Settlement of jacked piles in clay: Theoretical analysis considering soil aging

Abstract This paper develops an analytical approach to estimate the long-term load-displacement behaviors of jacked piles in clayey soils. Apart from considering the effects of pile installation, subsequent re-consolidation and loading, the proposed approach properly considers the effects of soil aging on the long-term behavior of the surrounding soil so as to determine the load-displacement response of the jacked pile in the long run. An elastic-viscoplastic soil model is incorporated into the load transfer method to predict long-term soil properties. The comparison between the predictions from the presented approach and the data measured from the field pile loading test shows the validity of the proposed method. Parametric studies are conducted to illustrate the effects of the in-situ overconsolidation ratio, internal friction angle and the secondary consolidation coefficient on the long-term load-displacement behaviors of old piles. Results show that the proposed approach not only is capable of predicting the short-term set-up of jacked piles, but also could yield reasonable long-term load carrying behavior. The three parameters pertaining to the strength and stiffness of soil have significant impacts on the long-term load-displacement curve of the pile.