Load-Bearing Performance and Safety Assessment of Grid Pile Foundation

Abstract

Group piles with cushion caps are a common structural form for deep-water bridge foundations. However, their application is limited by the challenges of complex construction, difficult recovery of the supporting large-scale temporary structure, and high engineering expenses. Therefore, we propose a new foundation form—grid pile foundation (GPF)—to improve the sustainability and reliability of foundations. In this study, the finite element software ABAQUS was used to investigate the mechanical properties and dimensional effects of the GPF. Subsequently, the Monte Carlo method was adopted to evaluate the safety under different geological conditions. The results demonstrated that along the depth, the inner frictional resistance of the GPF exhibits an exponential distribution, whereas the outer frictional resistance exhibits an approximate triangular distribution. In addition, the change in pile size has a non-negligible effect on the load-bearing capacity of the GPF. For the same work amount, the smaller pile and side lengths promoted the inner frictional resistance exertion of the GPF. Furthermore, the safety and reliability analysis suggested that the GPF proposed in this study can be used safely under complex geological conditions.