Theoretical analysis of long-term setup of driven piles considering soil anisotropy, destructuration and creep effects

Abstract The soil adjacent to the pile suffers a severe destructuration during pile installation and then regains its strength during the setup stage. This paper presents a theoretical approach to evaluate the long-term setup of driven piles in soft sensitive clays. An advanced elastic-viscoplastic model that accounts for fabric anisotropy, particle bonding and viscosity, is used in both stages of pile installation and setup. A semi-analytical solution for the undrained cylindrical and spherical cavity expansion in soft sensitive clays is developed to capture the pile installation effects. The changes in the stress state and fabric anisotropy of the soil adjacent to the pile caused by pore pressure dissipation and sustained service loads are analyzed. The evolution of soil mechanical behavior is incorporated into the load-transfer models of shaft friction and base resistance. Comparisons between measured and predicted results of field tests at three different sites demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach. The calculated results illustrate that the ultimate bearing capacity increases steadily with time during the long-term setup stage. An extensive study is carried out to evaluate the effects of soil's initial anisotropy and bonding on the load-settlement behavior of driven piles.