Capacity of Short Piles and Caissons in Soft Clay from Geotechnical Centrifuge Tests
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145, Issue 10
Abstract
Geotechnical centrifuge tests were conducted to examine the behavior of low-aspect-ratio piles and caissons in clayey soils subject to high moment loading. Model piles with an aspect ratio of two were tested in the 150g-t centrifuge at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Results include moment-inclination and force-displacement response for different loading conditions. Numerical studies were also performed consisting of three-dimensional finite-element simulations in order to predict capacities. The comparisons are performed in terms of the total resistance exerted by the soil on the caisson. This paper focuses on presenting the ultimate bearing capacity factors, including both experimental and numerical results. In addition, results are compared to a series of studies available in the literature, which include upper-bound solutions and experimental results.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation for the project Capacity and Performance of Foundations for Offshore Wind Towers, Award 1041604. Additionally, they would like to acknowledge the NEES site and their personnel at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Oct 3, 2017
Accepted: Feb 13, 2019
Published online: Jul 30, 2019
Published in print: Oct 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Dec 30, 2019
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