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End Bearing Capacity of Drilled Shafts in Sand: A Numerical Approach

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Abstract

In this paper, a modeling procedure is carried out to numerically analyze the end bearing capacity of drilled shafts in sand. The Mohr–Coulomb elastic plastic constitutive law with stress dependent elastic parameters is used for all numerical analyses performed in this study. The numerical results are compared with the available experimental equations. It is seen that numerical results are in good agreement with experimental equations. The variation of the end bearing capacity of drilled shafts versus embedment depth is also studied. Numerical results show that with increase in pile embedment depth, the end bearing capacity increases. However, the rate of increase becomes smaller as the pile embedment depth increases. Also, numerical analyses show that, for equal settlement, the end bearing decreases with increase in the pile diameter. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed to obtain the separate effect of each sand parameter on the end bearing capacity of drilled shafts, and the parameters that are most influential are identified.

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Abbreviations

B :

Pile diameter

c :

Cohesion

D r :

Relative density

E :

Elasticity modulus

G :

Shear modulus

K :

Bulk modulus

K B :

Bulk stiffness number

K G :

Shear stiffness number

K o :

Coefficient of lateral earth pressure at rest

L :

Embedment depth of drilled shaft

m :

Stress exponent

n :

Stress exponent

N :

The average standard penetration resistance in blows per foot near the pile tip

P A :

Atmospheric pressure

q p :

End bearing capacity

S :

Pile tip displacement

φ :

Friction angle

φ crit :

Critical angle of shearing resistance of sand

γ :

Sand density

ν :

Poisson ratio

σ′ m :

Mean effective stress

ψ :

Dilation angle

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, P.O. Box 11365-9313, Azadi Ave., Tehran, Iran

    M. M. Ahmadi & M. Khabbazian

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  1. M. M. Ahmadi
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  2. M. Khabbazian
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Correspondence to M. M. Ahmadi.

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Ahmadi, M.M., Khabbazian, M. End Bearing Capacity of Drilled Shafts in Sand: A Numerical Approach. Geotech Geol Eng 27, 195–206 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-008-9222-3

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