• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.547-567
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• 2015

This study investigates the behavior of group of tapered and cylindrical piles. The bearing capacities of groups of tapered and cylindrical piles are computed and compared. Modeling of group of piles in this study is conducted in sand using three-dimensional finite element software. For this purpose, total bearing capacity of each group is firstly calculated using the load-displacement curve under specific load and common techniques. Then, the model of group of piles is reloaded under this calculated capacity to find group settlements, stress states on the lateral surfaces of group block, efficiency of group and etc. In order to calculate the efficiency of each group, single tapered and cylindrical piles are modeled separately. Comparison for both tapered and cylindrical group of piles with same volume is conducted and a relation to predict tapered pile group efficiency is developed. A parametric study is also performed by changing parameters such as tapered angle, angle of internal friction of sand, dilatancy angle of soil and coefficient of lateral earth pressure to find their influences on single pile and pile group behavior.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.615-626
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• 2019

Lightweight concrete (LWC) provides an attractive alternative to conventional piles by improving the durability of deep foundations. In this paper, the drivability of cylindrical and tapered piles made of lightweight and common concrete (CC) under hammer impacts was investigated by performing field tests and numerical analysis. The different concrete mixtures were considered to compare the mechanical properties of light aggregate which replaced instead of the natural aggregate. Driving tests were also conducted on different piles to determine how the pile material and geometric configurations affect driving performance. The results indicated that the tapering shape has an appropriate effect on the drivability of piles and although lower driving stresses are induced in the LWC tapered pile, their final penetration rate was more than that of CC cylindrical pile under hammer impact. Also by analyzing wave propagation in the different rods, it was concluded that the LWC piles with greater velocity than others had better performance in pile driving phenomena. Furthermore, LWC piles can be driven more easily into the ground than cylindrical concrete piles sometimes up to 50% lower hammer impacts and results in important energy saving.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.35-45
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• 2007

It is known that the response of piles is affected by the shape of pile as well as soil conditions. In order to investigate the characteristics of the axial responses and bearing capacities of non-displacement tapered and cylindrical piles in sands, 12 model pile load tests using a calibration chamber were conducted on model tapered and cylindrical piles, which were specially manufactured to measure the base and shaft load capacities independently. Results of the model tests showed that the shaft load of tapered piles continuously increased with pile settlement, whereas the shaft load of cylindrical piles reached ultimate values at a settlement equal to 4% of pile diameter. Therefore, taper piles have greater shaft loads than cylindrical one at the same settlement. It is also observed that the total load capacity of tapered piles is lower than cylindrical piles for dense sand but is greater than that of cylindrical piles for medium sand. The ultimate unit base resistance of tapered piles was greater than that of cylindrical piles for lateral earth pressure ratio greater than 0.4, and the shaft resistance was greater than that of cylindrical piles irrespective of lateral earth pressure ratio.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.13-22
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• 2008

Fourteen calibration ehamber tests were performed using one cylindrical and two tapered piles with different taper angles to investigate the changes of the bearing capacity of tapered piles with soil state and taper angle of piles. The results of calibration chamber tests show that the ultimate base resistance of tapered piles increases with increasing mean stress and relative density of soil. It also increases with increasing taper angle for medium sand, but with decreasing taper angle for dense sand. The ultimate shaft resistance of tapered piles increases as vertical and horizontal stresses, relative density and taper angle increase. Based on the results of model pile load tests, a new design method with shape factors for estimation of the bearing capacity of tapered piles is proposed considering the effect of soil state and taper angle on bearing capacity of tapered piles. In order to check the accuracy of predictions calculated using the new method, middle-scale field pile load tests were also conducted on cylindrical and tapered drilled shafts in clayey sand. Comparison of calculated values with measured ones shows that the new design method produces satisfactory predictions tor tapered piles.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.45-56
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• 2010

The current study presents a mathematical model and numerical method for free vibration of tapered piles embedded in two-parameter elastic foundations. The method of Discrete Singular Convolution (DSC) is used for numerical simulation. Bernoulli-Euler beam theory is considered. Various numerical applications demonstrate the validity and applicability of the proposed method for free vibration analysis. The results prove that the proposed method is quite easy to implement, accurate and highly efficient for free vibration analysis of tapered beam-columns embedded in Winkler- Pasternak elastic foundations.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.69-76
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• 2007

Axial behavior of tapered piles is affected by taper angle, stress state of soils, soil frictional angle and pile-soil interface friction angle. In this paper, a series of model pile load tests were performed using a calibration chamber in order to investigate the effect of taper angle on the axial response of cast-in-place tapered piles in sand. According to results of the tests, as taper angle of piles increased, the shaft load capacity of piles increased but its base load capacity decreased. The unit base load capacity of piles increased with increasing taper angle for medium sand but decreased for dense sand. The ratio of shaft to total load capacity increased with increasing taper angle and with decreasing relative density of soils. The test results also showed that total load capacity per unit pile volume increased with increasing taper angle for medium sand, but it decreased for dense sand. Therefore, it can be stated that tapered piles are economically more beneficial for medium sand than for dense sand.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.69-77
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• 2019

This paper presents a new analytical model for estimating the free vibration of tapered friction piles. The governing differential equation for the free vibration of statically axially-loaded piles embedded in non-homogeneous soil is derived. The equation is numerically integrated by the Runge-Kutta method, and then the eigenvalue of natural frequency is determined by the Regula-Falsi scheme. For a cylindrical non-tapered pile, the computed natural frequencies compare well with the available data from literature. Numerical examples are presented to investigate the effects of the tapering, the skin friction resistance, the end condition of the pile, the vertical compressive loading, and the soil non-homogeneity on the natural frequency and mode shape of tapered friction piles.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.57-64
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• 2009

In this study, a method using equivalent transformation for estimation of the axial load capacity of tapered piles is proposed. While preexistent methods for estimating the axial load capacity of tapered piles have been based on the effect of soil state and taper angle, a new design method is proposed considering cone resistance $q_c$ and equivalent transformation in sand. Through tapered pile simplified by using equivalent transformation, a new method fur quick and easy estimation of the axial load capacity of tapered pile is proposed for practical use. In order to verify the proposed method, calibration chamber test and field test were conducted. In calibration chamber test, comparison of estimated axial load capacity with measured one showed that the standard deviation and COV (Coefficient Of Variation) of estimated $Q_t$ is $0.05{\sim}0.121$, $0.04{\sim}0.05$ respectively. For field test, axial load capacity by proposed method shows 2.5% under-estimation in comparison with measured value. As a result, it is found that proposed method produces satisfactory predictions for tapered piles.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.56-66
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• 1994

Numerical methods are developed to obtain the buckling loads and to analyze the postbuckling behavior of the tapered steel piles. The nondimensional differential equations governing the elastica of the buckled piles are derived by the third order theory and solved numerically. The Runge-Kutta method is used to solve the differential equations, and the bisection method is used to obtain the buckling loads and the reaction moments of the clamped ends. Both the linear and stepped taper of the steel piles are considered as the variable crosssection in the differential equations. As the numerical results, the equilibrium paths, the buckling loads vs. section ratio curves and the typical elastica and the bending moment diagrams of the buckled piles are presented in figures. Experimental studies that complement the theoretical results are presented. It is expected that the numerical methods developed in this study for calculating the buckling loads and analyzing the postbuckling behavior of the steel piles are used in the structural and foundation engineering.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.832-835
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• 2005

The free vibration of tapered piles embedded in soil is investigated. The pile model is based on the Bernoulli-Euler beam theory and the soil is idealized as a Winkler model for mathematical simplicity. The governing differential equations for the free vibrations of such members are solved numerically. The square tapered piles with one free and the other hinged end with rotational spring are applied in numerical examples. The lowest two natural frequencies are obtained over a range of non-dimensional system parameters: the rotational spring parameter, the embedded ratio, the foundation parameter, the width ratio of the contact area and the section ratio.