P-Δ Effect of Piles Subjected to Liquefaction-Induced Large Ground Displacements

When a pile is subjected to lateral ground displacements, so called P-Δ effect appears because the pile is also subjected to an axial force. The effect increases as the displacements increase and it will be predominant when the pile is subjected to liquefaction-induced large ground displacements such as several meters. In this study, the p-Δ effect for RC and PHC piles were investigated by employing nonlinear pile-soil interaction models. Geometrical nonlinearity as well as material one was taken into account in the analyses. The analyses revealed that the distributions of displacement and bending moment of piles were significantly affected by the effect. In addition, the effect was a critical factor for the buckling occurrence of a pile.