NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF STEEL PILES IN LIQUEFIABLE SOIL

The seismic response of pile foundations in liquefiable soil subjected to earthquake loading is a very complex process. In liquefiable soils, progressive buildup of pore water pressure may result in loss of strength and stiffness resulting in large bending moments and shear forces onthe pile. The pile can be seriously destroyed by the soil liquefaction during strong earthquakes. The purpose of this paper is to present the response of steel pipe piles in liquefiable soil under seismic loads. The analysis is conducted using a two-dimensional plain strain finite differenceprogram considering a nonlinear constitutive model for soil liquefaction, strength reduction, and pile-soil interaction. The maximum lateral displacement and maximum pile bending moment are obtained for steel piles for different pile and earthquake parameters. It is shown that the arias intensity and the predominant frequency of the earthquake ground motion have a significant influence on the pile response in liquefiable soil.

Keywords:

Dynamic Analysis , Pile , Liquefaction , Earthquake , Finite Difference Method