Preface

This textbook summarizes the final results of the research group GEOTECH founded by the German Research Council (DFG) dealing with the holistic consideration of geotechnical installation processes. In this sense, the entire process for the realization of a geotechnical construction project starting from a well-defined initial stress and deformation state is taken into account. From the engineering practice, it is well known that the installation process of structural elements into the ground may cause strong deformation and stress redistribution in the surrounding soil. Dealing with excavation pits in urban areas, installation processes like piling or anchoring therefore often lead to unexpected displacements of the shoring or neighbouring buildings exceeding those due to the excavation or dewatering of the pit. The assessment of the deformations resulting from geotechnical installation processes is, on the one hand, required from the codes (EC 7) or regulations but on the other hand, validated high-quality prediction simulations are still not available. Suitable numerical methods should be based on realistic and validated highly nonlinear incremental constitutive models for the soils under cyclic/dynamic loading conditions and advanced simulation tools. However, existing models do not offer up to now the required prediction quality. The main target of the research group is the provision of suitable methods for the simulation of geotechnical installation processes based on fundamental research in order to reliably predict the serviceability state of supporting systems and nearby structures especially with regard to the vibro-installation of piles. In order to achieve these targets, the research group operates in three levels: