Comparative study on various methods of analysis of lateral stability of drilled shaft-Paper

Paper

Pdf Summary

The study compares three software packages for analyzing a laterally loaded single pile: FB-MultiPier, L-Pile, and Wallap. The analysis addresses soil–pile interaction by evaluating pile deflection, bending moment, and shear force with depth.<br /><br />A 35 m long, 1.2 m diameter reinforced-concrete pile was modeled in five layers of silty sand, with groundwater at ground level. The pile was subjected to a 6,000 kN vertical load and a 600 kN lateral load at its head, under free-head conditions. FB-MultiPier uses the finite element method, L-Pile uses the finite difference method, and Wallap applies the horizontal subgrade reaction method. The analyses used comparable soil and pile parameters.<br /><br />FB-MultiPier and L-Pile produced closely matching deflection and bending-moment results. Their shear-force predictions also agreed, differing by about 5%. Wallap predicted greater deflections, bending moments that varied by less than 10% from the other programs, and shear forces that differed by approximately 30–40%. All three programs located the maximum bending moment at about 6 m below the pile cap.<br /><br />For detailed analysis of a single laterally loaded pile, the authors consider FB-MultiPier and L-Pile more reliable choices for this case; Wallap may be suitable for preliminary analysis. The findings apply to the soil profile and loading conditions studied. Future work could examine fixed-head piles, pile groups, and static or cyclic loading.

Keywords

laterally loaded pile

soil-pile interaction

pile deflection

bending moment

shear force

FB-MultiPier

L-Pile

Wallap

finite element method

horizontal subgrade reaction