An Analytical Solution for Pile-Soil-Pile Interaction with Unequal Embedded Lengths Under Vertical Harmonic Vibrations

Piles are normally constructed in groups such that they are located in the vicinity of each other. As a result, the response of piles is different from that of an isolated pile. In this paper, the interaction between two piles with unequal lengths in the group is investigated using an analytical solution. The elastic theory model and dynamic winkler model are use to characterise vertical isolated prismatic piles subjected to vertical harmonic vibrations. The results obtained for pile-soil-pile interaction from this solution account for unequal lengths for the two piles. In addition, it has been found that upon loading the first pile (called source pile), the presence of the neighbouring pile (called receiver pile) is important, leading to lesser ground movement at the receiver pile head location. The results also indicate that pile-pile spacing and the soil type are important. The general finding in this research indicates that ignoring the presence of the second pile in the calculation of the interaction between a pair of piles can significantly overestimates the pile-soil-pile interaction, resulting in underestimation of the group stiffness