3D Numerical Analysis for Behavior of Axially Loaded Pile Subjected to Lateral Soil Movement

Abstract:

The construction of underground works or tunnel excavation will lead to the displacement of the surrounding soil.Lateral soil movements and load mostly have a negative influence on the bearing characteristics of axially loaded piles.The finite difference software FLAC 3D is adopted to analyze the behavior of axially loaded piles subjected to lateral soil movement.The effects of soil strength,pile bending stiffness and pile head constraint on the response of pile are analyzed.The results from the numerical analysis show that the increase of the lateral soil movements and/or the axial load will greatly influence the bending moment and deflection of the axially loaded pile.The behavior of the axially loaded pile is also affected by different soil strength,pile bending stiffness and pile head constraint.Therefore,the coupling effect of lateral soil movement and axial load can not be ignored in practical pile design.

Key words:axially loaded piles; lateral soil movement; coupled behavior; numerical analysis; bearing capacity