A practical approach for the consideration of single pile and pile group installation effects in clay: numerical modelling

Abstract

In this paper, a practical approach for the consideration of single pile and pile group installation effects in clay is presented using some novel procedures implemented in the finite element (FE) software package PLAXIS 2D. Data reported at a soft clay site at Islais Creek, San Francisco are used to provide calibration for the constitutive model and to validate initial predictions of single pile installation effects. A short parametric study was then undertaken to examine the influence of a number of pile/soil parameters on the soil stresses generated around a single pile after installation and subsequent consolidation. In addition, a new simplified method is proposed to consider group installation effects over-and-above those associated with an equivalent single pile involving the volumetric expansion of tunnels within a plane-strain framework. Remarkably, results show that the installation of additional group piles has a negligible influence after consolidation.