Temperature-dependent interface and creep modelling of steel piles in frozen ground

Performance of pile foundations is significantly influenced by the micromechanical behaviour of the pile-soil interface. In frozen ground, the interface behaviour is temperature-dependent and viscous. This study examines the pullout behaviour of a single pile embedded in frozen soil using a two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model developed with Abaqus software. A cohesive zone model (CZM) is employed along with a penalty type contact interaction to represent the interface behaviour while a time-hardening power-law creep model is used to simulate the viscous response of the interaction. The model is coupled with temperature and verified by data from temperature-controlled laboratory pullout and creep tests of model pile in frozen sand. The findings demonstrated that CZM effectively describes the behaviour of the frozen interface. Conceptual models that account for non-uniform temperature profiles and variable temperature time-series, showcase the significant influence of temperature on the overall performance of pile foundations in cold regions.