Lateral Dynamic Response of Offshore Pipe Piles Considering Effect of Superstructure

Abstract

The dynamic characteristics of pipe piles are of considerable importance for the dynamic foundation design of offshore wind turbines. In this study, we develop an analytical model for the lateral vibration of offshore pipe piles with consideration of the inertia effect and axial loading from the superstructure. A coupled dynamic saturated soil–pile interaction model is established based on Biot’s poroelastic theory and Euler–Bernoulli theory. The potential function, operator decomposition method, variable separation method and matrix transfer method are introduced herein to obtain the lateral force of the inner and outer soil acting on the pile shaft. Then, the analytical solution of the pile dynamic impedance in the frequency domain is derived by employing the soil–pile continuous deformation conditions and the boundary conditions of the pile. The rationality and accuracy of the presented solution have were by comparing its results with those predicted by existing solutions. The influence of superstructure, pile geometry and soil plug height on the lateral dynamic impedance and natural frequency of pipe piles was thoroughly investigated based on the theoretical model. The main findings can be summarized as: (1) The dynamic stiffness of piles will be remarkably underestimated if the inertia effect of the superstructure is not accounted for. (2) The vertical load of the superstructure is main factor affecting the natural frequency, whereas the inertia effect of the superstructure will enlarge the resonance amplitude. (3) The overall lateral dynamic impedance and first-order natural frequency of the pile increase significantly with the soil plug height.