Geotechnical performance of X-section cast-in-place concrete piles under torsion loads in clay soil – numerical study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Deep foundations are inexorably subjected to torsional load due to eccentric lateral loads. The conventional piles face shortcoming under torsional loads due to its fair face. So, this study employed an innovative X-section cast in place concrete pile to improvement the torsional capacity of piles. PLAXIS 3D V20 Software was used to study the performance of XCC pile under torsional load, and combined torsional, and vertical loads in clay soil. The numerical results reflect that at the ratio of pile length to pile diameter (Lp/Dp) = 15, and the ratio of the open arc spacing to pile diameter (ap/Dp) = 0.14, open arc degrees (θ°) = 90, the torsional capacity can be improved by 3.96, 5.06, and 5.71 times of torsional capacity of conventional pile with the same cross-sectional area at clay cohesions of 70 KN/m2, 40 KN/m2, and 30 KN/m2, respectively. Also, The XCC pile recorded an increase ratio of 35% in the vertical capacity of piles compared to conventional pile with the same cross-sectional area. It can be concluded that XCC piles exhibit significant resistance to torsional forces due to their cross-sectional geometry which enhances soil-pile interaction.