Cyclic Torsional Loads on Pile Groups
摘要
Cyclic torsional loads are a significant concern for the foundations of various large structures, namely traffic and signal pole structures, wind turbines, offshore structures and high-rise buildings. While there have been numerous theoretical and experimental studies focusing on axial and lateral cyclic loads, the specific behaviour and response of pile groups to cyclic torsional loads have not been as extensively investigated. This paper proposes a numerical scheme to capture the behaviour of the pile group in the geomaterial under cyclic torsional loading. Based on the numerical scheme, a finite element analysis was performed to capture the nonlinear response of the pile group in the geomaterial using a computational program. The peak twist and peak shear stress decrease after a number of cycles of loading for a pile group-geomaterial system. The peak twist and peak shear stress range from 0.05 to 0.015 rad and 8 to 2 kPa, respectively, for varying dilation angles. The rate of reduction in peak twist and peak shear stress slows down significantly and approaches a constant value and levels off.