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Introduction
1.1 General
When a soil of low bearing capacity extends to a considerable depth, piles are generally
used to transmit vertical and lateral loads to the surrounding soil media. Piles that are
used under tall chimneys, television towers, high-rise building, high retaining walls,
offshore structures, etc. are normally subjected to high lateral loads.
Pile foundations are subjected to lateral loads and moments which come up due to
wind load and seismic forces in buildings, earth pressure in retaining walls and water
pressures in water front structures. The conventional analysis assumes that the piles do
not resist any load in bending and the soil reaction to piles due to lateral movement is
negligible. Piles are, thus, assumed to resist load and moment in axial compression or
tension only. Further, as per the conventional approach, vertical piles cannot resist lateral
loads. Inclined piles (termed batter piles) are necessary to resist lateral loads. The
conventional approach is unrealistic, later theories which take the bending of piles into
account are more realistic for analysis of laterally loaded piles.
Piles or pile group may be subjected to static, cyclic or dynamic loadings. The static
loadings may be of short duration or sustained loadings. The lateral loads on tall
structures, due to wind and on offshore structures due to sea waves or winds are example
of cyclic loadings. Loads due to ship thrust on offshore structures, lateral loads due to
earthquakes, bomb blasts, etc. are examples of dynamic loadings. Sustained lateral loads
occur on piles used in the foundations of earth retaining structures and other similar
types. Pile foundation may be subjected to combined vertical and lateral loads or
horizontal loads only. These loads cause lateral and vertical displacements and rotation of
the pile cap. These displacements of the pile cap produce certain movements at each of
the pile heads. The movements at the pile heads, in turn, cause an axial load, lateral load
and a moment to be applied to the pile cap. The entire system will be in equilibrium when
the reaction at the pile head is consistent with the deformation characteristics of pile.
rotate or tilt and passive resistance develops above and below the point of rotation on
opposite sides of the pile. If pile head is restrained by a cap, there will be lateral
translation. In both the cases, the pile will fail when the applied load exceeds the passive
resistance of the soil.
Fig.
1.1
R=
EI
KD
in unit of length
EI
nh
in unit of length
1.3.2.1
A. Brinch Hansens Method (1961): This method is based on earth pressure theory
and has the advantage that it is:
i.
Applicable for c- soils
ii.
Applicable for layered system
However, this method suffers from disadvantages that it is
i.
Applicable only for short piles
ii.
Requires trial-and-error solution to locate point of location
B. Broms Method (1946) : This is also based on earth pressure theory, but
simplifying assumptions are made for distribution of ultimate soil resistance along
the pile length. He presented the relationship between dimensionless parameters,
nh
3
5
EpIp
X 0
X 0( KDL)
Qg
and
, for clay
=
Ep Ip
KD
4 Ep Ip
1.3.2.2
d = dt
[ ]
P tT 3
ET
+ d
m
[ ]
M tT 2
ET
and moment as
M = mt [ PtT ]
+ = m [ Mt ]
m
Fig. 1.2 Deflection, moment and shear of a pile under lateral load
This method has the advantage that:
i.
It is relatively simple.
ii.
It can incorporate factors such as nonlinearity, variation of subgrade
reaction with depth, and layered systems.
iii.
It has been used in the practice for a long time.
Therefore a considerable amount of experience has been gained in applying the
theory to practical problems. However, this method suffers from disadvantages that it is:
i.
It ignores continuity of the soil.
ii.
Modulus of subgrade reaction is not a unique soil property but depends on
foundation size and deflections.
B. Elastic Approach (Poulos, 1971):
In this method, the soil is assumed as an ideal elastic continuum. The method has the
advantage that:
i.
It is based on a theoretically more realistic approach.
5
ii.
It can give solutions for varying modulus with depth and layered system.
However, this method suffers from disadvantages that:
i.
It is difficult to determine appropriate strains in field problems and the
corresponding soil moduli.
ii.
It needs more field verification by applying theory to practical problem.