A computer package for the design of piles under cyclic tensile load

Abstract

The majority of studies on piles are directed towards their behaviour under compressive loads. There is very limited literature available on the behaviour of piles under cyclic tensile loads. With the development of tension leg platform (TLP) technology for deep offshore oil and gas fields, there is a growing interest in understanding the behaviour of TLP pile foundations, which are subjected to a static pull-out superimposed by a cyclic tensile force. To design a pile for cyclic tensile loading there is a need to estimate the safe cyclic tensile loads for a pile. This paper presents the details of a computer program developed to estimate the safe cyclic tensile load for a pile. In the program, factors such as load distribution along the pile length, mechanism of pile failure under cyclic loading and the critical cyclic stress level for soil–pile interface have been considered. The details of the program have been presented in the form of an algorithm and flowchart. Using the program, an example problem has been solved and the safe cyclic load for a set of field piles has been estimated. With the help of this program a computer package is developed for the design of piles under cyclic tensile load. The details of this package are presented in the form of a flowchart and algorithm.