FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF REINFORCED CONCRETE PILE CAP USING ATENA

Abstract

REINFORCED CONCRETE (RC) PILE CAP, A THICK REINFORCED CONCRETE BLOCK, IS CONSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE A CONNECTION BETWEEN A STRUCTURE AND MULTIPLE SINGLE PILES. IN THE EXISTING DESIGN METHODS, THE BEHAVIOR OF RC PILE CAP IS USUALLY CONSIDERED AS A RIGID BODY AND RESULTING FORCES OR REACTIONS ON PILES ARE ASSUMED EQUAL. HOWEVER, IN ACTUAL CONDITIONS, ESPECIALLY, IN THE CASE OF SIX-PILE CAP OR EIGHT-PILE CAP, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF BENDING OF PILE CAP AND UN-EQUAL REACTIONS OR FORCES ON PILES. THESE UN-EQUAL FORCES COULD LEAD TO IMPROPER AND UNSAFE DESIGN OF PILES. THIS STUDY REPRESENTS A DETAILED FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF RC EIGHT-PILE CAP BY USING A COMPUTER PROGRAM ATENA. ATENA SERVE AS RATIONAL TOOLS TO EXPLAIN THE BEHAVIOR OF RC STRUCTURES. RESEARCH PARAMETERS INCLUDED DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOADING CONDITIONS, ANALYSIS TYPES SUCH AS LINEAR AND NON-LINEAR, SUPPORT CONDITIONS, LENGTH OF PILE, STRENGTH OF CONCRETE AND THICKNESS OF PILE CAP. THE FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE BEHAVIOR OF RC PILE CAP IS NOT A RIGID BODY AND RESULTING FORCES OR REACTIONS ARE UNEQUAL. ALSO, IT WAS OBSERVED THAT, SUPPORT CONDITIONS, ANALYSIS TYPE AND THICKNESS OF RC PILE CAP HAD A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON THE GLOBAL BEHAVIOR OF RC PILE CAPS.