Prediction of ground-borne vibrations based on simplified pile-driving analysis: Application to vibratory pile driving

Empirical formulas and numerical simulations are commonly used to predict ground-borne vibrations from pile driving. However, these empirical formulas highly rely on field measurement data and cannot provide a solid analytical basis, and complex numerical modeling can take too much time to be practical for engineering purposes. Therefore, this study proposed one method enabling the efficient and rigorous prediction of ground-borne vibrations due to vibratory pile driving. Simplified pile-driving analysis was performed incorporating the interaction of the vibrator-pile-soil system to calculate the ground-radiated wave energy at the pile-soil interface, wherein the dynamic soil resistances on the pile shaft and tip were quantified in terms of equivalent soil parameters. Wave attenuation equations were utilized to forecast variations in vibration intensity with distance by considering the distinct characteristics of wave propagation and the wave energies. Finite element simulations and historical measurement data confirmed the accuracy of the proposed prediction method. Utilizing the simplified pile-driving analysis with notable efficiency, parametric studies were performed to conclude that centrifugal force amplitude, driving frequency, pile diameter, soil-pile friction coefficient, soil shear wave velocity, and soil friction angle can have a significant impact on the ground-borne vibrations generated.