Numerical Simulation of a Super-Long Pile Group under Both Vertical and Lateral Loads

Abstract

The current researches on soil-pile interaction under combined action of axial and lateral loads are mainly focused on the short or middle-long piles in a homogeneous soil. The practice for design of piles subjected to both axial and lateral loads commonly considers the two loads separately. In this paper, a super-long pile group in stratified soils under both vertical and lateral loads and the pile-soil interaction with the pile cap in contact with ground are all simulated together by a three-dimensional nonlinear numerical model. The influence of lateral loading on the vertical pile stresses and bending moments is analyzed. In addition, the effect of vertical loading on the lateral pile response is also investigated. On the other hand, given the fact that the super-long pile group is relatively insufficient in resisting a large lateral load, the pile in shallow depth is sleeved to reduce the horizontal displacement. Using the sleeve, the lateral load is transferred onto the deeper soil mass. The results show that the sleeved super-long pile group proposed in this paper can reduce the horizontal displacement significantly and is feasible in practical applications.