A Nonlinear Numerical Analysis of Vertical Bearing Behavior of Bored Pile Foundations Including Defective Piles with Stem Shrinkage

Abstract

In order to investigate the influence of the defective piles with stem shrinkage on the working behavior of pile foundations under vertical loadings, a numerical model was set up for the analysis of pile foundations. A series of contrastive analyses were made to a group piled foundations including a pile with defect of stem shrinkage in a shallow or a deeper depth and a pile foundation with normal piles with a three dimensional nonlinear finite-infinite element method. The basic working behavior of the pile foundation with a defective pile of stem shrinkage was initially revealed by the results of the analyses; and the basic rules of the affects of pile stem shrinkage defect on the distribution of axial forces among piles and the bending moments in pile caps were obtained. The results of this research are not only helpful for the understanding and rational judgment of the working mechanism, but also of practical importance in the assessment of the bearing behavior of pile foundations including defective piles with stem shrinkage and in the structural designs of piles and pile caps.