Investigation of the behavior of pile foundation undergone cyclic lateral loading by three-dimensional finite element analysis (DGPILE-3D)

Abstract

It is known that during a major earthquake, a pile foundation usually undergone a cyclic lateral load up to ultimate state. The behavior of the pile foundation under cyclic loads, therefore, is very important in seismic evaluation of a pile foundation. In this paper, a three dimensional static elasto-plastic finite element analysis is conducted in order to properly evaluate the behavior of the pile foundation under cyclic loads. In the analysis, the nonlinear properties of structures and ground are considered. The structural material is simulated with trilinear model in which the stress-strain hysteresis is considered. The ground is simulated with elasto-perfect plasticity in which a non-associated flow rule is adopted to eliminate an over estimation of dilatancy in previous work (GPILE-3D). The stress-strain hysteresis of the ground is also considered. The calculated results are also compared with those obtained from a field test.