TY - JOUR A1 - Cuéllar, Pablo A1 - Baeßler, Matthias A1 - Rücker, Werner T1 - Ratcheting convective cells of sand grains around offshore piles under cyclic lateral loads N2 - Sand densification around the pile has traditionally been regarded as an explanation for the grain migration and soil subsidence that often occur around cyclic laterally loaded piles embedded in sand. Supported by new empirical evidence, this paper proposes that, additionally to some soil densification around the pile, the main cause for the continuous "steady-state" grain migration is a convective cell flow of sand grains in the vicinities of the pile head. Such convective flow would be caused by a ratcheting mechanism triggered by the cyclic low-frequency lateral displacements of the pile. Furthermore, the experimental results suggest that the limit between the convective cell and the static soil is marked by a distinct direct shear surface. This might shed some light into the complex phenomena related to the pile-soil interaction in the upper layers of the bedding, which are normally the main contributor for the lateral load-bearing capacity of piles. KW - Grain migration KW - Pile foundation KW - Cyclic lateral load KW - Ratcheting KW - Convection KW - Densification PY - 2009 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-009-0153-3 SN - 1434-5021 SN - 1434-7636 SP - 1 EP - 12(?) PB - Springer CY - Berlin ; Heidelberg AN - OPUS4-20104 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cuéllar, Pablo A1 - Georgi, Steven A1 - Baeßler, Matthias A1 - Rücker, Werner T1 - On the quasi-static granular convective flow and sand densification around pile foundations under cyclic lateral loading N2 - The saturated sand surrounding an offshore pile foundation under quasi-static cyclic lateral load can show the physical phenomena of macromechanical densification and convective granular flow. Based on the results from physical model tests at different geometrical scales, this paper provides a certain quantification of such phenomena and discusses their causes and consequences. The progressive sand densification leads to subsidence of the soil surface and a significant stiffening of the pile behaviour. Conversely, the ratcheting convective motion of two closed cells of soil beneath the pile-head is responsible for an endless grain migration at the soil surface, the inverse grading of the convected material and a direct shear of the sand at the distinct boundary of the revolving soil domain. In this respect, and from a macromechanical perspective considering the soil as a continuum, it appears that the convecting material tends to follow gradient lines of shear stress during its ratcheting motion. Concluding the paper, the practical relevance of these phenomena and their extrapolation to other conditions are briefly discussed. KW - Offshore pile foundation KW - Cyclic loading KW - Ratcheting KW - Granular convection KW - Densification PY - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-011-0305-0 SN - 1434-5021 SN - 1434-7636 VL - 14 IS - 1 SP - 11 EP - 25 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ; Heidelberg AN - OPUS4-25405 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -