Dynamic response of bored piles with gradient defects during low strain integrity test

Abstract

With the proposal of the gradient ring-soil pile model, the possibility of utilizing the low strain integrity test for identifying gradient defects of the bored piles embedded in unsaturated soil is confirmed. The gradient ring-soil pile model realizes the simulation of soil-pile interaction at the soil-pile interfaces with arbitrary shapes in the horizontal projection. Compared to existing theoretical answers, this paper extends the low strain test theory to the identification of gradient defects. With the adoption of the Laplace transform, differential operator decomposition theory, variable separation method, and impedance function transfer method, a semi-analytical solution is derived. Taking advantage of the semi-analytical solution, a parametric study is conducted to analyze the variation of the defect shapes on the test signal of the bored pile. Based on the findings, a series of methods for identifying gradient defects in engineering applications are summarized. The main findings can be summarized as follows: 1. The soil filled in the gradient necking defects would significantly decrease the magnitudes of reflected signals at these defects, making them more challenging to be identified; 2. If simply modeling the gradient defects as sudden defects, the severity of defects can be underestimated, resulting in the overestimation of pile capacity; 3. The shape of the gradient defect, as well as the length of the gradient defect, has a significant influence on the reflected signal.