Numerical analysis of loading behavior of micropiles under axial load embedded in clay

Abstract

The finite element method is a very effective tool in the modeling of various engineering problems. The purpose of the numerical analysis on the embedded micropiles in soft clay is to make a verification for the experimental work to provide another approach tostudy the load transfer mechanisms under ultimate loads. Three dimensional SOLID45 and SOLID65 elements were used to model the soil and the concrete pile respectively. The non-linear elastic-plastic clayey soil is adopted for the soil in which a Druger-Prager model is simulate to represent that nonlinearity and concrete model is used to simulate the nonlinear behavior of concrete pile. The bond between micropile and soil has been modeled by using surface to surface contact element, using of model in ANSYS program has been carried out on single pile with clayey soil. The results show that, good agreement between experiment and numerical analysis.