximum shear
stresses.
- 167 -
P
d
t
z
figure 6-13: Shear stress along pile in sand;
In the simplest case, of a homogeneous soil under water, one may write for the vertical
effective stresses in the soil
' '
v
z o = , (6.46)
where ' is the volumetric weight of the soil under water, i.e.,
'
w
= , (6.47)
where is the volumetric weight of the soil as a whole, and
w
is the volumetric weight of
water.
The horizontal effective stresses are usually considered to be a certain fraction of the vertical
effective stresses,
0 0
' ' '
h v
K K z o o = = , (6.48)
where
0
K , the coefficient of lateral earth pressure at rest, is supposed to be given constant.
Usually
0
K is somewhat smaller than 1, say
0
0.5 K = or
0
0.8 K = , depending upon the soil
properties and upon the geological and geotechnical history.
With (6.48) the maximum shear stress, see (6.45), is found to be
0 0
' tan ' tan
f v
K K z t o o o = = . (6.49)
The order of magnitude of the product coefficient
0
tan K o will be in the range from 0.2 to
0.4 .
Again the transition from elastic to the plastic range is characterized by the quake
0
w . This
means that the sub-grade coefficient c now is
0
0 0
' tan
f
K z
c
w w
t
o
= = . (6.50)
In the elastic region the basic differential equation now is
2
2 3
- 0
d w zw
dz b
= , (6.51)
- 168 -
where b is the characteristic length, defined by
3 0
0
' tan
EAw
b
K O o
= . (6.52)
The general solution of the differential equation (6.51) is
1 2
z z
w C Ai C Bi
b b
| | | |
= +
| |
\ . \ .
, (6.53)
where the functions ( ) Ai z and ( ) Bi z are Airy functions, see appendix Airy functions.
For an infinitely long pile the solution vanishing at infinity is
1
( / ) w C Ai z b = . (6.54)
The boundary condition at the upper boundary of the elastic region is
z d = :
0
w w = . (6.55)
The constants
1
C can now easily be determined, and the final expression for the displacement
in the elastic range is
0
( / )
( / )
Ai z b
w w
Ai d b
= . (6.56)
In the plastic region, for 0 z d < < , the differential equation is
2
0 0
2 3
tan ' K O w z d w
z
dz EA b
o
= = . (6.57)
This differential equation can easily be integrated,
3
0
3 4 3
6
w z
w C z C
b
= + + . (6.58)
Using the boundary condition at the top of the pile ( N P = ), and the continuity conditions
at the interface z d = , the integration constants can be determined, and a relation to determine
the load P for a given plastic depth d is obtained. It is left to the reader to verify that this
relation between P and d is
2
0
2
'( / )
[ ]
2 ( / )
w P d Ai d b
EA b b Ai d b
= , (6.59)
and that the displacement at the top of the pile is given by
3
3
0
'( / )
1
( / )
t
w d d Ai d b
w b b Ai d b
= + . (6.60)
Equations (6.59) and (6.60) are a parameter representation of the load-displacement curve,
see figure 6-14. As the pile is infinitely long, there is no finite limit load. As the load increases the
- 169 -
plastic region will increase, but there always remains an elastic part, although this may be located
infinitely deep.
P
w
figure 6-14: load-displacement curve;
6.2.7 Bearing capacity
The analytic solutions presented in the previous sections may give some insight into the
significance of the various physical parameters. They are also useful to validate more general
numerical solution techniques. The solutions given are not very useful for civil engineering
practice, however, because they are mainly restricted to piles of infinite length. Both for clay and
for sand no finite limit load was found, for instance, and such a limit load is of great importance
for the design of pile foundations. Therefore in this section this limit load will be considered in
some detail. It will be appear that no information is obtained about the deformations prior to
failure. The principle of load transfer by a pile is sketched in figure 6-15.
P
figure 6-15: load transfer by a pile;
- 170 -
Part of the load is transferred to the soil by friction along the shaft of the pile, and another
part is transferred to the soil below the pile by point bearing. We will write
c f q
P P P = + , (6.61)
where
f
P is the contribution to the limit load
c
P of the friction, and
q
P is the contribution of
the point resistance. There are several approaches possible for the determination of the maximum
load that a pile can carry (the bearing capacity of the pile).
6.2.8 Theoretical approach
A theoretical approach to the bearing capacity problem is to determine both components from
theoretical considerations.
For the shear stress along the shaft of the pile one may write
max 0
' tan ' tan
h v
c c K t o o o o = + = + . (6.62)
The total contribution of the friction to the bearing capacity of the pile is now found by
integration along the pile shaft,
0
0
( ' tan )
l
f v
P c K Odz o o = +
)
. (6.63)
Thus the value of
f
P can be determined if the values of the parameters c ,
0
K , o and '
v
o
and O are known, or can be estimated. Unfortunately, this is not a trivial matter, and may
require careful soil investigation.
The point bearing capacity can be estimated from a theoretical analysis following the theory
developed by Prandtl, Terzaghi and Brinch Hansen. The formula to be used is
'
c c c q q v
q s N c s N o = + . (6.64)
The shape factors
c
s and
q
s for a square or a circular region are often taken as 1.2
c
s = and
1 sin
q
s | = + . The values of the bearing capacity coefficients
c
N and
q
N strongly depend upon
the value of the friction angle | . For 30 | =
D
they are 30
c
N = and 18
q
N = . In order to obtain
the total force the limit stress
c
q is multiplied by the area A of the pile foot, thus
q c
P q A = . (6.65)
Although this theoretical method requires knowledge about a great number of soil parameters,
these may well estimated, on the basis of experience and global information about the site. Thus,
an experienced engineer may perform a first estimation on the basis of data from a geological
map or survey, and some information about the type of soil.
- 171 -
6.2.9 Cone penetration test
Very valuable information about the soil may be obtained from a cone penetration test (CPT).
Actually, this test was developed in the Netherlands with the explicit purpose to serve as a model
test for a pile. By measuring the point resistance of a small rod being pushed into the ground, the
value of
c
q is measured directly. It may be noted that the bearing capacity formulas provide
theoretical support for the CPT-analysis, as the maximum stress
c
q is independent of the area of
the pile or rod.
The friction can also be measured, by measuring the stress in the cone at two locations. Thus
the maximum shear stress is also measured directly, and this can immediately be integrated along
the shaft of the pile.
max
0
l
f
P Odz t =
)
. (6.66)
Thus the CPT data lead directly to a prediction of the bearing capacity.
6.2.10 Static pile loading test
In some countries it is required to perform at least ine large scale pile loading test for a pile
foundation. Of course this is an excellent method to determine the bearing capacity, but it
requires heavy equipment, and a test pile, so that it is a very expensive method.
6.2.11 Dynamic pile loading test
A modern technique to predict the static bearing capacity of a pile is to use the information
obtained from a dynamic test on a pile. The dynamic test may be the driving of the pile, or it may
be a special test performed after installation of the pile. The principle of the method is to load the
pile by a dynamic pulse (dropping a weight on its top), and then to measure the response of the
pile top, for instance by measuring the displacement, the velocity or the acceleration. The
interpretation of the test is usually done by comparing the response of the pile with the
theoretical response of a model in which the soil-pile-interaction is taken into account.
- 172 -
figure 6-16: load transfer by a plug;
The driving formulas that can be found in some early books on foundation engineering, and
that are sometimes still used by experienced engineers, can be considered as an early version of
dynamic pile testing. It should be noted that there is a large variety of driving formulas, which
indicates that the correlation is not so simple as these formulas suggest. The modern way of
analyzing dynamic pile testing is more sophisticated, and at least has a theoretical basis.
6.2.12 Plug in tubular piles
In the case of hollow tubular steel piles friction may develop not only with the soil surrounding
the pile, but also with the soil in the pile. When the force is very small the pile will not slip along
the soil, and the soil in the pile will act as an internal plug, going down with the pile. At the tip of
the pile resistance will act on the plug, causing shear stress transfer to the pile. As the point
resistance develops these shear stresses will increase, and may become so large that the soil slips
along the inner pile wall. This will start at the bottom of the plug, and may gradually extend in
upward direction. There are two limiting situations. The first is that the soil below the pile reaches
its limiting bearing capacity. From that moment one the force at the pile tip can no longer
increase. Part of the soil inside the pile (near the pile top) will never reach its maximum shear
stress. The other limiting condition is when the point resistance is so large that the entire plug
slips along the inner pile wall. The point resistance at the bottom of the plug will never reach its
maximum.
The first limiting force is
1 c p
P q A = , (6.67)
where
p
A is the area of the plug and the pile wall, i.e. the total area of the pile and the soil
inside it. For a circular tube this is
2
1
4
p
A D t = , where D is the outer diameter of the pile.
The second limiting force is
2 max
0
l
i c w
P Odz q A t = +
)
, (6.68)
- 173 -
where
i
O is the circumference of the plug. For a circular pile this is
i i
O D t = , where
i
D is
the inner diameter of the pile. The point resistance of the steel wall has been added to the
integral of the friction, as this can always develop.
The smallest of the two forces
1
P or
2
P may be added to the force representing the maximum
friction of the outer wall to give the total bearing capacity of the pile.
A positive effect in the case of hollow piles is that the compressive stresses in the soil plug will
result in an increase of the horizontal stresses inside the pile, and thus in an increase of the
maximum possible shear stress. Because of the difficulty to evaluate this effect quantitatively it is
usually disregarded. It gives some additional sfaty, however.
6.2.13 Dynamic effects
One may wonder under what conditions of dynamic loading of a pile inertia effects have to be
taken into account. This problem is considered in this section, concentrating on the dynamic loads
of structures such as an offshore platform loaded by wave action. The basic differential equation
is the extension of equation (6.6) to the dynamic case,
2
2 2
w w
EA cOw A
z t
c c
=
c c
, (6.69)
where is the density of the pile material (steel or concrete). It is now assumed that the
load is periodic, with an angular frequency e , so that the response of the pile can also be
expected to be periodic, with the same frequency. Thus one may write
exp( ) w w i t e = , (6.70)
where e is assumed to be a function of z only. Substitution into equation (6.69) now gives
2
2
(1 ) 0
dw A
EA cO w
dz cO
e
=
. (6.71)
The relative importance of inertia effects of the pile is determined by the value of the
parameter
2
/ A cO e .
For a steel turbular pile the ratio / A O d = , where d is the wall thickness of the pile.
Furthermore the subgrade coefficient can be estimated to be
max
0
0.2 '
0.01
v
c
w D
t o
= ~ . (6.72)
If the vertical effective stress is evaluated at a depth of one half of the pile length, one obtains
10 ' 10 ' l gl
c
D D

~ ~ , (6.73)
where ' is the density of the soil under water, and g is the gravity constant. The inertia
parameter now becomes
- 174 -
2 2 2
10 '
A dD dD
cO gl gl
e e e
~ ~ . (6.74)
For a typical pile one may estimate 1 D = m, 0.05 d = m, 10 g = m/s
2
, 20 l = m. Then
2 2
2
4000
A
cO s
e e
~ . (6.75)
For normal loading conditions of a structure, with dynamic loads due to wave loading of an
offshore platform, for instance, ths parameter is always very small. Typical wave periods are
about 10 seconds, and in that case
1
0.6s e
~ . Thus inertia effects may usually be disregarded.

It may be noted that this conclusion is not true for the dynamic loads occurring during pile
driving. These effects are not considered here, however.
6.2.14 Friction and end-bearing
Dit hoofdstuk moet nog aangevuld worden!
Note: total capacity = friction + end bearing
S
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t
Force
Friction
Incl end bearing
S
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t
Force
Friction
Incl end bearing
Mobilization of the resistance
Skin friction mobilizes fast ( z t curves), friction develops fast
Tip resistance mobilizes slow ( q z curves)
Resistance
S
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t

Total skin friction ()

0
paaltip
t dz)
Tip resistance
Total
Remark:
Reduction of
pile length not
taken into
account!
Resistance
S
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t

Total skin friction ()

0
paaltip
t dz)
Tip resistance
Total
Remark:
Reduction of
pile length not
taken into
account!
- 175 -
figure 6-17: mobilization of the resistance;
Friction will mobilize 10 times faster than end-bearing. The displacement needed for the total
development of the end-bearing is in the order of 10 times higher than friction.
For shallow foundations: slip circles are used to model the resistance.
For deeper foundations, the slip circles will go all the way down, extra compensation of the soil
next to the pile. This is also the fact with deep foundations, as can be seen in figure 6-18; also
the soil next to the pile influences the end-bearing.
Limit Value!
Comparable with CPT results
Limit Value!
Comparable with CPT results
figure 6-18: slip circles;
These results are comparerable with the results from CPT tests:
For clay, a relation between the end-bearing and the undrained shear strength (
u
c ) has been
derived; the end-bearing has a value of approximately 9 times the undrained shear strength.
Note, this is very conservative. Also the cone resistance of a CPT (
c
q ) has a relation with the
end-bearing; the end-bearing has approximately the same value as cone resistance.
For sand, relations have been derived with formulas of Brinch Hansen, Vesic and Meyerhof.
And also the cone resistance of a CPT (
c
q ) has a relation with the end-bearing; the end-bearing
has approximately the same value as cone resistance.
An API recommendation is given as an example. In figure 6-19 the relation between the pile
tip load and the displacement is illustrated.
- 176 -
figure 6-19: relation between the pile tip load and the displacement, (Q-z);
6.3 Pile plugging
The axial Capacity ( Q) consists of the shaft capacity (
s
Q ) and the base capacity (
b
Q ). The
shaft capacity depends on the skin friction and the shaft area, the pile dimensions length and
diameter ( L , D), see figure 6-20. The base capacity depends on the base area or Annulus and if
the behaviour is plugged or unplugged.
Pile load
Skin friction
End-Bearing
Pressure
Pile load
Skin friction Skin friction
End-Bearing
Pressure
figure 6-20: pile reactions;
In a hollow tubular foundation pile a soil plug may develop at the bottom of the pile. This plug
consists of soil under a high compressive stress, resulting in a high stiffness and strength. During
pile driving the formation of such a plug may result in a very high driving resistance that may
hinder the driving process. In static conditions the presence of a plug may give a considerable
contribution to the bearing capacity of the pile.
The open pile is schematised as in figure 6-21. Important parts are the outer friction, the inner
friction and the wall resistance. If the behaviour is plugged the inner friction is smaller than the
plug resistance. If the behaviour is unplugged the plug resistance is smaller than the inner
friction.
- 177 -
Tip resistance
Skin friction
Pile load
Tip resistance
Skin friction
Pile load
Skin friction
Pile load
Skin friction
Pile load
Tip resistance
Skin friction
Pile load
Tip resistance
Skin friction
Pile load
figure 6-21: unplugged and plugged behavior;
Important fact is the difference between static and dynamic plugging. In case of static
plugging more resistance could be build up. The silo-theory is valid, large stresses/forces can
occur, see figure 6-22. An assumption has been made: at penetrations deeper than 2D to 8D ,
an open ended pile acts like closed pile. This assumption is not taken into account in current
design methods.
figure 6-22: plugging;
6.3.1 Linear elastic model
For the purpose of reference a simple linear elastic model will be developed first. The soil
column is supposed to have a constant cross sectional area A, consisting of a constant modulus
of elasticity E , and an effective volumetric weight . The circumference of the pile is denoted by
O. Because the soil column is circular we may write
2
/ 4 A D t = and O D t = , where D is the
diameter of the column. The normal stress o in the soil can be related to the friction along the
circumference by the equation of equilibrium
0
d
A O A
dz
o
t = . (6.76)
- 178 -
o
o o + A
t
t
figure 6-23: element of axially loaded column of soil;

It can be assumed that the stress due to the weight of the soil column are already acting in
the soil before the pile is installed. This means that the deformation of the soil will be determined
only by the incremental stresses. These are defined as
' z o o = . (6.77)
The equation of equilibrium for the incremental stress now is
'
0
d
A O
dz
o
t = . (6.78)
The incremental stress ' o is related to the strain by Hookes law for the soil material
'
dw
E E
dz
o c = = . (6.79)
Here the minus sign is necessary because the stresses have been assumed to be positive for
compression. Substitution of equation (6.79) into equation (6.78) gives
2
2
0
d w
EA O
dz
t + = . (6.80)
The further analysis depends upon the relation between the shear stress t and the
displacement w.
In this section it will be assumed that the shear stress t is proportional to the relative
displacement of the pile and the soil, v w , where v is the (constant) vertical displacement of
the pile. Hence
( ) k v w t = , (6.81)
where k has the character of a sub-grade modulus. Substitution of equation (6.81) in (6.80)
gives
2
2
( ) 0
d w
EA kO w v
dz
= . (6.82)
This is the basic differential equation for an elastic plug, with stress transfer from the pile
through linear springs. The general solution of the differential equation (6.82) is
exp exp
1 2
z z
w v C C
h h
| | | |
= + +
| |
\ . \ .
, (6.83)
where h is a characteristic length, defined by
- 179 -
EA
h
kO
= , (6.84)
and where
1
C and
2
C are integration constants, to be determined from the boundary
conditions. For a plug of length L on a rigid base the boundary conditions are
0 z = : ' 0 o = , (6.85)
and
z L = : 0 w = . (6.86)
The first boundary condition expresses that the top of the plug is free of stress, and the
second one expresses that the bottom of the plug rests on a rigid base. Using the boundary
conditions the constants
1
C and
2
C can be determined. The final expression for the vertical
displacement then is
cosh( / )
cosh( / )
z h
w v v
L h
= . (6.87)
The corresponding formula for the incremental stress in the pile is
sinh( / )
'
cosh( / )
Ev z h
h L h
o = , (6.88)
and the shear stress is found to be
cosh( / )
cosh( / )
z h
kv
L h
t = . (6.89)
It can easily be seen that this solution satisfies the two boundary conditions. The actual stress
in the pile is obtained by adding the initial stress (due to the weight of the soil) to the incremental
stress. The shear stress distribution is shown graphically in figure 6-24, for the case that 2 L h = .
t
z
figure 6-24: shear stress, elastic springs;
- 180 -
The zone of influence of the force at the bottom of the pile is determined by the value of the
parameter h . Therefore it is interesting to estimate the value of h , see equation (6.84). The
ratio of the modulus of elasticity E and the spring constant k can be estimated to be of the
order of magnitude of the diameter D. This means that the value of h will be of the order of
magnitude of / 2 D . It may be concluded that for normal piles (for which the ratio of length to
diameter is large), the value of / L h will be large. In that case the formula for the shear stress
distribution (6.89) can be approximated by
( )
exp
L z
kv
h
t
(
~
(

. (6.90)
The shear stresses (and thus the plug) will be concentrated in a zone near the bottom of the
pile, with a length of about 2 times the diameter.
6.3.2 Fully plastic model
What is the maximum force on soil plug? How can we calculate the plugging resistance of the
pile?
Two assumptions for friction are made:
1. Linear elastic friction (related to clay)
2. Friction related to effective stress (related to sand)
Linear elastic friction (neglect own weight of the soil)
Difference between the displacement of the soil and the displacement of the pile:
(Randolph, 1988) has considered the limiting situation, in which the shear stress along the pile
shaft has reached its maximum value everywhere. The basic equation is again the equation of
equilibrium (6.76),
0
d
A O A
dz
o
t = . (6.91)
The shear stress t is now supposed to be determined by a friction factor times the horizontal
stress, which in its turn is related to the vertical normal stress o . The two factors can be
combined into one, by writing
t |o = , (6.92)
Where | can be considered to be of the order of magnitude of the product of the coefficient
of neutral earth pressure
0
K and the friction coefficient tano ,
0
tan K | o = . (6.93)
- 181 -
It should be noted that in this case the total stress o , which includes the initial stress due to
the weight of the soil, should be used in the analysis, and not the incremental stress. With (6.92)
the basic equation (6.91) becomes
4 d
dz D
o |
o = + . (6.94)
The solution of this differential equation satisfying the condition that 0 o = at the top of the
plug ( 0 z = ) is
4
exp 1
4
D z
D
|
o
|
| |
=
`
|
\ . )
. (6.95)
The stress at the bottom of the plug is obtained by taking z L = in equation (6.95). When the
factor 4 / L D | is large compared to 1 the force at the bottom of the plug will be very large.
The shear stress distribution is, with (6.92) and (6.95),
4
exp 1
4
D z
D
|
t
| |
=
`
|
\ . )
. (6.96)
For the case that 0.25 | = and 2 L D = the shear stress distribution is shown in figure 6-25.
t
/ z L
1
0
figure 6-25: shear stress, plastic springs, L/D=2;
In most practical cases the value of the parameter / L D will be much larger than 2. Then the
shear stresses are concentrated near the bottom of the plug, again indicating that the plug
develops near the bottom end of the pile. This behaviour is shown in figure 6-26 for the case that
0.25 | = and .
- 182 -
t
/ z L
0
1
figure 6-26: shear stress, plastic springs, L/D=20;
6.4 Design methods
Existing design methods for pipe piles are among others (see literature/library for details):
- NEN 6743 (Nederlands Normalisatie Instituut);
- API (American Petroleum Institute, mostly used);
- MTD (IC) (Marine Technology Directorate).
Different (offshore) design methods take into account the calculation of the failure pile
capacity instead of ultimate pile capacity. This is based on theory and experiments and is
approved by insurance companies worldwide (= conservative). Changes are made or new
methods are added regularly (e.g. Kolk&van der Velde for clay, and the CUR2001 only for sand,
open steel piles)
An important fact in the design methods is the skin friction, are the piles friction piles? Is the
behaviour plugged or not? Due to pile length the pile nearly always behaves plugged. Other
facts are scour around pile (relative reduction in '
v
o ), negative adhesion (in Dutch negatieve
kleef) and the assumption of uniform soil (no reduction factor , due to bad/little investigation).
The pile resistance ( F ) in formulas:
outer friction
0
l
z
F f Odz =
)
, (6.97)
tip z
F q A = , (6.98)
pile total outer friction tip
F F F = + . (6.99)
- 183 -
The API formulas for clay:
Friction:
z u
f c o = , (6.100)
where
,
u
v
c
o
= and 1.0 o s ,
1.0 s :
0.5
0.5 o
= , (6.101)
1.0 > :
0.25
0.5 o
= . (6.102)
For end-bearing:
z c u
q N c = , (6.103)
where 9
c
N = .
The API formulas for sand:
Friction:
,
0 lim
tan( )
z v
f K f o o = < , (6.104)
where
0
0.8 K = is the earth pressure coefficient and 5 o =
D
is the friction angle
between pile and soil. Thus
lim
f depends on .
For end bearing:
,
lim z q v
q N q o = < . (6.105)
Thus
q
N and
lim
q depend on .
Limit values (the design parameters API for sand), for the friction angle and friction, see table
6-1.
[] 20 25 30 35 40
lim
f [kPa]
47.8 67.0 81.3 95.7 114.8
table 6-1: limit values, API for sand;
Limit values (the design parameters API for sand), for the
q
N and the end-bearing, see table
6-2.
q
N [-]
8 12 20 40 50
lim
q [MPa]
1.9 2.9 4.8 9.6 12.0
- 184 -
table 6-2: limit values, API for sand;
The typical skin friction profile is in reality even more extreme. API gives a complete different
path than what is measured, but the total area, the surface of two graphs is equal (same total
skin friction). The effect of length is not taken into account. The longer the pile, the higher the
total friction.
API
NEN
Measured
API
NEN
Measured
figure 6-27: API, NEN and measured values;
A typical result, the ultimate resistance versus depth for certain pile diameter, is given in figure
6-28.
Resistance [MN]
D
e
p
t
h
[
m
]
Resistance [MN]
D
e
p
t
h
[
m
]
D
e
p
t
h
[
m
]
figure 6-28: typical result;
6.4.1 Pile in layered elastic material
- 185 -
In the models presented in the previous paragraphs the soil reaction has been represented by
a system of non-linear springs. This means that the soil response at a certain depth is assumed to
be determined only by the local displacement. Thus, the actual stress transfer in the soil has no
influence on the interaction of the soil and the pile. In more refined models the soil is represented
by an elastic continuum. Examples of this are the models developed by (Poulos, 1971), (Banerjee,
Davis, 1978), (Randolph, 1981), (Verruijt, Kooijman, 1989). This latter model, which applies to a
laterally loaded pile only, will be presented in this section. Compared to other models it has the
advantage that it can be generalized to include plastic deformations of the soil and to the
interaction of a pile group wit the soil (Kooijman, 1989).
Zone of influence of tip resistance:
Tip resistance [MN]
Clay
Sand
Clay
50%
2D
3D
Tip resistance [MN]
Clay
Sand
Clay
Tip resistance [MN]
Clay
Sand
Clay
50%
2D
3D
50%
2D
3D
50%
2D
3D
figure 6-29: layered soil;
MTD Method or IC (Imperial College) method, formulas
CUR 2001-8 Bearing Capacity of steel pipe piles
Unit friction for typical offshore pipe piles (note, relation cone resistance and friction):
0.13
0.38
,
*
0.029 tan( )
v
f
c a
f h
ab
q p R
o
o
| |
| |
~
| |
\ .
\ .
, (6.106)
with
*
8
h
R
> and
* 2 2
0 i
R R R = , where
i
R is the inner diameter and
o
R is the outer
diameter. And 1.0 ab = for compression and 0.72 ab = for tension.
Unit end-bearing for pipe piles (API not possible):
Non-plugging: 0.02( 30)
r
D D >
w c
q q = on wall only
Plugging: 0.02( 30)
r
D D <
- 186 -
0.5 0.25log
e c
CPT
D
q q
D
| | | |
=
| |
|
\ . \ .
CUR 2001-8 formulas for tension piles:
0.15
0.85
,
*
0.045
v
c a
f h
q p R
o
| |
| |
~
| |
\ .
\ .
, (6.107)
where
*
4
h
R
> .
CUR 2001-8 formulas for compression piles:
*
4
h
R
> :
0.05
0.9
*
0.08
c v
c a
f h
q p R
o
| |
| |
=
| |
\ .
\ .
, (6.108)
*
4
h
R
< :
0.05
0.9
* *
0.08
4
c v
c a
f h h
q p R R
o
| |
| | | |
=
| | |
\ . \ .
\ .
, (6.109)
and
( )
0.5
0.25
,
8.5
c av
e
a a
q
q
DR
p p
| |
=
|
\ .
, (6.110)
where
( )
2
1 /
i o
DR R R = . (6.111)
The average cone resistance
, c av
q runs from 1.5D above the pile tip to 1.5D below the pile
tip.
6.4.2 The effect of length
The relation length of the pile and friction:
A longer pile has at the same point less friction than a shorter pile. This is illustrated in figure
6-30 where different pile lengths and their friction are shown. This phenomenon is called friction
degradation.
- 187 -
hhh
figure 6-30: friction degradation;
Database used for CUR 2001-8 method
To derive the equations different tests have done, all done in sand. Results of the tests are
given in table 6-3.
Piles Tension Tests Compression Tests Total
Open Ended 16 (+6) 12 (+2) 28 (+8)
Closed Ended 2 7 9
Total 18 (+6) 19 (+2) 37 (+8)
table 6-3: tests results;
The tests have been plotted, see figure 6-31 and figure 6-32:
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
L'/D
Q
_
A
P
I
/
Q
_
M
E
A
S

[
-
]
open pipe piles
open pipe piles with DQF 4 or 5
closed pipe piles
best fit through all data points
Best fit though data point with DQF 4 or 5
figure 6-31: open and closed piles in tension-API RP2A;
- 188 -
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
L'/D
Q
_
C
U
R
/
Q
_
M
E
A
S

[
-
]
open pipe piles
open pipe piles with DQF 4 or 5
closed pipe piles
best fit through all data points
Best fit though data point with DQF 4 or 5
figure 6-32: open and closed piles in tension-new;
The measured values are different from the calculated values. The main conclusions after
comparing design methods with measurements:
For API:
- Less conservative with increasing / L D ;
- More conservative with increasing relative density.
For MTD:
- Slightly unconservative for tension piles/pile friction;
- Conservative for end bearing.
6.4.3 Load-settlement diagram
Settlements of constructions in the offshore field are not as important as for onshore
constructions. But still it is important to understand this phenomenon. The pile is settling down
when a load is put on top. The three components influencing a load-settlement diagram are:
length reduction, development of skin friction and the tip resistance.
The length reduction can be calculated using the following equation
average
LF
l
EA
A = . (6.112)
The development of skin friction can be determined by using z t curves, the skin frictiont
and settlement z . Formulas can be found in literature.
It may be noted, that the skin friction is mobilized much sooner than the end-bearing
resistance.
- 189 -
For API:
clay
max
t when 0.01 z D >
Attention!
Reduction of t after 0.01D possible
sand
max
t when 0.1 z D > Inch
Development of tip resistance:
q z curves (formulas see literature)
where q is the tip resistance and z is the settlement
For API:
clay
max
q when 0.1 z D >
sand
max
q when 0.1 z D >
The tip resistance is mobilized after a much larger settlement than skin friction.
figure 6-33: API z t curve and q z curve;
For NEN 6743, use graphs for displacement of piles
Quake value of 10 mm, see figure 6-34.
- 190 -
S
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t

(
%
D
)
End Bearing
10%
S
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t

(
%
D
)
End Bearing
10%
S
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)

Friction load
10 mm
S
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)

Friction load
10 mm
figure 6-34: NEN 6743 curves;
Remark:
Reduction of pile length is not taken into account.
Progressive failure can cause, the first and the second spring fail.
Due to compressibility of slender / long piles and strain softening
6.5 Lateral Pile Capacity
Although foundation piles usually have as their main purpose to
carry axial loads, they may also be subject to lateral loads. This is especially the case for offshore
platforms, which my be loaded by large lateral forces due to wind and water waves. The response
of a pile to a lateral load is studied in this chapter. Some analytic solutions for simplified problems
will be presented first.
Throughout this chapter the response of the soil next to the pile will be assumed to be
determined only by the lateral displacement of the pile at that point. This means that all load
transfer in the soil in vertical direction is disregarded. It also means that effects of plasticity can
only taken into account in as functions of the local displacement of the pile. Elastic solutions, for
piles in a linear elastic medium, have been developed by (Poulos, 1986). A refined model, in
which the soil is modelled as a system of elastic-plastic layers, has been developed by (Kooijman,
1989). This model also applies to the analysis of pile groups, even when the plastic zones of the
individual piles in the pile group overlap. The model also has the feature that a gap between pile
and soil may be develop at the upward side of the pile.
- 191 -
6.5.1 Theory lateral pile capacity
Offshore constructions are subjected to axial loads, significant lateral loads and moments. The
lateral loads are caused by forces due to wind and waves. Laterally pile capacity is especially
important for Monopods. This is a platform that is founded on one single pile. The main
difference between axial and lateral loading is that only the lateral loads only affect the top of the
pile 10D. The most important design parameters are the lateral stiffness ( EI ) and the
maximum bending moments of the piles ( M ).
Lateral loading will cause soil pressures around the pile. These pressures give resistance to the
movement of the pile. The soil resistance is expressed as a force per unit length (kN/m), rather
than an average pressure. In order to avoid problems with scales, different pile sizes are used.
Failure mechanisms of short piles occur by rotation of the whole pile around a rotation at a
depth, z below the soil surface, see figure 6-35.
H
Centre of rotation
z
H
Centre of rotation
z
figure 6-35: failure mechanism short pile;
Failure mechanisms for long piles occur by the formation of a plastic hinge at a depth z below
the surface, see figure 6-36. If the pile is uniform this will be the point of maximum bending
moment.
- 192 -
H
z
plastic hinge
H
z
plastic hinge
figure 6-36: failure mechanism long pile;
Failure can occur in three different ways, see figure 6-37:
- Lateral displacement of complete pile;
- Plastic hinge at pile cap, rotation of whole pile;
- 2 plastic hinges, rotation of upper part of pile.
H
H H
HH
HH HHHH
figure 6-37: failure mechanisms fixed head piles;
The failure mechanisms in cohesive soil can occur due to the following causes, namely the
formation of a failure wedge near the ground surface, a gap between the ground and the pile
behind the pile and the flow of the ground around the pile at deeper depths see figure 6-38.
- 193 -
H
gap
H
gap
figure 6-38: failure mechanism cohesive soil;
The limiting soil resistance for uniform
u
s , according to (Broms, 1964):
- 2
u u
P Ds = near surface;
- 9
u u
P Ds = depths greater than 3D .
Recent attention to this topic has been given by (Murff, Hamilton, 1993), (Randolph, Houlsby,
1984). They recommend a design value of 10.5
u u
P Ds = . However, the conservative approach of
Broms 9
u u
P Ds = is still mostly adopted.
figure 6-39: flow mechanism;
Limiting Soil Resistance for non-cohesive Soils:
Near the surface expected to be close to
'
u p
P K zD = , (6.113)
with
p
K as the passive earth pressure coefficient.
- 194 -
Research from (Broms, 1964) 3
p
N K = (low value near surface ignored)
Research from (Barton, 1964)
2
p
N K = (low value near surface ignored)
(Brinch Hanssen, 1961) and (Meyerhof, 1995) incorporated shallow wedge failure in design
charts (increasing N values with depths)
Literature / papers used in API design rules:
- soft clay: correlations for design of laterally loaded piles in soft clay, (Matlock, 1970);
- stiff clay: field testing and analysis of laterally loaded piles in stiff clay, (Reese et al,
1975);
- sand: analysis of laterally loaded piles in sand, (Reese et al, 1974).
6.5.2 Pile in linear material
Consider a pile consisting of a linear elastic material, with modulus of elasticity E . The second
order moment of the pile cross-section in the direction of bending of the pile is I , so that the
bending stiffness is EI . The lateral load f on the pile, illustrated in figure 6-40, is related to the
shear force Q by the equation of equilibrium in lateral direction
dQ
f
dz
= . (6.114)
Equilibrium of moments requires that
dM
Q
dz
= . (6.115)
From these two equations it follows that
2
2
d M
f
dz
= . (6.116)
This is the well-known relation between the bending moment in a beam and the load upon it.
Q Q + A
Q
f
x
z
figure 6-40: element of laterally loaded pile;
- 195 -
The second basic equation describes the deformation of the pile. Using Bernoullis assumption
that plane normal sections remain plane this equation is found to be
2
2
d u
EI M
dz
= , (6.117)
where u is the lateral displacement if the pile, in x -direction. The bending moment M can
be eliminated from equation (6.116) and (6.117), to give
4
4
d u
EI f
dz
= . (6.118)
This is the well known basic equation of the theory of bending of beams.
In the case of a pile with lateral support, the load is generated by the lateral displacement u .
In the simplest case the load is proportional to the displacement,
f ku = , (6.119)
where k is the subgrade modulus (in kN/m
3
), and the minus sign is needed because when the
displacement is to the right, the soil reaction will be to the left, see figure 6-40. Assuming that
this is the only load on the pile, substitution of (6.119) into (6.118) gives
4
4
0
d u
EI ku
dz
+ = , (6.120)
or
4
4 4
4
0
d u u
dz
+ = , (6.121)
where is a parameter of dimension length, defined as
4
4EI
k
= . (6.122)
1 2
3 4
exp( / ) cos( / ) exp( / ) sin( / )
exp( / ) cos( / ) exp( / ) sin( / )
u C z z C z z
C z z C z z

= + +
+
. (6.123)
The constants
1
C ,
2
C ,
3
C and
4
C must be determined from the boundary conditions. In
general both boundaries will give rise to two conditions, so that the four constants can indeed be
determined.
- 196 -
Another definition of lateral load f is the lateral resistance of soil. For clay, the maximum
resistance is related to the measured soil strength, the shear strength. For sand, the maximum
resistance is related to measured friction angle and stress.
Stroke
Displacement [m]
R
e
s
i
s
t
a
n
c
e
[
k
P
a
]
Stroke
Displacement [m]
R
e
s
i
s
t
a
n
c
e
[
k
P
a
]
Stroke
Displacement [m]
R
e
s
i
s
t
a
n
c
e
[
k
P
a
]
In case of an infinitely long pile one of the boundaries is at z = . The terms with exp( / ) z
then must be eliminated by taking
1
0 C = and
2
0 C = . If it is assumed that the boundary
conditions at the top af the pile are
0 z = :
2
2
0
d u
M EI
dz
= = , (6.124)
and
0 z = :
3
3
d u
Q EI P
dz
= = , (6.125)
the final solution becomes
- 197 -
3
exp( / ) cos( / )
2
P
u z z
EI
= . (6.126)
This solution is shown graphically in figure 6-41.
u
z
figure 6-41: laterally loaded pile in elastic material;
The displacement at the top of the pile will be denoted by
t
u . Its value is
3
2
t
P
u
EI
= . (6.127)
The meaning of the parameter can be seen from figure 6-41. The displacement is zero if
/ 2 z t = , and after the next zero at 3 / 2 z t = the displacement is practically zero. Thus the
influence of the load at the top can be felt to a depth of about 5 . This also means that a pile
longer than 5 can be considered as infinitely long.
It is not surprising to note that the lateral displacement of the top of the pile
t
u is proportional
to the lateral load P . This is an immediate consequence of the linearity of the model used. It can
also be seen from the solution (6.127) that the displacement is inversely proportional to the
parameters
3/ 4
k and
1/ 4
EI . This suggests that the pile stiffness EI is relatively unimportant,
and that the soil stiffness k is very important for the soil response. It will appear later, when
considering more realistic soil models, that these conclusions are not generally valid.
A variant of the problem solved in this section is to consider that the subgrade modulus
increases linearly with depth. This may be a realistic assumption, as often the stiffness of the soil
increases with the initial stress, which increases with depth. The analytical solution of this
problem will not be considered here, however.
- 198 -
6.5.4 Pile in perfectly plastic material
In this section an approximate analytic solution will be presented for the problem of a pile in a
homogeneous material, taking into account the plastic deformations of the soil.
A fairly realistic assumption for the response of the soil to a lateral displacement is to consider
this to be elasto-plastic, see figure 6-42.
'
h
o
u A
' 2
p v p
K c K o +
u
' 2
a v a
K c K o
'
h
o
u A
' 2
p v p
K c K o +
u
' 2
a v a
K c K o
figure 6-42: elasto-plastic soil response;
In this figure the response is assumed to be elastic if the displacement is small. It reaches its
maximum value (the passive lateral soil pressure),
max
' ' 2
h p v p
K c K o o
= + , (6.128)
when the displacement reaches a certain positive value, and it reaches its minimum value (the
active lateral soil pressure),
min
' ' 2
h a v a
K c K o o
= , (6.129)
when the displacement reaches a certain negative value. If the value obtained from equation
(6.129) is found to be negative the horizontal effective stress is zero, because tensile stresses
cannot be transferred in a granular material. In the equations given above c is the cohesion of
the soil, and
a
K and
p
K are the active and passive pressure coefficients,
1 sin
1 sin
a
K
|
|
=
+
, (6.130)
1 sin
1 sin
p
K
|
|
+
=
, (6.131)
where | is the friction angle of the soil. The length of the range of elastic displacements ( u A
in figure 6-42) is called the stroke. This is similar quantity as the quake, used in the analysis of
- 199 -
axially loaded piles. It represents the displacement difference between generating active and
passive soil pressures, respectively.
The response shown in figure 6-42 will be used in the next section to develop a numerical
model. In the present section a simplified analysis will first be presented, due to (Blum, 1931). In
this analysis it is assumed that the elastic range is extremely small as illustrated in figure 6-43.
This is called a perfectly plastic response.
'
h
o
u
' 2
p v p
K c K o +
' 2
a v a
K c K o
'
h
o
u
' 2
p v p
K c K o +
' 2
a v a
K c K o
figure 6-43: perfectly plastic soil response;
As soon as there is a displacement the response is either at its maximum or its minimum. If
the load acts towards the right the force on the right side of the pile is the passive earth pressure,
and the force on the left side of the pile is the active soil pressure.
Thus the total force is
( ) ' 2 ( )
p a v p a
f K K D cD K K o = + , (6.132)
or, assuming that the vertical effective stress increases linearly with depth,
( ) ' 2 ( )
p a p a
f K K D z cD K K = + , (6.133)
where ' is the submerged unit weight of the soil.
It is furthermore assumed that the distribution of the soil reaction is as shown in figure 6-44.
- 200 -
P
z
P
z
figure 6-44: soil reaction according to Blum;
The basic idea is that the pile is displaced towards the right by the applied force, except at the
lower end, where a displacement towards the left occurs. The soil reaction on this deeper part of
the pile, is replaced by a concentrated force (Blums Ersatzkraft), further assuming that the pile is
clamped at that depth.
The differential equation now is
4
4
( ) ' 2 ( )
p a p a
d u
EI f K K D z cD K K
dz
= = + , (6.134)
and the boundary
0 z = : Q P = , (6.135)
0 z = : 0 M = , (6.136)
z h = : 0 u = , (6.137)
z h = : 0
du
dz
= , (6.138)
z h = : 0 M = . (6.139)
The value of the parameter h , which is the level at which the pile is considered to be
clamped, is unknown. A possible reasoning leading to the last three conditions is that the pile is
very well clamped at great depths, so that the displacement u and its first two derivatives are
zero there. The weak point in this argument, at least from the mathematical side, is that at the
depth z h = the third derivative cannot be zero, because the concentrated force is acting there.
It may also be noted that the assumed soil reaction cannot be in equilibrium with the applied load
without the concentrated force, because then equilibrium of moments is impossible. The analysis
using the assumptions for the pressure distribution as shown in figure 6-44 is an excellent
example of the art of engineering, especially since it will appear later that the results are in
excellent agreement with those of more refined models.
- 201 -
4 5
3 2
1 2 3 4
2 ( ) ( ) '
120 24
p a p a
cD K K z K K Dz
u C z C z C z C
EI EI
+
= + + + + . (6.140)
Using the boundary conditions the integration constants can be determined. Substitution of
these values in the solution (6.140) gives the final solution in the form
2 2
3
3
( ) ' (8 9 3 )
( )
360
( ) ( )
( )
12
p a
p a
K K D h hz z
u h z
EI
K K cD h z
h z
EI
+ +
=
+ +
+
, (6.141)
where the value of h must be determined from the relation
2
1
( ) ' ( )
6
p a p a
P K K Dh K K cDh = + + . (6.142)
If the force P is given, and the properties of soil and pile are known, the value of h can be
determined from equation (6.142). Then the displacement can be obtained from equation (6.141)
.
When comparing this solution for a perfectly plastic material with the elastic solution of the
previous section it may be noted that here the most important parameters for the response
characteristic are the pile stiffness EI and the soil strength, as expressed by the parameters
(
p a
K K ) and ( )
p a
c K K + . The soil stiffness no longer appears in the solution because it
has been eliminated from the model by assuming a perfectly plastic response. At this stage it is a
matter of conjecture, or of engineering intuition, to prefer one of the two models in favour of the
other one.
6.5.5 API (P-y curves)
The pile bends in horizontal direction when a load is put on top of the pile. The three
components influencing a load-deformation diagram are: the pile stiffness, the lateral resistance
and the sliding of tip surface.
To determine the lateral resistance, p y curves (formulas can be found literature), p
(passive - active resistance p/m) and the displacement y must be defined.
API
For clay :
max
9
u
p c s
For sand:
max
p depends on
- 202 -
ATTENTION: The cyclic resistance is weaker, see next paragraph.
Sliding of tip surface:
tip
p y curves
API
For clay:
tip u
p c =
For sand:
'
tan( )
tip v
p o =
6.6 Cyclic lateral loading
Damping of energy in laterally loaded piles is an important physical phenomenon, which is for
instance used to great advantage in guardrails along motorways. During a crash large amounts of
energy are absorbed in the plastic deformation of the soil. As the soil retains its friction, the
barrier can easily be restored to its original form and function.
This hysteretic damping of energy is also of great importance for the behaviour in cyclic
loading of large structures founded on piles. It is essential for this type of damping that it is
generated by dry friction, and is independent of the velocity. This property is in sharp contrast
with viscous damping, as produced by the behaviour of a fluid, for instance in a dashpot, which is
proportional to the velocity. The effect of a viscous damper is very large when the frequency of
the vibrations is very high, and its influence practically vanishes when the load is applied very
slowly. This is not the case for a hysteretic, or plastic, damper. Here the effect is mainly
determined by the magnitude of the applied load, and not by the loading rate. It will appear later,
however, that it may be possible to compare the two types of behaviour, and to determine an
equivalent viscosity for the pile-soil system, at least for certain forms of loading.
In order to further illustrate the effect of hysteretic damping occurring in a laterally loaded
pile, a pile is considered loaded by a cyclic load, varying between +1000 kN and -1000 kN, see
figure 6-45.
- 203 -
figure 6-45: damping in laterally loaded pile;
All properties of the soil and pile are the same as those for the example in the previous
section. The pile length is 50 m, its width is 1 m, and its wall thickness is 0.05 m. The submerged
unit weight of the soil is 10 kN/m
3
, the active pressure coefficient is 0.333, the passive pressure
coefficient is 3.0, the neutral pressure coefficient is 0.5, the cohesion is zero, and the stroke is
0.01 m. The response of the pile-soil system has been calculated using the numerical program
LLP, see figure 6-45, which shows the response in three full cycles of loading.
It appears from figure 6-45 that there is very little difference between the behaviour in the
various cycles, except in the first one, during which some additional deformations occur. It seems
that in the first loading step an initial state of stress is created, and that thereafter the pile
behaviour is independent of the cycle number. This type of behaviour is known as shakedown in
plasticity theory. The displacement of the pile top varies between +0.12 m and -0.12 m in each
cycle.
6.6.1 Influence of soil parameters
In general a numerical model has the disadvantage that it is not immediately clear in what
way the various parameters influence the results. For this purpose a parameter study has to be
performed, in which each parameter is varied independently. In order to investigate the influence
of the various parameters on the damping of a laterally loaded pile, the problem considered
above will be taken as a reference case, and various parameters will be varied.
First the soil stiffness has been varied, by taking three values for the stroke: 0.001 m, 0.01 m
and 0.1 m, keeping all other parameters constant. The results of the numerical calculations, using
the program LLP, are shown in figure 6-46. The fully drawn curve corresponds to the reference
- 204 -
case, with a stroke of 0.01 m, The dashed curve is for the 10 times stiffer soil, with a stroke of
0.001 m, and the dotted curve is for the 10 times softer soil, having a stroke of 0.1 m.
figure 6-46: influence of soil stiffness;
It can be seen from figure 6-46 that in general the influence of the soil stiffness is small.
Making the soil 10 times softer, which results in an unrealistically large value for the stroke, can
only produce a noticeable influence. Making the soil stiffer than the standard value has hardly any
effect. The explanation is that the applied force is large enough for the soil to reach the plastic
domain, at least near the top of the pile. Furthermore the deformation of the pile mainly depends
upon the stresses in this top part, and on the stiffness of the pile itself. The results also suggest
that perhaps the approximate solution based upon Blums assumption, which was presented in an
earlier section, can be used as a valuable reference. This approximation can be considered to be
based on the assumption that the stroke is zero, which means that the soil stiffness is infinitely
large, but of course restricted to a certain domain, limited by active and passive soil pressures.
It is recalled, from equation (6.141), that the approximate solution is, for a cohesionless soil,
5
( ) '
45
p a
K K Dh
u
EI

= , (6.143)
where the value of h must be determined from the relation
2
( ) '
6
p a
K K Dh
P

= . (6.144)
In order to test the hypothesis, that this approximation may describe the behaviour of the pile-
soil system with reasonable accuracy, the maximum displacements may first be compared. These
maximum displacements, corresponding to a force of 1000 kN, are listed in table 6-4.
- 205 -
stroke (m)
max
u (m)
0.100 0.188
0.010 0.120
0.001 0.105
0.000 0.109
table 6-4: maximum displacements;
The value recorded for a zero stroke has been obtained from the approximate formula; the
others have been determined using the numerical model. It appears that the displacements are
indeed very close, except for very large values of the stroke; that is for extremely soft soils. Such
large values of the stroke seem to be unrealistic, and it may thus be concluded that the
approximate formula indeed gives a reasonable prediction of the maximum displacements at full
loading.
6.6.2 Cyclic load
The approximate formula only applies to a gradually increasing load, and as such does not
give the possibility to study the response to a cyclic load. In order to apply the formula also for
cyclic loading conditions, however, it may be assumed that the formula is used to predict the
amplitude of the response curve, and that the shape of the response curve is simply obtained by
considering the formula as a type curve. This means that the behaviour in each loading cycle is
taken such that the displacement in each branch of the response curve is proportional to the load
applied in that branch to the power 5/2, with the actual numerical values determined such that
the amplitude is obtained from the formula (6.143). In figure 6-47 a comparison is showed of the
response obtained from the numerical model, using a vale of 0.001 m for the stroke, with the
response obtained from the adapted approximate model, the dotted line in the figure. It appears
that the approximation is fairly good. Again the approximate formula appears to represent the
case of a very small stroke, that is a stiff soil, with sufficient accuracy.
- 206 -
figure 6-47: comparison with approximate solution;
The influence of the soil strength on the cyclic response can be expected to be much larger
than the influence of the soil stiffness. This can also be seen from the approximate formula, in
which the soil strength dominates the behaviour. Actually, in this formula, see equations (6.143)
and (6.144), the displacements are proportional to the factor
( )
3/ 2
p a
K K
, in which
(
p a
K K ) represents the strength parameter. The hypothesis that formula (6.143) is a
reasonable approximation can be tested once more by plotting the displacements using the
predicted proportionality factor
( )
3/ 2
p a
K K
as a scaling factor. The results of the numerical

calculations plotted in this way are shown in figure 6-48, for 3 values of the passive soil pressure
coefficient: 1.5, 3, 6
p
K = , and using the relation 1/
a p
K K = to calculate the active soil
pressure coefficient in each case. The full line has been obtained using 3
p
K = (the reference
value), the dotted line is for 6
p
K = , and the dashed line is for 1.5
p
K = . It appears that the
agreement is again rather good, and that the shape of the curve in general agrees fairly well with
that of the type curve obtained from the approximate solution (the dotted curve in figure 6-47).
- 207 -
figure 6-48: influence of soil strength;
The general conclusion of all these comparisons can be that the approximate formula (6.141),
in which the soil behaviour is characterized by the strength only, and in which the soil stiffness
does not appear, gives a fairly reasonable representation of the behaviour of a laterally loaded
pile, provided that the lateral load is large, and the soil is stiff.
6.6.3 Equivalent spring and dashpot
The availability of an approximate formula, equation (6.143), for the relation between the
force and the displacement enables to evaluate the energy dissipated in a full cycle of loading.
Actually, one may write for the work done in loading from
m
P to
m
P ,
2 2
1
0 0
m m
P P
du
W Pdu P dh
dh
= =
) )
. (6.145)
With (6.143) and (6.144) this gives
1 max max
20
7
W P u = . (6.146)
In the unloading branch of the cycle the work done is
2 max max
8
7
W P u = , (6.147)
the complement of the full value obtained by multiplying the total load 2
m
P and the total
displacement 2
m
u . Thus the total work done in a full cycle is
max max
12
7
W P u = . (6.148)
- 208 -
It is interesting to compare this result with the one obtained for a simple system of a spring
and a dashpot, in which the damping is of a viscous character, see figure 6-49.
figure 6-49: spring and dashpot;
If the spring constant is k and the viscosity of the damper is c the equation of motion for
such a system is
( )
du
c ku P t
dt
+ = , (6.149)
where ( ) P t is the applied force. For a cyclic load,
max
sin( ) P P t e = the response is
max
sin( ) u u t e = , (6.150)
where
max
max
2 2 2
P
u
k c e
=
+
, (6.151)
and
tan
c
k
e
= . (6.152)
The response of the system is shown graphically in figure 6-50.
figure 6-50: response of spring-dashpot system;
- 209 -
Although the shape of the response curve is quite different from the one for an elasto-plastic
system, the general behaviour may well be compared. Actually, the energy dissipated during a full
cycle in this case is
max max
sin( ) W P u t = . (6.153)
Comparing this with (6.148) shows that the two expressions are equivalent if
12
sin( )
7
t = . (6.154)
It now follows that sin( ) 0.54567 = , and thus 33 =
D
, and tan( ) 0.65 = . This means
that the behaviour of a laterally loaded pile can be simulated by a system of a spring and a
dashpot, provided that the viscosity c is taken as
0.65
k
c
e
= . (6.155)
Here e is the frequency of the load, which is known. The equivalent spring constant k is
defined as
max
max
0.84
P
k
u
= , (6.156)
where the factor 0.84 is obtained when the value / 0.65 c k e = is substituted into equation
(6.151).
In practical applications the maximum load can be known, at least approximately. The
corresponding maximum displacement can then be determined from a non-linear analysis, using
the approximate solution (6.143), or, better still, a numerical analysis. The equivalent viscosity
can then be estimated from (6.155). A better estimate can again be obtained from a complete
numerical analysis, and then evaluating the area of the response curve to determine the work
done in a full cycle. By comparing this with (6.153) the value of can be determined. Thus the
values of an equivalent spring constant and an equivalent viscosity may be obtained. These may
then be used as input parameters for a dynamic analysis of the entire structure. If necessary the
values of the spring constant and the viscosity may be updated on the basis of the results of the
analysis, and the analysis may be repeated using these updated values.
It may be noted that equation (6.155) states that the equivalent viscosity is inversely
proportional to the frequency. Thus for a high frequencies (rapid variations) the damping is small
and for low frequencies (slow variations) the damping is high. In this way the resulting response
is made independent of the actual frequency, which should indeed be the case for damping
generated by elasto-plastic elements.
- 210 -
6.7 COMBINED AXIAL AND LATERAL LOADING OF PILES
In the design process of a statically indeterminate structure supported by a piled foundation
the combined effects of the stiffnesses and strengths of both the structure and the foundation
need to be considered in an integral way. In this integral soil-structure interaction analysis the
non-linear stiffness and strength properties of the piled foundation can be accounted for
iteratively in the form of the secant stiffness matrices of the pile heads of all individual piles
composing the foundation. Then, due to the statically indeterminate nature of the structure and
foundation an individual pile load will be a consequence of not only the total load on the
structure, but also of the geometry, stiffness and strength of the structural parts composing the
structure and the location, stiffness and strength of the piles composing the foundation. The
secant stiffness properties of a pile head, and thus the actual pile load, will depend on the
magnitudes of the axial and lateral displacement and the rotation of the pile head.
Consider a pile head with an axial displacement v, a lateral displacement u and a rotation .
The corresponding loading actions on the pile head are indicated by the axial load P
v
, the lateral
load P
u
and the moment M.
It may be noted, that the axial load P
v
only causes the axial displacement u. Therefore for this
axial displacement u the axial tangent stiffness K
v
of the pile head satisfies the following
expression
v v
P =K v (6.157)
However, the lateral load P
u
on the pile head not only causes a lateral displacement of the pile
head, here indicated by u
P
but also a rotation of the pile head
P
. Note that the subscript P has
been added to both the lateral displacement and the rotation to indicate the dependence on
lateral load P
u
. Similarly, the moment M on the pile head not only induces a pile head rotation,
here indicated as
M
, but also a lateral displacement, here indicated by u
M
. Consequently, the
total lateral displacement and rotation of the pile head due to both the lateral load P
u
and the
moment M are the sum of the above-defined quantities, namely
P M P M
u=u +u and = + (6.158)
Thus the lateral displacement and rotation of the pile head both depend on the lateral load
and moment on the pile head. These loading and deformation properties are coupled. A
flexibility matrix F of the following form describes the corresponding secant flexibility properties
P M PP PM u
P M MP MM
u +u F F u P
= =
+ F F M
| | ( | | | |
| | | (
\ . \ . \ .
(6.159)
in which
P PP u M PM P MP u M MM
u =F P ; u =F M; =F P ; =F M define the individual flexibility
components, depending on the magnitudes of the corresponding lateral displacement u and
rotation of the pile head. Inversion of Equation (6.159) leads to the expression of the secant
stiffness matrix of the pile head, namely
- 211 -

MM PM
PP MM MP PM PP MM MP PM uu u u
u MP PP
PP MM MP PM PP MM MP PM
F -F
F F -F F F F -F F K K P u u
= =
K K M -F F
F F -F F F F -F F
(
(
( | | | | | |
(
| | | (
(
\ . \ . \ .
(

(6.160)
which defines the secant stiffness components
uu u u
K , K , K , K
u u
as functions of the secant
flexibility components.
Combining the secant stiffness components according to (6.157) and (6.160) leads to the
following secant stiffness matrix involving all three degrees of freedom of the pile head, namely
uu u
u
0 0
= 0 K K
0 K K
v v
u
P K v
P u
M
u u
| | ( | |
| | (
| | (
| |
( u
\ . \ .
(6.161)
6.8 APPENDIX Airy functions
The differential equation
2
2
0
d w
zw
dz
= , (6.162)
can be solved by assuming solutions in the form of a series
2 3
0 1 2 3
... w a a z a z a z = + + + + . (6.163)
By taking convenient combinations of the two elementary solutions an increasing and a
decreasing function can be constructed. These are the Airy functions. The general solution can be
written as
1 2
( ) ( ) w C Ai z C Bi z = + , (6.164)
See (Abramowitz, Stegun, 1964), p 446. Numerical values of the two functions and their first
derivatives are given in table 6-5.
- 212 -
z ( ) Ai z ( ) Bi z '( ) Ai z '( ) Bi z
0.00 0.35503 0.61493 -0.25882 0.44829
0.05 0.34209 0.63735 -0.25839 0.44908
0.10 0.32920 0.65986 -0.25713 0.45151
0.15 0.31639 0.68253 -0.25512 0.45571
0.20 0.30370 0.70546 -0.25241 0.46179
0.25 0.29116 0.72875 -0.24906 0.46986
0.30 0.27881 0.75249 -0.24515 0.48005
0.35 0.26666 0.77679 -0.24072 0.49248
0.40 0.25474 0.80177 -0.23583 0.50728
0.45 0.24308 0.82756 -0.23055 0.52460
0.50 0.23169 0.85428 -0.22491 0.54457
0.55 0.22060 0.88206 -0.21898 0.56737
0.60 0.20980 0.91106 -0.21279 0.59314
0.65 0.19932 0.94143 -0.20640 0.62209
0.70 0.18916 0.97333 -0.19985 0.65440
0.75 0.17934 1.00693 -0.19318 0.69030
0.80 0.16985 1.04242 -0.18641 0.73001
0.85 0.16070 1.08000 -0.17960 0.77378
0.90 0.15189 1.11987 -0.17277 0.82190
0.95 0.14342 1.16227 -0.16594 0.87468
1.00 0.13529 1.20742 -0.15915 0.93243
1.50 0.07175 1.87872 -0.07951 1.54032
2.00 0.03493 3.29768 -0.03754 2.89999
2.50 0.01573 6.48183 -0.01660 5.95841
3.00 0.00659 14.03796 -0.00688 13.23343
3.50 0.00258 33.05763 -0.00267 31.62228
4.00 0.00095 83.85047 -0.00098 80.95951
4.50 0.00033 227.59384 -0.00034 221.14583
5.00 0.00011 657.81465 -0.00011 642.09178
5.50 0.00003 2016.64811 -0.00003 1975.24921
6.00 0.00001 6536.48809 -0.00001 6419.90234
6.50 0.00000 22341.04179 -0.00000 21989.01852
table 6-5: Airy functions;
- 213 -
6.9 References
Abramowitz M, Stegun I A, (1964). Handbook of Mathematical Functions, National Bureau of
Standards, Washington.
(Banerjee, Davis, 1978).
(Barton, 1964)..
Blum H, (1931). Einspannungsverhltnisse bei Bohlwerken, Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn, Berlin, 1931.
(Brinch Hanssen, 1961)
(Broms, 1964).
Kooijman A P, (1989). A Numerical Model for Laterally Loaded Piles and Pile Groups, Ph.D. Thesis,
Delft.
(Matlock, 1970).
(Meyerhof, 1995)
(Murff, Hamilton, 1993)..
(Poulos, 1971)..
(Poulos, 1986)
Poulos H G, (1988). Marine Geotechnics, Unwin Hyman, London.
(Randolph, 1981)..
Randolph M F, (1988). The axial capacity of deep foundations in calcareous soil, Proc. Int. Conf.
Calcareous Sediments, Vol. 2, ISSMFE, Perth, Western Australia, 837-857.
(Randolph, Houlsby, 1984).
- 214 -
(Reese et al, 1974).
(Reese et al, 1975)..
(Verruijt, Kooijman, 1989)..
Verruijt A, (2002). Offshore Soil Mechanics, Lecture Notes CT5341, TUDelft, Faculty of Civil
Engineering and Geosciences.
Subject Index

Driven Piles OE4624

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Driven Piles OE4624

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

OE 4624 - Offshore Soil Mechanics Axially and laterally loaded piles

figure 6-5: soil parameters for clay and sand;

~ . Thus inertia effects may usually be disregarded.

Total skin friction ()

Total skin friction ()

figure 6-23: element of axially loaded column of soil;

as a scaling factor. The results of the numerical

You might also like