A novel analytical approach to vertical dynamic vibration of pipe‐pile groups considering soil‐plug effect

Abstract A novel pile‐to‐pile interaction model for pipe piles that considers the soil‐plug effect is established based on the Novak plane‐strain soil model. Subsequently, the pipe‐pile dynamic interaction factor and dynamic impedance of pipe‐pile groups are derived using the superposition method. The accuracy of the proposed analytical solution is confirmed by comparison with experimental results and existing solutions. Finally, numerical results are obtained to study the influence of the soil‐plug height, shear modulus of the soil, pile spacing, and pile outer radius on the pipe‐pile dynamic interaction factor and dynamic impedance of pipe‐pile groups. The results indicate that the effect of the soil‐plug height on the pipe‐pile dynamic interaction factor and dynamic impedance is significant, whereas the shear modulus of the soil plug has virtually no effect. The proposed analytical solution can be applied to determine the optimal values of pile and soil parameters during the dynamic design of pipe‐pile groups.