Influence of Excess Pore Pressure Development on Inertial Pile Response

The behavior of piles in submerged and liquefiable sandy soils under earthquake loads attracted attention of researchers since 1980s. In this study, behavior of soil surrounding piles in such soils was investigated. In the study, response of the piles under inertial loads was considered, and it was assumed that the soil was in passive terms of during the earthquake. In other words, kinematic and inertial interactions are separated in soil-pile interaction. In the three-dimensional finite element analysis, harmonic loading was applied to the pile head. As a liquefiable soil layer, sandy soil whose liquefaction model parameters were determined at the California Wildlife Test Site was considered. In the analyzes made under different horizontal loads and frequencies, it was determined that the stresses transferred from the pile to the soil can force the soil up to liquefaction by causing excess pore water pressure to change in the soil, and its reflection on the horizontal load–displacement curves (p–y curves) is discussed. The results of the analysis revealed that the loading frequency had some effect on soil behavior and development of excess pore water pressure significantly affected the horizontal load- displacement curves.