Technical Papers
Sep 7, 2023

Field Testing and Numerical Analysis of Supporting Performance of Oblique Piles Used in Pit Excavation

Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23, Issue 11

Abstract

To explore the supporting performance of oblique piles (OPs) used in pit excavation, a field test was performed at a foundation excavation using OPs with various inclination angles. Then, numerical models using the finite-element method were established and validated on the basis of the field test result. A novel arrangement of oblique‒vertical alternating piles (OVAPs) was proposed as the retaining structure for excavation. The displacements of the pile top, internal forces of the pile body, earth pressures on the pile body, and soil deformation were observed and studied. The results indicated that both pile inclinations and arrangements had an effect on the supporting performance of oblique piles. Furthermore, four effects were summarized to explain the advantages and working mechanisms of OP and OVAP arrangements used in retaining structures. Finally, a force analysis of oblique supporting piles in the foundation pit was conducted and a simplified formula was derived and applied to calculate the bending moments of pile bodies under different working conditions.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Program on Key Basic Research Project of China (973 Program) (Grant No. 2010CB732106) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51108312). The authors appreciate the financial support of these agencies.

References

Benz, T. 2007. “Small-strain stiffness of soil and its numerical consequences.” Ph.D. thesis, Institute of Geotechnics, Univ. of Stuttgart.
Brinkgreve, R. B. J., E. Engin, and W. M. Swolfs. 2015. Plaxis 3D reference manual anniversary edition version 1. Delft, Netherlands: Plaxis BV.
Bryson, L. S., and D. G. Zapata-Medina. 2012. “Method for estimating system stiffness for excavation support walls.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 138 (9): 1104–1115. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000683.
Burland, J. B. 1989. “Ninth Laurits Bjerrum memorial lecture: ‘Small is beautiful’—The stiffness of soils at small strains.” Can. Geotech. J. 26: 499–516. https://doi.org/10.1139/t89-064.
Calvello, M., and R. J. Finno. 2004. “Selecting parameters to optimize in model calibration by inverse analysis.” Comput. Geotech. 31 (5): 410–424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2004.03.004.
Cho, W., and R. J. Finno. 2010. “Stress–strain responses of block samples of compressible Chicago glacial clays.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 136 (1): 178–188. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000186.
Cudny, M., and A. Truty. 2020. “Refinement of the hardening soil model within the small strain range.” Acta Geotech. 15 (8): 2031–2051. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-020-00945-5.
Finno, R. J., D. K. Atmatzidis, and S. B. Perkins. 1989. “Observed performance of a deep excavation in clay.” J. Geotech. Eng. 115 (8): 1045–1064. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1989)115:8(1045).
Finno, R. J., J. T. Blackburn, and J. F. Roboski. 2007. “Three-dimensional effects for supported excavations in clay.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 133 (1): 30–36. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2007)133:1(30).
Finno, R. J., S. Bryson, and M. Calvello. 2002. “Performance of a stiff support system in soft clay.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 128 (8): 660–671. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2002)128:8(660).
Finno, R. J., and M. Calvello. 2005. “Supported excavations: Observational method and inverse modeling.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 131 (7): 826–836. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2005)131:7(826).
Finno, R. J., and J. F. Roboski. 2005. “Three-dimensional responses of a tied-back excavation through clay.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 131 (3): 273–282. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2005)131:3(273).
Guo, P., X. Gong, and Y. Wang. 2019. “Displacement and force analyses of braced structure of deep excavation considering unsymmetrical surcharge effect.” Comput. Geotech. 113: 103102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2019.103102.
Hejazi, Y., D. Dias, and R. Kastner. 2008. “Impact of constitutive models on the numerical analysis of underground constructions.” Acta Geotech. 3 (4): 251–258. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-008-0056-1.
Hong, Y., C. W. W. Ng, and L. Z. Wang. 2015. “Initiation and failure mechanism of base instability of excavations in clay triggered by hydraulic uplift.” Can. Geotech. J. 52 (5): 599–608. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2013-0343.
Jardine, R. J., D. M. Potts, A. B. Fourie, and J. B. Burland. 1986. “Studies of the influence of non-linear stress–strain characteristics in soil–structure interaction.” Géotechnique 36: 377–396. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1986.36.3.377.
Jeldes, I. A., E. C. Drumm, R. M. Bennett, and N. Zisi. 2015. “Piling framed concrete retaining wall: Design pressures and stability evaluation.” Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 20 (3): 04014041. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SC.1943-5576.0000241.
Jia, J. 2018. Soil dynamics and foundation modeling. Berlin, Germany: Springer International Publishing.
Kim, C., J. Kwon, J.-C. Im, and S. Hwang. 2012. “A method for analyzing the self-supported earth-retaining structure using stabilizing piles.” Mar. Georesour. Geotechnol. 30 (4): 313–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/1064119X.2011.626669.
Kung, G. T.-C., C.-Y. Ou, and C. H. Juang. 2009. “Modeling small-strain behavior of Taipei clays for finite element analysis of braced excavations.” Comput. Geotech. 36 (1–2): 304–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2008.01.007.
Lai, F., N. Zhang, S. Liu, Y. Sun, and Y. Li. 2021. “Ground movements induced by installation of twin large diameter deeply-buried caissons: 3D numerical modeling.” Acta Geotech. 16 (9): 2933–2961. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-021-01165-1.
Leung, C. F., Y. K. Chow, and R. F. Shen. 2000. “Behavior of pile subject to excavation-induced soil movement.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 126 (11): 947–954. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)1090-0241(2000)126:11(947).
Leung, C. F., J. K. Lim, R. F. Shen, and Y. K. Chow. 2003. “Behavior of pile groups subject to excavation-induced soil movement.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 129 (1): 58–65. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)1090-0241(2003)129:1(58).
Maeda, T., Y. Shimada, S. Takahashi, and Y. Sakahira. 2013. “Design and construction of inclined-braceless excavation support applicable to deep excavation.” In Proc., 18th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 2051–2054. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IOS Press.
Mandala, V., K. A. Patel, and J. T. Chavda. 2023. “Numerical investigations on response of multistorey building frames subjected to adjacent unsupported excavations.” Geotech. Geol. Eng. 41: 1223–1245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-022-02331-2.
Meyerhof, G. G., and G. Ranjan. 1972. “The bearing capacity of rigid piles under inclined loads in sand. I: Vertical piles.” Can. Geotech. J. 9 (4): 430–446. https://doi.org/10.1139/t72-043.
Meyerhof, G. G., and G. Ranjan. 1973. “The bearing capacity of rigid piles under inclined loads in sand. II: Batter piles.” Can. Geotech. J. 10 (1): 71–85. https://doi.org/10.1139/t73-006.
Meyerhof, G. G., and A. S. Yalcin. 1993. “Behaviour of flexible batter piles under inclined loads in layered soil.” Can. Geotech. J. 30 (2): 247–256. https://doi.org/10.1139/t93-021.
Niemunis, A., and I. Herle. 1997. “Hypoplastic model for cohesionless soils with elastic strain range.” Mech. Cohesive-Frict. Mater. 2 (4): 279–299. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1484(199710)2:4%3C279::AID-CFM29%3E3.0.CO;2-8.
Ou, C.-Y., P.-G. Hsieh, and Y.-L. Lin. 2011. “Performance of excavations with cross walls.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 137 (1): 94–104. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000402.
Ou, C.-Y., P.-G. Hsieh, and Y.-L. Lin. 2013. “A parametric study of wall deflections in deep excavations with the installation of cross walls.” Comput. Geotech. 50: 55–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2012.12.009.
Poulos, H.-G. 2006. “Raked piles—virtues and drawbacks.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 132 (6): 795–803. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2006)132:6(795).
Rajashree, S.-S., and T. G. Sitharam. 2001. “Nonlinear finite-element modeling of batter piles under lateral load.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 127 (7): 604–612. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)1090-0241(2001)127:7(604).
Scotto di Santolo, A., and A. Evangelista. 2011. “Dynamic active earth pressure on cantilever retaining walls.” Comput. Geotech. 38 (8): 1041–1051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2011.07.015.
Seo, M., J.-C. Im, C. Kim, and J.-W Yoo. 2016. “Study on the applicability of a retaining wall using batter piles in clay.” Can. Geotech. J. 53 (8): 1195–1212. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2014-0264.
Simpson, B. 1992. “Retaining structures: Displacement and design.” Géotechnique 42 (4): 541–576. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1992.42.4.541.
Su, S. F., H. J. Liao, and Y. H. Lin. 1998. “Base stability of deep excavation in anisotropic soft clay.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 124 (9): 809–819. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(1998)124:9(809).
Viggiani, G., and J. H. Atkinson. 1995. “Stiffness of fine-grained soil at very small strains.” Géotechnique 45: 249–265. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1995.45.2.249.
Yu, Y., I. P. Damians, and R. J. Bathurst. 2015. “Influence of choice of FLAC and PLAXIS interface models on reinforced soil–structure interactions.” Comput. Geotech. 65: 164–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2014.12.009.
Zakhem, A.-M., and H. El Naggar. 2019. “Effect of the constitutive material model employed on predictions of the behaviour of earth pressure balance (EPB) shield-driven tunnels.” Transp. Geotech. 21: 100264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2019.100264.
Zhang, L. M., M. C. McVay, S. J. Han, P. W. Lai, and R. Gardner. 2002. “Effects of dead loads on the lateral response of battered pile groups.” Can. Geotech. J. 39 (3): 561–575. https://doi.org/10.1139/t02-008.
Zhang, W., A. T. C. Goh, and F. Xuan. 2015. “A simple prediction model for wall deflection caused by braced excavation in clays.” Comput. Geotech. 63: 67–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2014.09.001.
Zheng, G., Z. Guo, H. Zhou, D. Yu, E. Wang, X. He, Y. Tian, and Z. Liu. 2022a. “Parametric studies of wall displacement in excavations with inclined framed retaining walls.” Int. J. Geomech. 22 (9): 04022157. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0002499.
Zheng, G., X. He, H. Zhou, Y. Diao, Z. Li, and X. Liu. 2022b. “Performance of inclined-vertical framed retaining wall for excavation in clay.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 130: 104767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2022.104767.
Zheng, G., Y. Wang, P. Zhang, X. Cheng, W. Cheng, Y. Zhao, and X. Li. 2020. “Performances and working mechanisms of inclined retaining structures for deep excavations.” Adv. Civ. Eng. 2020: 1740418. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/1740418.
Zhou, S. C., L. L. Gao, D. H. Wu, Y. Liu, D. Y. Wang, and S. Q. Li. 2015. “Stability analysis of narrow and long excavation in soft soil area.” Appl. Mech. Mater. 723: 372–376. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.723.372.
Zhu, Z. Q., and W. M. Gong. 2011. “On-site in-suit test research of horizontal bearing capacity on inclined steel pipe piles.” Adv. Mater. Res. 261–263: 1594–1597. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.261-263.1594.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to International Journal of Geomechanics
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23Issue 11November 2023

History

Received: Oct 7, 2022
Accepted: May 28, 2023
Published online: Sep 7, 2023
Published in print: Nov 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Feb 7, 2024

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Chang Liu, Ph.D. [email protected]
Associate Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin Univ., Tianjin 300072, China. Email: [email protected]
Ph.D. Student, School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin Univ., Tianjin 300072, China (corresponding author). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4731-8258. Email: [email protected]
Gang Zheng, Ph.D. [email protected]
Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin Univ., Tianjin 300072, China. Email: [email protected]
Master’s Student, School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin Univ., Tianjin 300072, China. Email: [email protected]
Yuhang Yang [email protected]
Master’s Student, School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin Univ., Tianjin 300072, China. Email: [email protected]

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share