BEM-FEM coupling model for the dynamic analysis of piles and pile groups

This paper shows a BEM-FEM coupling model for the time harmonic dynamic analysis of piles and pile groups embedded in an elastic half-space. Piles are modelled using finite elements (FEM) as a beam according to the Bernoulli hypothesis, while the soil is modelled using boundary elements (BEM) as a continuum, semi-infinite, isotropic, homogeneous or zoned homogeneous, linear, viscoelastic medium. It is assumed that the soil continuity is not altered by the presence of the piles, and the tractions at the pile-soil interface are considered as a load applied within the half-space. The formulation is exposed in detail. In order to validate the model, selected numerical results of time harmonic impedances of different pile groups configurations are evaluated and contrasted with other reference values taken from the literature. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.