Discrete element modelling of axial load testing on piles under the influence of ageing

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Publication Title
Discrete element modelling of axial load testing on piles under the influence of ageing

Abstract
Pile ageing has shown to increase the axial shaft capacity of piles by up to 250% within 9 months of installation. Incorporating ageing effects in the design of offshore wind turbine foundations could significantly reduce pile length, and therefore material and installation costs. However, this requires a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms through systematic investigations. Numerous researchers have investigated the influence of ageing on the axial capacity of piles using physical models at field and laboratory scales. The time and costs of undertaking parametric studies are much higher in physical testing, and have therefore been limited to date. Discrete Element Modelling (DEM) has shed light on micro-to-macro scale mechanisms of various complex geomechanical problems. This paper is a pilot study using DEM (Particle Flow Code software) for axial pile testing, where the ageing phenomenon is simulated using bonds at the soil-pile interface. Field-scale axial loading tests on aged piles performed in Blessington, Ireland, are used as a reference in this study. This study provides an innovative DEM approach to simulate the effects of pile ageing phenomenon and explore the axial load behaviour of piles.
Authors
S. Kasyap; M. B. Mohammed; David Igoe

Published In

18th European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ECSMGE2024)

Theme

E - Environment, water and energy

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