Experimental Curvature and Moment Response of Pile Foundations: Comparison with p-y Predictions-PPT Presentation

PPT Presentation

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The study evaluates whether conventional p–y analyses accurately predict the lateral response of pile foundations. Researchers tested three instrumented piles in a University of California, Irvine soil pit: a reinforced-concrete pile, a concrete-filled steel pipe pile, and a steel pipe pile. They measured pile deflection, curvature, and bending response during lateral loading, then used beam theory to derive experimental soil-reaction (p–y) behavior and compared results with LPILE predictions.<br /><br />Across the tests, p–y calculations underestimated the piles’ maximum lateral resistance but overestimated their initial resistance. They also overestimated maximum internal bending moment. Predictions generally identified the depth of maximum moment accurately, but underestimated internal moments below the plastic hinge.<br /><br />The findings show that standard p–y predictions may not capture important aspects of measured pile behavior, with implications for lateral pile design. The authors recommend using cracked moment–curvature relationships when deriving pile response profiles and p–y curves.

Keywords

p-y analysis

pile foundations

lateral response

instrumented piles

beam theory

soil reaction

LPILE predictions

bending moment

pile deflection

lateral loading