INFLUENCE OF KRC AND E/D ON PERFORMANCE OF CYCLICALLY LOADED SINGLE PILE IN CLAY APPLYING BOUNDARY ELEMENT ANALYSIS

Abstract

THE ENVIRONMENT PREVALENT IN OCEANS NECESSITATES THE PILES SUPPORTING OFFSHORE STRUCTURES TO BE DESIGNED AGAINST LATERAL CYCLIC LOADING INITIATED BY WAVE ACTION. SUCH QUASI-STATIC LOAD REVERSAL INDUCES DETERIORATION IN THE STRENGTH AND STIFFNESS OF THE SOIL-PILE SYSTEM, INTRODUCING PROGRESSIVE REDUCTION IN THE BEARING CAPACITY ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED SETTLEMENT OF THE PILE FOUNDATION. TO UNDERSTAND THE EFFECT OF LATERAL CYCLIC LOAD ON AXIAL RESPONSE OF SINGLE PILES IN SOFT CLAY, A NUMERICAL MODEL WAS PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED AND VALIDATED BY THE AUTHOR. USING THE METHODOLOGY, FURTHER ANALYSIS HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT TO INVESTIGATE HOW THE VARIATION IN RELATIVE PILE-SOIL STIFFNESS AND ECCENTRICITY EFFECTS THE DEGRADATION OF AXIAL PILE CAPACITY DUE TO THE EFFECT OF LATERAL CYCLIC LOAD. THIS PAPER PRESENTS A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE METHODOLOGY, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THE THEORETICAL RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE FURTHER ANALYSIS AND THE RELEVANT CONCLUSIONS DRAWN THERE FROM.