SIMCENTER > PILE GROUP APPLICATION
The SimCenter Pile-Group Tool provides a dynamic interface to study the behavior of a pile or pile-group in layered soil.
SIMCENTER — COMPUTATIONAL MODELING AND SIMULATION CENTER — Official Website
It allows the user to interactively (and nearly instantly) observe the system’s response to changes of the following parameters:
- soil structure (up to 3 layers of variable thickness) and soil properties
- position of the ground water table
- pile stiffness, embedment length, connection type to the pile cap
- number of piles in the group (one to three piles)
- the applied horizontal force at the pile cap (push-over analysis)
Presented results include:
- lateral displacement of all piles
- moment and shear diagrams for each
- vertical soil stresses
- ultimate strength and stiffness parameters for the employed p-y springs
Technical background:
The soil-structure system is modeled using a finite-element platform. Piles are represented by displacement based beam-column elements. Soil-structure interaction is represented laterally by p-y springs and tangentially by t-z springs. Spring properties are computed using Hansen’s method [1] and recommendations by the American Petroleum Institute (API) [2]. The Pile-Group Tool constructs a structurally and numerically appropriate finite-element mesh, computes spring properties from soil properties, and places spring elements accordingly. The actual simulation employs a Newton-Raphson iterative procedure to solve the governing nonlinear system of equations.
References:
- Brinch Hansen, J. (1961). “The ultimate resistance of rigid piles against transversal forces.”Bulletin №12, Geoteknisk Institute, Copenhagen, 59.
- American Petroleum Institute (API) (1987). Recommended Practice for Planning, Designing and Constructing Fixed Offshore Platforms. API Recommended Practice 2A(RP-2A), Washington D.C, 17th edition.
