Assessment of accumulated lateral displacement of a flexible pile due to cyclic lateral loads in saturated sand

Abstract

Pile foundations, which support offshore structures, are primarily subjected to cyclic lateral loads. The accumulated lateral displacement of the pile foundation is a critical parameter that affects the overall stability of the structure. This study presents a series of cyclic lateral loading tests conducted on flexible model piles installed in saturated sand with varying relative densities and cyclic loading characteristics. Based on the experimental results, a model is proposed to predict the accumulated lateral displacement of a pile under cyclic lateral loads. The proposed model takes into account the number of load cycles and the cyclic load ratio (the ratio of the minimum to maximum cyclic load) and is validated using experimental data. The results show that the accumulated lateral displacement increases exponentially with the number of load cycles and is influenced by the cyclic load ratio and the relative density of the sand. The proposed model provides an accurate prediction of the accumulated lateral displacement of piles installed in saturated sand and can be used to design pile foundations for offshore structures.