Modelling pile installation in soft natural clays

Paper in proceeding, 2023

This paper presents the results from numerical simulations of displacement pile installation in a natural clay. The simulations combine the SCLAY1S constitutive model with a large deformation Finite Element framework and a coupled deformation and porewater pressure formulation. The impact of drainage conditions in the soil is studied with respect to tip resistance during installation, displacement paths of soil and the impact of the installation on the post-installation stress-strain response of the clay adjacent to the pile. The tip resistance is found to vary between the practically drained and undrained limit states. The soil displacements due to drained pile installation are larger closer to the pile and smaller further away from the pile when  compared with the undrained installation. After the undrained pile installation, deformations due to consolidation are in the reversed direction and mainly in the vertical direction for the intermediate drainage situation. The installation is affecting the triaxial response of the soil in the vicinity of the pile. The initial structure found in the soil near the pile reduces due remoulding during the pile installation phase.