Probabilistic Assessment of Pile Interference

Abstract

Hydraulic structures such as navigation locks and dams are commonly founded on large groups of long, closely spaced driven piles. When piles are driven, there are deviations between the theoretical ground locations and the driven locations. Also, piles may not be driven perfectly vertical or exactly at the specified batter. When these deviations occur in adverse combinations, piles can intersect and structural damage can occur. A microcomputer program named CASE‐Pile Group‐Probabilistic (CPGP) has been developed to provide a probabilistic assessment of the potential for pile interference. The program uses Monte Carlo simulation to assess the probability of pile interference for an interior pile in a group as a function of pile diameter, length, spacing, camber, batter, and probable placement and alignment errors. Given this probability and layout of the group, another routine provides an estimate of the probability distribution on the number of intersections. Chart solutions are provided for the probability of intersection for uniformly spaced vertical piles.