Finite element modeling of steel piles and suction caissons in sand under lateral and inclined load

Iftekharuzzaman, Md (2013) Finite element modeling of steel piles and suction caissons in sand under lateral and inclined load. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The behavior of a steel pipe pile in sand subjected to lateral load is examined by three-dimensional finite element (FE) analyses using the commercially available software package ABAQUS/Standard 6.10 EF1. The sand around the pile is modeled using a modified form of Mohr-Coulomb soil model. The modifications involve the nonlinear variation of elastic soil modulus with mean stress and the variation of mobilized angle of internal friction and dilation angle with plastic shear strain, which are implemented in ABAQUS/Standard using a user subroutine. Numerical analyses are also performed by using the LPILE software which is based on the p-y curve approach and widely used in design for estimating lateral load capacity of pile foundations. The FE and LPILE results are compared with the results of two full-scale tests available in the literature. It is shown that the FE model better simulates the response of a pile under lateral load. Comparing the numerical results with the full-scale test results, some limitations of the p-y curve method are highlighted. -- In the second part of the study, finite element analyses are performed to estimate the pullout capacity of a suction caisson subjected to oblique loading. Three-dimensional finite element analyses are performed using ABAQUS/Standard 6.10 EF1 finite element software. The effects of two key variables, loading angle and mooring line position, are investigated. The finite element results are compared with centrifuge test results available in the literature. The maximum pullout capacity is obtained when the mooring line is attached at approximately 75% depth of the caisson for the cases analyzed in this study.

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