Fractional Mathieu Differential Equations in Dynamic Stability of Piles

Abstract

Piles are commonly used in Civil and Mechanical Engineering to provide support to superstructures and to transmit loads to deeper ground layers. During earthquakes, pile instability can result in the collapse of the entire structure. In this paper, the pile is modeled as a column surrounded by Winkler soil foundations with fractional damping. Investigation of the axially loaded pile leads to a fractional Mathieu differential equation of motion. The Bolotin method, employing harmonic balance, is proposed to obtain the approximate instability boundaries of the pile in the stability diagrams. A practical example is presented to conduct a parametric study on pile instability concerning the fractional order. The study observes parametric resonance in the first order, representing the principal instability region, which requires special attention to maintain stability. Furthermore, increasing the fractional damping order leads to a higher critical dynamic load and a slight reduction in the critical frequency ratio in each instability region. Higher-order instability regions exhibit greater sensitivity to changes in the fractional order. These results provided insights into the stability of piles under earthquake conditions.