Numerical modeling of single closed and open-ended pipe pile embedded in dry soil layers under coupled static and dynamic loadings

Abstract For the design of a deep foundation, piles are presumed to transfer the axial and lateral loads into the ground. However, the effects of the combined loads are generally ignored in engineering practice since there are uncertainties to the precise definition of soil–pile interactions. Hence, for technical discussions of the soil–pile interactions due to dynamic loads, a three-dimensional finite element model was developed to evaluate the soil pile performance based on the 1 g shaking table test. The static loads consisted of 50% of the allowable vertical pile capacity and 50% of the allowable lateral pile capacity. The dynamic loads were taken from the recorded data of the Kobe earthquake. The current numerical model takes into account the material non-linearity and the non-linearity of pile-to-surrounded soil contact surfaces. A lateral ground acceleration was adapted to simulate the seismic effects. This research emphasizes modeling the 1 g model by adapting MIDAS GTS NX software. This will, in turn, present the main findings from a single pile model under a combined static and dynamic load. Consequently, the main results were first validated and then used for further deep investigations. The numerical results predicted a slightly higher displacement in the horizontal and vertical directions than the 1 g shaking table. The shear stress–shear strain relationship was predicted. Positive frictional resistance for the closed-ended pile was captured during the first 5 s when low values of acceleration were applied and, consequently, the pile resistance decreased and became negative. Internal and external frictional resistance was captured for the open-ended pipe pile. Overall, frictional resistance values were decreased with time until they reached the last time step with a minimum value. As a result, the evaluation of the current study can be used as a guide for analysis and preliminary design in engineering practice.