Ocean Engng. Vol. 7, pp. 553-562.

Pergamon Press Ltd. 1980. Printed in Great Britain

SIMPLIFIED ANALYSIS OF OFFSHORE PILES U N D E R

CYCLIC LATERAL LOADS

T. H. DAWSON
Department of Naval Systems Engineering, United States Naval Academy,
Annapolis, Maryland 21402, U.S.A.

Abstract---A simple theory for predicting the response to cyclic lateral loading of piles deeply
driven in either soft clay or sand is presented and formulas given for calculating, among other
things, deflection and internal bending moment along the pile. The theory assumes the soil
resistance to deflection to be characterized by an initial elastic reaction up to a critical deflection
level, followed by a yield reaction independent of further deflection. Soil parameters are
estimated and the theory is shown to provide good correlation with existing field data.

NOTATION
P Lateral soil resistance
D Pile diameter
U Pile deflection
t~ Characteristic strength of soil
k Effective elastic modulus of soil
U* Yield deflection value
u*/D
N Force coefficient
C Shear strength of clay soils
a,b Shear-strength constants
Z Depth below groundline
Rankine passive earth coefficient
tp Angle of friction of soil
Y, Submerged specific weight of soil
E1 Flexural rigidity of pile
PI, P~ Soil-resistance coefficients
Po, Mo Lateral force and moment at groundline
L1 Depth of yield zone
Parameter in elastic pile-deflection solution
C1. . . . . C4 Constant in pile-deflection solution
V*, M* Shear force and moment at z = L~.

INTRODUCTION
FIXED offshore structures o f the so-called t e m p l a t e type rely on deeply driven pipe piles to
s u p p o r t the weight o f the structure a n d provide resistance to overturning d u r i n g storm
conditions. Design o f the piles for a given structure a n d given s t o r m conditions accordingly
involves, a m o n g other things, consideration o f the d e p t h to which the piles should be driven
to c a r r y the necessary vertical loads a n d c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f the response o f the piles to cyclic
lateral forces a n d m o m e n t s induced at the groundline b y wave a c t i o n on the o v e r h e a d
structure ( M c C l e l l a n d , 1974).
Present m e t h o d s for estimating pile d e p t h s needed in o r d e r to c a r r y the required vertical
l o a d s are relatively simple a n d involve merely algebraic c o m b i n a t i o n o f the lateral friction
553
554 T . H . DAWSON

Force and m o m e n t
from overhead structure
Mo,/
Groundline

p = force per length

exerted on pile
by soil

i~!22:11

!ii2il
iO

FIG. 1. Pile-soil system subjected to lateral loading.

and end bearing exerted on the pile by the surrounding soil (McClelland et al., 1967,
American Petroleum Institute, 1977). The same is, however, not true for the case of lateral
loadings and more complex methods, involving non-linear representation of the soil
resistance and numerical integration of the governing beam equation, are usually employed
to estimate the response of the pile under these conditions (McClelland, 1974, American
Petroleum Institute, 1977).
Current engineering practice for estimating the lateral response of offshore piles driven
in soft clay is based primarily on a series of tests described by Matlock (1970) in which test
piles were subjected to both static and cyclic lateral loads at the ground level. The cyclic
loadings were found to cause a marked decrease in the soil resistance to lateral deflections
of the pile from that experienced under static conditions, and an empirical scheme was thus
devised for representing the soil resistance under these cyclic conditions. The method relies
on laboratory compression tests of soil samples taken at varying depths and involves, in
particular, for each soil sample the undrained shearing strength and the strain at one-half
the maximum compressive stress. Because of the non-linear nature of the empirical soil
resistance relation, numerical solution of the governing beam equation is required to deter-
mine the pile response.
A similar investigation has been reported by Reese et al. (1974) for lateral loading of
piles in sand and an empirical representation of the soil resistance to lateral deflection
has also been devised, based on the specific weight of the sand and its angle of friction.
This description, as well as that devised by Matlock, have been incorporated in recom-
mended engineering design practices (American Petroleum Institute, 1977).
In view of the many uncertainties that exist in the problem (soil parameters at various
depths, limited test data, etc.), it seems worthwhile to attempt a simpler representation of
the soil resistance to lateral deflection that will allow analytical rather than numerical
 Simplified analysis of offshore piles under cyclic lateral loads 555

bJ p No"
0
= (yield)
Z kD k

W p u
/ [ ~ =~ (elostic)
-J

I u* No"
I I" -6 = k
I
PILE DEFLECTION
FIG. 2. idealized representation of soil resistance to pile deflection.

analysis of the pile response to cyclic lateral loadings. Such a representation is described
in the present paper, together with comparisons of its predictions with the experimental
measurements reported by Matlock and Reese et al.

SIMPLE REPRESENTATION OF SOIL RESISTANCE TO LATERAL

PILE DEFLECTION
When, as illustrated in Fig. 1, a deeply driven pile is subjected to lateral force and
moment at the groundline, the surrounding soil along the pile length exerts a restraining
force per unit length on the pile that is greatest near the groundline and that decreases with
depth as the tendency of the pile to deflect decreases. The problem is to represent this
resistance in terms of basic soil parameters in a reasonable realistic way that permits
analytical determination of the pile response.
We restrict attention to the cases of soft-clay or sand soils such as commonly en-
countered in the marine environment. In fundamental terms, we assume the lateral soil
resistance p per unit of pile length to depend in general, on the pile diameter D, the lateral
deflection u, a characteristic strength parameter ~ of the soil having dimensions of stress
and an effective elastic modulus k of the soil, also having dimensions of stress. From
dimensional analysis, we accordingly have the relation

k-o
where f d e n o t e s an arbitrary function. This relation is further restricted to have the simple
form shown in Fig. 2, which in algebraic terms, is expressible (for positive u) as

p = NDtr, u/D >

(2)
p = ku, u/D <

where N denotes a coefficient and ~ is determined by the intersection of the two relations,
that is,
556 T.H. DAWSON

N. u*
= - -- (3)
k D

with u* denoting the pile deflection at the transition between the linear (elastic) response
and the uniform (yield) response.
In the above relations, we allow the strength of the soil as represented by ~ to vary with
depth, as it generally does for soil deposits; however, for simplicity of analysis, we assume
the effective elastic modulus k of the soil to be constant for a reasonably homogeneous
soil deposit.

Soft clays
Restricting attention now to the case of soft clays, we assume the strength to be charac-
terized adequately by the undrained shearing strength c of the clay. For most soil deposits,
this may further be assumed to vary linearly with depth z below the groundline so that we
have
cr = c =a +bz (4)

where a and b denotes constants for a given soil. Substituting this relation into equations
(2) and (3), we then have the resistive force per unit length of pile expressible as

p =ND(a + bz),u/D >

(5)
p = k u , u/D < I~

with ~ given by
N(a +bz) =u*
(6)
k D

Sands
Next consider the case of sands. For this case, we assume that the lateral stress exerted
on the soil mass at any depth by the pile is the maximum principal stress existing there, in
which case the strength of the soil is then expressible, using the Coulomb failure criterion
together with stress theory as,

G -- Kp Z~. z (7)

where )'s denotes the submerged specific weight of the soil, z the depth below the groundline
and Kp denotes the Rankine passive earth coefficient (Terzaghi and Peck, 1967) defined in
terms of the angle of friction cO of the soil by

1 + sin q~
Kt' -- .... _ _ . (8)
1 -- sm q)

Substituting equation (7) into equations (2) and (3), we thus have the final form of the
assumed soil resistance for sands expressible as
 Simplified analysis of offshore piles under cyclic lateral loads 557

Mo

,P,
,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\x"
\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\~\\\, ,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\xx\,
\\\\\\\x\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\, ~\\\\\\\\\\\\\\x\xx\xxx\,
\\\\\\\x\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\' x\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\,
\\\\\\\\\\\, ~xxx\\\~\\, xxx\ . \xx\\\\~
xx\\x\x\xxx,L|,\xxxx\\\\'
\\\\\\\\\\\'~x~ ,\\\\\\\\\'
~ : Y l e l d Zof l O. .\. .\. .\. .\ \ \ \ ,
\\\\\\\\\\\\ \x\\~\\\\\ ~\\~\\\\\\\\\\\\\\~xx\\\"
\\\\\\\\\\x\ \\\\\\\\xx\' \\\\\\\\\~\\\\\\\\\\\\\\-
\\\\\\\\\~\\ \\\\\\\\\\\ xxxxxx\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\,
\\\\\\\\\\~ ",xb..~,xx~x.~xxx \\ \\\ x\\\\ ~ \\\\

iiiiiil
ii!ii!i

PILE iiii!ii Elo,tic zo.,

Diometer D
Rigidity El ii!!:ili
!ii!iiii

iii~iiii
!!i~!ii

FxG. 3. Pile-soil system showing yield and elastic zones.

p = NDKp" L z, u / D >
(9)
p =ku, u/D~
with
N Kp y~ z u *
= --k - D . (10)

ANALYTICAL S O L U T I O N F O R PILE R E S P O N S E USING ASSUMED SOIL

RESISTANCE RELATIONS
To analyze the pile response to cyclic lateral loading using the above relations, we
consider the pile-soil system and assumed applied maximum loadings and directions shown
in Fig. 3. In the general case, we assume the upper layers of the soil to have yielded under
the pile loading to a depth L1. The governing equation for the pile deflection is the usual
beam equation
d4u
E1 -- p (11)
dz ~

where E I denotes the flexural rigidity of the pile, u is measured positive to the right and p is
positive for postive deflection u.
For the yield zone (z < LI) we have for either the soft clay or sand case, the equation
(u being positive under the assumed loadings)

d4u
El -- P1 - - 1:'2 z (12)
dz 4
558 T, H. DAWSON

0
...
+"~ O ~ SOFT CLAY

100 +o
\
÷o

200 YIELD .÷/

t
(L4= 252 in)
+
P= 13.5 kips
300
ELASTIC o+~- 0 / + CALCULATED (CYCLIC]
.~0 • MEASURED
(MATLOCK)
400
-*oo ; 4;0 8;0 ,~)0 le'oo zooo
MOMENT (in-kip)
F~(i. 4. Comparison of calculated and measured moment in pile as a function of depth below
groundline for clay soils.

where, in the case o f soft clay

P1 = N D a , Pz -- N D b (13)
and, in the case o f sand,
P, - O, Pz = N D Kp'L. (14)

Integrating equation (12) and using b o u n d a r y conditions

E1 ,t~_ u = Mo, E1 d3u = P,, (15)

dz 2 dz ~

at z = 0, where Mo and Po denote the m a x i m u m applied m o m e n t and lateral force at the

ground line, we have (for constant E l )

Plz4 P2z5 + Po z3 + Mo z ~ -+- C1 z ÷ C2 (16)

EIu =-- 24- -- 120 - 6 2

where C1 and C2 denote arbitrary constants.

Next consider the elastic zone (z > LI). For either the soft clay or sand case, we have the
equation

+ k. = o (17)
dz 4

whose solution for deeply driven piles may be written as

E1 u = e -"z' (C3 cos ~z' -~- C4 sin az') (18)

 Simplified analysis of offshore piles under cyclic lateral loads 559

where z' = z -- Lx denotes distance from the transition depth z = L1, ~ is defined by

=
i,k]l, (19)
\ Ell

and where the assumption of deeply driven piles implies that

L -- L1 >_ 3/~ (20)

with L denoting the total pile length.

There remain five constants to be determined in the above solutions, namely C1, C~,
C3, C4 and L~. These may be evaluated using equation (6) for the case of soft clays or equation
(10) for sands, together with the conditions that the deflection, slope, internal moment
and shear force at z = L x, in the yield-zone solution be equal to those at z' -- 0 in the
elastic-zone solution.
Noting that the internal moment M and shear force V are given by the relations

E1 d2u- = M , E1 dsu -- V (21)

dz ~ dz s

we easily find from the yield-zone solution, the moment M* and the shear force V* at the
transition level z -----Lx to be given by

M* = _ p l._l...q2 __ sp. . ~ L 1- AV eoL~ + Mo (22)

2 6

V* = PIL1 -[- p 2_~.La_ Po • (23)

2

From the elastic-zone solution we then have, on equating the internal moment and shear at
z' = o to the above expressions,

c~M*-- V*
C3 = (24)
2~a

M •
C4 . . . . . . . (25)
2~ ~

Next, using equations (6) or (10), we have, with the help of equations (18) and (19)

2(PI +P2LI) = M * ~ 2 - - V* (26)

which, with equations (22) and (23), may be solved by trial and error to find the value o f
L1 defining the depth of the yield zone. Clearly, if equation (26) provides a value of L1 less
than or equal to zero, no yield zone exists and the entire pile response is described by the
560 T.H. DAWSON

DEFLECTION AT GROUNDLINE (in)

0 1.6 3,2 4.8 6.4 g.O
20

SOFT CLAY
(CYCliC LOADING)

DEFLECTION / /
ag

U
n,.
o io
J
/ / MOMENT
w
I-
_1 ÷ CALCULATED
• MEASURED
/ (MATLOCK)

4~o 880 ;zbo 16bo zooo

MAXIMUM MOMENT ( i n - k i p )

FIG. 5. Comparison of calculated and measured maximum moment in the pile and maximum
deflection at the groundline for clay soils.

elastic-zone solution, with L1 set equal to zero.

Assuming a non-zero, positive value of L1, the remaining two constants C1 and C~ can
be determined from the condition that the deflection and slope at z ----L, as given by the
yield-zone solution are the same as those given by the elastic zone solution at z' ---- 0. We
find, in terms of M* and V* given by equations (22) and (23)

V* -- 2~M* P1L1 a + P2L14 PoLa 2

C1 - - 2- . . . . . . . . . MoLx (27)
2 72 6 24 2

and

C2 . (1. + . 2 ~. La). M*. . (1 .-~- ct. L1). V *. . P1Lj. 4 P2Lt" _]_ P,,L1 a -]- M , , L I ~ .
(28)
272 2~ 3 8 30 3- 2

This completes the analytical solution of the problem for either the soft-soil or sand case,
since all constants in the yield and elastic-zone solutions have now been evaluated.

D E T E R M I N A T I O N OF SO1L PARAMETERS AND COMPARISON WITH

FIELD MEASUREMENTS
To examine the degree to which the above analytic description of lateral pile response
can predict actual response, we use the field data reported by Matlock (1970) for soft clay
and those of Reese et al. (1974) for sand. In both these sets of measurements, hollow test
pipe piles were employed having strain gauges attached inside at various points along their
length so that the bending moment along the pile could be determined for various loading
conditions. Deflections at the groundline were also measured. Cyclic loading conditions
were investigated with specific application to offshore piles in mind, and measurements
were made after stabilization of the response under a given level of loading. Static loadings
 Simplified analysis of offshore piles under cyclic lateral loads 561

SAND
c YIELD ~+"" °~+~o .,,"
~: ao t (L, • 84in) ~ ~'+'e

Z
0
EL;ASTIC /+~,e/~io
J
I1:
160
'

w ./+°e P : 54.9 kips

•~ + / i (CYCLIC)
~ Z40
+ + CALCULATED
• MEASURED
( REESE, ETAL)
32O i
looo ~o'oo 30'o0 40'00 '
5000 6000
MOMENT (in- kip)
FIG. 6. Comparison of calculated and measured moment in pile as a function of depth below
groundtine for sand soils.

were also considered in o r d e r to assess the cyclic effects. In b o t h sets o f tests, the lateral
force P was a p p l i e d a distance e = 1 ft (0.305 m) a b o v e the groundline. The lateral force
Po a n d m o m e n t M o a p p l i e d at the g r o u n d l i n e were thus Po ---- P a n d M o = e P .
Table 1 lists the soil a n d pile characteristics associated with these two sets o f measure-
ments.
TABLE 1. SOIL AND PILE CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH FIELD TESTS OF MATLOCK AND
REESE et al.
Soft clay Sand
a = 200 Ibs/ft2 (9.6 kN/m 2) ~o = 39° (0.68 rad)
b = 10 lbs/ft2 (1.6 kN/m 3) V, = 66 lbs/ft 3 (10.4 kN/m 3)
D = 1.06 ft (0.323 m) D = 2 ft (0.610 m)
E1 = 7.6 × 107 Ibs-ft ~ (31.5 MN-m 2) E1 = 3.9 × 108 Ibs-ft~ (161 MN-m ~)

By a trial a n d e r r o r process, a p p r o p r i a t e values o f the soil p a r a m e t e r s N a n d K o f the

present t h e o r y were estimated from the most severe l o a d i n g cases considered in these tests.
The results are listed in T a b l e 2.
TABLE2. SOILPARAMETERSFOR PRESENTTHEORY

Soft clay Sand

N = 3.5 N = 2.5
k = 3.2 kips/ins (22.0 MN/m s) k = 1.2 kips/ins (8.3 MN/m =)

Figures 4 a n d 5 illustrate the degree t h a t the present t h e o r y a n d a b o v e p a r a m e t e r s

represent the field d a t a for the case o f soft clay. In particular, Fig. 4 shows the b e n d i n g
m o m e n t as a function o f d e p t h as calculated a n d as m e a s u r e d for a cyclic l o a d i n g a t P =
13.5 kips (60.1 kN). F i g u r e 5 shows the theoretical a n d m e a s u r e d relationship between
a p p l i e d cyclic l o a d i n g a n d the m a x i m u m induced b e n d i n g m o m e n t a n d t h a t between
a p p l i e d cyclic l o a d i n g a n d pile deflection at the groundline. Similar c o m p a r i s o n s are shown
in Figs. 6 a n d 7 for the case o f sand. In all c o m p a r i s o n s , it can be seen t h a t the a g r e e m e n t
between t h e o r y a n d m e a s u r e m e n t is r e m a r k a b l y good.
 562 T. II. DAwsoN
DEFLECTION AT GROUNDLINE (in)
eo0 0.4 0.8 }2 1.6 2.0

SAND
(CYCLIC LOADING)
~=6o
v / /
40 DEFLECTION /• J •
i +~/°/+ + ~ +

+ + \ + CALCULATED
J 20
// 4 / ~ ~
MOMENT
•MEASURED
(REESE, ETAL)
'÷/"
L
~ooo ~o'oo 30'00 ,o'oo ~ooo
MAXIMUM MOMENT (in-kip)
FIG. 7. Comparison of calculated and measured maximum moment in pile and maximum
deflection at groundline for sand soils.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

It has been the purpose of the present paper to describe a simple theory for predicting
lateral response of deeply driven piles such as are commonly employed in fixed offshore
structures. The theory so presented assumes a linear relationship between the soil resistance
and pile deflection up to a critical displacement level, after which it remains unchanged
with further increases in displacement. The deflection-dependent (elastic) part of the
relation is assumed invariant with depth for reasonably homogeneous soil deposits while
the deflection-independent (yield) part is assumed to vary with depth through the shear-
strength variation for clay soils and through the overburden pressure for sands. Relatively
simple formulae are given by the theory for calculating the depth of the yield zone for given
loading conditions and for calculating the complete pile response.
The representation of the soil resistance employed in the present theory is, of course, a
highly idealized description of the complex soil response and the detailed representations
given by Matlock (1970) for clays and Reese et al. (1974) for sands presumably provide a
more precise description. In spite of the simplified nature of the present theory, it appears,
on the basis of the limited test data available, to provide a remarkably good description of
pile response. A major conclusion to be drawn from this fact would thus seem to be that the
pile response to cyclic lateral loading is relatively insensitive to many of the details of the
actual soil-resistance description and that the most important aspects are those contained
within the present theory.
REFERENCES
AMERICANPETROLEUMINSTITUTE.1977. Recommended practice for planning, designing and constructing fixed
offshore platforms, API RP2A.
MATTOCK, H. 1970. Correlations for design of laterally loaded piles in soft clay, Proceedings of Second
Annual Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, Vol. 1, 577.
McCLELLAND,B. 1974. Design of deep penetration piles for ocean structures, Journal of the Geotechnical
Engineering Division, ASCE, 100, 705.
McCLELLAND,B., FOCHT,J. A., Jr. and EMRICH,W. J. 1967. Problems in design and installation of heavily
loaded pipe piles. Proceedings: Civil Engineering in the Oceans, San Francisco, California, 601.
REESE, L. C., Cox, W. R. and KooP, F. D. 1974. Analysis of laterally loaded piles in sand, Proceedings of
Sixth Annual Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, Vol. 2, 473.
TERZAGr", K. and PECK, R. P. 1967. Soil mechanics in engineering practice, John Wiley, New York, pp.
184-189.