Displacement and force analyses of piles in the pile-caisson composite structure under eccentric inclined loading considering different stratum features

Abstract

A novel anchorage for long-span suspension bridges, called pile-caisson composite structures, was recently proposed by the authors in an attempt to reduce the construction period and costs. This study aims to investigate the displacement and force behavior of piles in a pile-caisson composite structure under eccentric inclined loading considering different stratum features. To this end, both 1g model tests and three-dimensional numerical simulations were performed. Two groups of 1g model tests were used to validate the finite-element (FE) method. Parametric studies were then performed to investigate the effects of groundwater level, burial depth of the pile-caisson composite structure, and distribution of soil layers on the performance of the pile-caisson composite structure. The numerical analyses indicated that the influence of the groundwater level on the stability of the caisson was much greater than that of the piles. In addition, increasing the burial depth of the pile-caisson composite structure can assist in reducing the displacements and improving the stability of the pile-caisson composite structure. In addition, the distribution of soil layers can significantly affect the stability of the pile-caisson composite structure, especially the soil layer around the caisson.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

composite structure / piles / foundation / suspension bridge / 1g model test / finite-element analysis

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Notations

1/n: geometric similarity ratio

1/i: similarity ratio of the soil density

G_s: specific gravity

w: moisture content

ρ: density

e_max: maximum void ratio

e_min: minimum void ratio

D_r: relative density

d₅₀: average particle size

\phi: friction angle

E_p: Young’s modulus of real bored piles in prototype

E_m: Young’s modulus of hollow piles in model tests

E_n: Young’s modulus of embedded piles

I_p: area moment of inertia of real bored piles in prototype

I_m: area moment of inertia of hollow piles in model tests

I_n: area moment of inertia of embedded piles

EI: bending stiffness of piles

E_pI_p: bending stiffness of real bored piles in prototype

E_mI_m: bending stiffness of hollow piles in model tests

E_nI_n: bending stiffness of embedded piles

d: diameter of the embedded pile

l: length of the embedded pile

\gamma: unit weight

e: void ratio

E_{\text{s}}: compression modulus

E_{\text{oed}}^{\text{ref}}: tangent stiffness from oedometer primary loading

E_{50}^{\text{ref}}: secant stiffness in standard drained triaxial tests

E_{\text{ur}}^{\text{ref}}: loading–unloading stiffness

c^{\prime }: effective cohesion

{\phi }^{\prime }: effective angle of internal friction

\psi: dilatancy angle

m: power of stress-level dependency of stiffness

F_a: applied load

F_d: designed load

R: ratio of applied load on main cables to designed load on main cables

N_SPT: value of standard penetration test

{\sigma }_3^{\prime }: effective confining pressure

p^{\text{ref}}: referential pressure

H: magnitude of groundwater level

z_s: burial depth of the pile-caisson composite structure

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51778575, 52078457).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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