A comparative analysis of pile and pile groups imposed to lateral, vertical loads and its combination

Abstract

Many studies have been performed in the analysis of Pile due to lateral, vertical and combined loading using various methods. Since there is a continuous movement of the tectonic plates, the structures are imposed on lateral loading in addition to vertical loads. These lateral loads increase their shear stress, leading to member failure. In-situ testing of piles has many drawbacks and doesn’t provide us immediate solutions for the problem. Several FEM and FDM software are available for the simulation of complex Geotechnical problems in a simpler way. In this study, a comparative analysis has been carried out using PLAXIS 3D and found out the pile displacement rate. The test was carried out for three different cases namely, single pile, 2 x 2 pile group and 3 x 3 pile groups and compared the loads with deflection, and conclude the variation between each pile group. The load vs settlement curves were drawn for the easier understanding of the problem complexity. The results obtained from vertical, lateral and combined loading were found to be in good agreement with the experimental results, with a nominal percent of variation.