Abaqus Technology Brief

TB-06-PILE-1
Revised: April 2007

Analysis of Driven Pile Setup with Abaqus/Standard

Summary
Pullout resistance of driven foundation piles often in-
creases with time in a process known as pile “setup.” The
consolidation of the surrounding soil after the pile is
driven plays a dominant role in the setup process. Finite
element modeling of pile setup can help in obtaining reli-
able estimates of the increase in pile resistance, which
would allow for reductions in pile lengths, pile sections, or
sizes of the pile driving equipment. The coupled pore
fluid and stress analysis capabilities of Abaqus/Standard
can be used for modeling the pile setup phenomenon and
can help in estimating the increase in pile pullout resis-
tance with time.

Background
After a foundation pile is driven in saturated soil, the pull- Key Abaqus Features and Benefits
out resistance is often observed to increase with time; this
phenomenon is referred to as pile “setup.” Although the • Ability to model transient distribution of pore
exact mechanism by which pile setup occurs is not com- fluid pressure in soils
pletely understood, two processes are believed to play an • Ability to model consolidation, or the deforma-
important role: (1) an increase in the soil effective tion in soils associated with the redistribution
stresses associated with the dissipation of the excess of pore water and pressure
pore pressure built up around the driven pile, and (2)
thixotropic bonding between the soil grains. The more • Can model contact and frictional interaction
significant process is the first one, which is associated between the soil and buried foundation struc-
with the gradual consolidation of the remolded soil sur- tures
rounding the pile. As the consolidation progresses, the
horizontal (or radial) effective stress in the soil at the inter-
• Supports a variety of constitutive models for
face between the soil and the pile increases. This in- soils, including Mohr-Coulomb, Drucker-
crease in the effective stress leads to an increase in the Prager, Cam-Clay, and Cap plasticity models
maximum frictional resistance offered by the soil to the
pile, which results in the increased pullout resistance
(Ref. 1-3).

Depending on the soil and pile properties, pile dimen-

sions, and the driving conditions, the pile pullout resis- of the soil. Constraints against radial displacement are
tance after setup can be several times that observed im- applied on the vertical boundary surfaces of the soil, while
mediately after the pile is driven. If a design is based on constraints against vertical displacement are applied at
the pullout value measured immediately after a pile is the bottom of the soil domain.
driven, it may be very conservative. Construction costs
for pile foundations can be substantially reduced if the pile The soil is considered to have an elastic modulus of 100
designs incorporate the increase in the pile resistance MPa and a dry density of 1800 kg/m3. A modified
due to pile setup. Drucker-Prager/Cap Plasticity model with cohesion of 80
kPa, friction angle of 30.0 degrees, cap eccentricity of 0.1,
Finite Element Analysis Approach and transition surface radius of 0.03 is used for describing
the soil plasticity. The existence of a cap in this model
In this study we consider an 11.0 m long cylindrical pile of limits the amount of dilation when the soil gets deformed
diameter 0.6 m driven to a depth of 10.0 m. An axisym- in shear. The ratio of the flow stress in triaxial tension to
metric model is used; the radius of the soil domain is 20.0 the flow stress in triaxial compression is assumed to be 1.
m, and the depth is 20.0 m. The soil is saturated, and the Permeability of the soil medium is 2.5e-10 m/s and the
ground water level is considered to be at the top surface initial void ratio of the soil is 2.0.
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The soil is discretized using 8-noded axisymmetric ele- the soil simultaneously consolidates. As the pore pres-
ments with displacement and pore pressure degrees of sure dissipates, the radial effective stress in the soil ad-
freedom. The pile is considered to be elastic with an joining the pile simultaneously increases with time. This
elastic modulus of 15 GPa and a density of 2500 kg/m3. increase in the radial effective stress results in an in-
The pile is discretized using 8-noded axisymmetric ele- creased frictional resistance between the soil and the pile.
ments with displacement degrees of freedom. The coeffi-
cient of friction between the soil and the pile is 0.7. The third step involves assessment of the pullout strength
by applying prescribed vertical displacements at the top of
When a pile is driven, there is extensive remolding of the the pile and monitoring the reaction forces resisting this
surrounding soil and an immediate increase in the soil vertical motion.
pore pressure in the vicinity of the pile. The soil remold-
ing phenomenon and the associated increase in the soil Results
pore pressure are however not modeled in this Technical
Brief. Estimates are available in the literature on the
amount of increase in the soil pore pressure in the imme- The pore pressure distribution immediately after the inser-
diate vicinity of the driven pile (Ref. 1). Based on the tion of the pile is shown in Figure 1. The pore pressure
available information, an initial instantaneous pore pres- and the effective stress in the radial direction 10 seconds
sure distribution has been assumed in the vicinity of the after the insertion of the pile are shown in Figures 2 and
pile. This initial distribution is such that the pore pressure 3, respectively. Figures 4 and 5 show the pore pressure,
is maximal at the pile–soil interface and diminishes expo- and the effective stress in the radial direction, respec-
nentially with radial distance from the center of the pile. tively, at 600000 seconds after the insertion of the pile.
Specifically, the magnitude of the excess pore pressure at At 600000 seconds, the pore pressure has dissipated
the pile-soil interface over and above the geostatic pore considerably, and the radial effective stress has in-
pressure is taken to be equal to the magnitude of the ver- creased. The pore pressure near the lower portion of the
tical effective stress in the region far away from the pile at pile decreases from about 200 kPa immediately after the
the same vertical position. pile is driven to about 100 kPa after 600000 seconds.
In Abaqus, pore pressures can be accounted for either by
a total pore pressure formulation, wherein the gravity Figures 6 and 7 are plots of the pull-out resistance offered
loads on the pore fluid are taken into account, or by an by the pile as the pile is uplifted at 10 and 600000 sec-
excess pore pressure formulation, wherein the gravity onds, respectively, after insertion. It is observed that the
loads on the pore fluid are not taken into account. For the resistance against uplift has increased from about 90 kN
present analysis a total pore pressure formulation has at 10 seconds to about 860 kN at 600000 seconds after
been used. insertion of the pile.
Conclusion
Analysis Steps
The contact, material model, and coupled pore fluid
analysis capabilities of Abaqus/Standard combine to pro-
The initial state of stress in the soil is considered to be vide a general analysis capability for buried or partially
that of a geostatic nature with lateral stress coefficients of buried foundation structures such as piles, footings, and
1.0. Gravity is considered to act in the vertical direction. retaining walls.
The principal stress directions coincide with the vertical
and lateral directions. The initial position of the cap is con-
sidered to be that corresponding to a volumetric plastic
strain of 0.041%, which makes the initial state of stress
positioned well inside the yield region on the cap.
The analysis is performed in three consolidation steps. In
the first step the gravity loads and the assumed pore
pressure distribution are applied over a short time, 0.01
seconds. The pore pressure distribution is applied using
user subroutine DISP. The time for the first step is kept
short in order to simulate the conditions in the soil imme-
diately after the insertion of the pile.
The second step involves continuing the consolidation
analysis for lengths of time ranging from 10 seconds to
Figure 1: Distribution of pore pressure immediately
600000 seconds (about 6.9 days). In the second step the after insertion of the pile
excess pore pressure dissipates as time progresses and
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Figure 2: Distribution of pore pressure 10 Figure 5: Distribution of radial effective stress 600000 seconds
seconds after insertion of the pile (6.9 days) after insertion of the pile

Figure 3: Distribution of radial effective stress Figure 6: Resistance offered by the pile against
10 seconds after insertion of the pile uplift 10 seconds after insertion

Figure 4: Distribution of pore pressure 600000 seconds Figure 7: Resistance offered by the pile against uplift 600000
(6.9 days) after insertion of the pile seconds (6.9 days) after insertion
 4

Acknowledgements
Dassault Systèmes SIMULIA Corp. would like to acknowledge Bill McCarron from ASGM Engineering, Denver,
Colorado, for providing guidelines on estimating the distribution of soil pore pressure build-up immediately after the
insertion of piles.
References
1. Komurka, Van E., Wagner, Alan B., and Edil Tuncer, Estimating Soil/Pile Set-Up, WHRP Report No. 03-05, Wiscon-
sin Highway Research Program #0092-00-14, Wagner Komurka Geotechnical Group, Inc., and the Department of
Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, September, 2003.
2. Karna Upendra, L., Characterization of Time Dependent Pile Capacity in Glacial Deposits by Dynamic Load Tests,
Dissertation for the degree of Engineer in Civil Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, May 2001.
3. Paikowsky Samuel, G., and Hart Leo J., Development and Field Testing of Multiple Deployment Model Pile (MDMP),
Federal Highway Administration Report No. FHWA-RD-99-194, Pruitt Energy Sources, Inc., and Geotechnical
Engineering Research Laboratory, UMASS-Lowell, June 2000.

Abaqus References
For additional information on the Abaqus capabilities referred to in this brief please see the following
Abaqus 6.9 documentation references:

• Abaqus User Subroutine Reference Manual

- “DISP,” Section 1.1.4
• Analysis User’s Manual
- “Coupled pore fluid diffusion and stress analysis,” Section 6.7.1
- “Pore fluid contact properties,” Section 32.4.1
• Example Problems Manual
- “Plane strain consolidation,” Section 9.1.1

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