Numerical modelling of the driving response of thin-walled open-ended piles

The driving response of thin-walled open-ended piles is studied using numerical simulation of the wave propagation inside the soil plug and the pile. An elastic finite element analysis is carried out to identify the stress wave propagation in the vicinity of the pile toe. It is found that the shear stress wave has the highest magnitude above the bottom of the soil plug. Below the bottom of the soil plug, the vertical stress wave has the highest magnitude. Although the shear stress wave propagating in the radial direction is similar in magnitude to the vertical stress wave at the bottom of the soil plug, it decays rapidly while travelling downwards. The highest vertical stress at the bottom of the soil plug appears after the vertical stress wave interacts with the shear stress wave travelling in the radial direction. Initially, the vertical stress wave propagates with the dilation wave velocity in both the radial and vertical directions. After it interacts with the shear stress wave, the vertical stress wave starts to propagate with the shear wave velocity in the radial direction and with the axial wave velocity downwards. It is concluded that at the bottom of the soil plug, the interaction between the waves travelling in radial and vertical directions is important. The capabilities of several one-dimensional pile-in-pile models to reproduce the driving response given by a two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model is studied. It is seen that when the base of the soil plug fails, a one-dimensional pile-in-pile model can be used to achieve results in agreement with the finite element model. However, when the pile is unplugged, where the base of the soil plug does not fail, a reduced finite element mesh that permits the radial wave propagation inside the soil plug must be used.