Simple method for the numerical simulation of the elastic impulse response of a pile head

This paper proposes a simple method for calculating the elastic impulse response at a pile head. The primary purpose of the method is to simulate the results of the simple pile load test developed in a previous study. Since the simple pile load test is dynamic in nature, testers who wish to obtain static values must simulate the test and then extrapolate the results to the low-frequency range. Therefore, a straightforward simulation method is needed to make this testing approach practical for field applications. The proposed calculation extends the Winkler model and employs first-order approximations for both the load distribution in the soil and the Green’s function of the soil. These simplifications will contribute to the ease of calculation of the method. To validate the proposed method, its results are compared with those obtained from actual tests and finite element analyses. The validation demonstrates that the proposed method can successfully replicate the results of both the physical tests and finite element simulations. In other words, the method effectively extrapolates the results of the simple pile load test introduced in the previous study. Thus, the primary objective of developing this calculation method has been achieved.