Limiting Force Profile for Laterally Loaded Piles in Undrained Clay
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 21, Issue 8
Abstract
This paper investigates the limiting force profile (LFP) for laterally loaded piles embedded in undrained clay. Based on the three- and two-dimensional finite-element limit analysis (FELA), the failure mechanisms and methods for calculating the limiting soil resistance under both flow-around failure at a certain depth and wedge failure at ground surface are presented, respectively. For the flow-around failure, the limiting soil resistance increases with the adhesion factor α, and an empirical formula is proposed for practical application. Under the wedge failure condition, a curved conical wedge is developed in the front of the laterally loaded pile. Based on the parametric analysis, a generic design model as well as the determination procedures of the model parameters for predicting the limiting soil resistance under wedge failure is proposed. Finally, the proposed design model is validated by a comparison with the centrifuge test results reported in literature.
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Acknowledgments
Our deepest gratitude goes to the anonymous reviewers for their careful work and thoughtful suggestions that have helped improve this paper substantially. The research herein was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41972291 and 52020105003) and Science & Technology Project of the Education Department of Jiangxi Province (Nos. GJJ200637). Their supports are gratefully acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 21 • Issue 8 • August 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 6, 2020
Accepted: Feb 10, 2021
Published online: May 26, 2021
Published in print: Aug 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Oct 26, 2021
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