Influence of the head and tip connection on the seismic performance of micropiles

Marwan Sadek (1) , Isam Shahrour (1)

1 LML - Laboratoire de Mécanique de Lille - FRE 3723

This paper presents a study of the influence of connection conditions at the head and tip of micropiles on their response to seismic loading. The study is carried using a fully three-dimensional finite element modeling. The soil is assumed to be elastic with Rayleigh damping. The superstructure is modeled by a single degree of freedom system composed of a concentrated mass and a column. The study is carried out for both vertical and inclined micropiles. The results of analyses show that a pinned connection between the micropiles and the cap leads to a reduction in the axial force and bending moment in micropiles, in particular for inclined micropiles. They also show that the embeddement of the tip of micropiles in a stiff substratum layer leads to a dramatic increase in the internal forces in the micropiles.

Marwan Sadek, Isam Shahrour. Influence of the head and tip connection on the seismic performance of micropiles. Soils Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 2006, 26, pp.461-468. ⟨10.1016/j.soildyn.2005.10.003⟩. ⟨hal-00021647⟩