Field and numerical analysis on effect of axial load on the lateral response of a pile

Abstract

Purpose

Piles often carry combination of axial and lateral. Currently, piles are designed separately for axial and lateral load. In the literature, few information is available on the influence of axial load on lateral behaviour of the pile. This paper aims to present the results of load deformation of a pile under pure lateral load and combined axial and lateral load.

Design/methodology/approach

The field load tests were carried out on four different pile diameters at two different bridge sites. Moreover, the paper addresses the numerical simulation of filed load test carried out on the pile under the combination of axial and horizontal load.

Findings

After field load tests and numerical simulation, it was found that the vertical load had a remarkable effect on the lateral load response of a pile. The lateral deflection of the pile was decreased about 25% under the effect of vertical load. In addition to this, the results from field and numerical simulation are quite comparable.

Originality/value

Typical field load tests were simulated numerically. This research adds a value in the areas of pile foundation subjected to vertical and lateral load particularly for structure such as transmission line tower and jetty.

Citation

Tandel, Y. and Vesmawala, G. (2019), "Field and numerical analysis on effect of axial load on the lateral response of a pile", World Journal of Engineering, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 191-200. https://doi.org/10.1108/WJE-08-2018-0261