Methods for Computing Ultimate Lateral Earth Pressure of Abutment Piles in Soft Ground

摘要

The piled bridge abutment on the soft clay may be loaded a considerable lateral earth pressure due to soil movements generated by the high embankment on the back of the bridge abutment. How to calculate the lateral earth pressure is critical for studying the performance of deformation of the abutment piles. Several existing methods for computing the ultimate lateral earth pressure of piles are compared in this paper. The results are applied to design anti-sliding piles, and a method for computing the ultimate lateral earth pressure is proposed by considering the spatial arrangement of the abutment piles in soft ground. The method, taking into consideration of various factors such as pile diameter, the strength of soil, and the roughness of the piles, is based on the plastic deformation theory and is suitable for computing the ultimate lateral earth pressure of abutment piles in soft ground.