Predicted and Observed Cyclic Performance of Piles in Calcareous Sand

Abstract

The performance of small-scale model piles jacked into calcareous sand and tested under cyclic axial loadings is presented in this paper. The calcareous sand beds used for the tests have been prepared from reconstituted soil that has been consolidated under different overburden pressures using a test vessel of special design. The study is focused on the accumulation of permanent displacement of the piles under both uniform and nonuniform amplitude cyclic loadings. A numerical analysis is employed to predict the cyclic behavior of the model piles, using input parameters derived from the experimental results. Comparisons between the measured and predicted results show reasonable agreement.