An Nada Rajah
An Nada Rajah
An Nada Rajah
Professor,
Graduate student,
Department of Civil Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, [email protected]
3
Geotechnical Engineer, Federal Highway Administration
2
where good quality undisturbed samples can be obtained, most of the required properties
can be determined by testing them in a laboratory. Due to unavoidable sample
disturbance during sampling, transportation, and preparation during testing, in situ
methods are preferred over laboratory methods. However, heterogeneity of natural soil
deposits and approximations implied in analysis methods cannot be compensated by any
of the above measures. This is, in fact, the reason that the static capacity of piles are in
most cases determined directly from pile load tests performed in the in situ soil. A similar
approach is highly desirable in the design of piles subjected to dynamics loads. It is
shown that parameters for simplified analysis methods such as the Winkler foundation
method and the equivalent linear finite element method may be determined from
measured response of the pile subjected to a large-amplitude dynamic load applied at the
level of the pile head. Experiments were conducted in a uniform granular soil deposit,
filled in a test pit available at the test site, Turner-Fairbank Highway Research center
(TFHRC), Federal Highway Administration, McLean, Virginia.
impact loading, a spring-mass oscillator was attached to the pile head, and the Statnamic
load was applied in the horizontal direction to the pile at the pile-head level through this
spring-mass oscillator. The test setup is shown in Fig. 1. As a shot is fired from the
Statnamic device, the projectile latches onto the spring (which is attached to the pile
head), and oscillates along with the pile head. Three tests were conducted, each time with
Details of these features can be found in published literature, and will not be repeated
here.
The soil properties needed for equivalent linear finite element analysis are (for each soil
type): Gmax , min , G versus eff relation and versus eff relation. The pile is
characterized in terms of I xx , I yy , J zz , A p , E and , where I xx , I yy and J zz are the
second moment of inertias about x , y and z axes respectively (with the pile axis
taken along the z axis), A p is the cross sectional area of the pile, E is the Youngs
modulus and is the Poissons ratio. In addition, mass densities of the soil and pile are
also required. While the properties of the pile are known and fixed, the properties of the
soil are to be back calculated. To initiate the iterative process, starting estimates are
required. The empirical equation suggested by Seed and Idriss (1970) is used to obtain a
starting estimate for G max :
G
= K 1 / 2
(1)
max
(2)
where h is the soil depth. The optimal value of Gmax is then taken as
G = F G
(3)
where F1 is a multiplier, to be established iteratively by matching the experimental
response to the theoretical response.
max
max
The value of min was found to have a negligible influence on the overall response. On
this basis, a value of 0.005% is assumed in the analyses reported here.
The G versus eff relation and versus eff relation are function of the soil types. As
the soil type is known, the empirical relations proposed for this soil type (sand) by Seed
and Idriss (1970) are used, and assumed to be fixed. Thus, the only parameter that is
sought by the back-calculation process is F1 .
The effect of bonding the plain-strain slabs in the vertical direction is examined using the
mesh shown in Fig. 5, where, owing to symmetry, only half the domain is discretized.
Primary difference between the coupled and uncoupled meshes are that the horizontal
slabs are not bonded (i.e., uncoupled) to each other in the uncoupled mesh whereas they
are in the coupled mesh. To further cut down the number of degrees of freedom, the
vertical degree of freedom was suppressed in all of the analyses presented; its effect is
examined next.
uz=0, XO=30'
uz=0, XO=15'
Non-zero uz, XO=15'
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
0
0.5
t (sec)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
0.5
t (sec)
Fig. 7. Comparison of Results From Full, Uncoupled Plain-Strain and Coupled Meshes
Fig. 7 presents a comparison of ground-level displacement-time histories obtained with
the three different meshes described earlier: (1) the full mesh, (2) the plain-strain mesh,
and (3) the coupled mesh. While the results are not equal to each other, the approximate
models appear to give acceptable results for practical use.
500
P(t) (lbs)
0
-500
-1000
Measured
-1500
-2000
0
0.5
t (sec)
Measured
a(t) (g)
10
5
0
-5
0
t (sec)
Calculated
FE (560 elem) with 0.5Gmax
10
a(t) (g)
0.5
5
0
-5
0
0.5
Measured
Calculated
FE (540 elem) with 0.5Gmax
0.75
Disp.-Pile at G-Level (in)
t (sec)
0.5
0.25
0
-0.25
-0.5
0
0.5
t (t)
Fig. 8. Comparison of Calculated (Using Full Mesh and 0.15Gmax ) and Measured Results
It should be noted that these are not general results, and the outcome might differ from
problem to problem, depending on the frequency of loading, natural frequencies of the
system, etc. However, the results do indicate that for a given problem, it is worth
exploring these approximations so that subsequent analyses (e.g., parametric study or a
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more systematic probabilistic study, where the analyses need to be repeated several
times) may be performed using one of these approximate models.
After a few trial runs, a reasonably good match is found for F1 = 0.15 . A comparison
between the finite element results (using the full mesh) with F1 = 0.15 (Eq. 3) and the
experimental results are shown in Fig. 8. The first plot in Fig. 8 presents the measured
pile-head load versus time history, which is used as input to the finite element analysis.
The 2nd and 3rd plots present the measured and calculated pile-head acceleration time
histories respectively. The 4th plot presents a comparison between the measured and
calculated ground-level displacement time histories. All of the above quantities are
horizontal components.
In view of the fact that the soil is actually an elasto-plastic material, whereas it is
represented by a form of a nonlinear viscoelastic model in the finite element analysis, the
quantitative comparison shown in Fig. 8 is considered to be reasonably good. In both
cases, the response dies out in about 3 cycles. The rate of decay of the displacement
amplitude is predicted reasonably well.
560 elem. coupled mesh
560 elem. coupled mesh
with slip elements
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
0.5
t (sec)
Fig. 9. Comparison of Calculated Responses with and without Slip Elements and
0.15Gmax
560 elem. coupled mesh
560 elem. coupled mesh
with slip elements
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
0.5
t (sec)
Fig. 10. Comparison of Calculated Responses with and without Slip Elements and
0.20Gmax
In the analyses described so far, the soil has been bonded to the pile, preventing any
gapping or slipping to take place at the soil-pile interface. Using the 560-element coupled
mesh (Fig. 5), an analysis is conducted with slip elements placed between the pile
elements and the soil elements. The calculated ground-level displacement time histories
with and without the slip elements are shown in Fig. 9. It is noted that the use of slip
elements renders the response softer, yielding larger pile displacements. These results
were obtained with F1 = 0.15 . Then F1 is varied until a good match is obtained. The
numerical results with F1 = 0.20 and with slip elements are compared in Fig. 10 with
numerical results using F1 = 0.15 and without slip elements. The results from the both
analyses are virtually identical, indicating that the soil stiffness doesnt need to be
reduced as much when slip elements are employed, since the use of slip elements makes
the system softer by allowing slip and separation at the pile-soil interface. It should be
noted that the consequence of allowing slip and separation may be more dramatic in other
problems, and thus having the capability to use slip elements is desirable.
Fig. 11. Winkler Foundation Approach: Springs and Dashpots to Represent the Effect of
Soil
In the Winkler foundation approach (Fig. 11), the primary member analyzed is the pile.
The influence of the surrounding soil on the pile is introduced through a series of
nonlinear springs (in the case of static problems). The most widely used spring forcedisplacement relationships are the so-called p-y curves of Matlock (1970) for clays and
Reese, et al. (1974) for sands. In extending this static method to problems involving
dynamic loads such as that from earthquakes, ship collisions, etc., methods are needed for
accounting for damping both material and radiation damping. Several researchers have
worked on this problem (Kagawa, 1980; Berger, et al., 1977; Wang, et al., 1998;
Boulanger at al., 1997; Loch et al., 1998; Badoni and Makris, 1996; Abghari and Chai,
1995, Nogami , et. al., 1992, Gazetas and Dobry, 1984, Sen et al., 1985; Trochanis, et al.,
1991). These studies indicated that there are some major difficulties to be resolved.
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Firstly, the most appropriate spring/dashpot model to use is not clear. For instance,
Wang, et al. (1998), after comparing results with series (spring and dashpot in series) and
parallel (spring and dashpot in parallel) models, determined that the parallel model leads
to a very stiff system, with the damping force over-dominating the system response. In
either case, the material damping needs to be considered as well. The appropriate model
to use is thus yet to be identified.
Secondly, the issue concerning a suitable value to use for the coefficient of damping has
not been resolved. For instance, if one uses Bergers model (1977) to represent the
radiation damping, where it is assumed that radiation of energy away from the pile takes
place in the form of p- and s-waves through a volume of soil of constant cross section
(like a one-dimensional rod), the damping coefficient becomes frequency independent,
and is given by
C = C p + C s = (V p + Vs ) d
(4)
where V p is the p -wave velocity and Vs is the shear (s-) wave velocity, is the mass
density and d is the diameter of the pile. Here C is the coefficient of damping per unit
length of the pile. Wang et al. (1998) found that the value of C calculated using the above
equation was too large. They arbitrarily assumed C = 2Vs d . There is no consensus
among researchers as to the most suitable model and the most appropriate equation for
computing C. Bergers model is approximate. The manner in which the energy radiates
away from the pile is complex, and the p- and s-wave portions cannot be easily separated
out as is done in Bergers model. The cross section of the portion of the soil that carries
the radiation energy is not constant. But analyses with non-uniform cross sections lead to
frequency-dependent damping parameters (e.g., Gazetas and Dobry, 1984), making it
difficult to apply them in a time-domain analysis. A frequency has to be arbitrarily
selected for computing a value for C to use in a time-domain analysis such as that
involved in the beam of nonlinear Winkler foundation method (BNWF). When the pile is
shaken with a large amplitude loading the problem of interest here - the material
damping is more important than the radiation damping (Brown and ONeill, 2001), and
there is no rational method of calculating a value for the damping coefficient.
There are yet other factors that cannot be properly accounted for at the present time. For
instance, the softening that takes place at the soil/pile interface due to slipping and
gapping is difficult to model. Also, the pore water pressure build up during a cyclic
loading such as the earthquake loading cannot be accurately modeled. All of the above
difficulties associated with the use of nonlinear Winkler foundation methods point to the
need for a site-specific, field calibration of the method.
In the specific Winkler foundation model used here, the soil is replaced by a series of
elements involving a spring and a dashpot in parallel (i.e., without a second series
dashpot shown in Fig. 11). The coefficient of damping is calculated according to Eq. 4,
but with a modifier Fc , as follows:
C = Fc (C p + C s ) = Fc (V p + Vs ) d
(5)
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Estimated values of V p and Vs are 738 ft/s (225 m/s) and 492 ft/s (150 m/s), and the
mass density is 3.42 lb-sec2/ft4 (1.76 kN-sec2/m4 or 1.76 g/cm3).
The spring constant is represented by the p-y relation suggested by Reese, et al. (1974)
for sands. Parameters of the p-y relation depend on whether the loading is static or cyclic;
here the cyclic parameters are used. The entire curve is a function of ( , , d , k1 ) , where
is the friction angle of the soil, is the effective density of the soil, d is the diameter
of the pile, and k1 is the slope of the initial straight line. The value recommended for k1
for loose to medium dense sand is 60 lb/in3 (16225 kN/m3). Except for d , all other
parameters can assume different values than our initial estimates. Let us, therefore,
introduce multipliers with each parameter as:
= F *
(6a)
= F *
(6b)
k1 = Fk k1*
(6c)
The estimated value of the friction angle for this soil is 350, and the density is 110 lb/ft3
(17.3 kN/m3).
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Measured
10
5
0
-5
0.5 t (sec)
Caculated by BNWF
10
5
0
-5
0
0.5
t (sec)
Measured
Calculated by BNWF
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
0
0.5
t (sec)
Fig. 12. Comparison Between Calculated (by BNWF Method with F = 0.5 ) and
Measured Results
CONCLUSIONS
A series of large amplitude dynamic tests was conducted on a single pile driven into a
homogeneous sandy deposit. The pile was subjected to a horizontal impact load with the
aid of a Statnamic device. The pile underwent a cyclic motion involving about 3 cycles.
The pile-soil system was modeled using two different numerical methods: (1) Equivalent
linear finite element method, and (2) beam of nonlinear Winkler foundation method with
nonlinear p-y curves to represent the stiffness and Bergers model to represent the
damping. The objective was to back-calculate from the experimental results site-specific
soil properties. The study indicates that both numerical methods are equally capable of
representing the nonlinear dynamic response of the pile-soil system, and that the relevant
soil parameters for these methods may indeed be back-calculated from the experimental
data. While the beam of nonlinear Winkler foundation is simpler and computationally
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more efficient than the finite element method, the latter has the advantage of having the
capacity to consider the interface slip and separation, and the effect of pore pressure (not
considered in the present study).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The research was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under grant No.
CMS0084899 and by the Federal Highway Administration. The cognizant program
director of NSF is Dr. Richard Fragaszy. These supports are acknowledged.
REFERENCES
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Berger, E., Mahin, S.A. and Pyke, R. (1977). Simplified Method for Evaluating SoilPile Structure Interaction Effects. Proc. 9th. Offshore Technology Conference, OTC
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procedure, University of California, Berkeley Report No. EERC 73-16.
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