This guidance document is intended to assist geotechnical engineers, pile designers, and contractors in analysis, design, and testing of piles and drilled shafts for lateral loads. Although analysis of lateral response of piles and shafts is routinely performed, there is no single guidance document and/or standard for design and testing. Several different analytical methods are available for the analysis and the resulting design can result in significantly different responses which can create confusion. Over the years, analysis of response of piles due to lateral loads evolved from closed-form solutions to py methods to strain wedge to finite element/finite difference modeling. This is especially true for analyzing and designing piles in potentially liquefiable soils with lateral spread issues under seismic conditions. This document discusses the background of different analytical and testing procedures and presents the recommended methods for analysis, design and testing of piles for lateral loads.
Edited by: Chaired by Mark Petersen and Zia Zafir (2003-2009); Robert Kruger, Guideline Editor
Sponsored by: DFI Seismic and Lateral Loads Committee (2011-2012)