Approximation of pile installation effects: a practical tool

This paper presents a novel technique to describe the installation effects around a jacked pile without simulating the penetration process. With the proposed technique, a jacked pile can be modelled as wished-in-place, and corresponding installation effects, such as stress and density change, can be imposed. In order to obtain a trend for parameters affecting the installation effects, different pile diameters (D), penetration depths (L) and soil densities (I_d) are investigated. A mesh sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the possibilities and limitations of transferring the installation effects (stress and density). Model functions are proposed to approximate stress components and void ratio distribution. After finding geometrical functions for each variation by employing non-linear regression analyses, a generalised form based on D, L and I_d is proposed. Finally the generalised formulations are validated by a centrifuge test.