Assessment of Kinematic and Inertial Interactions Contribution in Dynamic Response of a 3×3 Pile Group in a Soil-Pile-Structure System Using Three-Dimensional Modeling

The lateral loads on piles caused by earthquakes can be attributed to both kinematic interactions between soil and piles and to inertial interactions between superstructure and piles. So, the behavior of pile foundations under seismic loading is a complex soil-pile-structure interaction. High risks associated with failure of structures founded on pile foundations under earthquake loading make it necessary to understand dynamic response of pile group in the soil-pile-structure system. Research conducted on this topic has some limitations. Most of them are limited to two-dimensional behavior and assume linear behavior for soil. In this study, a set of three-dimensional models has been developed using explicit scheme finite difference program, FLAC3D. Nonlinear behavior was considered for the soil medium and the three-dimensional model developed for the study was validated with the published literature. The model subjected to harmonic sinusoidal dynamic loading and pile group behavior in soil-pile-structure system has been studied. In this paper, contribution of kinematic and inertial interactions on seismic response of 3 × 3 pile group in a soil-pile-structure system was assessed. The results obtained in this study, showed that kinematic interaction has a significant contribution on dynamic response of the pile group.