Batter Pile Behavior Modeling Using Finite Difference Analysis

Abstract

Pile foundation has been widely used in supporting various structures, for example, bridges and tall buildings in Taiwan. With the development of mountainous area, pile foundation has been used as mitigation slope movement. Batter piles used in a group pile subjected to lateral forces are common. In this study, we used 3D finite difference program to analyze the mechanical response of a batter pile subjected to lateral soil movement. In order to verify the correction of the numerical simulation, its validation was compared with a published case study. The analysis of a single pile in different incline angles subjected to lateral soil movement was modeled. Results of the analysis show that batter pile under the conditions of lateral soil movement will cause pile larger lateral displacement and increasing bending moment on the pile shaft. The pile displacement reduced with the increasing pile incline angle. Vertical pile shaft subjected to negative and positive moment during soil movement, while, only positive moment distributed in the batter pile shaft. The moment is higher in batter pile shaft in weak layer than in non-weak layer. The pile shaft maximum moment occurred nearby the interface of weak layer and stable layer. The moment increased with the incline angle of batter pile. While, the moment increasing ratio reduced with the increased incline angle.