BEM/FEM FORMULATIONS FOR THE ANALYSIS OF PILES SUBMITTED TO HORIZONTAL LOADS

Abstract

In this work, a comparative study of numerical formulations for the analysis of soil-pile interaction is presented. These formulations consist of the coupling of the Boundary Element Method (BEM) with the Finite Element Method (FEM). The pile may be subjected to horizontal or moment loading applied to its top. The soil is supposed to be a semi-infinite, elastic, isotropic continuum and is modeled by BEM. The pile is either represented by a single finite element or as a number of usual beam finite elements and the pile-soil interface tractions are represented by constant, linear, quartic and high-degree polynomial functions. Examples of individual piles subjected to horizontal loading are analyzed with the formulations presented, and the displacements and the diagram of the bending moments along the pile are compared.