DEM analysis on soil horizontal support mechanism of monopile subjected to monotonic lateral loading

Abstract Experiments and numerical analysis revealed that soil created a passive zone at the front of the monopile, an active zone at the rear of the monopile, and an asymmetric rotational zone at the bottom of the monopile; these resistance zones expanded while maintaining its analogous shape as the loading phase progressed. It was also identified that the increase in the slenderness ratio 𝐿 ⁄ 𝐷 (𝐿: embedded length, 𝐷: diameter) of the monopile induced an asymmetrisation of the rotational zone.