BEARING CAPACITY ANALYSIS OF PILES THROUGH FINITE ELEMENT: CASE STUDY HERCÍLIO LUZ BRIDGE, SANTA CATARINA, BRAZIL

Resumo

Soil engineering has progressed through the gathering of building experiences and the
development of theoretical knowledge, allowing the creation of estimating techniques for the ultimate
resistance of a foundation element. This ultimate resistance is known as bearing capacity and represents
the maximum load acting on the foundation element. On what concerns pile foundations, it is noted a
significant difficulty to establish the theory that completely describes the bearing capacity of piles. Thus,
different methods aiming to estimate the bearing capacity are currently used, for instance, the
semiempirical methods (Aoki-Velloso, Décourt-Quaresma, and others) and the finite element method.
In the present paper the bearing capacity of the foundation massif of Hercílio Luz Bridge, located in
Santa Catarina, Brazil, will be evaluated through a finite element model of an isolated pile. The pile was
modeled using the software Abaqus v. 6.13, considering an axisymmetric model and linear elastic
behavior. The latter was submitted to an axial compression load until failure. The soil surrounding the
pile was modeled considering the Mohr-Coulomb elastoplastic model. To determine parameters as
cohesion, friction angle, and Young Modulus for the soil, literature correlations with Standard
Penetration Test (SPT) were used. Numerical results were compared to semiempirical values and a
loading test. It was noted that the outcome of the finite element method provided lower bearing capacity
than the semiempirical methods and the results of the loading test.