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Experimental Investigations on the Behaviour of Pile Groups in Clay Under Lateral Cyclic Loading

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Abstract

This paper presents the results of two-way cyclic lateral load tests carried out on model pile groups embedded in soft marine clay. The tests are conducted on 1 × 2, 2 × 2 and 3 × 3 pile groups having length to diameter ratio (L/D) of 15, 30 and 40 with the spacing to diameter ratio (S/D) of 3, 5, 7 and 9. The experimental results are presented in the form of load–deflection curves and bending moment profiles. Cyclic group efficiency, critical spacing, critical cyclic load level and cyclic p-multipliers are evaluated. It is found that the lateral capacity of the 3 × 3 group reduces by about 42% after 50 cycles of loading. The cyclic p-multipliers of 3 × 3 pile group are found to be 0.41, 0.25 and 0.29 for leading, intermediate and rear rows respectively. The test results are compared with the numerical analysis carried out by p–y method using GROUP program. The analysis carried out with experimentally evaluated p-multipliers predicts load—deflection and bending profiles of pile groups reasonably well, but underestimates the depth to maximum bending moment by about 15%.

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Abbreviations

CLR:

Cyclic load ratio

c u :

Undrained shear strength

C2R2:

Intermediate row pile in middle column of 3 × 3 pile group

C3R1:

Leading row pile in outer column of 3 × 3 pile group

C3R2:

Intermediate row pile in outer column of 3 × 3 pile group

C3R3:

Rear row pile in outer column of 3 × 3 pile group

D :

Diameter of pile

E :

Modulus of elasticity

E S :

Secant modulus of soil

I :

Moment of inertia

I C :

Consistency index

I P :

Plasticity index

K rc :

Relative stiffness factor

k :

Soil modulus parameter

L :

Embedded length of the pile

L/D:

Embedded length to diameter ratio

LL:

Liquid limit

N :

Number of cycles of loading

PL:

Plastic limit

R1:

Leading row pile in 2 × 2 pile group

R2:

Rear row pile in 2 × 2 pile group

r :

Horizontal distance between strain gauge position and neutral axis

S :

Spacing of piles in the direction of loading

S T :

Transverse spacing of piles

S/D:

Spacing to diameter ratio

ε:

Measured bending strain

ε50 :

Soil strain parameter

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, India

    S. S. Chandrasekaran

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India

    A. Boominathan & G. R. Dodagoudar

Authors
  1. S. S. Chandrasekaran
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  2. A. Boominathan
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  3. G. R. Dodagoudar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Boominathan.

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Chandrasekaran, S.S., Boominathan, A. & Dodagoudar, G.R. Experimental Investigations on the Behaviour of Pile Groups in Clay Under Lateral Cyclic Loading. Geotech Geol Eng 28, 603–617 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-010-9318-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-010-9318-4

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