An analytical solution of a horizontally vibrating pile considering water-pile-soil interaction on viscoelastic half-space

The water-pile-soil model on viscoelastic half-space is developed to investigate the dynamic responses of an end-bearing pile subjected to the horizontal dynamic loads. The pile is assumed to be viscoelastic material with a circular cross-section and can be divided into several pile segments in a water-pile-soil system, in which the soil and water are modeled as linear viscoelastic media and linear acoustic media, respectively. The pile-soil with viscoelastic half-space and pile-water with rigid ground vibration are solved by the potential function decomposition and the variable separation method, respectively. The displacement response of the pile is then obtained based on the continuity conditions between the pile and soil and water. The predictions of the present solution are compared with numerical method. Moreover, the present solution can be degenerated into a rigid foundation and verified the rationality with existing analytical solutions and numerical methods. Parametric analyses are further conducted by using the present solution to evaluate the relationships between water and pile-soil parameters, especially focus on the influence of the soil viscoelastic half-space shear modulus. The results indicate that it is necessary to consider the influence of the viscoelastic half-space at the pile end soil when the pile elastic modulus is relatively small in the design of offshore cast-in-place piles.

Automated summary

The water-pile-soil model on viscoelastic half-space is developed to study the dynamic responses of an end-bearing pile under horizontal dynamic loads. The displacement response of the pile is obtained by solving the pile-soil and pile-water systems separately. The present solution is compared with numerical method and can be applied to evaluate the relationships between water and pile-soil parameters in the design of offshore cast-in-place piles, with a focus on the influence of the soil viscoelastic half-space shear modulus.