Dynamic Stiffness and Damping of Piles

MILOSNOVAK
Faculty of Engineering Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7
Received, February 6, 1974
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Accepted June 4,1974

Dynamic response of footings and structures supported by piles can be predicted if dynamic
stiffness and damping generated by soil-pile interaction can be defined. An approximate
analytical approach based on linear elasticity is presented, which makes it possible to establish
the dimensionless parameters of the problem and to obtain closed-form formulas for pile
stiffness and damping. All components of the motion in a vertical plane are considered; that
is, horizontal as well as vertical translations and rotation of the pile head. The stiffness and
damping of piles are defined in such a way that the design analysis of footings and structures
resting on piles can be conducted in the same way as is applied in the case of shallow founda-
tions.
La reponse dynamique de semelles et de structures supportees par des pieux peut dtre
predite si la rigidite dynamique et l'amortissement produits par l'interaction sol-pieu peut
&tredtfinie. Une methode analytique approchie, basie sur l'hypothese d'elasticite lineaire,
est presentee, qui permet d'dtablir les parametres adimensionels du problime et d'obtenir des
formules condensees pour la rigidite et I'amortissement du pieu. Toutes les composantes du
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

deplacement dans un plan vertical sont consid6rees, c'est-a-dire les translations verticale et
horizontale et la rotation de la t&te du pieu. La rigidite et l'amortissement des pieux sont
definies de telle facon que I'analyse de semelles et de structures f0ndee.s w r pieux puisse dtre
conduite de la m&memaniere que pour les fondations suuerficielles.
[Traduit par la Revue]

Introduction alternative approach which would approxi-

Dynamics of piles has been receiving attention
mainly due to its applications in machinery
foundations and structures exposed to dynamic
loads such as wind or earthquake. However,
the dynamic behavior of piles is far from com-
pletely understood as the soil-pile interaction
is very complex. There are no readily applicable
methods available that would include this
interaction and as a result of this, .it is not
uncommon to ignore the soil entirely and to
attribute all the foundation stiffness to the
stiffness of the piles. On the other hand, some
approaches are used in which the horizontal and
rotational stiffness of piles are ignored and all
the dynamic stiffness is attributed to the soil.
Damping derived from piles is in practice only
guessed.
More rigorous approaches were applied by
Tajimi 1966, who used a linear elastic medium
model, and by Penzien 1970 who assumed a
lumped mass model which made it possible to
incorporate soil nonlinearity. These sophisticated
solutions deal with earthquake excitation and
their complexity makes them accessible to
researchers rather than to practicing engineers.
The objective of this paper is to examine an
Can. Geotech. J., 11,574(1974)
mately account for soil-pile interaction in a
relatively simple manner. Such an approach can
be based on the same assumption as that quite
successfully applied to embedded footings
(Baranov 1967; Novak and Beredugo 1972;'
Novak and Sachs 1973; Novak 1974); it is
assumed that the soil is composed of a set of
independent infinitesimally thin horizontal layers
that extend to infinity.' This model can be
viewed as a generalized Winkler's medium which
possesses inertia and the capability to dissipate
energy. It is further assumed that the piles are
vertical, do not affect each other, and that the
motion of the pile is harmonic and limited to a
vertical plane. Then, both the dynamic soil
reactions per unit length of the pile and the
solution of the pile response can be described by
closed form formulas.
Though the derivation of the approach
requires a certain amount of theoretical analysis,
the practical application of it can be very
simple. The reader interested in design analysis
need only refer to the chapter on response of pile
foundations.
'For some mathematical features of this model see
Novak and Sachs 1973.
 NOVAK: DYNAMIC STIFFNESS AND DAMPING
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V z,+ W, + Rw
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.
FIG.1. Displacements and reactions of piles.
Horizontal Translation and Rotation
in the Vertical Plane
Consider first the cases in which the pile is
excited by horizontal translation of its head '
or lower end and by rotation of its head in the
vertical plane (Fig. 1). Only lateral displacement
of pile elements is considered. The effect of the
static axial force is not accounted for in the
first part of the paper but is considered separately
later.
When a pile element dz undergoes a complex
horizontal displacement u(z, t) at height z, it will
meet a horizontal soil reaction which with the
above assumptions is equal to
C1 1 G(&, +iS,,)u(z, t)dz
in which G = shear modulus of soil and
i = R. Parameters S,, and S,,, are functions
of dimensionless frequency a, = r, w m,
depend on Poisson's ratio v, and are the real
and imaginary parts of the complex function
where r, = pile radius, w = frequency, and
p = mass density of soil.
In Eq. [2], q = (1 - 2v3/2(1 - V),X , = a,*
and H,(') = Hankel functions of the second
kind of order n. Equation [2] was derived by
Baranov 1967. Parameters S,, and S,,, were
calculated for several values of Poisson's ratio
in Beredugo and Novak 1972, in which poly-
nomial approximations to them are also given.
The parameters S are shown in Fig. 2.
With soil reaction given by Eq. [l], the
differential equation of the pile horizontal
damped vibration is
in which p = mass of the pile per unit length,
c = coefficient of pile internal damping, and
EpI = bending stiffness of the pile.
Assume a harmonic motion induced through
the pile ends.
Then a steady-state (particular) solution to
Eq. [3] can be written as
where complex amplitude
[5 l u(z) = ul(z) + iu2(z)
Substitution of Eq. [4] into Eq. [3] yields an
ordinary differential equation :
 C A N . G E O T E C H . J. VOL. 1 1 , 1974
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Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

V
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
DIMENSIONLESS FREQUENCY 0, =r , w W ~
FIG.2. Parameters SV1,SUz,SWt,and S,,, (Poisson's ratio given in brackets).

d4u( z ) b
161 E p I r + U ( Z ) ~111 r = &TP, tan 4 =-
a

X [GS,, - ~ L W ,+ ~ ( C W
+ GS,,,)] = 0 Then, parameter h is more conveniently
described as
The general solution to this equation is
W] h = X , + ih,
"
[7] u ( z ) = C , cosh h"+ C , sinh h" in which real and imaginary parts of h are
l . 1
z d d
+ C , cos h-+zl C , sin X -
1
1131 X , =*cos-,
4
X, = sin -
4

in which complex frequency parameter For a pile of circular cross section the param-
eters given by Eq. [9] are also
[g] X =

Note and
1 4 p G
[l51 h, =

in which Vs = = shear wave velocity of

soil and v, = 4
- = longitudinal wave ve-
and locity in the pile. The dimensionless parameters
 NOVAK: DYNAMIC STIFFNESS AND DAMPING

of the problem obviously are slenderness ratio readily obtained from Eqs. [l71 and [18]. Using
llr,, mass ratio pip,, and wave velocity ratio the notation after Kolousek 1973, the horizontal
Vslu,. pile head reaction R, and the end moment re-
Integration constants C are given by boundary action R,+are for both endsfixed:,
conditions for whose application the displace-
ment derivatives are also needed:
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z
*)
dz
='(C,
Z
sinh h-
1
+ C, cosh h- zZ
z
- C, sin h--+ C, cos h-
1

- i(Cl
dz2 - Z2
cosh h /
Z
+ C, sinh h 4
1

- C, cos h--
z
C, sin h-
Here, U,, *,,= the pile head translation and
1 rotation, respectively, U, = horizontal transla-
tion of the pile lower end and fdnctions
z
)* = $(C, sinh h--+ C, cosh 12
dz3 Z l
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

z cosh h sin h - sinh h cos h

+ C, sin h--
l
C, cos h- -h
cosh hcoqh - 1
-

With these derivatives the bending moments F,(h)l + iF,(h),

are as usual cosh h - cos h -
F3(X) = - h2
cosh h cos h - 1

and the shear forces

sinh h sin h -
F4(h) = h2
cosh h cos h - 1
The dynamic stiffness of the pile can be
determined as the end force producing a unit
displacement of the pile head (or tip). This unit F5(h) = h3
+
sinh h sin h -
displacement and the other end conditions cosh h cos h - 1
represent the boundary conditions from which
the integration constants C can be established. F ~ ( 4+
l iF5(h)2
Equations [7] and [l61 do not formally differ F&) =
from those of ordinary prismatic bars and +
h sin h sinh h cos h -
-
therefore, the integration constants that are cosh h COS h - 1
actually functions of h, are the same as with f iF6(h)2
such bars. The effects of soil enter the problem
only through the parameter h. Subscripts 1 and 2 indicate the real and
To solve the response of footings and struc- imaginary parts of functions F.
tures supported by piles it is necessary to With the lower endpinned:
know the relation between the pile reactions at
the level of the pile head and the motions of the
pile upper and lower ends2 (Fig. l). With the
integration constants being formally the same
as in absence of the soil, the end reactions are
3The pile is rigidly connected to the footing (i.e.
'The motion of the pile lower end would come into moments are transmitted) but translations and rotations
play when considering earthquake excitation. of the ends are possible.
 578 C A N . GEOTECH. J. VOL. 11, 1974
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2 sinh h sin h -
h approximate solution for the most important
cosh h sin h - sinh h cos h
F7(h)l f iF7(h)2
F8(h) =
sinh h + sin h - bedrock and the results are obtained by means
h2-
cosh h sin h - sinh h cos h
F8(h)l + iF8(h)2
F9(4 =
cosh h sin h + sinh h cos h -
- h2
cosh h sin h - sinh h cos h
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.
F9(4, + iF9(42
Fl0(4 =
- h3 +
cosh h cos h - yield the peaks caused by soil layer resonances.
cosh h sin h - sinh h cos h
2 cosh h cos h
h3 - and damping parameters. The rigorous sokution
cosh h sin h - sinh h cos h
In the above equations, reactions R, functions
Fj(h) and displacements u and +are complex;
functions Fj(X),,, are real.
For a set of typical dimensionless parameters,
functions F relating to pile head motions are
shown in Fig. 3. The notation is abbreviated as
indicated. Subscript 1 denotes the part of F
relating to dynamic stiffness; subscript 2 denotes
the part relating to damping. The damping is
caused by energy radiation from the pile into
the soil. Internal damping of the pile was
neglected ( c = 0) in all numerical data given in
this paper because it is much smaller than that
of soil. The damping parts of F are shown in a
reduced form as F2/aofor reasons made apparent
later herein.
With a particular pile, functions F strongly
depend on the wave velocity ratio V J c , (stiffness
of soil). This can be seen from Fig. 4 in which
functions F,,(h), and Fll(h)2/ao are shown for
a few values of the wave velocity ratio, all
other parameters remaining the same as in
Fig. 3.
The approach presented is approximate in
its basic assumption and therefore a comparison
with a more 'rigorous'. approach is important.
Such a comparison is made in Fig. 5 where the
function F,, is shown together with the results
obtained by T. Nogami and the author using a
more rigorous theory. The latter theory assumes
a homogeneous stratum overlying a rigid
of modal analysis. In this approach the theory,
used first by Tajimi 1966, was modified and
extended. (The more rigorous solution is not
quite exact because the boundary conditions
on the soil surface are not completely satisfied
and the convergence of the results is slow.)
The differences between the two solutions
appear acceptable and diminish with increasing
frequency. The approximate solution does not
The sharpness of the peaks strongly depends
on soil viscosity and the peaks can actually
vanish with higher viscosity. There are no
experiments known to the author which would
prove the existence of such peaks in pile stiffness
yields slightly larger stiffness and hence, the
approximate solution is on the safe side because
there is no perfect bond between the pile and
the soil as the theory assumes.
Functions F could be used as they are defined.
However, it will be seen later that the results
can be presented in a modified form that
eliminates the need for their calculation in
most practical applications.
Vertical Vibrations
The dynamic reactions of the pile pertinent
to vertical motion of the pile head can be
obtained using the same assumptions for soil
as in the previous case. Assume further that
the lower end of the pile is fixed.
Then, the vertical soil reaction acting at
height z on pile element dz is (Baranov 1967;
Novak and Beredugo 1972):
 NOVAK: DYNAMIC STIFFNESS AND DAMPING
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STIFFNESS
---- DAMPING
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

FIG. 3. Functions F for dynamic stiffness and geometric damping of piles for a typical set of
dimensionless parameters, (l/ro = 40, V,/v, = 0.003, p / p , = 0.7, V = 0.4).

in which With a harmonic motion (induced through

[26] S,, = 2ra0 J,(ao)Jo(ao) + Y,(ao) Yo(ao) boundary conditions) displacement
Jo2(ao) + Yo2(ao) . p91 W(Z,t) = w(z)eio'
and Eq. [28] yields an ordinary differential
equation
Herein Jo(ao), J,(ao) = Bessel functions of the +
C301 w ( z ) [ - p ~ ~ icw + G(S,,, + is,,)]
first kind of order zero and one, respectively,
and Yo(ao), Y,(ao) = Bessel functions of the
second kind of order zero and one. Functions
S,, and S,, are shown in Fig. 2. The solution to this equation is
With the soil reactions defined by Eq. [25], z z
the differential equation of damped axial C311 w ( z ) = C , c o s A - + C , s i n A -
1 1
vibration w(z, t) of the pile is:
in which the complex frequency parameter is in
this case

in which A = area of the pile cross section.

rpm2 - GS,, - i(cw + GS,,)]
 CAN. G E O T E C H . J. VOL. 1 1 , 1974

103 FII(X), - STIFFNESS

m--- -- DAMPING
00
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Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

FIG. 4. Variations of function F,,(h) with frequency a. and wave velocity ratio VJv, (stiffness
of soil), (I/ro = 40, pip, = 0.7, V = 0.4).

APPROXIMATE
---- RIGOROUS

0L
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
DIMENSIONLESS FREQUENCY a, = row,@
FIG. 5. Comparison of results obtained by approximate solution and by more rigorous solution,
(I/ro = 38.5, V,/v, = 0.044, p/p, = 0.625, V = 0.4).
 NOVAK: DYNAMIC STIFFNESS AND DAMPING

Note beam alone, Kolousek 1973. The effects of soil

12G again enter the problem only through parameter
[33] A =1 K = -
EpA' %A A.
The agreement with the more rigorous solu-
which is for a pile of circular cross section tion is again quite good. With increasing
1341 A o =ro L c PPa EG o, = F T1o aKc o frequency the two solutions asymptotically
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approach.
and
Stiffness and Damping Constants of Piles
With the above reactions, the motion of the
pile supported body can be predicted.
Denote further If, for example, only the horizontal motion is
C361 a = Ao2 - KS,,, b = -K possible, the differential equation of motion is,
with respect to Eq. [22]
Then r and I+ are obtained from Eqs. [l l ] and
parameter A is
1371 A = Al + iA2 X [F, ,(X), + iF,,(~)~]u(.t)= Q exp ( i d )
in which where the summation extends'over all the piles,
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

m = mass of the body, u(t) = the horizontal

displacement of the body, and Q exp (iwt) =
horizontal excitation.
The amplitude of the axial force is If the body vibrates in the vertical direction
dw(z) under the effect of a vertical force P exp (iwt) the
C391 N(z) = E p A ----
equation of motion w(t) is, with the pile re-
dz
where from Eq. [3l ] action given by Eq. [41]

Integration constants C, and C, are obtained

from the end conditions. Due to complex
vertical motions of pile head w,,(t) (Fig. 1)
and pile lower end w,(t), the vertical reaction of
the pile R,(t) at the level of the pile head is
( F18(A) = A cotan A =
X [F18(A), + iF18(A),]w(t) = P exp (iwt)
Similar equations can be written for coupled
motions.
The solution of the response from the equa-
tions of motion follows standard procedures.
To facilitate the procedure and to make it
actually identical to that applied with any other
type of foundation, it is advantageous to define
the equivalent pile stiffnesses and damping.
These can be established by comparing Eqs. [43]
and [44] etc. with the corresponding standard
equations of footings.

) F,,(\) = A cosec A =
F18(A)1 + iF18(A)2 The equivalent stiffness constant k1 and
damping constant c' of one pile are for:
Vertical translation

Subscripts 1 and 2 denote the real and imaginary

parts of the functions. An example of F18(A),,, where
is shown in Fig. 3.
Equation [41] is formally equal to that of the
 582 C A N . GEOTECH. J. VOL. 1 1 , 1974

E,‘4 and pinned tip when the slenderness ratio I/ro

C471 =- 4 8 . 2
vs is larger than about 25 (Fig. 6). The influence of
where the end condition at the tip appears less than is
F1,(A), the case with static loads (Poulos 1973).
C481 fl 8,2 =
aollro By means of the above formulas, the stiffness
and damping constants of piles can be readily
Horizontal translation and the lower end pinned
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established. The calculation can be greatly

simplified if advantage is taken of two favorable
l E I
C491 kxx =$%fll,l circumstances that are evident when using
0
stiffness and damping parameters f instead of the
where
original frequency functions F.
Fll(41 Parameters f,,, and f,,,are somewhat modified
~501 fil.1 =
(&"o>~
p

functions F and are proportional to F,,, and

1 E I Fi,,/a0. The advantages of parameters f are
C511 cXx = +f11,2 that (1) they change only modestly with fre-
1'0
where quency and (2) most of them are often in-
dependent of the slenderness ratio that is of
F1,(h12
1521 f11~2 = ao(l/ro)3 the pile length.
The variation with frequency of parameters
Rotation of the pile head in the vertical plane f can be seen from Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 7. In most
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

real situations, the dimensionless frequency a.

C531 k+,' = f7,,
is smaller than about 0.5 and for practical
PO purposes, it .seems possible to consider the
where stiffness and damping parameters f as constants
F7(h)l independent of frequency.
C541 f7.1 = F Variations of frequency functions F with
slenderness ratio I/ro are very strong, but these
c551 c++1= yf
7 .
2
variations are much less with parameters f as
can be seen from Figs. 6 and 8.
where In Fig. 7, parameters f l l are shown for a range
F7(A)2 of frequencies and for four values of the slender-
c561 f7 * 2 =-aol/ro ness ratio. Figure 8 shows all the parameters
pertinent to h&izontal translation and rotation
Cross-stljiness and cross-damping coefficients of the pile head versus the slenderness ratio.
The values shown are accurate for a, = 0.3.
It can be seen that these parameters are
where practically independent of pile length for all
slenderness ratios larger than about 20 with
wave velocity ratios equal or greater than 0.03.
With very soft soils featuring a wave velocity
ratio of 0.01 this limit rises to about 30. These
limits are quite low and make it possible to use
where stiffness and damping parameters independent
of pile length. Such constant parameters are
given in Table 1 for a few values of wave
velocity ratios VJv,, two values of mass ratio
In this approach, kXQ1= k+,l and c,+' = c+:'. p/p, and two values of Poisson's ratio v. The
With the lower end fixed, corresponding mass ratios are representative of reinforced
functions are substituted into the above equa- concrete and wooden piles, respectively.
tions, i.e. F6 in place of F,,, F2 in place of F,, The stiffness and damping parameters for
and F4 in place of F,. However, the parametric the vertical motion of the pile head depend quite
study of functions Fshows that the pile stiffnesses strongly on pile length as can be seen from Figs.
and damping are almost the same-for fixed tip 9a and b, where parameters f,,,, and f,,,, are
 NOVAK: DYNAMIC STIFFNESS AND DAMPING
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-PINNED TIP
---- FIXED TIP
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

cn
l I I l I
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
PILE SLENDERNESS l/r,
FIG.6 . Variations of stiffness and damping parameters with slenderness for pinned tip and
fixed tip piles, ( p l p , = 0.7, v = 0.4,a. = 0.3).

given for the same input parameters as Table 1. head rotation, vertical translation-and if the
Parameters fl, are independent of Poisson's reference point lies above the pile heads, also
ratio and can be read from Fig. 9 for a large by head horizontal translation (Fig. 10).
range of slenderness and wave velocity ratios. With rigid bodies such as footings, it is
Table 1 and Fig. 9 make it easy to estimate the advantageous to choose the centroid for the
dynamic stiffness of piles and the geometric reference point. Then the stiffness and damping
damping resulting from energy radiation. constants are defined as forces that must act
Both stiffness and damping may be somewhat at the centroid to produce a sole unit displace-
affected by pile grouping. Some considerations ment or unit velocity at the reference point.
of this effect can be found in Barkan 1962 and From this definition, the stiffness constants of
Poulos 1971. No damping is, of course, ob- the footing are
tained from a static solution (Poulos 1971).
Stiffness and Damping Constants of the Footing
The above formulas for stiffness and damping
constants pertinent to the individual displace-
ments of the pile head can be used to obtain
all the stiffness and damping constants including
the coupled ones needed to solve the coupled
response of footings and structures supported
by piles.
For example, the stiffness constant for footing
rocking is composed of components produced by The damping constants of the footing ere
 CAN. G E O T E C H . J . VOL. 1 1 , 1974
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Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

FIG.7. Variations of stiffness and damping parameters f,,,, and f,,., with frequency a. and
slenderness ratio [/vo, (V,/v,= 0.03, p / p , = 0.7, V = 0.4).

TABLE
1. Stiffness and damping parameters f7, fg, f I lfor concrete and wooden piles with l/ro > 25

Stiffness parameters Damping parameters

P vs
v PP VC f7.1 f9. l f1l.l f7.2 $3.2 fll.2

0.4 0.7
(Concrete)

0.4 2.0
(Wood)

0.25 0.7
(Concrete)

0.25 2.0
(Wood)
 NOVAK: DYNAMIC STIFFNESS AND DAMPING
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Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

PILE SLENDERNESS l/r,

FIG.8. Variations of stiffness and damping parameters of horizontal response with pile slender-
ness I/ro for two stiffnesses of soil, ( p / p , = 0.7, exact for a. = 0.3).

can be obtained from formulae developed by

The summation is taken over all the piles.
Effect of Footing Embedment
The pile-supported footing is often partially
embedded as shown in Fig. 11. As a result of it,
there are also soil reactions acting on the vertical
sides of the footing. (The soil reactions acting
on the base area need not be considered as the
contact there may be lost due to soil settlement.)
The side reactions result in additional stiffness
and damping constants to be added to those
derived from piles and given by Eqs. [61] and
[62]. The additional stiffness and damping
constants of piled footings due to embedment
Beredugo and Novak 1972 and Novak and
Beredugo 1972 and summarized by Novak 1974
(Eqs. [l]-[6]). In those formulae all C and C
must be taken as zero, G = G, and p = p, to
describe the properties of the backfill and
equivalent radius r , must represent the footing
not the piles. Full soil reaction in the base can,
of course, be considered with equal ease if
required.
Response of Pile Foundations
With the stiffness and damping constants
defined by Eqs. [61] and [62], the response of
footings to dynamic loads can be readily
predicted from formulae valid for shallow
foundations.
The vertical response to sinusoidal loads can
be obtained by means of Eqs. [15]-[l81 in
Novak and Beredugo 1972.
The response of footings to horizontal
excitation and to moments in a vertical plane is
always coupled and is characterized by two
components, i.e. horizontal translation, and
 C A N . GEOTECH. J. VOL. 1 1 , 1974

fI8,, - STIFFNESS
f,, - DAMPING
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Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

P l L E SLENDERNESS l/ro
a) CONCRETE P I L E S

20 40 60 80 100
P l L E SLENDERNESS I/ro
b) WOODEN PILES
FIG.9. Stiffness and damping parameters of vertical response of (a) reinforced-concrete piles
(plp, = 0.7), and (b) wooden piles (pip, = 2.0).
 NOVAK: DYNAMIC STIFFNESS AND DAMPING
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W,, =
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

FIG. 10. Pile displacements for determination of footing stiffness and damping constants related
to rotation $

FIG. 11. Dimensions of pile foundation.

 588 C A N . GEOTECH. J . VOL. 1 1 , 1974

rotation in the vertical plane (rocking). The The Piles :

amplitudes of the two components U, and #, 8 soft wood piles
follow from Eq. [l71 in Beredugo and Novak Density = 48 lb/ft3 (pp = 1.49 slugs/ft3)
1972. With variable frequency of excitation, Pile length I = 35 ft
complete response curves can be obtained. Effective radius r, = 5 in. ( A = 78.54 in.', I =
An alternative approach is to solve the coupled 490.9 in.4)
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response by means of modal analysis. This
approach is outlined in Appendix I1 where all
the formulae needed are given together with the
formulae for the natural frequencies and the
modal damping pertinent to the two vibration
modes of the coupled motion.
Example
The above theory is applied to predict the
dynamic response of the machine foundation
shown in Fig. 11. The footing is supported by
end bearing piles. For comparison, the response
is also predicted assuming that the footing
rests directly on soil. The effect of a possible
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.
Young's modulus E, = 1.2 X 106p.s.i. (1.728 X
10, Ib/ft2)
Hence, longitudinal wave velocity v, =
d m = l 0 769 ft/s
Pile eccentricity X, = 4 ft.
With the weights of the footing and the
machine, the height of the centroid of the
system z, = 4.75 ft, total mass m = 6583.9 slugs
and the total mass moment of inertia with
respect to the centroid IJ, = 117 490.8 slugs ft2.
The wave velocity ratio VJv, = 0.02. The
slenderness ratio I/r, = 84 is much larger than
25. Therefore all the pile parameters f can be
read from Table 1 for the given Poisson's ratio,

embedment is also examined. The following material (pip, E 2) and the wave velocity
input data are assumed. ratio, with the exception of parameters f,,
that are obtained from Fig. 9b as f,,,, = 0.0266
The Machine
Total weight = 20 000 lb
and f,,,,
= 0.037.
The constants of one pile are calculated from
Exciting forces due to rotor unbalances act in Eqs. [45] through [60] and with them, the
vertical as well as horizontal directions and stiffness and damping constants follow from
are Eqs. [61] and [62].
P(t) = m,ew2 COS wt, Q ( t ) = in,ew2 sin wt, Then, the response curves are calculated from
the formulae given in the references and referred
where m, = the mass of the rotor, e = rotor to above. The displacements obtained are those
eccentricity, and w = frequency of rotation. of the centroid.
(The true values of m,e are not chosen as the The response curves of the pile foundation are
results will be given in a dimensionless form.) shown in a dimensionless form in Figs. 12-14
The height of the horizontal excitation = 12 ft as case A. The crosses (+) indicate approximate
which is also the height of the machirie centroid. resonant amplitudes established by means of
The Footing simplified modal analysis (Eq. [87], Appendix
Reinforced concrete, density = 150 1b/ft3, 11). The natural frequencies (Eq. [75]) and modal
dimensions as shown in Fig. 11. damping ratios (Eq. [81]) are given in Table 2.
Embedment depth l, = 2 ft Subscript zero denotes the vertical response,
subscripts 1 and 2 denote the first and second
The Soil4 modes of the coupled response involving
Bulk density = 100 1b/ft3 ( P = 3.1 1 slugs/ft3) horizontal translation and rocking.
Shear wave velocity V, = 220 ft/s (V, = m P ) Also shown are results calculated for piles
Poisson's ratio v = 0.25 and embedment (case B). direct foundation on
The BackBll the soil surface (iase ~ j ' a n dfor an embedded
Mass density p, = 0.75 p footing without piles (case D).
Shear modulus G, = 0.5G When considering the effect of embedment or
of soil, the equivalent radii of a circular footing
4Dynamic properties of soil can be established experi- must be used. These can be established from the
mentally or estimated by means of published data (see
e.g. Richart et al. 1970, Vibrations of soil and founda- 5Properties of wood piles can be found in Timber
tions, Prentice-Hall Inc., Eaglewood Cliffs, N.J). Piles, Canadian Institute of Timber Construction, 1962.
 NOVAK: DYNAMIC STIFFNESS AND DAMPING 589

B C D
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Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

I I I I
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
FREQUENCY w (RAD/S )
FIG.12. Vertical response of (A) pile foundation, (B) embedded pile foundation, (C) shallow
foundation, and (D) embedded shallow foundation. (B, = mlpRX3= 5.81).

equality of the base areas for constants relating
to translations (i.e. R, = 7.14 ft). For constants
relating to rocking, the equivalent radius
follows from the equality of the moment of
inertia of the base area (i.e. R$ = 6.42 ft).
Several observations can be made from Figs.
12-14 and from Table 2.
The vibration pattern of pile foundations can
considerably differ from that of shallow founda-
tions. The difference is particularly marked in
the natural frequencies, resonant amplitudes,
and the rocking component of the second mode.
The foundation on piles is more rigid and less
damped than that on soil. The resonant ampli-
tudes of the pile foundation can be higher than
those of the foundation resting on soil; however,
there are frequency regions where the shallow
foundation can yield higher amplitudes. The
effect of embedment can be very beneficial.
Though the piles usually provide the required
bearing capacity and reduce permanent settle-
ments, they cannot exclude vibrations.
Effect of Static Axial Load
There is one more aspect which should be
considered.
With heavy pile loading and very soft soils,
the pile stiffness and damping related to hori-
zontal excitation can be affected by the static
load N,, the pile carries. This effect brings
another parameter into the problem and can be
examined as follows :
With soil reaction given by Eq. [ l ] and the
static compressive force N,, > 0, the dif-
ferential equation of the pile lateral motion
u(z, t ) is
in which p = mass of the pile per unit length,
 CAN. G E O T E C H . J . VOL. 1 1 , 1974
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Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

FREQUENCY w ( R A D / S )
FIG.13. Horizontal component of coupled footing response to horizontal load. (A) pile founda-
tion, (B) embedded pile foundation, (C) shallow foundation, and (D) embedded shallow foundation,
(B, = mlpRX3= 5.81, B S = I*/pR+ = 3.46; (+) = modal analysis).

c = coefficient of pile internal damping, E,Z = ordinary differential equation

bending stiffness of the pile and N,, = static
axial force (load of the pile). d4u(z) d2u(z)
C661 E,? + N"'
Assume a harmonic motion (induced through
the boundary conditions) + u(z)[GS,,, + +
- p2 ~ ( C W GS,,)] = 0
L641 U(Z,t ) = u(z)eiof The complete integral of this equation is
z
[67] u(z) = C, cosh h: + C, sinh X-
7
in which complex amplitude
1 1
L65 l u(z) = ul(z) + iu2(z) + C, cos l + C, s i n 2 21
Substitution of Eq. [65] into Eq. [63] yields an where
 NOVAK: DYNAMIC STIFFNESS AND DAMPING
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Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

FREQUENCY W (RAD/S )
FIG.14. Rocking component of coupled footing response to horizontal load. (A) pile foundation,
(B) embedded pile foundation, (C) shallow foundation, and (D) embedded shallow foundation,
(B, = 5.81, BS = 3.46, (+) = modal analysis).

and minus sign applies for X and the plus sign

c691 NE = +-
?r2E I belongs to X. If further

Note C711 6 = f i sin -42 , i= = JW,

b
tan 4 = 1-
a
then more conveniently

In the last equation, as well as in Eq. [ 6 8 ] , the
in which
C731 X , = g c o s - ,B X, = ,7
l sin-B
2 2
The application of the boundary conditions
to the calculation of the integration constants C
and pile end reactions is almost the same as in
the previous case. The differences are only due
to the two parameters X and X appearing in the
solution in place of a single one. Therefore,
 592 CAN. GEOTECH. J. VOL. 11, 1974

TABLE2. Natural frequencies and damping ratios of footing with various types of foundation

Natural frequency
(rad/s)* Damping percentage*
Type of
Case foundation WO WI wz Do D1 D2
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A Piles 85.5 30.9 100.3 11.2 5.9 15.0

B Piles and 85.9 31.8 101.5 14.7 . 14.0 21 .O
embedment
C Soil 29.1 19.8 48.7 45.4 13.3 30.5
D Soil and 30.2 21 .O 51.1 54.0 20.3 43.1
embedment
*Subscript zero denotes vertical vibration, subscripts 1 and 2 denote the first and second modes of the coupled
response.

the pile end forces and moments are again
described by Eqs. [19], [20], [22], and [23],
in which the functions of argument h are
replaced by somewhat modified functions of
two arguments X and X. These modified functions
do not differ from those for a bare beam
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.
Eqs. [49]-[60] in place of functions F(h) having
the same subscripts.
An example of the static load effect is shown
in Fig. 15. It can be seen,that the general effect
of the static load is to reduce the stiffness and
damping parameters with the exception off,,,

(Kolousek 1973) because the effect of soil is
confined to the two arguments h and X. For
the pile having the lower end pinned and the
upper end fixed, the following functions apply:
that increases and fgS1 and f,,,, that remain
almost independent of N,,. '
The magnitude of the variations due to N,,
depends primarily on soil stiffness (wave
velocity ratio) and on the slenderness ratio.

i
1
F7(h, 3 = -(h2 + J2) sinh h sin 7 = With increasing soil stiffness, the effect of the
41 static load diminishes; it is negligible for wave
F#, 111 + iF7@,% velocity ratio = 0.03 and with all the other
1 parameters remaining the same as in Fig. 15.
F8(h, >) = - hX(h sinh h + X sin>) =
41 The effect of a certain N,, should also diminish
F8V, 3 1 + iF8(X7a 2 with decreasing slenderness. For slenderness
-1 ratios greater than 30, the parameter variations
Fg(h,3) = -hX(X cosh h sin 'X with a certain N,, should be about the same as
C741 41
for l/ro = 30 because any further increase in
(+
h sinh h cos 1) = Fg(h,J), +
iF,(h, J)2 pile length changes the stiffness and damping
-1 parameters only very slightly. In most practical
F, ,(h, 'X) = - hT(h2 cosh h cases the effect of N,, will be negligible. (NE
41 is very large in the shown case.)
+
'X2 COS'X)= Flo(h, 'X)1 + iF,,(h,'X), Summary and Conclusions
1 -
+
Fll(h, 'X) = - ~ ( h ~ X 2 ) cosh h COS X =
41
The dynamic stiffness and geometric damping
of piles depend on soil-pile interaction and are
governed by the following dimensionless param-
eters: specific mass of the soil over specific
mass of the pile (mass ratio), shear wave velocity
in which in the soil over longitudinal wave velocity in
4, = X cosh h sin X - 'X sinh h'cos X the pile (wave velocity ratio), length of the pile
(thickness of the soil layer) over pile radius
Similar functions can be found for the other (slenderness ratio), pile static load over Euler7s
boundary conditions. buckling load (load ratio), and the dimensionless
Stiffness and damping coefficients of piles frequency.
are obtained by the substitution of the real The most important parameters are the
and imaginary parts of functions F(h, X) in wave velocity ratio and the slenderness ratio.
 NOVAK: DYNAMIC STIFFNESS AND DAMPING

STIFFNESS
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- - - - - - - - - _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ -_______________________________-_______________________________

f142 X 10
LL
!k
C
v, Oo I :.2
LOAD RATIO N s t / N ~
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

FIG.15. Variations of stiffness and damping parameters with static load, (I/ro = 30, ?',/v, = 0.01,

Both pile stiffness and damping increase load reduces most stiffness and damping
with increasing wave velocity ratio and with parameters, but increases damping due to
horizontal excitation are very sensitive t o the rotation.
pile length for a slenderness I/ro smaller than For all possible displacements the pile stiffness
about 25 and practically independent of the and geometric damping can be readily
pile length for I/ro greater than this limit. established; hence, the response of footings
Above the same limit, the influence of the end or structures supported by piles can be obtained
condition at the pile tip vanishes; this means by the same procedure as is applied with
that there is no appreciable difference between shallow foundations.
a pinned tip and a fixed tip and that further Pile foundations can have higher natural
increase in pile length does not affect the frequencies, smaller damping and larger res-
dynamic stiffness and the damping. The limit onant amplitudes than footings founded directly
to the effect of the pile length is somewhat on soil.
dependent on the stiffness of the soil. The The piles can eliminate or reduce permanent
relatively low limit to the effect of the pile settlements; however, they cannot eliminate
length makes it possible to present numerical vibrations. Dynamic analysis is just as im-
values of stiffness and damping parameters portant with pile foundations as it is with shallow
valid for most practical situations. foundations.
In the vertical direction, the effect of pile The approach presented is approximate and
length does not diminish within the practical yields somewhat lower stiffnesses and damping
range of slendernesses because the stiffness of than the more rigorous elastic model. This may
the pile alone compares more favourably with be considered on the safe side as the bond
that of soil than is the case with horizontal between the pile and the soil is not perfect as is
excitation. However, the stiffness and damping assumed in the dynamic elastic solution.
parameters for the vertical direction are given in The approximate analytical solution may help
a graphical form to cover most practical applica- to specify the dimensionless parameters and to
tions. indicate appropriate ranges for more rigorous
The effect of the static load can be significant approaches where much higher computing costs
only with extremely poor soils. The static will be involved.
 C A N . GEOTECH. J. VOL. 1 1 , 1974

Experiments are needed to verify the theory damping ratio of footing

and to estimate the effect of pile grouping and coefficient of pile internal viscous
other components of damping acting jointly damping
with the geometric damping considered in this damping constant of footing
paper. damping constant of one pile
Young's modulus of pile
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Acknowledgments frequency functions

This study was supported by a research grant eccentricity of unbalanced mass
from the National Research Council of Canada. stiffness parameters of pile
The assistance of T. Nogami is gratefully damping parameters of pile
acknowledged. shear modulus of soil
moment of inertia of pile cross section
BARANOV, V. A. 1967. On the calculation of excited mass moment of inertia of footing
vibrations of an embedded foundation. (in Russian).
Voprosy Dynamiki Prochnocti, No. 14, Polytech.
R= imaginary unit
Inst. Riga, pp. 195-209. dimensionless parameter
BARKAN, D. D. 1962. Dynamics of bases and foundations. stiffness constant of footing
McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, N.Y. stiffness constant of one pile
BEREDUGO, Y. O., and NOVAK,M. 1972. Coupled hori- dimensionless parameter
zontal and rocking vibration of embedded footings. length of pile, thickness of soil layer
Can. Geotech. J. 9(4), pp. 477-497.
foundation embedment
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

KOLOUSEK, V. 1973. Dynamics in engineering structures.

Halsted Press. a Division of John Wiley and Sons, bending moment of pile
New York, N.Y. mass of footing
NOVAK,M., and BEREDUGO, Y. 0. 1972. Vertical vibra- unbalanced mass
tion of embedded footings. J. Soil Mech. Found.
Div., A.S.C.E., 12, pp. 1291-1310. axial (normal) force in pile
NOVAK, M., and SACHS,K. 1973. Torsional and coupled Euler's buckling load
vibrations of embedded footings. Int. J. Earthquake static load of the pile
Eng. Struct. Dyn., J. Wiley and Sons, 2(1), pp. 11-33. pile reaction in direction i
NOVAK,M. 1974. Effect of soil on structural response to
wind and earthquake. Int. J. Earthquake Eng. equivalent footing radius for directions
Struct. Dyn., J. Wiley and Sons, 3(1), pp. 79-96. X or # respectively
PENZIEN,J. 1970. Soil-pile foundation interation. radius of pile, equivalent radius of pile
In Earthquake engineering. Edited by Wiegel, R. L. for noncircular piles
Prentice-Hall, Inc., Eaglewood Cliffs, N.J., pp. real part of layer reaction in horizontal
349-381.
P o u ~ o s H.
, G. 1971. Behavior of laterally loaded piles: direction
11. Piles groups. J. Soil Mech. Found. Div., A.S.C.E., imaginary part of layer reaction in
97(SM5), pp. 733-751. horizontal direction
P o u ~ o s H.
, G. 1973. Behavior of laterally loaded piles: real part of layer reaction in vertical
111. Socketed piles. J. Soil Mech. Found. Div.,
A.S.C.E., 98(SM4), pp. 341-360. direction
RAUSCH,E. 1959. Maschinenfundamente. VDI-Verlag imaginary part of layer reaction in
GmbH., Dusseldorf, Ger. (in German). vertical direction
TAJIMI,H. 1966. Earthquake response of foundation shear force in pile
structures. Report of the Faculty of Science and
Engineering, Nihon University, Tokyo City, Jap., time
pp. 1.l-3.5 (in Japanese). horizontal translation of pile
horizontal translation of pile head
horizontal translation of pile tip
Appendix I - Notation amplitude of horizontal vibration of
The following symbols are used in this paper: footing
A = area of pile cross section real and imaginary parts of u
fi=
Ai = dimensionless amplitude of footing in
a
direction i
= parameter
h
pile
shear wave velocity of soil
= longitudinal wave velocity in

a, = row = dimensionless frequency vertical displacement of pile

b = Darameter vertical displacement of pile head
Ci = integration constant wg = vertical displacement of pile tip
 IVAK: DYNAMIC STIFFNESS AND DAMPING

W, = amplitude of vertical vibration of footing Assume excitation by harmonic horizontal

X, = horizontal distance of pile from ref- force Q(t) and moment M,(t) (Fig. 11)
erence point
z = vertical coordinate [77] Q(t) = Q, (sin wt)
z, = height of centroid above base [78] M(t) = M, sin wt = (Qoze + Me) sin wt
z, = height of excitation above centroid
The generalized force amplitudes, producing
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A = frequency parameter for vertical re-

sponse
A, = frequency parameter of pile alone
A, ,, = real and imaginary parts of A
h = frequency parameter for horizontal ex-
citation
h,,, = real and imaginary parts of h
p = mass density of soil
p, = mass density of pile
= rotation in vertical plane
, = rotation of pile head in vertical plane
$ = amplitude of footing rocking
w = circular excitation frequency
= natural frequency of vertical vibration
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.
response in one mode each, (Fig. 16), are
L791 Pj = QOU~ + Mo+j
and the generalized masses
in which subscript j = 1 , 2 denotes the mode and
the corresponding frequency. The modal co-
ordinates uj and #j can be chosen in an arbitrary
scale; e.g. #j = 1 and thus,,from Eq. [76],
uj = aj.
The two modal damping;ratios pertinent to
the vibration modes are from Eq. 21 in Novak

w,
w,,, = natural frequencies of coupled motion 1974

Appendix I1 - Solution of Coupled Motion

by Means of Modal Analysis
For practical predictions of amplitudes of the
coupled motion involving sliding U and rocking in which damping constants c are given by Eqs.
4,modal analysis is very suitable. The method [51]-[60]. Then the footing translation and
is described in general by Novak 1974. The rocking are
main formulae applicable to footings are
L
summarized below.
With stiffnesses given by Eqs. [49]-[58], C821 u(t) = 1 qjuj sin (wt + Qlj)
j= 1
the two natural frequencies follow from the
formula 2
C831 *(t) = 1 qj*j sin (wl -t-
j= 1
+j)

in which the amplitudes of the generalized

coordinates

and the two natural modes (ratios of displace-

ment~)are
and the phase shifts
2Djwiw
c851 = -a tan
k+$ - r,,,wj2 wj2 - w2
with j = 1,2
-kx+
With respect to the phase difference between
(With correct values of w, and w2 and constant +,and 4, the true amplitudes of translation U,
parameters, both equations must give the same and rocking +,
are the vector sum of the two
result which is a quick check.) modal components, i.e.
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0 -
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

0-

FIG. 16. Modal superposition of footing response, (excitation proportional to wZ).

EXACT ANALYSIS
---- -- -- - M O D A L A N A L Y S I S , EQ. 86

+ EQ. 8 9

L
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
FREQUENCY w (RAD/S)
FIG. 17. Sliding component of coupled response computed directly (exactly) and by means of
modal analysis, (for foundation shown in Fig. 11).
 NOVAK: DYNAMIC STIFFNESS AND DAMPING
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Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.

FREQUENCY w ( R A D / S
FIG.18. Rocking component of coupled response computed directly (exactly) and by means of
modal analysis, (for foundation shown in Fig. 11).
Equation [86] gives results usually very close The resonant amplitudes calculated from the
to those obtained by direct calculation from very simple Eqs. [87] are shown as crosses (+)
Eq. 17 in Beredugo and Novak 1972 (Figs. 17 in Figs. 13 and 14. The agreement between the
and 18). accurate and approximate values is quite good.
A significant simplification can be achieved The agreement can be further improved by the
when calculating the maximum amplitude in the vector addition of the nonresonating mode
first or second resonant peaks of the coupled obtainable from Eq. [84]. With the omission
motion (Figs. 17 and 18). When the damping of of damping, possible with respect to large
the resonating mode is not too large and the differences between W , and W , , the amplitudes of
response curve shows a peak, the contribution the nonresonating mode k at frequency w j are
of the nonresonant modal component to the
resonant amplitude can be neglected in most
cases because it is small and the phase difference
between the two components is close to 90'
(see Fig. 16). Then the resonant amplitudes of
the coupled motion at resonance j ( j = 1 or 2) are
approximately

Because the phase shift between the resonating

and nonresonating modes is close to 90°, the
resonant amplitudes are approximately
 598 CAN. GEOTECH. J.
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in which k # j.
The inclusion of the damping in the de-
nominator yields the approximate value of the
maximum resonant amplitude instead of the
somewhat smaller amplitude at frequency w j .
(The maximum amplitude does not appear
exactly at w j . )
Can. Geotech. J. 1974.11:574-598.
VOL. 1 1 , 1974
Equations [S91 yield an even better estimate
of the resonant amplitudes than Eqs. [S71 alone.
The amplitudes calculated from Eqs. [S91 are
shown in Figs. 17 and 18 where the complete
response curves, obtained directly and by
means of modal analysis, are also plotted. The
agreement between the two approaches is very
good.
The same modal approach can be used with
shallow foundations. The only difference is in
the stiffness and damping constants which can
be obtained from Beredugo and Novak 1972 or
Novak 1974.