A new static p-y approach for piles with arbitrary dimensions in sand

When it comes to the general design of laterally loaded piles in offshore environments, bedding resistance is usually modelled by the p-y method recommended in the offshore guidelines (OGL). Several investigations presented in the literature indicate that the head displacements of large-diameter monopiles are underestimated for extreme loads but overestimated for small operational loads. An extensive evaluation of the OGL method is presented here using three-dimensional numerical simulations. The evaluation has shown that the OGL method is not applicable for the design of large-diameter piles. Moreover, modified p-y formulations presented in the literature accounting for the effect of the pile diameter are also not generally suitable for piles with arbitrary dimensions and load levels. Therefore, the derivation of a new p-y approach is presented in detail. The new approach consists of "basic p-y curves" that are valid for a pile of infinite length exhibiting a constant horizontal deflection. In an iterative scheme, these basic curves are adapted depending on the pile deflection line and the pile length to account for a more realistic bedding resistance along the pile shaft. A comprehensive parametric study with 250 pile-soil systems reveals that the new p-y approach is able to predict the horizontal loadbearing behaviour as well as the local pile-soil interaction quite realistically.