SIMULATION OF LATERAL PILE BEHAVIOR UNDER EARTHQUAKE MOTION

Abstract

The analysis presented herein is concerned with the behavior of a single pile, with particular emphasis on the soil-pile coupling. Simplified superstructure effects are considered, and separately determined free-field soil displacements are used as the input excitation. A discrete-element mechanical analogy is used to represent a pile under various loadings and restraints. The soil-pile coupling at each node is represented by a multi-element assemblage of friction blocks, springs and dashpots which facilitate and development of hysteretic pile-soil interaction under earthquake loading. The soil model allows strength degradation as a function of deflection and of the number of reversals of deflection in the range beyond an initially elastic condition. Furthermore, to properly represent the expected pile-soil interplay, formation of gaps are allowed in the upper layers. Lateral earth motions are simulated by moving the supports with respect to the point of initial zero deflection of the pile. /Author/