A Proposed Approach of Improving Soil Around a Single Lateral Loaded Pile Model by using Nano-Silica Sandy Soil Mixture Material

Abstract

This research presented a new method to improve the individual pile’s lateral behavior embedded into sandy soil using silica oxide nanoparticles material. A small-scale model test with many percent of nano-silica material (0, 0.3, and 0.6%) is used at different locations around the pile, such as an adjacent or at a distance of 10 mm away pile face and along pile front or pile behind in additional to untreated soil condition. The nano-silica material is placed into a steel box model as a plane-strain form. The obtained results are presented as relationships among applied lateral load with horizontal, vertical displacement, and rotation. The experimental work results have been validated by comparing with some of the present results (ultimate lateral pile of untreated soil) published by other workers. It clear that the obtained result is in good agreement with Hansen (1961). It is concluded that the perfect percentage of improving the soil by silica oxide nanoparticles was in the (0.6)% because this percentage gave the highest lateral load than that of other percentages at the same lateral and vertical displacement. This is because nanoparticles found in the soil improve the soil’s strength by improving the interaction between soil particles by nanoparticles and filling the voids between soil particles with nanoparticles. All the tests that were obtained for the nanomaterial were mixed and let for three days, and one test was mixed and let for 30 days. This process was for the percentage 0.6 %, so from the results, the perfect period was for three days from the beginning of the mixture of the nanomaterial; this may occur due to the evaporation of the water from the mixture and that lead to a decrease in the interaction between the mixture and the sand in the container when adding the mixture to the physical model.