Influence on lateral rigidity of offshore piles using proposed p–y curves

A fundamental study of pile–soil systems subjected to lateral loads in offshore deposit was conducted using experimental tests and numerical analysis. The emphasis was on the soil–pile rigidity of a laterally loaded pile in marine clay. Rigid- and flexible-pile analyses were conducted for comparison. A framework for determining the lateral load transfer curve (p–y curves) is proposed based on both field and laboratory model tests. A numerical analysis that takes into account the proposed p–y curves was performed for the pile flexibility parameters such as pile diameter, pile length, pile-bending stiffness, and the modulus of subgrade reaction. Based on the analysis, it is shown that the differences in bending moment and lateral displacement are more significant for flexible piles rather than rigid piles. It was found that the p–y curves influence the behavior of flexible piles more than rigid piles, thus the magnitude and distribution of the p–y curves are significantly important in flexible pile design.