Prediction of Increase in Offshore Pile Shaft Capacity Following Installation Using the Coefficient of Horizontal Consolidation (Ch)

Abstract

AbstractDuring the offshore pile driving, the soils around the pile surface, particularly cohesive soils, lose strength because of an increase in pore water pressure and remolding. Following the installation of a driven pile, the excess pore pressure starts to dissipate, and thereby, the soils begin to regain the lost strength, which increases pile shaft capacity, a process known as pile setup. The time rate of increase in pile shaft capacity depends primarily on the coefficient of horizontal consolidation (Ch) besides pile diameter and pile wall thickness. This paper presents the results of a case study done on offshore driven open-ended steel piles to a) predict the pile setup following the installation b) compare the predicted setup with the measured pile setup using pile driving monitoring data. A correlation between vertical and horizontal coefficients of consolidation (Cv and Ch) is suggested which may be considered for pile setup predictions in similar soils.KeywordsSoil setupCoefficient of horizontal consolidation (Ch)Coefficient of vertical consolidation (Cv)Offshore driven pilePile driving monitoring