Abstract:
Drilled shaft foundations to the bridge piers shall be designed to withstand the lateral loads that generally occur due to accelerating or braking forces applied by heavy vehicles, wind, water pressure or earth pressure. Hence the lateral capacity of piles plays a major role in determining the pile dimensions. The laterally loaded pile analysis is a soil-structure interaction problem as the lateral capacity of pile depends on the soil parameters and its reaction to the lateral load on pile. The common approach to determine the lateral loading analysis of piles is the Beam on Lateral nonlinear Springs Method also known as “ p-y” method. In this method the pile is modelled as a beam and supporting soil is modelled as lateral springs. Determination of lateral spring stiffness as a function of soil structure interaction characteristics is the main challenge in using this model. Several theoretical methods are available to determine the lateral spring stiffness. This study is focused on the comparison of lateral stability of analysis of piles based on theoretical and numerical methods. The predicted spring stiffness from theoretical analysis is then compared with numerical methods. The numerical analysis of laterally loaded piles is carried out in softwares like L-Pile that works based on Finite Difference Method, Wallap that works based on Horizontal Subgrade Modulus Method and FB Multiplier that works based on Finite Element Methods. The results are then compared and concluded.
Abstract: Theme 8