Ultimate Resistance of Laterally Loaded Piles in Cohesionless Soils

A key element in the design of laterally loaded piles is the determination of the ultimate resistance that can be exerted by the soil against the pile. Several methods have been published for predicting the ultimate resistance of laterally loaded piles in cohesionless soils. However, these methods often produce significantly different ultimate resistance values. This makes it difficult for practical designers to effectively select the appropriate method when designing laterally loaded piles in cohesionless soils. By analyzing the lateral soil resistance distribution along the width of the pile and based on the test results of model rigid piles in cohesionless soils collected from the published literature, an expression is developed for the ultimate resistance (including frontal soil resistance and side shear resistance) of laterally loaded piles in cohesionless soils. Application of the developed expression to predict the lateral load capacity of laboratory and field rigid test piles in cohesionless soils gives satisfactory results.