A Study of Pile Group Geometry on Soil Bed Response, under Dynamic Loads, Using Finite-Element Method

Abstract

Abstract. Without a doubt, using piles in construction industry, considering various conditions of sites in different locations, especially in problem soils, seems unavoidable. High-priced laboratories unavailable for most designers, on one hand and well-proven capability of the finite-element method to get the job of obtaining acceptable results done, and pass the red face test of the concordance contest with experimental results, on the other hand, drags the trade-off trend of study methods to the latter. In this paper, with the use of finite-element method dynamic analysis, executed in Abaqus software, the effects of piles' geometry on soil bed response have been investigated. The results indicate that using piles with larger diameters is much more effective than using more piles with smaller ones. Furthermore, under dynamic stimulations, the uttermost displacement occurs at pile caps, and with a well-designed pile cap connection to the foundation, seismic failures, which are one of the most probable damages at connection points, can be prevented.