The SimCenter Pile-Group Tool provides a dynamic interface to study the behavior of a pile or pile-group in layered soil. It allows the user to interactively (and nearly instantly) observe the system’s response to changes of the following parameters:
The soil-structure system is modeled using a finite-element platform. Piles are represented by displacement based beam-column elements. Soil-structure interaction is represented laterally by p-y springs and tangentially by t-z springs. Spring properties are computed using Hansen’s method [1] and recommendations by the American Petroleum Institute (API) [2]. The Pile-Group Tool constructs a structurally and numerically appropriate finite-element mesh, computes spring properties from soil properties, and places spring elements accordingly. The actual simulation employs a Newton-Raphson iterative procedure to solve the governing nonlinear system of equations.
Please visit the Pile Group Tool webpage for more resources related to this tool. Additionally, this page provides more information on the NHERI SimCenter, including other SimCenter applications, FAQ, and how to collaborate.