Assessing Initial Stiffness Models for Laterally Loaded Piles in Undrained Clay: Robust Design Perspective
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145, Issue 10
Abstract
The hyperbolic curve method is commonly used to design laterally loaded piles. The initial stiffness () and the ultimate resistance per pile length () are the two key parameters that are required to determine the hyperbolic curve. Multiple competing models are available for determining the term , which makes it difficult for the designer to select a proper initial stiffness model. Six existing initial stiffness models are assessed and compared from the robust design perspective in this paper. Specifically, a framework based on the concept of robust design is proposed for assessing these initial stiffness models considering multiple objectives such as safety, cost, and design robustness. This framework is illustrated with an example, the design of a laterally loaded pile in clay using the curve method. Based on the outcome of this example study, the most preferred initial stiffness model for the laterally loaded pile design is suggested. To enhance applicability, the proposed framework based on the robust design concept is simplified and illustrated with a spreadsheet solution.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The first author wishes to acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41807224), the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. LQ17D020001), the Joint Fund between Zhoushan and Ocean College of Zhejiang University (Grant No. 2017C82220), and the China Scholarship Council (CSC, 201706325041) for this research. The first author also wishes to thank the Glenn Department of Civil Engineering for hosting his sabbatical visit at Clemson University. The second author wishes to acknowledge the financial support of the China Scholarship Council (CSC, 201406690032) and the Projects of Jiangsu Youth Fund (Grant No. SBK2017040181). The third author wishes to acknowledge the support of National Central University through Yushan Scholar Program of the Ministry of Education, Taiwan.
References
Ang, A. H., and W. H. Tang. 2004. Probability concepts in engineering. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley.
Brown, D. A., and C. F. Shie. 1991. “Some numerical experiments with a three dimensional finite element model of a laterally loaded pile.” Comput. Geotech. 12 (2): 149–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/0266-352X(91)90004-Y.
Bucher, C. G., and U. Bourgund. 1990. “A fast and efficient response surface approach for structural reliability problems.” Struct. Saf. 7 (1): 57–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-4730(90)90012-E.
Carter, D. P. 1984. “A non-linear soil model for predicting lateral pile response.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Auckland.
Chan, C. L., and B. K. Low. 2009. “Reliability analysis of laterally loaded piles involving nonlinear soil and pile behavior.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 135 (3): 431–443. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2009)135:3(431).
Chan, C. L., and B. K. Low. 2012. “Probabilistic analysis of laterally loaded piles using response surface and neural network approaches.” Comput. Geotech. 43 (Jun): 101–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2012.03.001.
Deb, K., and S. Gupta. 2011. “Understanding knee points in bicriteria problems and their implications as preferred solution principles.” Eng. Optim. 43 (11): 1175–1204. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305215X.2010.548863.
Deb, K., A. Pratap, S. Agarwal, and T. A. M. T. Meyarivan. 2002. “A fast and elitist multiobjective genetic algorithm: NSGA-II.” IEEE Trans. Evol. Comput. 6 (2): 182–197. https://doi.org/10.1109/4235.996017.
Dewaikar, D. M., and P. A. Patil. 2006. “A new hyperbolic curve model for laterally loaded piles in soft clay.” In Proc., Geoshanghai Int. Conf., 152–158. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Georgiadis, K., and M. Georgiadis. 2010. “Undrained lateral pile response in sloping ground.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 136 (11): 1489–1500. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000373.
Georgiadis, K., and M. Georgiadis. 2012. “Development of p–y curves for undrained response of piles near slopes.” Comput. Geotech. 40 (Mar): 53–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2011.09.005.
Gong, W., S. Khoshnevisan, and C. H. Juang. 2014. “Gradient-based design robustness measure for robust geotechnical design.” Can. Geotech. J. 51 (11): 1331–1342. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2013-0428.
Jeong, S., Y. Kim, and J. Kim. 2011. “Influence on lateral rigidity of offshore piles using proposed p–y curves.” Ocean Eng. 38 (2): 397–408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2010.11.007.
Juang, C. H., and L. Wang. 2013. “Reliability-based robust geotechnical design of spread foundations using multi-objective genetic algorithm.” Comput. Geotech. 48 (Mar): 96–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2012.10.003.
Juang, C. H., L. Wang, H. S. Hsieh, and S. Atamturktur. 2014. “Robust geotechnical design of braced excavations in clays.” Struct. Saf. 49 (Jul): 37–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strusafe.2013.05.003.
Juang, C. H., L. Wang, Z. Liu, N. Ravichandran, H. Huang, and J. Zhang. 2013. “Robust geotechnical design of drilled shafts in sand—A new design perspective.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 139 (12): 2007–2019. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000956.
Khari, M., K. A. Kassim, and A. Adnan. 2014. “Development of curves of laterally loaded piles in cohesionless soil.” Sci. World J. 2014: 917174. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/917174.
Khoshnevisan, S., W. Gong, C. H. Juang, and S. Atamturktur. 2015. “Efficient robust geotechnical design of drilled shafts in clay using a spreadsheet.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 141 (2): 04014092. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001214.
Khoshnevisan, S., W. Gong, L. Wang, and C. H. Juang. 2014. “Robust design in geotechnical engineering—An update.” Georisk Assess. Manage. Risk Eng. Syst. Geohazards 8 (4): 217–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/17499518.2014.980274.
Kim, Y., S. Jeong, and S. Lee. 2011. “Wedge failure analysis of soil resistance on laterally loaded piles in clay.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 137 (7): 678–694. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000481.
Kondner, R. L. 1963. “A hyperbolic stress-strain response: Cohesive soils.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Eng. Div. 89 (1): 115–143.
Liang, R., E. S. Shatnawi, and J. Nusairat. 2007. “Hyperbolic p-y criterion for cohesive soils.” Jordan J. Civ. Eng. 1 (1): 38–58.
Liang, R., K. Yang, and J. Nusairat. 2009. “p-y criterion for rock mass.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 135 (1): 26–36. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2009)135:1(26).
Low, B. K., C. I. Teh, and W. H. Tang. 2001. “Stochastic nonlinear p-y analysis of laterally loaded piles.” In Proc., 8th Int. Conf. on Structural Safety and Reliability (ICOSSAR), 17–22. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Lü, Q., and B. K. Low. 2011. “Probabilistic analysis of underground rock excavations using response surface method and SORM.” Comput. Geotech. 38 (8): 1008–1021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2011.07.003.
Martin, C. M., and M. F. Randolph. 2006. “Upper-bound analysis of lateral pile capacity in cohesive soil.” Géotechnique 56 (2): 141–145. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2006.56.2.141.
Murff, J. D., and J. M. Hamilton. 1993. “P-ultimate for undrained analysis of laterally loaded piles.” J. Geotech. Eng. 119 (1): 91–107. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1993)119:1(91).
Pedram, B. 2015. “Effects of pile shape in improving the performance of monopiles embedded in onshore clays.” Can. Geotech. J. 52 (8): 1144–1158. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2014-0397.
Phoon, K. K., and F. H. Kulhawy. 1999. “Characterization of geotechnical variability.” Can. Geotech. J. 36 (4): 612–624. https://doi.org/10.1139/t99-038.
Rajashree, S. S., and T. G. Sitharam. 2001. “Nonlinear finite-element modeling of batter piles under lateral load.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 127 (7): 604–612. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2001)127:7(604).
Randolph, M. F., and G. T. Houlsby. 1984. “The limiting pressure on a circular pile loaded laterally in cohesive soil.” Géotechnique 34 (4): 613–623. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1984.34.4.613.
Reese, L. C., W. R. Cox, and F. D. Koop. 1974. “Analysis of laterally loaded piles in sand.” In 6th Annual Offshore Technology Conf., 473–485. Houston: Offshore Technology Conference.
Reese, L. C., W. R. Cox, and F. D. Koop. 1975. “Field testing and analysis of laterally loaded piles om stiff clay.” In Proc., Offshore Technology Conf. Houston: Offshore Technology Conference.
Robertson, P. K., M. P. Davies, and R. G. Campanella. 1989. “Design of laterally loaded driven piles using the flat dilatometer.” Geotech. Test. J. 12 (1): 30–38. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ10671J.
Silva, P. F., and M. T. Manzari. 2008. “Nonlinear pushover analysis of bridge columns supported on full-moment connection CISS piles on clays.” Earthquake Spectra 24 (3): 751–774. https://doi.org/10.1193/1.2945627.
Taguchi, G. 1986. Introduction to quality engineering: Designing quality into products and processes. New York: Quality Resources.
Tak Kim, B., N. K. Kim, W. Jin Lee, and Y. Su Kim. 2004. “Experimental load-transfer curves of laterally loaded piles in Nak-Dong River sand.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 130 (4): 416–425. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2004)130:4(416).
Tandjiria, V., C. I. Teh, and B. K. Low. 2000. “Reliability analysis of laterally loaded piles using response surface methods.” Struct. Saf. 22 (4): 335–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4730(00)00019-9.
Vesic, A. B. 1961. “Bending of beams resting on isotropic elastic solid.” J. Eng. Mech. Div. 87 (2): 35–54.
Wang, L., J. H. Hwang, C. H. Juang, and S. Atamturktur. 2013. “Reliability-based design of rock slopes—A new perspective on design robustness.” Eng. Geol. 154 (Feb): 56–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2012.12.004.
Wu, D., B. B. Broms, and V. Choa. 1998. “Design of laterally loaded piles in cohesive soils using p-y curves.” Soils Found. 38 (2): 17–26. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf.38.2_17.
Yang, K. 2006. “Analysis of laterally loaded drilled shafts in rock.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Akron.
Zhang, J., H. Wang, H. W. Huang, and L. H. Chen. 2017. “System reliability analysis of soil slopes stabilized with piles.” Eng. Geol. 229 (Nov): 45–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2017.09.009.
Zhang, J., L. M. Zhang, and W. H. Tang. 2011. “Reliability-based optimization of geotechnical systems.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 137 (12): 1211–1221. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000551.
Zhu, B., T. Li, G. Xiong, and J. C. Liu. 2016. “Centrifuge model tests on laterally loaded piles in sand.” Int. J. Phys. Modell. Geotech. 16 (4): 160–172. https://doi.org/10.1680/jphmg.15.00023.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145 • Issue 10 • October 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 14, 2018
Accepted: Jan 18, 2019
Published online: Jul 26, 2019
Published in print: Oct 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Dec 26, 2019
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.