Experimental and Numerical Study on Pile Behaviour Under Lateral Load in Clayey Slope

Abstract

Structures such as jetties, transmission towers, elevated highways and various industrial units are often supported by pile foundation on natural or man-made soil slope. The piles on slopes are subjected to lateral load from the super structure, earth pressure from the unstable soil, wave and current actions in case of marine structures, etc. The behaviour of a pile on sloping ground under lateral load is different from that on a horizontal ground. The aim of this paper is to experimentally and numerically evaluate the behaviour of a single pile in sloping clay layer subjected to lateral load. 1 g model tests are performed in laboratory test tank on instrumented pile embedded in clayey bed with varying slopes and shear strength. The behaviour of a single pile placed either at crest or at different distances from crest on slope is evaluated. Static lateral load was applied in a direction towards the downward slope. Numerical study comprise of 3-D finite element analysis using PLAXIS code. The input parameters used for the analysis were validated by comparing the PLAXIS results with the experimental result. A detailed parametric study was then carried out by varying the clay shear strength and the slope angle. Based on the analysis, non-dimensional design charts are prepared for lateral capacity in piles on sloping ground. A worked example is included demonstrating the use of the design charts for pile on clay slope subjected to lateral loading.