Advanced Laboratory Investigation of Axial Cyclic Loading in Silica Sands

Abstract
This paper describes the global behaviour of and local stress conditions applying to highly instrumented cyclic laboratory model displacement pile tests conducted in a calibration chamber on medium dense Fontainebleau NE34 sand. The instrumentation provided measurements of the contact stresses on the jacked pile shaft and the local vertical, radial and circumferential stresses in the surrounding soil mass, in tests involving a range of cyclic load amplitudes. The patterns of effective stress developing on and around the pile shaft are described. The data obtained are interpreted by reference to cyclic soil element tests conducted on the same soil, as described in the parallel investigation by Aghakouchak et al (2015), reported in the same symposium. The calibration chamber experiments offer a comprehensive understanding of the cyclic degradation processes, and provide key information for improving the design of piled foundations under cyclic loading.
Description
Keywords
Cyclic loading, Pile–soil interface, Calibration chamber, Sand, Local stresses
Citation
de HC TSUHA, C., JARDINE, R.J., YANG, Z., SILVA, M. and RIMOY, S., 2015. Advanced laboratory investigation of axial cyclic loading in silica sands.