An Efficient Hydrodynamic Force Calculation Method for Pile Caps with Arbitrary Cross-Sections Under Earthquake Based on Finite Element Method
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Comparison of Hydrodynamic Forces on Pier, Isolated Pile Cap and Pile Cap in Pile Group-Pile Cap System
2.1. Numerical Simulation
2.1.1. Basic Information
2.1.2. Numerical Model Validation
- Validation of rectangular pier and isolated rectangular pile cap
- 2.
- Validation of pile groups
2.2. Comparison of Hydrodynamic Forces Between , and
3. Establishment of Dynamic Equilibrium Equations
3.1. Motion Equation for Deep-Water Pier Under Earthquake
3.2. Motion Equation for Isolated Pile Cap Without Considering Pile Groups
3.3. Motion Equation for Pile Group-Pile Cap System
4. Calculation Method for Added Mass on Pile Caps with Arbitrary Cross-Sections
4.1. Derivation of and
4.2. Acoustic-Solid Coupling Theory
4.3. Verification of and
4.3.1. Engineering Case Application
4.3.2. Comparison of Different Added Mass Calculation Methods for Pile Caps
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
- (1)
- The existing methods for employing pier calculation methods to estimate hydrodynamic forces on isolated pile caps with the same cross-sections are inaccurate and inapplicable.
- (2)
- The influence of pile groups on the hydrodynamic force on pile caps should be considered in real practice.
- (3)
- The dynamic equilibrium equation of the IC model under seismic action is derived, and the hydrodynamic force calculation method for the isolated pile cap with arbitrary cross-sections is established.
- (4)
- The dynamic equilibrium equation of the PC model under seismic action is derived, and the hydrodynamic force calculation method for the pile cap in the pile group-pile cap system is proposed.
- (5)
- The effectiveness of the hydrodynamic calculation methods proposed in this study is verified, and the proposed method is proven to have a wide application and higher computational efficiency.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
Ground vibration displacement | |
Isolated pile cap mass | |
Isolated pile cap hydrodynamic added mass | |
Generalized mass for IC model | |
Generalized stiffness for IC model | |
Generalized excitation for IC model | |
Shape function for IC model | |
Mass per unit height of a single pile | |
Hydrodynamic added mass per unit height of a single pile | |
Generalized mass for PC model | |
Generalized stiffness for PC model | |
Generalized excitation for PC model | |
Shape function for PC model | |
Hydrodynamic added mass on pile cap in pile group-pile cap system | |
Fundamental frequency of IC model | |
Fundamental frequency of PC model | |
Total height of IC and PC model | |
Water depth | |
Earthquake excitation | |
Excitation amplitude | |
Excitation frequency | |
Hydrodynamic force on IC model | |
Hydrodynamic force on PC model | |
Hydrodynamic force on bridge pier |
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Structures | Innermost Grid Size (m) | Grid Gradient Rate | Grid Size of the Encrypted Area (m) | Mesh Quantity | Computational Time (h) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pier | 0.03 | 1.2 | 0.05 | 216,532 | 14 | ||
Pile cap | 0.03 | 1.2 | 0.05 | 288,975 | 18 | ||
Pile cap-pile group | Pile cap | pile group | Pile cap | pile group | 0.05 | 485,724 | 27 |
0.03 | 0.02 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
Structure Type | Calculation Methods and Results (t) | Relative Error (%) | Computational Time (h) | Modeling Process | Advantages and Disadvantages | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Isolated pile cap structure | Equation (38) | 39.21 | 6.42 | ) | Convenient | Efficient and widely applied but requiring modeling |
Chinese code | 113.25 | 207.33 | - | - | Simple but with very poor precision | |
Simulation | 36.85 | - | 18 | Complex | High precision but low efficiency and requires complex modeling | |
Pile group-pile cap structure | Equation (42) | 45.21 | 4.80 | ) | Convenient | Efficient and widely applied but requiring modeling |
Chinese code | 113.25 | 162.58 | - | - | Simple but with very poor precision | |
Simulation | 43.13 | - | 27 | Extremely Complex | High precision but low efficiency and requires complex modeling |
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Zhang, W.; Xiao, S.; Geng, X.; Yang, W.; Xu, Y. An Efficient Hydrodynamic Force Calculation Method for Pile Caps with Arbitrary Cross-Sections Under Earthquake Based on Finite Element Method. Eng 2025, 6, 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/eng6070167
Zhang W, Xiao S, Geng X, Yang W, Xu Y. An Efficient Hydrodynamic Force Calculation Method for Pile Caps with Arbitrary Cross-Sections Under Earthquake Based on Finite Element Method. Eng. 2025; 6(7):167. https://doi.org/10.3390/eng6070167
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhang, Wen, Shizhou Xiao, Xiaokun Geng, Wanli Yang, and Yifei Xu. 2025. "An Efficient Hydrodynamic Force Calculation Method for Pile Caps with Arbitrary Cross-Sections Under Earthquake Based on Finite Element Method" Eng 6, no. 7: 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/eng6070167
APA StyleZhang, W., Xiao, S., Geng, X., Yang, W., & Xu, Y. (2025). An Efficient Hydrodynamic Force Calculation Method for Pile Caps with Arbitrary Cross-Sections Under Earthquake Based on Finite Element Method. Eng, 6(7), 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/eng6070167