PFEM analysis of installation effects on axial performance of jacked piles in chalk

Abstract

Chalk is present in a large area of the East and South coast of the UK where renewables are now being installed. In most cases they are founded on displacement piles, whose design uses empirical methods or partial (wished-in-place) simulations. Installation effects such as grain crushing and pore pressure generation are conservatively estimated (if considered at all), as the change of chalk properties around the pile due to pile installation cannot be easily quantified. In this work it is shown how advanced numerical modelling can be used to guide the design of the foundations in these complex soils.