Analytical solution for axial load transfer of floating piles

Abstract

This paper presents an analytical solution for the analysis of axially-loaded compressible floating piles embedded in a homogeneous elastic soil layer of finite thickness. The mathematical model is based on a Tajimi-type elastic continuum formulation, that allows deriving an accurate closed-form expression for the frictional stresses developing at the soil-pile interface. The pile and its underlying soil column are considered as one-dimensional axially deforming rods, and solution of their governing equations leads to closed-form expressions for pile and soil displacements and stresses. The proposed model provides results of similar accuracy to boundary integral solutions for the special case of floating piles in elastic half-space, and to numerical analyses for the general problem of floating piles embedded in a layer of finite thickness. As such, the model is used to prepare charts for the settlement analysis of floating piles in practice, based on a parametric analysis that unveils the sensitivity of the axial response of floating piles to the different problem parameters.