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Reliability Analysis of Static Pile Capacity for Concrete and Steel in Cohesionless Soils
J.O. Afolayan Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria D. A. Opeyemi Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Ondo State, Nigeria
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ABSTRACT |
The reliability assessment of the carrying capacities of piles based on static approach with special consideration to pre-cast concrete and steel as pile types in cohesionless soils is reported in this paper. The static carrying capacity is often made up of the ultimate point capacity and the skin resistance of the pile. In this report, the skin resistance is based on ?-method. Uncertainties are common phenomena in engineering, therefore all the interrelated variables in the carrying capacities are treated as random variables with assumed practical probability density functions. The concept of the First-Order Reliability Method (FORM) is a powerful tool for estimating nominal probability level of failure associated with uncertainties and it is the method invoked for the reliability estimations. Generally, piling reliability decreases as pile length increases but the rate of decrease is more rapid for concrete than steel. For concrete piling, pile length greater than 30 m will result in catastrophe while much longer steel piles that economy will permit are admissible. Hence, steel piles are recommended as alternate materials in cohesionless soils.
Keywords: Reliability analysis, static pile capacity, concrete piles, steel piles, cohesionless soils.
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