On the deformation behavior of laterally loaded piles with cyclic loading from a varying direction

Pile foundations are a common foundation for offshore wind energy converters. In this application area they are subjected to large lateral loading. This loading varies in amplitude, frequency and direction and is difficult to predict. Currently available analytical design methods derived from model tests do not consider a change in loading direction and are therefore applicable for one-dimensional loading only. Investigations have shown that a change in loading direction results in higher displacements compared to an equivalent one-dimensional cyclic loading. In this article models are presented to explain the increasing displacements and to be compared against results from physical modeling.