Determination of Dynamic p-y Curves for Pile Foundations Under Seismic Loading

Beam on a Nonlinear Winkler Foundation (BNWF) approach is widely used in practice since the simulation process is rather simple and requires less computational efforts compared to three-dimensional continuum modeling approaches. In the recent decades, this approach has been extended by proposing advanced onedimensional models in order to better simulate the soil-pile interaction. In this paper, the performance of two different soil-pile interaction elements under earthquake loading is investigated. A three-dimensional continuum model is employed to determine dynamic p-y curves. Firstly, the continuum model is validated by comparing the computed data with the data of two centrifuge tests. Then, the p-y curves obtained from BNWF approach are compared and assessed with the p-y curves obtained from continuum model. It is concluded that the initial slope, shape, and ultimate value of the dynamic p-y curves are not represented properly suggesting the necessity for further assessment of the state of the practice for simulating seismic soil-pile interaction.