Vertical Vibration of Full-Scale Pile-Analytical and Experimental Study

This paper presents the results of vertical vibration tests on two full-scale single piles. The diameter of pile and embedded depth were 0.45 and 22 m, respectively. The soil samples were collected from three boreholes located at the site of investigation and it was explored to a depth up to 30.45 m below the ground level. The vertical vibration tests were conducted for different eccentricities to determine the frequency-amplitude response of the pile. Static load tests were also carried out on two single piles. A simple axisymmetric two-dimensional finite-element model was developed to predict the dynamic pile response. Novak's plane strain model was also used for the prediction of the dynamic response of single pile. It was observed that the finite-element model predicted the natural frequency and peak displacement amplitude of pile reasonably well. However, prediction of dynamic response of the pile was found unsatisfactory by Novak's plane strain model. Possible reasons for unsatisfactory performance of Novak's model were investigated and presented.