Engineering Characteristics and Reinforcement Program of Inclined Pre-stressed Concrete Pipe Piles

Abstract

When it comes to the deep soft soil foundation, improper construction, preloading, and excavation may result in the inclination of the pre-stressed concrete pipe (PCP) piles. Lack of understanding on deformation characteristics may lead to inaccurate reinforcement plan, thereby causing new engineering accidents. This study analyzes an engineering accident induced by the pile inclination, based on which the finite element method model is built. Deformation characteristics of the foundation incorporating inclined PCP piles are investigated, and the reinforcement program involving placement of the pile with opposite inclination is proposed and compared with the conventional reinforcement program using vertical piles. Findings of this study are two-folds: 1) A critical inclination angle affecting the vertical settlement exists, below which the pile inclination has limited effects upon the vertical load bearing capacity of the foundation. 2) The vertical subsidence, the lateral displacement and the bending moment of the reinforcement program based on the reversely inclined pile are all decreased, which helps bear the overburden load and improve stability. In the process of engineering accident treatment, the bearing capacity of PCP piles with small inclination angles can be first reduced according to their inclination angles, followed by judgement that whether these PCP piles meet the requirements on bearing capacity. The PCP piles with large inclination angles must be strengthened, and the reverse inclined PCP piles are recommended.