Investigation of 3D deformation of transparent soil around a laterally loaded pile based on a hydraulic gradient model test

Abstract

Based on the fact that natural soil and transparent soil have similar geotechnical properties, this paper describes a device used in hydraulic gradient tests to measure the displacement of transparent soil. The theory of using seepage force to increase the effective self-weight stress of soil is employed to simulate the soil behavior around a laterally loaded pile under high stress field. In order to obtain the 3D displacement of internal soil around a laterally loaded pile, transparent soil is firstly irradiated by lasers. Then, using Particle Image Velocimetry technology, 2D displacements of soil are obtained and restructured, revealing 3D displacement of soil around a laterally loaded pile and verifying the feasibility of the experiment in measuring soil displacement. Additionally, the 3D deformation characteristics of soil around a laterally loaded pile are analyzed. Results show that the displacement of the soil around the pile mainly occurs in the shallow soil layer and that the direction of displacement is oblique-upward along the loading direction. What's more, with an increase in distance from the pile edge, as well as with an increase in the depth, the displacement magnitude gradually decreases.