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- Cyclic lateral load (3) (entfernen)
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.
Numerical analysis can be useful for the investigation of important aspects of offshore foundation
prototypes that otherwise could hardly be studied experimentally, like the evolution of pore-water pressure around
the monopile foundation of an offshore wind turbine under extreme loading. A combination of mixed pressuredisplacement
formulations along with a constitutive model for sands based on the Generalized Plasticity Theory
can replicate accurately the soil behaviour in saturated conditions. However, additional issues must be taken into
account in order to perform numerical simulations of offshore piles. Some implications of the Babuska-Brezzi
restriction, as well as considerations about the pile-soil interface and suitable solution strategies are discussed
here. Due to the high cost of the transient analysis, the parallel computation offers a promising perspective, but
can be complex and needs to be implemented carefully in order to avoid a performance deterioration. A brief
overview on current trends and functional software is given here.