Simplified calculation method of hydrodynamic force for elevated pile caps

A simplified calculation method of hydrodynamic force which acts on elevated pile caps was proposed on the basis of the Morison hydrodynamic force theory,and it can be applied to the seismic design of long span deepwater bridges.Shaking table tests of elevated pile caps were performed with the south tower base of the Nanjing Yangtze 3rd River Bridge as a prototype.A comparison between the results of shaking table tests and those of the calculation method under dynamic loads verified the accuracy and reliability of the proposed method.At last,the influencing factors on the hydrodynamic force were discussed.