Gentle Driving of Piles (GDP) is a new technology for the vibratory installation of tubular (mono)piles. Its founding principle is that both efficient installation and low noise emission can be achieved by applying to the pile a combination of axial and torsional vibrations. Preliminary development and demonstration of the proposed technology are the main objectives of the GDP research programme. To this end, onshore medium-scale tests in sand have been performed on piles installed using both impact and vibratory driving methods (including GDP). While the results of the installation tests are presented by Tsetas et al. (2023), this work focuses on the post-installation performance of GDP-driven piles under a sequence of slow/large-amplitude (cyclic) and faster/low-amplitude (dynamic) load parcels. The field data point out the influence of onshore unsaturated soil conditions, which result in complex cyclic pile stiffness trends due to the interplay of pile–soil gapping and soil's fabric changes. The pile stiffness under small-amplitude vibrations is strongly correlated with the previous response to large load cycles, and noticeably frequency-dependent for load cycles with a period lower than 1 s. Overall, the post-installation performance of GDP-driven piles appears to be satisfactory, which encourages further development and demonstration at full scale.

@en

Gentle Driving of Piles (GDP) is a new technology for the vibratory installation of tubular (mono)piles. Its founding principle is that both efficient installation and low noise emission can be achieved by applying to the pile a combination of axial and torsional vibrations. Preliminary development and demonstration of the proposed technology are the main objectives of the GDP research programme. To this end, onshore medium-scale tests in sand have been performed on piles installed using both impact and vibratory driving methods (including GDP). After presenting the development of a purpose-built GDP driving device and the geotechnical characterisation of the site, this paper covers the execution of GDP installation tests. Focus is on the installation performance of GDP-driven piles, which is discussed with the aid of structural and ground monitoring data. The comparison between piling data associated with GDP and standard axial vibro-driving points out the potential of the proposed installation technology, particularly with regard to the beneficial effect of the torsional vibration component. The findings of this study encourage further development of the GDP method and its future extension to offshore full-scale conditions.

@en

The analysis of cyclically loaded piles is acquiring ever greater relevance in the field of geotechnical engineering, most recently in relation to the design of offshore monopiles. In this area, predicting the gradual accumulation of pile deflection under prolonged cycling is key to performing relevant serviceability assessments, for which simplified pile–soil interaction models that can be calibrated against common geotechnical data are strongly needed. This study proposes a new cyclic p−y model for piles in sand that takes a step further towards meeting the mentioned requirements. The model is formulated in the framework of memory-enhanced bounding surface plasticity, and extends to cyclic loading conditions the previous monotonic, CPT-based p−y formulation by Suryasentana and Lehane (2016); additionally, detailed modelling of pile–soil gapping is introduced to cope with the presence of unsaturated sand layers or, more generally, of cohesive soil behaviour. After detailed description of all model capabilities, field data from an onshore cyclic pile loading test are simulated using the proposed p−y model, with the most relevant parameters calibrated against available CPT data. Satisfactory agreement is shown between experimental and numerical results, which supports the practical applicability of the model and the need for further studies on a fully CPT-based calibration.@en