OasisLMS

Abstract: Pile drivability studies are often undertaken on projects involving the installation of driven piles to estimate the founding level and therefore the total pile length, predict the required hammer size and ensure stresses induced in the pile section are within allowable limits. Unfortunately, the models typically used to estimate the ground resistance acting on a pile in these studies are highly empirical and do not explicitly consider how the ground behavior may vary due to pile installation and the effects of time after installation. This empiricism, and lack of consideration for installation effects, increases uncertainty in both the estimated driving performance and predictions of how the pile capacity may vary with time after installation. Failure to consider these effects can lead to unexpected project delays or inefficient pile design. In this study, an approach is proposed to couple conventional stress wave theory used in drivability studies with numerical models designed to simulate the ground resistance. These ground resistance models may account for how shaft resistance evolves during pile installation and with time after installation. Opportunities to extend the modeling approach to predict a range of factors and mechanisms which contribute to soil/pile set-up are discussed.

Mr. Edward Smith

Annual Conference Proceedings