An improved model for the horizontal dynamic response of piles in saturated soil

An improved model is developed to analyze the horizontal dynamic response of piles in saturated soil. The proposed model retains the simplicity of the plane strain model while accounting for 3-D effects. The vertical coordinate is suppressed by integrating the governing equations over the length of the pile. The three-dimensional model is reduced to a simpler model that is similar to the plane strain model. Explicit closed-form solutions are obtained by introducing potential functions. The proposed model is verified by comparison with more rigorous solutions. Finally, the influence of pile slenderness, permeability of soil, and other parameters on dynamic soil reaction and dynamic response of pile is investigated. It is revealed that the proposed model avoids the drawbacks of the earlier model and is effective in predicting the horizontal dynamic response of the pile.