A simplified method to consider the pile of insufficient length to obtain the support from bearing stratum

Abstract

Recently, in Japan, there is a case that the pile end of the building did not reach the firm layer because the soil layer was complicated. In such a case with piles with insufficient length, the existing pile modelling method cannot be applied. Therefore, we tried to model the load–settlement relationship of a pile with insufficient length through a two-dimensional (2D) analysis. Firstly, we perform three-dimensional (3D) analyses to examine the load–settlement relationship of a pile with insufficient length. Thus, a degradation parameter to express the effect of insufficient length of the pile is proposed for practical 2D FEM analysis. Finally, we conduct a feasibility study with the proposed parameter in 2D model. It is expected that the proposed model can be used as a reference for verifying the practical performance of buildings supported by incompletely end-supported piles through a 2D analysis.

Keywords

• incompletely end-supported pile
• load-settlement relationship of pile
• pile foundation
• nonlinear spring element