Effect of lateral rigidity of offshore piles using proposed p-y curves in marine clay

The load distribution and deformation of offshore piles are investigated using experimental tests and a numerical analysis. Special attention is given to the soil-pile rigidity of laterally loaded piles. Rigid-and flexible-pile analyses were conducted for comparison. A framework for determining the lateral load transfer curve (p-y curve) is proposed from field and laboratory model tests. A numerical analysis that takes into account the proposed p-y curves was performed for major parameters on pile flexibility such as the pile diameter, the pile length, pile bending stiffness, and the modulus of subgrade reaction. Based on the analysis, it is shown that there are significant differences in bending moment and lateral displacement in flexible piles rather than rigid piles. Through the comparative studies, it is found that the p-y curves influence the behavior of a flexible pile more than of a rigid pile and, thus, the magnitude and distribution of the p-y curves highly influence the pile behavior when it is designed as a flexible pile.