Nonlinear dynamic analysis of laterally loaded pile

Abstract

In the present study a parametric analysis is conducted to study the effect of pile dimension and soil properties on the nonlinear dynamic response of pile subjected to lateral sinusoidal load at the pile head. The study is conducted on soil-pile model of different pile diameter, pile length and soil modulus, and results are compared to get the effect. The soil-pile system is modelled using Finite element method. The programming is done in MATLAB. Time history analysis of model is done for varying non-dimensional frequency of load and the results are compared to get the non-dimensional frequency at which pile head displacement is maximum in each case. Maximum possible bending moment and soil-pile interacting forces for the dynamic excitation of the pile is also compared. When results are compared with the linear response, it is observed that non-dimensional frequency is reduced in nonlinear response on account of reduction in the soil stiffness due to yielding. Nonlinear response curve shows high amplitude as compared to linear response curve. Copyright © 2014 Techno-Press, Ltd.