NUMERICAL MODELING TO EVALUATE PILE HEAD DEFLECTION UNDER THE LATERAL LOAD

Kedar C. Birid

Abstract: The complex behavior of pile head deflection under the lateral load can be studied using various analytical methods and the softwares. Often the lateral pile load testing is carried out in the field to confirm the calculated lateral pile capacity. However, even with the use of sophisticated latest softwares, the accurate deflection of pile head cannot be estimated. Hence an attempt has been made in this paper to evaluate the pile head deflection using the field load-deflection data and the corresponding soil and pile properties. A preliminary mathematical model has been developed using a technique of dimensional analysis (DA) to evaluate pile head deflection under different pile diameters, different pile materials and varying soil conditions. The estimated pile head deflection using DA equation is compared with 14nos. of measured lateral pile load test results conducted at the site. It can be observed from this study that, the dimensional analysis can be used effectively to estimate the pile head deflection. More variables based on more field results can be introduced in the mathematical model to increase the accuracy in the estimation of pile head deflection

Keywords: Pile head deflection, Lateral pile load, Dimensional analysis

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15623/ijret.2015.0407031