Ultimate bearing capacity of laterally loaded piles in clay – Some practical considerations

Abstract

The paper re-visits the topic of ultimate bearing capacity of laterally loaded piles in clay. The paper first presents a review of various recommendations made by design guidelines and industry practitioners which illustrates inconsistency and need for further work. A literature study is therefore performed and a generalised recommendation of the ultimate lateral capacity of piles in clay that is self-consistent and flexible for a wide range of conditions is made. The paper further investigates two practical considerations often encountered in design, namely the effect of axial loading and the effect of soil strength anisotropy by means of finite element analyses. Practical methods to account for these effects are proposed.