Hiroyoshi Hirai

One of the important issues for suction caissons is to demonstrate the effect of the contact between the base and the soil on the ultimate capacities of vertical (V), lateral (H), and moment (M) loads. It has not yet been analytically revealed how the ultimate capacities of suction caissons are dependent on the contact conditions of tension and no-tension interfaces under combined loads including vertical compressive and tensile loads. In this article, an analytical investigation into the effect of interfaces on the ultimate vertical, lateral, and moment capacities of suction caissons in nonhomogeneous clay is made using a traditional bearing capacity theory with tension and no-tension interfaces. For failure envelopes of suction caissons in clay subjected to lateral and moment loads under vertical compressive and tensile loads, the results predicted by the present method are compared with those obtained from the finite element analysis. In order to compare failure envelopes obtained from a tension interface and those obtained from a no-tension interface under general loading, failure envelopes in the H-V, M-V, and H-M planes and in H-M-V space for suction caissons in clay are investigated.

An investigation is made to present analytical solutions provided by a three-dimensional displacement approach for analysis of bucket foundations subjected to vertical and lateral loads in cohesive soils. The nonlinear vertical and lateral stiffness coefficients along the skirt of the bucket foundation in nonhomogeneous soil are presented using three-dimensional solutions for vertical and lateral loads and taking into account the dependence of stiffness coefficients on the shear strain. The vertical, lateral, and rocking stiffness coefficients on the base of the skirt of a bucket foundation are obtained from the solutions of hollow rigid cylindrical punch acting on the surface of a soil. The ultimate vertical stress of a soil under the base of a bucket foundation subjected to vertical and moment loads is presented analytically by considering only compression and ignoring tension on the base. The vertical and lateral yields along the skirt and the compression and shear failures on the base are taken into account in analysis of ultimate load capacities. Envelopes of the combined ultimate horizontal and moment load capacities of a bucket foundation in clay are shown. Relationships between ultimate lateral and moment load capacities and the embedment ratio (skirt length to diameter) are presented.

An investigation was made to present analytical solutions of cyclic response to suction caisson subjected to inclined cyclic loadings in clay using a three-dimensional displacement approach. A model representing the relationship between vertical load and vertical displacement and that between lateral load and lateral displacement along the skirt of suction caisson subjected to cyclic loadings is proposed for overconsolidated clay. For the effect of vertical load on cyclic load capacity of suction caisson, using the Mindlin solution in the case of a vertical point load, the vertical stress of soil under the base of suction caisson is presented. For the stress state of soil beneath the base of suction caisson subjected to cyclic loading, the Mohr–Coulomb failure line and critical state line are presented and the relationship between total stress, effective mean principal stress, stress difference, and pore-pressure is elucidated. The comparison of results predicted by the present method for a suction caisson subjected to cyclic loadings in clay has shown good agreement with those obtained from field tests. Cyclic behavior of clay up to failure is made clear from the relationship between cyclic tensile load, vertical and lateral displacements, and rotation and that between depth, vertical, and lateral pressures.

An investigation was conducted to obtain analytical solutions for the pullout behavior of a suction caisson undergoing inclined loads in sand. The inclined load is transformed into an equivalent load system in which the vertical, horizontal, and moment loads are applied on the center of the lid of the suction caisson. The vertical and lateral stiffness coefficients along the skirt of the suction caisson in sands are presented using the new three-dimensional elastic solutions taking into account the nonhomogeneous and nonlinear properties of the sand. The vertical, lateral, and rocking stiffness coefficients on the base of the suction caisson are presented considering the solutions of a hollow rigid cylindrical punch acting on the surface of a soil. The yield, pullout, and failure for sands with the nonhomogeneous and nonlinear characteristics are taken into consideration. The effects of the load inclination, the loading depth, and the aspect ratio on the pullout load capacity of the suction caisson are presented. Behaviour of the suction caisson in sand prior to failure is clarified from the relationship between tensile load, displacement, and rotation and that between depth, vertical pressure, and lateral pressure.

Summary: An investigation is made to present analytical solutions provided by a Winkler model approach for analysis of piled rafts with nodular pile subjected to vertical loads in nonhomogeneous soils. The vertical stiffness coefficient along a piled raft with the nodular pile in nonhomogeneous soils is derived from the displacement given by the Mindlin solution for elastic continuum analysis. The vertical stiffness coefficients for the bases of the raft and the nodular part in the nodular pile in a soil are expressed by the Muki solution for the 3‐D elastic analysis. The relationship between settlement and vertical load on the pile base is presented considering the Mindlin solution and the equivalent thickness in the equivalent elastic method. The interaction factor between the shaft of the nodular pile and the soil is expressed taking into account the Mindlin solution and the equivalent elastic modulus. The relationship between settlement and vertical load for a piled raft with the nodular pile in nonhomogeneous soils is obtained by using the recurrence equation of influence factors of the pile for each layer. The percentage of each load carried by both nodular pile and raft subjected to vertical load is represented through the vertical influence factors proposed here. Comparison of the results calculated by the present method for piled rafts with nodular piles in nonhomogeneous soils has shown good agreement with those obtained from the finite element method and a field test. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Summary: An analytical approach using the three‐dimensional displacement of a soil is investigated to provide analytical solutions of the horizontal response of a circular pile subjected to lateral soil movements in nonhomogeneous soil. The lateral stiffness coefficient of the pile shaft in nonhomogeneous soil is derived from the rocking stiffness coefficient that is obtained from the analytical solution, taking into account the three‐dimensional displacement represented in terms of scalar potentials in the elastic three‐dimensional analysis. The relationship between horizontal displacement, rotation, moment, and shear force of a pile subjected to lateral soil movements in nonhomogeneous soil is obtainable in the form of the recurrence equation. For the relationship between the lateral pressure and the horizontal displacement, it is assumed that the behavior is linear elastic up to lateral soil yield, and the lateral pressure is constant under the lateral soil yield. The interaction factors between piles subjected to both lateral load and moment are calculated, taking into account the lateral soil movement. The formulation of the lateral displacement and rotation of the pile base subjected to lateral loads in nonhomogeneous soils is presented by taking into account the Mindlin equation and the equivalent thickness for soil layers in the equivalent elastic method. For lateral movement, lateral pressure, bending moment, and interaction factors, there are small differences between results obtained from the 1‐D and the 3‐D displacement methods except a very flexible pile. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Summary: An analytical approach using a Winkler model based on two lateral soil displacement components in a three‐dimensional soil is investigated to provide analytical solutions of horizontal response of a rectangular pile subjected to lateral loads in nonhomogeneous soil. The two lateral displacement components of a soil surrounding the rectangular pile are represented by the Fourier series of displacement potential functions in the elastic three‐dimensional analysis. The lateral stiffness coefficient of the rectangular pile shaft in nonhomogeneous soil is derived from the rocking stiffness coefficient taking into account rocking rotation of a rigid pile shaft. The relationship between horizontal displacement, rotation, moment, and shear force for the rectangular pile subjected to horizontal loads in nonhomogeneous soil is obtainable in the form of the recurrence equation. The formulation of lateral displacement and rotation for a rectangular pile subjected to lateral loads on the pile base in nonhomogeneous soil is proposed by taking into account Mindlin's equation and the equivalent thickness for soil layers in the equivalent elastic method. The difference of lateral behavior between square and circular piles subjected to lateral loads is insignificant. The effect of aspect ratio of the rectangular pile on the lateral behavior is great for the lower stiffness ratio between pile and soil and the larger length–equivalent diameter ratio. The effect of the value of Poisson's ratio of soil on lateral stiffness coefficient is relatively small except Poisson's ratio close to 0.5. The comparison of the results calculated by the current method for a rectangular pile subjected to lateral loads in nonhomogeneous soil has shown good agreement with those obtained from the analytical methods and the finite element method. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SUMMARY: An analytical approach using a Winkler model is investigated to provide analytical solutions of settlement of a rectangular pile subjected to vertical loads in nonhomogeneous soils. For a vertically loaded pile with a rectangular cross section, the settlement influence factor of a normal pile in nonhomogeneous soils is derived from Mindlin's solution for elastic continuum analysis. For short piles with rectangular and circular cross sections, the modified forms of settlement influence factors of normal piles are produced taking into account the load transfer parameter proposed by Randolph for short circular piles. The modulus of subgrade reaction along a rectangular pile in nonhomogeneous soils is expressed by using the settlement influence factor related to Mindlin's solution to combine the elastic continuum approach with the subgrade‐reaction approach. The relationship between settlement and vertical load for a rectangular pile in nonhomogeneous soils is available in the form of the recurrence equation. The formulation of settlement of soils surrounding a rectangular pile subjected to vertical loads in nonhomogeneous soils is proposed by taking into account Mindlin's solution and both the equivalent thickness and the equivalent elastic modulus for layers in the equivalent elastic method. The difference of settlement between square and circular piles is insignificant, and the settlement of a rectangular pile decreases as the aspect ratio of the rectangular pile cross section increases. The comparison of results calculated by the present method for a rectangular pile in nonhomogeneous soils has shown good agreement with those obtained from the analytical methods and the finite element method. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SUMMARY: An investigation is made to present analytical solutions provided by a Winkler model approach for the analysis of single piles and pile groups subjected to vertical and lateral loads in nonhomogeneous soils. The load transfer parameter of a single pile in nonhomogeneous soils is derived from the displacement influence factor obtained from Mindlin's solution for an elastic continuum analysis, without using the conventional form of the load transfer parameter adopting the maximum radius of the influence of the pile proposed by Randolph and Wroth. The modulus of the subgrade reaction along the pile in nonhomogeneous soils is expressed by using the displacement influence factor related to Mindlin's equation for an elastic continuum analysis to combine the elastic continuum approach with the subgrade reaction approach. The relationship between settlement and vertical load for a single pile in nonhomogeneous soils is obtained by using the recurrence equation for each layer. Using the modulus of the subgrade reaction represented by the displacement influence factor related to Mindlin's solution for the lateral load, the relationship between horizontal displacement, rotation, moment, and shear force for a single pile subjected to lateral loads in nonhomogeneous soils is available in the form of the recurrence equation. The comparison of the results calculated by the present method for single piles and pile groups in nonhomogeneous soils has shown good agreement with those obtained from the more rigorous finite element and boundary element methods. It is found that the present procedure gives a good prediction on the behavior of piles in nonhomogeneous soils. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.