Investigation of the influence of vertical loads on the lateral response of pile foundations in clayey soils (original) (raw)
Although the load applied to pile foundations is usually a combination of vertical and lateral components, there have been few investigations on the behavior of piles subjected to combined loadings. Those few studies led to inconsistent results with regard to the effects of vertical loads on the lateral response of piles. A series of three-dimensional finite differences analyses is conducted to evaluate the influence of vertical loads on the lateral performance of pile foundations. Three idealized sandy and clayey soil profiles are considered: a homogeneous soil layer, a layer with modulus proportional to depth, and a two-layered stratum. The pile material is modelled as linearly elastic, while the soil is idealized using the Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model with a non-associated flow rule. In order to confirm the findings of this study, soils in some cases are further modelled using more sophisticated models (i.e., CYsoil for sandy soils and MCC for clayey soils). Numerical results showed that the lateral resistance of the piles does not appear to vary considerably with the vertical load in sandy soil especially at the loosest state. However, the presence of a vertical load on a pile embedded in homogeneous or inhomogeneous clay is detrimental to its lateral capacity, and it is unconservative to design piles in clays assuming that there is no interaction between vertical and lateral loads. Moreover, the current results indicate that the effect of vertical loads on the lateral response of piles embedded in multilayered stratum depends on the characteristics of soil not only surrounding the piles but also those located beneath their tips.
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