Modeling of Large Diameter Piles in Soil Formations Including Soft Clay

Abstract

In Egypt, large diameter piles are used in some sites with diameters exceeding 2 m. In some cases, these piles carry foundations of heavy structures and/or large vertical and lateral loads. The analysis and design methodologies of large diameter piles are mainly controlled by the relatively smaller diameter piles, usually ranging between 60 and 120 cm. However, there is a special need for the analysis and design of larger diameter piles (i.e., larger than 120 cm) to assess their actual load carrying capacities. This paper presents numerical modeling of end bearing piles constructed in thick layer of soft to very soft clay underlain by a dense sand layer, typical to large zones in Northern and North Eastern zones in Egypt. The finite element analysis software ADINA (2018) [2] is used to simulate the behavior of the large diameter bored piles. Results showed that increasing the pile diameter cause a corresponding increase in pile capacity. It is also noticed that increasing pile embedded length in the end bearing sand layer has an enormous effect on pile capacity especially for larger diameter piles.