Analytical approach for short-term pile setup in clay considering destructuration

This paper presents a novel analytical framework to predict short-term pile setup in natural structure clay, considering the influence of soil destructuration in installation and consolidation. Based on the cavity expansion method, a simulation of pile installation has been conducted, with an analytical solution formulated for cavity expansion under undrained conditions to capture soil destructuration effectively. The flow rate in the unit cell is determined by Darcy's law based on the soil mass volume change, leading to the consolidation equation, which is obtained in a fully analytical form for excess pore water pressure (EPWP) dissipation. The utilization of the average compression curve aimed to depict a partially disturbed state due to the effects of installation. Based on the rewritten effective stress method ( β method), which involves the time-dependent factor while properly incorporating the effects of relaxation and thixotropy by introducing the requisite parameters. Finally, the analytical framework for predicting short-term pile setup is established and validated through a comprehensive pile field test conducted at St-Alban. The close correspondence between the analytical results and the empirical data indicates the effectiveness of the proposed framework in forecasting short-term pile behaviour with reasonable accuracy. • This paper presents a novel analytical framework to predict short-term pile setup in natural structure clay, considering the influence of soil destructuration in installation and consolidation. • Based on the cavity expansion method, a simulation of pile installation has been conducted, with an analytical solution formulated for cavity expansion under undrained conditions to effectively capture soil destructuration. • The utilization of the average compression curve aimed to depict a partially disturbed state, and permeability coefficient linearly distributed radially as a result of the effects of installation. • Based on the rewritten effective stress method ( β method), which involves the time-dependent factor, the time-dependent pile bearing capacity can be determined, by considering the relaxation and thixotropic effects through introducing parameters.