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Two‐dimensional lower bound analysis of offshore pile foundation systems
Author(s) -
Chen Jinbo,
Gilbert Robert B.,
Choo Yoo Sang,
Marshall Peter W.,
Murff James D.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal for numerical and analytical methods in geomechanics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.419
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1096-9853
pISSN - 0363-9061
DOI - 10.1002/nag.2488
Subject(s) - pile , upper and lower bounds , foundation (evidence) , structural engineering , geotechnical engineering , finite element method , engineering , computer science , mathematics , mathematical analysis , archaeology , history
Summary The objective of this paper is to present a simplified method to determine the pile foundation system capacity based on the lower bound theorem of plasticity. The motivations for determining the lower bound capacity are the following: (1) to evaluate the accuracy of solutions based on the upper bound method; (2) to provide a conservative and efficient solution to the system capacity; and (3) to provide information about load distribution among individual piles at the verge of failure for the pile system. The failure mechanisms for a single pile and for the pile system are assumed to be two‐dimensional. For a typical long offshore pile, the upper and lower bound analyses produce identical lateral capacities. A simplified failure surface for loads at the single pile head is proposed and verified through analysis of 16 case study piles. With this proposed failure surface for a single pile, the lower bound failure load of the pile foundation system is obtained using the elastic compensation method enhanced with the linear matching method. Comparing with the existing upper bound and finite element solutions, the proposed lower bound method is capable of accurately and efficiently predicting the ultimate capacity of a pile foundation system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.