A modulus-multiplier approach for non-linear analysis of laterally loaded pile groups

摘要

A modulus-multiplier approach, which applies a reduction factor to the modulus of single pile p—y curves to account for the group effect, is presented for analysing the response of each individual pile in a laterally loaded pile group with any geometric arrangement based on non-linear pile-soil-pile interaction. The pile-soil-pile interaction is conducted using a 3D non-linear finite element approach. The interaction effect between piles under various loading directions is investigated in this paper. Group effects can be neglected at a pile spacing of 9 times the pile diameter for piles along the direction of the lateral load and at a pile spacing of 6 times the pile diameter for piles normal to the direction of loading. The modulus multipliers for a pair of piles are developed as a function of pile spacing for departure angle of 0, 90, and 180sup > /sup > with respect to the loading direction. The procedure proposed for computing the response of any individual pile within a pile group is verified using two well-documented full-scale pile load tests.