Load-settlement modelling of axially loaded drilled shafts using CPT-based recurrent neural networks

The design of pile foundations requires good estimation of the pile load-carrying capacity and settlement. Design for bearing capacity and design for settlement have been traditionally carried out separately. However, soil resistance and settlement are influenced by each other, and the design of pile foundations should thus consider the bearing capacity and settlement inseparably. This requires the full load–settlement response of piles to be well predicted. However, it is well known that the actual load–settlement response of pile foundations can be obtained only by load tests carried out in situ, which are expensive and time-consuming. In this paper, recurrent neural networks (RNNs) were used to develop a prediction model that can resemble the full load–settlement response of drilled shafts (bored piles) subjected to axial loading. The developed RNN model was calibrated and validated using several in situ full-scale pile load tests, as well as cone penetration test (CPT) data. The results indicate that the developed RNN model has the ability to reliably predict the load–settlement response of axially loaded drilled shafts and can thus be used by geotechnical engineers for routine design practice

Simulating pile load-settlement behavior from CPT data using intelligent computing

Analysis of pile load-settlement behavior is a complex problem due to the participation of many factors involved. This paper presents a new procedure based on artificial neural networks (ANNs) for simulating the load-settlement behavior of pile foundations embedded in sand and mixed soils (subjected to axial loads). Three ANN models have been developed, a model for bored piles and two other models for driven piles (a model for each of concrete and steel piles). The data used for development of the ANN models is collected from the literature and comprise a series of in-situ piles load tests as well as cone penetration test (CPT) results. The data of each model is divided into two subsets: Training set for model calibration and independent validation set for model verification. Predictions from the ANN models are compared with the results of experimental data and with predictions of number of currently adopted load-transfer methods. Statistical analysis is used to verify the performance of the models. The results indicate that the ANN model performs very well and able to predict the pile load-settlement behaviour accurately