Discrete modelling of particle breakage induced pile creep in a centrifuge chamber

Abstract

The time-dependent pile settlement under sustained service load has been reported in the literature and defined as pile creep. Particle breakage has been found as the main mechanism for pile creep in sand by Leung et al. [1]. Based on the time-to-fracture Fontainebleau sand DEM model proposed by Lei et al. [2], particle breakage induced pile creep is first investigated in a centrifuge virtual chamber using the particle refined method. The creep settlement is highly similar to the results reported by Leung et al. [1]. The model shows great potential for investigating the pile creep in a microscopic view and the relevant pile ageing (set-up) phenomenon.