A new approach for estimating the vertical elastic settlement of a single pile based on the fictitious soil pile model

Abstract

The development of settlement at pile heads due to vertical loads is one of the most important factors in pile design. For large-scale pile-supported infrastructure and elevated roads, the cumulative plastic deformation caused by cyclic loads could be so dangerous that only elastic deformation is permitted. However, existing methods rely heavily on measurements from field tests, while only a few analytical approaches have been developed based on the Winkler model or load transfer functions, which are mostly empirical. Moreover, present theories can hardly unify the computation of end-bearing piles and floating piles, since the classification between these two types of piles is often ambiguous. In this study, a new approach based on the fictitious soil pile model is proposed, and a semi-analytical is derived. The efficacy of the solution is demonstrated via comparisons against measured curves in the field and rigorous numerical results. Finally, a parametric study is performed to investigate the influence of pile and soil properties and the existence of a strong or weak soil interlayer on the vertical settlement of a single pile. On this basis, a new pile design factor referred as ‘optimal aspect ratio’ is proposed to acquire suitable pile dimensions.