Comparative Field Tests on Straight-Sided and Belled Piers on Sloping Ground under Combined Uplift and Lateral Loads
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145, Issue 1
Abstract
Comparative field tests were carried out on two straight-sided piers and two belled piers under combined uplift and lateral loads on arid loess sloping ground with an inclination angle of 20°. The pier-head uplift and lateral displacements, ground surface deformation, and soil pressures on the pier and bell were obtained. For both straight-sided and belled piers on sloping ground under combined uplift and lateral loads, the curves of the applied loads versus pier-head uplift displacement and pier-head lateral deflection exhibited an initial linear segment, a curvilinear transition, and a final linear region, and their capacities should be interpreted from the load test results. The pier-head uplift displacement and pier-head lateral deflection increased nearly at the same displacement increment, and the limit state of a pier on a slope under a combined uplift-lateral load may be primarily governed by the pier-head lateral deflection due to lateral soil failure. Belling may cause greater load-transfer depths and can effectively mobilize more soil to resist the combined uplift and lateral loads, and additional pier embedment in a slope can increase the uplift and lateral resistance to match the level-ground capacity for both straight-sided and belled piers.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the support from Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities (No. 2652017069) and the State Grid Corporation of China (Research Project Nos. GCB17201200123 and SGSC0000KXKJ1300485).
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145 • Issue 1 • January 2019
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©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Nov 21, 2017
Accepted: Jul 12, 2018
Published online: Oct 31, 2018
Published in print: Jan 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Mar 31, 2019
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