STIFFNESS AND DAMPING OF PILES IN LAYERED MEDIA

Abstract

An approximate theory is presented that makes it possible to include variation of soil properties with depth in the calculation of dynamic stiffness and damping of piles. This factor is of great significance and its incorporation can considerably improve the agreement between the theory and experiments. An extensive parametric study is presented to illuminate the effects of the soil profile, frequency, material damping, free length of the pile and other factors. Dynamic stiffness and damping of embedded piles are given for the case of parabolic variation of soil stiffness with depth. Charts are presented for use in parctical applications. Rigid bodies are also treated. /Author/