BALIGH,M. M. (1986). Gkmdmique 36, No.

4,471485

Undrained deep penetration, I : shear stresses

M. M. BALIGH*

The penetration of sampling tubes and various in situ r0 initial radial co-ordinate before deforma-
testing devices and the installation of deep foundation tion
elements disturb the surrounding soil. This Paper pre- S second invariant of the deviatoric stress
sents approximate solutions for predicting shearing dis- state
tortions and stresses in soil due to steady undrained
si deviatoric (shear) stress components in
deep penetration of a closed-ended ‘simple pile’ in an
isotropic soil modelled as an elastic-perfectly plastic
axisymmetric problems
material. Predictions are used to illustrate fundamental u vertical penetration velocity
mechanisms of deep penetration and to identify impor- 2 vertical co-ordinate in a cylindrical
tant soil and pile characteristics that affect disturbance, system
such as non-linear and inelastic aspects of soil behav- % axial strain in triaxial tests
iour and the effects of scale. P radial co-ordinate in a spherical system
uij total stress components in an orthogonal
La pt&tration des tubes de carottage, des appareils de
frame
mesure pour des essais in situ et l’installation des G-
CO initial octahedral (confining) total stress
ments d’une fondation profonde perturbent le sol
environnant. Cet article prisente des solutions appro- G”O initial vertical (overburden) total stress
ch&es pour prkdire les distorsions de cisaillement et les uij effective stress components in an orthog-
contraintes dans le sol provoquees par la pbn6tration onal frame
profonde continue et non-drain&e d’un ‘pieu simple’ B initial effective isotropic (confining) stress
extrt‘mitt fermee dans un sol isotrope modelis& par un co-ordinate angle in a spherical co-
mat&au ilastique parfaitement plastique. Des prkdic- ordinate system
tions sont utilistes pour illustrer les mtcanismes fonda-
mentaux de la p&n&ration profonde et pour identifier INTRODUCTION
les caractCristiques importantes du sol et du pieu qui The engineering properties of deep foundation
affectent la perturbation du sol, tels que les aspects non- soils needed for geotechnical analyses and designs
lin6aires et intlastiques du comportement du sol et les
are estimated from results of laboratory or in situ
effets d’tchelle.
testing. Both procedures involve the insertion of
KEYWORDS: bearing capacity; clays; piles; plasticity; samplers or other rigid devices in the ground that
site investigation; soil properties. invariably cause disturbance to the soil. In labor-
atory testing, the availability of the sampled soil
NOTATION enabled the early detection and appreciation of
CL! undrained shear strength of the clay sampling disturbance effects that represented a
E second invariant of the deviatoric strain critical element in the development of modern
state soil mechanics. Sample disturbance also had a
B second invariant of the deviatoric strain major impact on methods of analysis and design
rate as they are known today. However, penetration
Ei deviatoric strain components in axisym- disturbance caused by in situ testing devices did
metric problems not receive an equal share of concern and care by
Ei deviatoric strain rate components in the profession for two basic reasons
axisymmetric problems (a) access to the in situ disturbed soil is not
4 yield deviatoric strain possible and the thorough and reliable
G shear stiffness, shear modulus experimental investigation of simulated dis-
k strength parameter turbances in the laboratory is difEcult to
OCR overconsolidation ratio achieve
radial co-ordinate in a cylindrical system (b) the lack of a basic realistic understanding of
R’ radius of spherical cavity or shaft radius penetration effects on the surrounding soil.
of a solid pile
This Paper elucidates the fundamental aspects
Discussion on this Paper closes on 1 April 1987. For of penetration to achieve a better understanding
further details see inside back cover. of the mechanisms governing the installation of
* Massachusetts Institute of Technology. rigid objects at depth and to help to identify
471
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 472 BALIGH

important factors controlling disturbance effects. (b) the complicated behaviour of soils including
In addition to paving the way for improved sam- non-linearities, inelasticity and anisotropy
pling techniques and procedures for interpreting and, possibly, time-dependent (viscoelastic)
in situ test data, these fundamentals are essential and frictional response
for the development of more rational analysis and (4 the presence of water (and possibly gas) in the
design methods for deep foundations. With these pores requiring the treatment of the soil as a
objectives in mind, the Paper considers the sim- multiphase medium
plest possible conditions of penetrometer (4 the non-linear soil-penetrometer interface
geometry and soil properties. They correspond to characteristics
the undrained steady penetration of a solid (4 the singularities and high gradients in these
‘simple pile’ (Baligh, 1984) in homogeneous iso- two-dimensional problems where the field vari-
tropic saturated elastic-perfectly plastic incom- ables depend on the radial and vertical loca-
pressible clays initially subjected to isotropic tions.
stresses. In spite of such highly idealized condi-
tions and the approximate nature of the solu- Cavity expansion methods (CEMs) are the
tions, the results are believed to be sufficiently most widely utilized approach for estimating pen-
realistic to capture the essential elements of etration effects on the surrounding soil. Cylin-
axisymmetric penetration effects to establish the drical or spherical CEMs assume conditions of
foundations for rational penetration resistance radial symmetry and hence restrict the depen-
theories, to identify important aspects of soil dence of field variables (i.e. displacements, strains,
behaviour controlling penetration mechanisms stresses and pore pressures) to the radial co-
and to provide preliminary estimates of deviatoric ordinate only. This assumption greatly simplifies
stresses in saturated clays. the problem and enables solutions to be obtained
This Paper focuses on deviatoric stresses with a modest level of effort. Fig. l(a) shows the
caused by undrained penetration and adopts the distortion of a square grid at any time t during
framework of the strain path method (Baligh, spherical cavity expansion. With time, the radius
1985a). A companion article (Baligh, 1986) con- R(t) increases but the distorted grid remains geo-
siders porewater pressures and evaluates state of metrically similar to that in Fig. l(a). Clearly,
the art methods of estimating penetration effects. spherical cavity expansion cannot incorporate
Earlier publications describe deformations and two important aspects of vertical penetration
strains (Baligh, 1984, 1985b). Approaches and
concepts presented herein motivated the develop- (a) the dependence of soil deformations on the
ment of two new devices vertical co-ordinate during vertical penetra-
tion
(a) the piezocone (Baligh, Azzouz, Wissa, Martin (b) the continuity of steady penetration.
8~ Morrison, 1981) is an in situ penetration
testing device already accepted and adopted
by the geotechnical profession in site explora- SIMPLE PILE
tion studies To develop a better understanding of the
(b) the piezo lateral stress (PLS) cell (Baligh, mechanisms of deep penetration, Baligh (1975)
Martin, Azzouz & Morrison, 1985) is an obtained the solid simple pile solution shown in
instrumented model pile that provided valu- Fig. l(b) to investigate the deep steady quasi-
able data regarding the fundamental behav- static undrained penetration of an axisymmetric
iour of pile shafts (Azzouz & Baligh, 1984). solid pile in a saturated (incompressible) homoge-
The PLS also represents an in situ testing tool neous isotropic clay initially subjected to an iso-
with potential to improve the reliability of tropic state of stress. These soil conditions are
existing methods for predicting the capacity of exactly the same as required in spherical CEMs.
friction piles in site-specific investigations The penetration characteristics (i.e. steady quasi-
required for design. static penetration) are not explicitly required by
the CEMs in describing the problem because of
their one-dimensional nature.
BACKGROUND
The analysis of deep penetration effects on the
Geometry and soil distortions
surrounding soils is a most challenging problem
Superimposing soil velocities corresponding to
that is complicated by the following factors
a point source (or spherical cavity) and a uniform
(a) the large deformations and strains in the soil flow, and using the concept of stream functions in
as observed in laboratory and in situ situ- cylindrical co-ordinates, Baligh (1985a) showed
ations that the stream line (or path) of a particle orig-

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 UNDRAINED DEEP PENETRATION 413

(a) OX

Fig. 1. Shear deformations in saturated clays: (a) spherical cavity expansion; (b) simple pile penetration (Baligh, 1975)

inally located at a radial distance r0 from the pile The simple pile geometry has been selected to
centre line is described by the equation simplify the generation and presentation of solu-
tions for deep penetration and hence to address
($y;) +&l + cos 4)
the fundamental
some numerical
mechanisms without cumber-
details. The geometry of the
(1) simple pile guarantees the absence of a relative
normal velocity at the soil-pile interface. In prac-
4 = arctan L tice this means that solutions presented herein
0Z
correspond to a rigid simple pile and that soil
where R is the radius of the pile shaft, and r and z particle velocities are in the tangential direction
are the radial and vertical (cylindrical) co- with respect to the pile surface.
ordinates of the particle with respect to the co-
Surface roughness
ordinate system shown in Fig. l(b) fixed to the
The remaining condition required to describe
pile.
the simple pile penetration problem is the bound-
Figure l(b) presents soil deformations obtained
ary condition in the tangential direction, i.e. along
by direct substitution into equation (1) and
the soil-pile interface. Implementation of this
observing soil incompressibility. In the special
condition on the basis of realistic interface char-
case of r,, = 0 corresponding to soil elements ini-
acteristics to achieve complete and unique solu-
tially located at the centre line, equation (1) pro-
tions complicates the analysis significantly.
vides an analytical expression for the geometry of
Instead, the following treatment relaxes this
the penetrometer considered, the simple pile,
requirement for simplicity and, most importantly,
having the following characteristics
to retain the principal advantage of CEMs,
(a) the tip (r = 0) is located at z = -R/2 namely that deformations and strains caused by
(b) theoretically, the radius of the simple pile penetration become independent of the shearing
increases indefinitely but, for all practical pur- behaviour of the soil, i.e. the problem becomes
poses, it can be assumed to have a uniform totally strain controlled.
radius equal to R from point C in Fig. l(b) Analytically, results described subsequently
located 4R behind the tip. involve kinematically admissible soil deforma-

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 474 BALIGH

tions around the simple pile but do not satisfy where the deviatoric (shear) stress components Si
equilibrium everywhere in the soil (Baligh, 1986). are defined by the expressions
Hence, these results should be considered approx-
imate until uniqueness of far field solutions is S, = err - %err + ese)
established (Baligh, 1986). Physically, these
approximate solutions derive their significance S, = 7 (Cr, - crse) (4)
from the basic hypothesis of the strain path
method (Baligh, 1985a): owing to the severe kine- S 3 = 31120IZ
matic constraints in deep penetration problems,
soil deformations and strains are not seriously where ezr, or,, G and (T,, are the vertical, radial,
affected by the shearing characteristics of the soil tangential (or hoop) and meridional shear stress
(Baligh, 1975). Theoretical and experimental veri- components in a cylindrical frame respectively.
fications of this hypothesis can be found in four Furthermore, the stress-strain relationships for a
PhD dissertations (Vivatrat, 1978; Levadoux, P-R material during increased shearing describe
1980; Kavvadas, 1982; Morrison, 1984). Analyti- a bilinear shear behaviour given by the expres-
cal techniques to improve these approximate sol- sions
utions and to incorporate more realistic pile and
soil conditions (e.g. penetrometer geometry, Ei = Si/3G i = 1, 2, 3
surface roughness, anisotropy, compressibility (5)
E = S/2G
etc.) are described by Baligh (1985a).
in the elastic range (E < E,,) and
SOIL MODELS
2 l/Z i
Soil velocities, strain rates, strains and defor- &A+ 3 i= 1,2,3
k si (6)
mations due to simple pile penetration in iso- . 0
tropic homogeneous incompressible clays initially
subjected to isotropic stresses are presented by in the plastic range (E > EJ, where E, is the yield
Baligh (1984, 1985a). To determine the deviatoric deviatoric strain, G is the (undrained) shear
(shear) stresses according to the strain path modulus of the soil and the deviatoric strain com-
method (Baligh, 1985a) a comprehensive descrip- ponents are given by
tion of deviatoric soil behaviour is required. For
EI = szz
undrained penetration, this can be achieved by
means of effective or total stress models.
E2 = $2 (E,, - GW) (7)
Prandtl-Reuss bilinear model
For clarity and to examine the fundamentals of
deep penetration, the simplest yet relevant total E3 = $2 &,z

stress model of deviatoric behaviour is con-

sidered: the Prandtl-Reuss (P-R) material. The deviatoric strain E is given by
According to this model, the incompressible clay
is assumed isotropic, inviscid and linearly elastic
E = & (El2 + E,’ + E,‘)“* (8)
before yield. Moreover, the clay obeys a Von
Mises yield criterion, exhibits no strain hardening
or softening during plastic flow (i.e. is perfectly and the deviatoric strain rates i by
plastic) and follows an associated flow rule.
Baligh (1985b) provides a comprehensive descrip- B = $ (6,2 + 8,2 + _&32)1’2 (9)
tion of the deviatoric stress-strain relationships
for this classical material which, for axisymmetric
where the deviatoric strain rate components I$
problems, reduce to the following expressions
are related to the strain rates tij by the same
S2 = 2k2 relationships Ei versus eij in equatron (7).
3 (2)

(Von Mises yielding) where k is a measure of the Undrained behaviour of clays and the P-R bilinear
undrained shear strength of the soil, and the model
second invariant of the deviatoric stress state S is A description of undrained clay behaviour by
given by means of the P-R bilinear mode1 requires esti-
mates of a shear strength parameter k and a shear
S = ?S,’ + s,2 + S,2)“2 s>o stiffness G. During direct simple shearing (DSS),
(3)
the two deviatoric components S, and S, vanish

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 UNDRAINED DEEP PENETRATION 475

10

0.31 I I I
0 0.5 1 .o 15
Dewatorlc strain E. %

Fig. 2. Undrained triaxial behaviour of isotropically normally consolidated

Bk

and hence equations (2H4) indicate that the Wroth, 1979). Noting that for triaxial testing,
strength parameter k = c,(DSS) where c,(DSS) is S = 21121CT” - CT,,
I/3 and E = E.J~‘~‘, where E, is
the undrained shear strength (maximum value of the axial strain, results in Fig. 2 indicate that
Q,,) of the clay in DSS. Alternatively, when S, =
(4 after yielding, predictions of triaxial compres-
S, = 0, the P-R model predicts that k = sion shearing (full symbols) are reasonable
2c,( T)/3”‘, where c,(T) represents the undrained because the value of k = co/3 was selected to
shear strengths in either triaxial compression or achieve good matching of compression data
extension tests (c, = 1ov - oh l/2 at peak and the clay exhibits minor softening for the
resistance). testing conditions and the levels of straining
To evaluate the adequacy of the P-R bilinear corresponding to Fig. 2
model in simulating the undrained behaviour of in extension shearing (open symbols), the
(4
clays and to assess the reliability of estimated model overpredicts the soil strength by about
stresses during undrained deep penetration in 25% principally because of the effects of the
clays, predictions of the P-R model are compared intermediate principal stress; therefore, the
with measurements of clay behaviour in Figs 2 isotropic yielding adopted by the P-R model
and 3. Fig. 2 shows the undrained behaviour of requires modification to provide more realis-
resedimented Boston Blue Clay (BBC) in triaxial tic strength predictions even for isotropically
compression and extension shearing from iso- consolidated clays.
tropic normally consolidated conditions under a at small straining levels, the selected shear (or
confining stress 5, as reported by Ladd 8c
(4
Young’s) modulus underestimates the soil
Varallyay (1965); also shown are predictions of stiffness.
the P-R bilinear model for G/k = 100 and k =
?r,,/3. The value of G/k = 100 implies that Young’s The behaviour of BBC at small strain levels is
modulus is 300 times the undrained strength and more clearly illustrated by Fig. 3 where the secant
is hence within the range of values considered shear modulus is plotted against the strain level
reasonable in many applications (Ladd, Foott, (Levadoux & Baligh, 1980). Fig. 3 includes labor-
Ishihara, Schlosser & Poulos, 1977) including atory data from isotropically -consolidated - com-
deep penetration in clays (Randolph, Carter & pression and extension tests (CILJC and CIUE),

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 416 BALIGH

In situ tests OCR Laboratory tests OCR

. Cross-hole 3-l 5 A Resonant column tests
. Downhole 3-l 0 on a block sample
o Cross-hole l-3 6 Resonant column tests
A Cyclic plate load -15 on tube samples
C CK,UDSS a
Laboratory test D 3 CIUC tests 1
v Resonant column 3 CIUE tests 1
3 CK@DSS tests 1

Engmeenng shear strain y. %

10~’ 1 o-1

11 1 1 I I I
1 o-4 10~3 10~2 10.’ 100
Dewatonc stram E: %

Fig. 3. Undrained shear modulus of BBC

K,-consolidated DSS tests (CK,UDSS) and res- etration in clays, discrepancies due to model limi-
onant column tests as well as in situ measure- tations should be expected. The most significant
ments obtained by means of cyclic plate load aspects of model limitations in simulating the real
tests, cross-hole and downhole tests for various undrained behaviour of clays are believed to
overconsolidation ratios OCR. In preparing include
Fig. 3, the value of 5, for isotropically consoli-
(a) non-linearities at small strain levels
dated samples is equated to the vertical effective
(b) anisotropy and strain softening, especially for
stress a,, before undrained shearing.
anisotropically consolidated soils
A comparison of the measurements in Fig. 3
(c) rate effects neglected by the model.
with P-R model predictions for G/k = 100 and
k = 00/3, curve 1, shows that The following section introduces soil non-
linearities at small strain levels in an approximate
(a) at strain levels below yield, the soil linearity
format aimed primarily at retaining simplicity.
assumed by the P-R model significantly
Comprehensive numerical analyses incorporating
underestimates the stiffness of BBC: for
realistic anisotropic and non-linear behaviour of
G/k = 100, the deviatoric strain at yield
soils including strain softening have been per-
E = 0.41%
formed by Levadoux & Baligh (1980).
(b) thk non-linearity at small strains, confirmed
by Jardine, Symes & Burland (1984) is signifi-
Hyperbolically elastic-perfectly plastic model
cant. For monotonic loading (i.e. when E increases),
In summary, whereas the P-R bilinear model an improvement in the P-R model predictions at
provides valuable simplifications in estimating small strain levels can be achieved by introducing
deviatoric stresses due to undrained deep pen- a hyperbolic relationship between the secant

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 UNDRAINED DEEP PENETRATION 477

shear modulus G and the deviatoric strain E elastic-plastic boundary where the deviatoric
below the yield value E, strain E reaches the yield value E,. Hence, failure
(yielding) of the soil extends from the pile to the
1 61’2
-1+-E contour line of E = E,, expressed by the equation
E - G,,, k’ (Baligh, 1985b)
-I
r
_=-
(10) ,t;, [(I + cos 4)(1 + cos 4 + sin2 4)]‘14
rP
(11)
Gmin= $2; Y
where the maximum radius of the plastic zone, rp,
that occurs far behind the tip (i.e. around the
where G,,, = G as E+ 0 and G,,,i, = G as shaft when + 0) and the deviatoric strain at
E+ E, Equation (10) describes a hyperbolically yield E, are given by
elastic-perfectly plastic behaviour. When E < E,,
the soil is non-linearly elastic and its behaviour 1s 2 = (61/2E,)- 112
described by equations (5) and (10). However,
when E 2 E,, the soil is perfectly plastic and its (12)
behaviour is described by equations (6) and hence E,=&$
is identical with a P-R bilinear model having the
same value of the yield strain E, Equation (11) introduces rP as a second impor-
Using equations (5) and (lo), predictions of the tant dimension characterizing deep penetration
hyperbolic model are represented by curve 2 in problems. For a given pile radius R the radius of
Figs 2 and 3 for G,,,Jk = 20, k = ii,/3 and the plastic zone around the pile shaft, rP, is basi-
G,,,/G,,, = 50. Clearly, the hyperbolic model is cally controlled by E,. Also, bearing in mind that
superior to the P-R bilinear model in predicting r = z tan 4, equation (11) gives the vertical extent
soil non-linearities at small levels of strains. of the elasto-plastic boundary below the tip, z,,
Moreover, by defining the yield strain E, as the (= lzl when + 180”), to be zP/rP = (3/16)“” =
strain level corresponding to the maximum shear- 0.658. This means that, in isotropic clays initially
ing resistance, the hyperbolic model offers the dis- subjected to isotropic stresses, yielding of the soil
tinct advantage of unambiguously selecting ahead of the pile extends to a vertical distance
model parameters from the measured behaviour that is roughly two-thirds of the radial extent of
of a given clay. However, the hyperbolic model failure around the shaft.
considered herein assumes elasticity before yield Zone I involves the soil subjected to very large
and hence fails to simulate the inelastic behaviour strains (E > 10%) and is located within a distance
of clays that is exhibited at small strain levels. R around and ahead of the pile surface, approx-
Furthermore, by predicting the same behaviour imately. Predictions within zone I involve uncer-
as the bilinear P-R model after yield, the hyper- tainties due to the limitations of existing testing
bolic model also does not incorporate the aniso- equipment and the scarcity of reliable data
tropy, strain softening and rate dependence regarding the undrained behaviour of soils at
exhibited by real soils. very large strain levels. Another source of uncer-
DEVIATORIC STRESSES DURING
tainty is caused by the very high shearing rates
PENETRATION IN A PRANDTL-REUSS
caused by penetration. Results obtained by
Baligh (1984) and plotted in Fig. 4(a) indicate that
BILINEAR CLAY
Failure zone: elastic-plastic boundary
when a pile of radius R = 1.78 cm penetrates at a
The P-R model and the simple pile geometry velocity U = 2 cm/s (as conventionally used in
considered herein enable a clear classification of piezocone testing) the shear straining rates i
the soil during penetration according to the level exceed 500%/h throughout a sphere containing
of shearing. Baligh (1985b) shows that the octa- most of the plastic domain (zones I and II) sur-
hedral strain E during simple pile penetration is rounding the tip. This value is more than 1000
monotonically increasing and that, once an times faster than typical undrained triaxial
element yields, it remains in a plastic state. This testing rates.
avoids analytical complications and divides the Deviatoric stress paths in elastic zone
soil around the simple pile into an outer elastic The isotropy and linearity of the soil assumed
zone III and an inner plastic domain consisting of by the P-R model before yielding make devi-
zones I and II in Fig. 4(b). In the outer elastic atoric stress components Si in the outer elastic
soil, the soil strains are relatively small and the zone III proportional to the deviatoric strain
changes in geometry are negligible up to the components Ei as indicated by equation (5).

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 478 BALIGH

-1 0

-a

Y/6

-4

-2

--0

‘\ 6

__ 8

__ 10
\
I I /, I I I I I I I I
10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6’ 8 10
Radialdistancer/R
(a) (b)
Fig. 4. Shear straining during simple pile penetration: (a) strain rates l? for R = 1.78 cm and
U = 2 cm/s; (b) strain levels E

Therefore, using closed form expressions of Ei Equations (13) and (14) are plotted in Fig. 5 to
obtained by Baligh (1985a) illustrate the deviatoric stress path of soil ele-
ments in the linear elastic region III due to simple
&) pile penetration.

(4 All deviator& stresses decay in proportion to

(R/r)* in the far field.
(W The stresses caused by penetration do not
increase monotonically but significant
reversals of S, and S, take place.
(4 Perfect symmetry and antisymmetry exist in
the stress paths of S, and S, respectively
where
when plotted against S,
C,(4) = -cos I$ sir? 4 (4 When the soil element is at an elevation R/2
behind the tip (z = 0 or 4 = 907 S, vanishes,
S, reaches a maximum and S, equals half its
C,(4) = & [2 + cos &2 + sin* +)I (14)
maximum value.
(4 Far behind the tip (i.e. z+ co or (b + 0), both
C, = - $ sin3 f$ S, and S, vanish and S, reaches a maximum
value 31’2G(R/r)2. This result is identical with

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 UNDRAINED DEEP PENETRATION 479

Cyllndrml expansmn dewatom stress (S,IG)(r/R)2. %

05 1 ,o 15 20
- 0.5: I I I

Fig. 5. Deviatoric stress paths in the outer linearly elastic soil

predictions obtained by means of cylindrical
cavity expansion (Baligh, 1985~).
(f) These remarks as well as Fig. 5 also apply to
the far field deviatoric strain paths after re-
placing Si by 3GE, (see equation (5)). More-
over, Baligh (1986) shows that equations (13)
and (14) satisfy equilibrium and provide exact
unique solutions in the far field provided that
the soil is linear and isotropic.
Deviatoric stress paths in plastic soil
Inner plastic soil. Soil elements located in the
immediate vicinity of the pile tip are sheared at
very high deviatoric strain rates B (see Fig. 4).
Therefore, by neglecting the contribution of
elastic straining to the strain changes in equation
(6) the deviatoric stress components Si become
proportional to I$ and interesting closed form
expressions for Si in the severely sheared soil
located very close to the pile tip (in zone I) can be
obtained (Baligh, 1985b)
S, = 7 k(2 cos2 4 - sin2 4)
S, = +k sin’ 4
S, = 3k sin C#Jcos Q
In the deviatoric Si stress space, equations (15)
describe a circle that represents the intersection of
the plane S, = k - S1/31i2 with the sphere of
yield having a radius 31j2k and centred at the
origin (see equations (2) and (3)). Fig. 6(c) shows
this ‘limiting circle’ with its centre B located at
(S,, S,, S,) = (31/2k/4, 3k/4, 0) and having a
radius equal to 3k/2. Figs 6(a), 6(b) and 6(d) show
the projections of the limiting circle on the Si
co-ordinate planes; they consist of two ellipses
and a straight line.
Noting that the Si paths in Fig. 6 are intimately
related to the isotropic yielding assumed, the nor-
mality rule adopted and the elastic straining
neglected in equation (6), an examination of
Fig. 6 shows the following interesting features of
the deviatoric stresses predicted by simple pile
solutions at soil elements very close to the pile.
Failure of the soil initially located close to the
pile centre line (#+ 180”) takes place essentially
due to the triaxial compression, S,, mode of
shearing with very minor contributions of S,
and S,
Deviatoric stresses are independent of the pile
radius and hence are not influenced by scale.
Deviatoric stresses are independent of the dis-
tance from the pile and hence the stress state on
(15) the limiting circle depends on the co-ordinate
angle 4 (= arctan (T/Z)) only.
Far behind the pile tip (z-r co or ++ 0), the
deviatoric stresses approach the condition S, =
3l”k and S, = S, = 0. This has special signifi-

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 480 BALIGH

Simple shear stress S,/h Cavity expansion stress S,/k

- 1.5 - 1 .o -0.5 0 0.5 1 .o ?.5
I I 1 1 I

(b)

Limiting

Spher: 4
of yield S,
radws = 3%k

(Cl (d)
Fig. 6. Deviatoric stress paths in the inner plastic soil

cance in analyses of pile installation effects and where in the soil and S, = 3l”k in the plastic
stresses around cylindrical pile shafts because, domain (see Baligh, 1985~). These differences
according to equations (4), it basically means that require further scrutiny because on the one hand
in the immediate vicinity of the pile shaft, where CEMs neglect strain path effects and on the other
the soil with most influence on skin friction is hand strain path solutions for simple pile pen-
located etration are approximate.
(a) the radial and tangential stresses are equal
Outer plastic soil
(i.e. o,, = o,,)
Numerical solutions throughout the plastic soil
(b) the shear stress on vertical planes vanishes
(zones II and I, Fig. 4) are shown in Fig. 7 during
(G = 0) simple pile penetration in a P-R bilinear clay
(c) the major principal stress acts in the vertical
with a shear modulus to strength ratio G/k = 100.
direction and is equal to err + 3l”k.
Equations (11) and (12) indicate that, for this soil,
These stress conditions correspond to a simple the octahedral yield strain E, = 0.41% and the
pile with a smooth shaft and imply that close to radius of the plastic zone extends to a radius
the walls the stresses are very different from pre- rp = IOR around the pile shaft. Therefore, a soil
dictions obtained by means of cylindrical cavity element initially located at r0 = IOR is virtually
expansion analyses that give S, = S, = 0 every- at the elasto-plastic boundary around the shaft

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 UNDRAINED DEEP PENETRATION 481

Cylmdrical expansion dewatoric stress S,lk Dewatom2shear s$in E: %

0.1 0.4 0.5
0.5 1 .o 1.5 2.0 I I I I,
- 1.op I I 1

(a)

; 0,6-
h
In
;ir
I 0,4-
.u
z
z
302-
n

1 I I I

(W
Fig. 8. Hyperbolically elastic deviatoric behaviour:
(a) deviatoric strain E versus 9; (b) deviatoric stress S
verses E

transition from elastic (linear) behaviour of the

soil in zone III to the plastic behaviour with very
large strains in zone I takes place.
-
NON-LINEAR AND INELASTIC EFFECTS
JO”
For a clay with a given yield strain E,, the
hyperbolic and the P-R bilinear models predict
identical behaviour during plastic flow. Hence, by
comparing the predictions of the two models, the
effects of soil non-linearities before yield can be
investigated independently from soil inelasticity
after yield.

Deviatoric stress paths of elastic soil

Fig. 7. Deviatoric stress paths in the plastic soil for a
bilinear clay with G/k = 100
and its stress path in Fig. 7 is essentially the same
as indicated in Fig. 5 for the linear soil in zone
III. However, the stress path of a soil element
initially located at r. = R is very similar to the
path on the limiting circle illustrated in Fig. 6.
Finally the stress path in Fig. 7 for a soil element
with r,/R = 5 located in zone II shows how the
Figures 8 and 9 were constructed for a soil
element located at ten radii from the simple pile
axis. Fig. 8(a) shows the deviatoric strain E,
according to Baligh (1985b), and indicates that E
increases monotonically from 0% to 0.41% as the
pile penetrates and 4 decreases from 180” to 0”.
Accordingly, the deviatoric stress S in Fig. 8(b)
also increases and its value is dependent on the
assumed stresssstrain behaviour. Curve 1
assumes linear soil behaviour with G = G,,, and
hence predicts much higher magnitudes of shear-
ing stresses than curves 2 and 3 corresponding to

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 482 BALIGH

Cylindrical expansion deviatoric stress S,/G,,,: 96

0.5 1 .o 15
I I I

1 Linear G = G,,,
2 G,,,/k = 100
3 G&k = 500

Fig. 9. Effect of elastic soil non-linearity on deviatoric stress paths

hyperbolic behaviour (equation (10)) with (d) At any given 4, the relative magnitudes of
G,,,/k = 100 and G,,,/k = 500 respectively, and deviatoric stresses (S, :S,:S,) are the same as
G,,,/G,i, = 50. for the linear material. This is indicated by the
Figure 9 shows the contribution of the various radial lines in Fig. 9 and implies that prin-
deviatoric stress components Si to the deviatoric cipal directions are not affected by soil non-
stress S according to equations (10) and (13). linearities before yield.
Examination of Fig. 9 indicates the following
effects of soil non-linearities before yield on the Finally, Figs 8 and 9 can be used to estimate
deviatoric stresses. deviatoric stresses in the whole elastic domain by
noting that
(a) A significant decrease in Si takes place, espe-
(a) all strains, including E, are proportional to
cially behind the pile tip (i.e. for 4 < 907, to
accommodate the required reduction in S. (R/r)’
(b) when 4 = 0, S, = S, = 0 and S, = (3/2r”)S
(6) The symmetry of S, versus S, and the skew
(c) when C#I= 90”, S, = 0 and S, = -S, = (3/2)S.
symmetry of S, versus S, exhibited by the
linear model are lost. Therefore, to estimate the stresses at an element
(c) Far behind the tip (c#- 0), the assumed elas- located at r = 20R from the axis, it is known to
ticity of the soil keeps S, = S, = 0 and S, = be subjected to a quarter of the strains levels of
(3/2l’*)S as predicted by cylindrical cavity the element at 10R investigated earlier and hence
expansion solutions for the hyperbolic model, has a scaled-down distribution of E versus 4 in
Baligh (1985~). This result emphasizes the Fig. 8(a) for a maximum value of E zz 0.1%
necessity for reversals in individual stress and (instead of 0.41%). Therefore, S can be deter-
strain components to occur during the mined from Fig. 8(b) and the individual com-
process of deep penetration. Without reversals ponents SC calculated for 4 = 0” and 4 = 90”.
in S, and S, (or E, and E3), it is difhcult to Bearing in mind that the radial lines in Fig. 9
conceive how cylindrical cavity expansion correspond to fixed values of 4, the deviatoric
conditions in the elastic soil involving S, = stress paths can then be easily sketched by inter-
S, = 0 (or E, = E, = 0) can be reached polation. Lastly, Fig. 9 can be utilized to estimate
around the pile shaft (i.e. when 4 + 0). qualitatively the effects of inelastic rebound of

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 UNDRAINED
Fig. 10. Effect of elastic soil non-linearity on deviatoric stress levels:
(a) bilinear soil G/k = 100; (b) hyperbolic soil G,,,/k = 20 and
individual deviatoric components before yield. To
achieve this task, it is noted that the linear behav-
iour described by curve 1 can be used in estimat-
ing incremental changes in deviatoric stresses for
any selected constant value of the shear modulus.
Effect of elastic soil non-linearity on deviatoric
stress levels
Figure 10 compares the levels of soil shearing
as expressed by the deviatoric stress S around the
pile according to the P-R bilinear model with
G/k = 100 versus the hyperbolic model with
G,,/k = 20 and GmaJGmin = 50. (For these soil
parameters and for k = 0,,/3, the undrained
shearing behaviour implied by the two models is
illustrated in Figs 2 and 3). An examination of
Fig. 10 shows that
(4 in the plastic soil close to the pile, the shear
stress levels are the same, S = (2/3)“‘k,
because the two models assume identical
behaviour after yield
(4 the size of the plastic region for the bilinear
model is larger than for the hyperbolic model
because the selected value of its yield strain is
smaller (E = k/6l”G = 0.41% compared with
E, = k/61hG,,, = 2%)
(4 in the elastic soil located at a distance from
the pile, the linearity assumed by the P-R
model before yield grossly underestimates the
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DEEP PENETRATION 483
magnitudes of the deviatoric stresses in the
soil.
In conclusion, soil non-linearities before yield
affect principally the far field deviatoric stress
levels. In turn, this has an important influence on
pore pressures in the far field (Baligh, 1985~) and
can affect the predicted penetration resistance in a
given soil unless its linearized shearing stiffness is
carefully selected (Baligh, 1985b).
EfSect of soil inelasticity
The effects of inelastic soil behaviour on devi-
atoric stresses caused by simple pile penetration
are more subtle than the effects of soil non-
linearities and more difficult to estimate reliably
in view of the following.
Soil elasticity during a shearing cycle refers to
the capacity of the material to restore energy on
unloading. Since no soil is completely elastic, the
concept of elasticity is utilized for convenience,
simplicity and clarity. Practically, the validity of
assuming elastic soil behaviour depends on the
significance of inelastic effects in the application
at hand.
Simple pile penetration causes a monotonic
increase in the deviatoric strain E everywhere in
the soil and, for the isotropic soil and yielding
conditions assumed herein, the deviatoric stress
level S of any element does not decrease. There-
 484 BALIGH

fore, on the basis of the shearing level (expressed SUMMARIZING REMARKS AND
by S or E), simple pile penetration causes no CONCLUSIONS
unloading of the soil and predictions of S and E Deep penetration causes severe disturbances of
are not dependent on soil elasticity or its absence. the soil in the form of distortions and strains as
Penetration requires non-monotonic straining well as changes in stresses and porewater pres-
of the soil to take place, i.e. some strain com- sures. Results from theoretical analyses of deep
ponents E, must reverse directions. Therefore, on penetration problems are sensitive to the
the above basis, soil inelasticity affects only the approach utilized to simulate the penetration
relative magnitude of deviatoric stress com- process and the mathematical model selected to
ponents, i.e. the ratios S, :S,:S,. describe the soil behaviour. Too simplified
Reliable data regarding clay stiffnesses (relating approaches and/or soil behaviour modelling can
individual stress and strain components, Si to EJ lead to misleading predictions. Too rigorous
during undrained monotonic global shearing (i.e. analyses involving realistic modelling require
when E increases) involving reversals of individ- complicated numerical approaches that can easily
ual components are difficult to obtain because of obscure the fundamentals of deep penetration.
limitations of standard testing equipment and The quasi-static steady undrained deep pen-
complications of soil behaviour including aniso- etration of a solid simple pile in an isotropic
tropy, strain softening and rate dependence. homogeneous incompressible inviscid saturated
Baligh (1985b) conducted a sensitivity analysis clay with an elastic-perfectly plastic behaviour is
to estimate the reliability of the various predic- considered herein because it is believed to rep-
tions presented earlier. This was achieved by resent the simplest penetration problem that is
evaluating the dependence of the predicted ratios capable of capturing the important mechanisms
S, :S,:S, on soil inelasticity within the framework affecting deep penetration. The following conclu-
of classical plasticity theory for isotropic perfectly sions are derived from results of approximate
plastic yielding with an associated flow rule. This simple pile analyses based on the strain path
study indicated that method (Baligh, 1985a).
During undrained deep penetration of solid
(a) results outside the elasto-plastic boundary are piles, scale effects can be removed by normal-
not affected by soil inelasticity because the ization with respect to the pile radius R. This
soil is assumed to be elastic means that the pile radius R determines the size
(b) in the conical segment A defined by of the disturbance zone but has no effect on the
180” d 4 < 150” and located ahead of the pile magnitudes of stresses and strains at correspond-
(Fig. 4), the predicted stress components are ing soil elements having the same normalized co-
not sensitive to inelastic soil behaviour ordinates with respect to R. Moreover, at these
(c) in the transition segment B, 150” < 4 < 30 corresponding elements, including the soil in
(Fig. 4), the modelling of plastic soil behaviour contact with the pile surface, deformations are
becomes important proportional to R and straining rates are pro-
(d) in the conical segment C, 30” < 4 < 0”, the portional to U/R where U is the penetration
predicted stress components are most suscep- velocity. Therefore, the point resistance defined as
tible to inelastic behaviour and hence require the force per unit area of the shaft required to
careful scrutiny before generalization to push the pile is independent of R. This result also
actual penetration problems. applies to clays exhibiting a rate-dependent
behaviour provided that U/R is kept constant.
Therefore, in utilizing simple pile solutions Penetration causes large strains in the soil and
described herein it should be noted that the involves significant reversals of strain components
results are approximate because realistic interface and rotations of the principal directions of strain-
shearing behaviour has not been implemented ing. Methods of analysis that neglect the strain
and the modelling of clay behaviour is imperfect. path (history) of soil elements caused by penetra-
These simplifications affect the applicability of tion and consider only the initial and final strain
different predictions to actual deep penetration (or stress) states can provide reasonable predic-
conditions to various degrees. In general, the re- tions of shear stresses at locations where inelastic
liability of predicted stresses decreases as 4 soil behaviour is not significant. Theoretically,
decreases (i.e. from segment A to B to C) due to this occurs in the far field at a large distance from
uncertainties in the modelling of inelastic soil the pile. Practically, however, this distance is difb-
behaviour and as the distance from the pile cult to estimate for a given soil because of the
decreases (i.e. from zone III to II to I) due to complications associated with identifying and sel-
simplifications of soil-pile interface character- ecting appropriate ranges where elastic soil
istics. behaviour may be assumed.

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 UNDRAINED DEEP PENETRATION 485

Linear modelling of undrained shear behaviour Baligh, M. M. (1975). Theory of deep site static cone
of clays before yield (i.e. constant shear modulus penetration resistance. Research Report R75-56,
C) greatly simplifies the analyses. Although this Order No. 517, Department of Civil Engineering,
approach can provide valuable qualitative predic- Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Baligh, M. M. (1984). The simple-pile approach to pile
tions of shear stresses in the soil, reliable quanti-
installation in clays. Proc. Specialty Session on New
tative values require modelling of elastic soil Developments in Numerical Methods for Pile Founda-
non-linearities. The hyperbolic stress-strain tions, San Francisco, pp. 310-330. New York: Amer-
model leads to more realistic predictions of shear ican Society of Civil Engineers.
stresses in the elastic soil that are significantly Baligh, M. M. (1985a). Strain path method. J. Geotech.
different from results of linear modelling (see Engng Dio. Am. Sot. Ciu. Engrs 111, GT9, 1108-
Fig. 10). 1136.
The yield strain E,, corresponding to the peak Baligh, M. M. (1985b). Fundamentals of deep penetra-
tion: I, soil shearing and point resistance. Research
shear resistance of the soil, controls the size of the
Report R85-9, Order No. 776, Department of Civil
plastic zone where significant soil disturbances
Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
occur. Around the pile shaft, this zone extends to Baligh, M. M. (198%). Fundamentals of deep penetra-
a radial distance rp that is proportional to tion: II, pore pressures. Research Report R85-10,
WE, ‘I2 Ahead of the pile, yielding extends to Order No. 777, Department of Civil Engineering,
about (2/3)r, in isotropic clays initially subjected Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
to isotropic stresses (see Fig. 10). More realistic in Baligh, M. M. (1986). Undrained deep penetration, II:
situ soft clay conditions will increase the vertical pore pressures. Gtotechnique 36, No. 4,487-501.
extent of yielding ahead of the pile. Baligh, M. M., Azzouz, A. S., Wissa, A. E. Z., Martin,
For isotropic, perfectly plastic inviscid soils R. T. & Morrison, M. J. (1981). The piezocone
penetrometer. Proc. Conf Cone Penetration Testing
considered herein, the shear stress levels in the
and Experience, St Louis, pp. 247-263. New York:
severely disturbed soil close to the pile depend American Society of Civil Engineers.
only on the undrained shear strength k of the Baligh, M. M., Martin, R. T., Azzouz, A. S. & Morrison,
clay. In reality, these stresses will be significantly M. J. (1985). The piezo-lateral stress cell. Proc. 11th
reduced by the strain softening of sensitive clays Int. Conf Soil Mech. Fdn Engng, San Francisco 2,
and will be also affected by anisotropy and rate 841-844.
dependence of clay behaviour. Jardine, R. J., Symes, M. J. & Burland, J. B. (1984). The
Inelastic soil response affects predictions of measurement of soil stiffness in the triaxial appar-
principal stress directions in the plastic soil sub- atus. Geotechniaue 34. No. 3. 323340.
Kavvadas, M. (1982). Non-linear consolidation around
jected to strain paths involving reversals of strain
driven piles in clays. PhD partial thesis, Massachu-
components. Therefore, in the far field, where the
setts Institute of Technology.
effects of plastic straining are negligible, and in Ladd, C. C., Foott, R., Ishihara, K., Schlosser, F. &
the 60” conical segment A ahead of the pile, Poulos, H. G. (1977). Stress-deformation and
Fig. 4, where no strain reversals take place, pre- strength characteristics. State of the art report. Proc.
dicted shear stresses are not affected by soil 9th Int. Conf Soil Mech. Fdn Engng, Tokyo 2, 421-
inelasticity. In contrast, predicted principal direc- 494.
tions in the plastic soil behind the pile tip are Ladd, C. C. & Varallyay, J. (1965). The influence of
stress system an the behaoior of saturated clays during
seriously affected by inelastic soil behaviour and
undrained shear. Publication No. R65-11. Depart-
require a more refined investigation.
ment of Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology.
Levadoux, J. N. (1980). Pore pressures in clays due to
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS cone penetration. PhD partial thesis, Massachusetts
The Author acknowledges the technical and Institute of Technology.
moral support of his colleagues and students in Levadoux, J. N. & Baligh, M. M. (1980). Pore pressure
the geotechnical group at Massachusetts Institute during cane penetration. Research Report RSO-15,
of Technology. This study was partially sup- Order No. 666, Department of Civil Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
ported by National Science Foundation grant
Morrison, M. (1984). In situ measurements on a model
MSM81-10003 and the Sea Grant program at pile in clay. PhD partial thesis, Massachusetts Insti-
Massachusetts Institute of T.echnology. tute of Technology.
Randolph, M. F., Carter, J. P. & Wroth, C. P. (1979).
Driven piles in clay-the effects of installation and
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R-84-14, Order No. 771, Department of Civil Engin- partial thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
eering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. nology.

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