tapered pile 3d problem

Hi I’m modelling a steel tapered pile embedded in sand (Half-model) using the following steps: 1. Geostatic step for the soil (with the pile de-activetd) 2. Removing the part of the soil representing the pile opening 3. Resetting the displacement to zero (BC). I made this step since very little displacements are left after the geostatic step (in order of 5x10^-4m) so that when I activate the pile in the following step it can fit in 4. Activating the pile 5. Activation of the pile soil interaction properties Until this point I have no problem, but then when I wanted to remove the soil movement restraint (in step 3) the soil seems to bulge up around the lower area of the pile. I thought that this could be due to the pile taper where the displacement of the soil created a tiny space from which the soil escaped...I thought of tying the two surfaces using constraints(pile –soil) but I didnt find a way for activating it in a certain step (it has to be activated throughout all the steps) I also tried not allowing “separation” in the interaction properties however it still didn’t get any better. I also tried applying a load to the pile so that it slightly moves down and hence close any opening(in case) but again it didn’t work. I would really appreciate if you can help me with this. I’m new to Abaqus and I’m really having hard time to run this model Thanks