Prediction of ground-borne vibrations induced by impact pile driving: experimental validation of an equivalent linear approach

Impact pile driving is one interesting possibility to install deep foundations from the economic and technical point of view. However, it is necessary to ensure that the ambiental drawbacks, namely ground-borne vibrations, are adequately met. In that way, the authors propose an axisymmetric finite element method-perfectly matched layer approach, where the nonlinear behavior of the soil is attended by an equivalent linear methodology. Given the complexity of the problem, an experimental test site was developed and fully characterized. The experimental work comprises in situ and laboratorial soil characterization as well as the measurement of vibrations induced during pile driving. The comparison between experimental and numerical results achieved a very good agreement, making the proposed numerical approach suitable for the prediction of vibrations induced by impact pile driving.