Effect of Pile Driving on Ground Vibration in Clay Soil: Numerical and Experimental Study

In this study, peak particle velocity (PPV) values for driving three piles with diameters of 40 cm, 50 cm, and 70 cm in a clayey soil through the impact piling method are investigated by an experimental study and a numerical simulation. An experimental study is carried out on a scale of 1:20 of the operation. Numerical simulation is performed by using an axisymmetric model in PLAXIS 2D finite element software. Properties of the soil and the piles used in the experimental study are obtained from geotechnical tests and employed in the numerical simulation. The model has been verified by comparing the acquired PPV values with those measured in the experimental study. The results show a good agreement between the computed values and the experimental data. Moreover, measured peak particle velocities in the experimental study indicate that an increase in the diameter of the pile can increase the level of ground vibration. Some sensitivity analyses have been performed by numerical modeling to determine the effect of soil and pile properties on the changes of PPV. Also, increase in friction angle of the soil and pile diameter and reduction in elastic modulus of soil will increase the level of ground vibration. The results indicate that the amount of PPV at a distance of 100 cm is about 10.33% of the amount of PPV at a distance of 25 cm from the impact site to the pile with a diameter of 3.5 cm. In addition, this amount of reduction for pile with a diameter of 2.5 and 2 cm is equal to 8.31% and 12.77%, respectively.