Role of Pile Spacing on Dynamic Behavior of Pile Groups in Layered Soils
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 3
Abstract
This research investigates the influence of pile spacing on the dynamic behavior of pile groups by performing a series of specifically designed dynamic centrifuge experiments on pile foundations embedded in a two-layered soil profile. A single pile and two row pile groups with different pile spacing were used as model pile foundations, and the soil models consisted of a soft clay underlain by dense sand. The influence of earthquake frequency on the dynamic behavior of two-layered soils is discussed using the centrifuge data and 1D site response analysis from DEEPSOIL. Further, the results of these centrifuge tests agreed with the conviction that the group effects will be diminished with the increase in pile-to-pile spacing in a pile group due to reduced pile-soil-pile interaction. However, these reduced pile group effects can lead to larger kinematic pile bending moments in the widely spaced pile group compared with a closely spaced pile group. Moreover, the single pile always has larger bending moments than both the tested pile groups—an exception to this is when there is a significant phase difference between the kinematic and inertial loads for a single pile but not for the widely spaced pile group. The influence of pile spacing on the shadowing effects and location of peak bending moments in the piles of a group are also discussed in this paper. Lastly, an attempt is made to evaluate the individual contribution of inertial and kinematic loads for the seismic design of pile foundations considering soil-pile-structure interaction effects.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
T. K. Garala would like to thank the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) and Cambridge Trust for their doctoral scholarship. The authors extend their appreciation to the technicians at the Schofield Centre of Cambridge University for their assistance during the centrifuge experiments. The authors also appreciate the anonymous reviewers for constructive comments and suggestions, which greatly improved this article.
References
Abghari, A., and J. Chai. 1995. “Modeling of soil–pile–superstructure interaction for bridge foundations.” In Proc., Performance of Deep Foundations under Seismic Loading, 45–59. New York: ASCE.
Adachi, N., Y. Suzuki, and K. Miura. 2004. “Correlation between inertial force and subgrade reaction of pile in liquefied soil.” In Proc., 13th World Conf. on Earthquake Engineering. Vancouver, BC: Canadian Association for Earthquake Engineering.
Basile, F. 2003. Numerical analysis and modelling in geomechanics: Analysis and design of pile groups. Edited by J. W. Bull. London: CRC Press.
Boulanger, R. W., C. J. Curras, B. L. Kutter, D. W. Wilson, and A. Abghari. 1999. “Seismic soil–pile–structure interaction experiments and analysis.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 125 (9): 750–759. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(1999)125:9(750).
Brennan, A. J., and S. P. G. Madabhushi. 2002. “Design and performance of a new deep model container for dynamic centrifuge testing.” In Proc., Int. Conf. on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics, 183–188. Rotterdam, Netherlands: A.A. Balkema.
Brennan, A. J., N. I. Thusyanthan, and S. P. G. Madabhushi. 2005. “Evaluation of shear modulus and damping in dynamic centrifuge tests.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 131 (12): 1488–1497. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2005)131:12(1488).
Brown, D. A., and C. F. Shie. 1990. “Numerical experiments into group effects on the response of piles to lateral loading.” Comput. Geotech. 10 (3): 211–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/0266-352X(90)90036-U.
BSI (British Standards Institution). 2015. Code of practice for foundations. BS 8004. London: BSI.
Cai, Y. X., P. L. Gould, and C. S. Desai. 2000. “Nonlinear analysis of 3D seismic interaction of soil–pile–structure system and application.” Eng. Struct. 22 (2): 191–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0141-0296(98)00108-4.
CEN (European Committee for Standardization). 2004. Design of structures for earthquake resistance. Part 5: Foundations, retaining structures and geotechnical aspects. EN 1998-5: Eurocode 8. Brussels, Belgium: CEN.
Chau, K. T., C. Y. Shen, and X. Guo. 2009. “Non-Linear seismic soil-pile-structure interaction: Shaking table tests and FEM analyses.” Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 29 (2): 300–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2008.02.004.
Darendeli, M. B. 2001. “Development of a new family of modulus reduction and material damping curves.” Dept. of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Texas Austin.
Di Laora, R., A. Mandolini, and G. Mylonakis. 2012. “Insight on kinematic bending of flexible piles in layered soil.” Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 43 (Dec): 309–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2012.06.020.
Dobry, R., and M. J. O’Rourke. 1983. “Discussion of ‘Seismic response of end-bearing piles’ by Raul Flores-Berrones and Robert V. Whitman (April, 1982).” J. Geotech. Eng. 109 (5): 778–781. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1983)109:5(778).
Durante, M. G., L. D. Sarno, G. Mylonakis, C. A. Taylor, and A. L. Simonelli. 2016. “Soil–pile–structure interaction: Experimental outcomes from shaking table tests.” Earthq. Eng. Struct. Dyn. 45 (7): 1041–1061. https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.2694.
Fan, K., G. Gazetas, A. Kaynia, E. Kausal, and S. Ahmad. 1991. “Kinematic seismic response of single piles and pile groups.” J. Geotech. Eng. 117 (12): 1860–1879. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1991)117:12(1860).
Garala, T. K. 2020. “Seismic response of pile foundations in soft clays and layered soils.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Engineering, Univ. of Cambridge.
Garala, T. K., and S. P. G. Madabhushi. 2019. “Seismic behaviour of soft clay and its influence on the response of friction pile foundations.” Bull. Earthq. Eng. 17 (4): 1919–1939. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-018-0508-4.
Garala, T. K., and S. P. G. Madabhushi. 2020. “Influence of the phase difference between kinematic and inertial loads on seismic behaviour of pile foundations embedded in layered soils.” Can. Geotech. J. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2019-0547.
Garala, T. K., S. P. G. Madabhushi, and R. Di Laora. 2020. “Experimental investigation of kinematic pile bending in layered soils using dynamic centrifuge modelling.” Géotechnique 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.19.p.185.
Gazetas, G., T. Tazoh, K. Shimizu, and K. Fan. 1993. “Seismic response of the pile foundation of Ohba-Ohashi Bridge.” In Proc., 3rd Int. Conf. on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering, 1803–1809. Columbia, MO: Missouri Univ. of Science and Technology.
Ghosh, B., and S. P. G. Madabhushi. 2002. “An efficient tool for measuring shear wave velocity in the centrifuge.” In Proc., Int. Conf. on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics, 119–124. Rotterdam, Netherlands: A.A. Balkema.
Hardin, B. O., and V. P. Drnevich. 1972. “Shear modulus and damping in soils: Design equation and curves.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Eng. Div. 98 (7): 667–692.
Hashash, Y. M. A., M. I. Musgrove, J. A. Harmon, I. Okan, D. R. Groholski, C. A. Philipis, and D. Park. 2017. DEEPSOIL 7.0 user manual. Urbana, IL: Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Hokmabadi, A. S. 2014. “Effect of dynamic soil–pile–structure interaction on seismic response of mid-rise moment resisting frames.” Ph.D. dissertation, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, Univ. of Technology Sydney.
Hussien, M. N., T. Tobita, S. Iai, and M. Karray. 2016. “Soil-pile-structure kinematic and inertial interaction observed in geotechnical centrifuge experiments.” Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 89 (Oct): 75–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2016.08.002.
Kampitsis, A. E., E. J. Sapountzakis, S. K. Giannakos, and N. A. Gerolymos. 2013. “Seismic soil pile-structure kinematic and inertial interaction: A new beam approach.” Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 55 (Dec): 211–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2013.09.023.
Kavvadas, M., and G. Gazetas. 1993. “Kinematic seismic response and bending of free-head piles in layered soil.” Géotechnique 43 (2): 207–222.
Ke, W., Q. Liu, and C. Zhang. 2019. “Kinematic bending of single piles in layered soil.” Acta Geotech. 14 (1): 101–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-018-0640-y.
Luo, C., X. Yang, C. Zhan, X. Jin, and Z. Ding. 2016. “Nonlinear 3D finite element analysis of soil–pile–structure interaction system subjected to horizontal earthquake excitation.” Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 84 (May): 145–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2016.02.005.
Luo, X., Y. Murono, and A. Nishimura. 2002. “Verifying adequacy of the seismic deformation method by using real examples of earthquake damage.” Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 22 (1): 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0267-7261(01)00053-7.
Madabhushi, S. P. G. 2014. Centrifuge modelling for civil engineers. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Madabhushi, S. P. G., S. K. Haigh, N. E. Houghton, and E. Gould. 2012. “Development of a servo-hydraulic earthquake actuator for the Cambridge Turner beam centrifuge.” Int. J. Phys. Modell. Geotech. 12 (2): 77–88. https://doi.org/10.1680/ijpmg.11.00013.
Madabhushi, S. P. G., J. Knappett, and S. K. Haigh. 2010. Design of pile foundations in liquefiable soils. London: Imperial College Press.
Maheshwari, B. K., K. Z. Truman, M. H. El Naggar, and P. L. Gould. 2004. “Three-dimensional finite element nonlinear dynamic analysis of pile groups for lateral transient and seismic excitations.” Can. Geotech. J. 41 (1): 118–133. https://doi.org/10.1139/t03-073.
Maiorano, R. M. S., L. de Sanctis, S. Aversa, and A. Mandolini. 2009. “Kinematic response analysis of piled foundations under seismic excitations.” Can. Geotech. J. 46 (5): 571–584. https://doi.org/10.1139/T09-004.
Margason, E., and D. M. Halloway. 1977. “Pile bending during earthquakes.” In Vol. 2 of Proc., 6th World Conf. on Earthquake Engineering, 1690–1696. Meerut, India: M/S Sarita Prakashan.
Meymand, P. J. 1998. “Shaking table scale model tests of nonlinear soil-pile-superstructure interaction in soft clay.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of California.
Mizuno, H. 1985. “Pile damage during earthquakes in Japan (1923–1983).” In Vol. 11 of Proc., Dynamic Response of Pile Foundations—Experiment, Analysis and Observation, 53–78. New York: ASCE.
Murono, Y., and A. Nishimura. 2000. “Evaluation of seismic force of pile foundation induced by inertial and kinematic interaction.” In Proc., 12th World Conf. on Earthquake Engineering. Silverstream, New Zealand: New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering.
Mylonakis, G. 1995. “Contributions to static and seismic analysis of piles and pile-supported bridge piers.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering, State Univ. of New York at Buffalo.
Mylonakis, G. 2001. “Simplified method for seismic pile bending at soil-layer interfaces.” Soils Found. 41 (4): 47–58. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf.41.4_47.
Mylonakis, G., A. Nikolaou, and G. Gazetas. 1997. “Soil-pile-bridge seismic interaction: Kinematic and inertial effects. Part I: Soft soil.” Earthq. Eng. Struct. Dyn. 26 (3): 337–359. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-9845(199703)26:3%3C337::AID-EQE646%3E3.0.CO;2-D.
Ng, C. W. W., L. Zhang, and D. C. N. Nip. 2001. “Response of laterally loaded large-diameter bored pile groups.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 127 (8): 658–669. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2001)127:8(658).
Nikolaou, S., G. Mylonakis, G. Gazetas, and T. Tazoh. 2001. “Kinematic pile bending during earthquakes: Analysis and field measurements.” Géotechnique 51 (5): 425–440. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2001.51.5.425.
Oztoprak, S., and M. D. Bolton. 2013. “Stiffness of sand through a laboratory test database.” Géotechnique 63 (1): 54–70. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.10.P.078.
Pitilakis, D., M. Dietz, D. M. Wood, D. Clouteau, and A. Modaressi. 2008. “Numerical simulation of dynamic soil–structure interaction in shaking table testing.” Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 28 (6): 453–467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2007.07.011.
Rahmani, A., M. Taiebat, W. D. L. Finn, and C. E. Ventura. 2018. “Evaluation of p-y springs for nonlinear static and seismic soil-pile interaction analysis under lateral loading.” Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 115 (Dec): 438–447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2018.07.049.
Rollins, K. M., R. J. Olsen, J. J. Egbert, D. H. Jensen, K. G. Olsen, and B. H. Garrett. 2006. “Pile spacing effects on lateral pile group behaviour: Load tests.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 132 (10): 1262–1271. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2006)132:10(1262).
Rovithis, E., E. Kirtas, and K. Pitilakis. 2009. “Experimental p-y loops for estimating seismic soil-pile interaction.” Bull. Earthq. Eng. 7 (3): 719–736. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-009-9116-7.
RTRI (Railway Technical Research Institute). 1999. Seismic design code for railway structures. [In Japanese.] Tokyo: Maruzen.
Schofield, A. N. 1980. “Cambridge geotechnical centrifuge operations.” Géotechnique 30 (3): 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1980.30.3.227.
Shirato, M., Y. Nonomura, J. Fukui, and S. Nakatani. 2008. “Large-scale shake table experiment and numerical simulation on the nonlinear behavior of pile-groups subjected to large-scale earthquakes.” Soils Found. 48 (3): 375–396. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf.48.375.
Sica, S., G. Mylonakis, and A. L. Simonelli. 2011. “Transient kinematic pile bending in two-layer soil.” Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 31 (7): 891–905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2011.02.001.
Teymur, B., and S. P. G. Madabhushi. 2003. “Experimental study of boundary effects in dynamic centrifuge modelling.” Geotechnique 53 (7): 655–663. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2003.53.7.655.
Tokimatsu, K., H. Suzuki, and M. Sato. 2005. “Effects of inertial and kinematic interaction on seismic behaviour of pile with embedded foundation.” Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 25 (7–10): 753–762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2004.11.018.
Viggiani, G., and J. H. Atkinson. 1995. “Stiffness of fine-grained soil at very small strains.” Géotechnique 45 (2): 249–265. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1995.45.2.249.
Wang, R., X. Liu, and J. M. Zhang. 2017. “Numerical analysis of the seismic inertial and kinematic effects on pile bending moment in liquefiable soils.” Acta Geotech. 12 (4): 773–791. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-016-0487-z.
Wilson, D. 1998. “Dynamic centrifuge tests of pile supported structures in liquefiable sand.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of California.
Yoo, M. T., J. T. Han, J. I. Choi, and S. Y. Kwon. 2017. “Development of predicting method for dynamic pile behaviour by using centrifuge tests considering the kinematic load effect.” Bull. Earthq. Eng. 15 (3): 967–989. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-016-9998-0.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 3 • March 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 6, 2020
Accepted: Nov 6, 2020
Published online: Jan 13, 2021
Published in print: Mar 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Jun 13, 2021
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.