Field and Theoretical Study of the Response of Super-Long Bored Pile Subjected to Compressive Load

Abstract

In this article, two full-scale pile loading tests were conducted to observe the field performance of the super-long bored piles, and a simplified approach for nonlinear analysis of the load-displacement behavior of a single pile was presented. The field tests on piles indicates that, under the maximum test load, more than 70% of the pile top settlement is caused by the compression of pile shaft. For practical purposes, the pile top settlement can be reduced through improving the pile shaft strength. When the load reaches the maximum test load, the proportion of the load carried by the pile tip is approximately 30%. The super-long pile is functioning as an end-bearing friction pile. The skin friction at shallow depth is fully mobilized and decreases from a peak value with increasing load. However, the skin friction of deeper soil is not fully developed due to less relative displacement. Furthermore, a BoxLucas1 model is used to capture the relationship between unit skin friction and pile-soil relative displacement, whereas a hyperbolic model is used to describe the relationship between toe stress and pile base displacement. Based on the BoxLucas1 model and the hyperbolic model, a load transfer method is used to clarify the response of a single pile, and a computational flow chart is developed. The efficiency and accuracy of the present method is verified using the field tests on piles. The proposed simple analytical approach is economical and efficient, resulting in savings in time and cost.