Effect of Cavities on the Behavior of Piles Under Seismic Loading in Sandy Soils

Abstract

The effect of cavities on the piles group foundation settlement under the seismic loads in dry
sandy soil is investigated throughout this paper. The behavior of soil under a group of piles with cavity
formation was represented by finite element program (Plaxis 3D 2020). The study looked at the existence
of a single cavity as well as a different numbers of cavities in various locations. This research illustrates the
maximum value for total vertical and horizontal displacement for piles under dynamic load El-Centro
earthquake with cavity and without cavity. When the cavity was positioned closed to the tip of the piles, the
influence of the (El Centro) earthquake load on the settlement of group of piles with cavity growed the
settlement and the difference in total vertical and horizontal displacement.