Effect of cavities on the behaviour of laterally loaded pile in sand

Abstract

This paper sheds the light on the interaction between piles under lateral loading conditions embedded in sandy soils and adjacent to cavities. The experimental study comprised a full laboratory testing programme carried out on small scale piles embedded in a soil mass with predetermined cavities. The experimental model has the capability to investigate the effect of different cavity locations on the ultimate pile resistances, bending moment along the pile length and pile rotation with the y-axis. Eighteen cavity locations were chosen in order to obtain a thorough investigation on how the ultimate load capacity of single piles is affected by their presence in sandy soil. It is concluded that reductions in pile capacities caused by cavity presence was ranged from 0 to 43.3% for the active side of pile while on the passive side was from 1.8 to 22%. No effect on pile capacities was registered for cavities located under the pile base. Pile settlement, bending moment and rotation values were also influenced by the presence of cavities in different ratios.