Piles and lateral loads: comparison of calculation methods

Introduction. Calculation and analysis of pile resistance to loads remains to be a relevant problem in geoengineering. The design of pile foundations is currently performed using diverse analytical, empirical and numerical methods. However, the reliability of these methods remains to be a topic of interest among researchers and designers. This research paper analyses methods used for calculating the lateral-load capacity of piles in comparison with field-test data. Materials and methods. The paper dwells upon the development of reliable analytical expressions based on mathematical models of the pile–soil interaction. Main existing mathematical models of the soil environment, including the Mohr – Coulomb elastic ideal plastic model and the hardening soil model (HSM) were analysed. A particular attention was paid to a variety of factors affecting the pile–soil interaction, such as natural factors, pile types, pile sinking depth and technology, configurations of loads, as well as time-changed processes. A comparison of methods for calculating the lateral-load capacity of piles was conducted. To that end, calculations using the Mohr – Coulomb model and the local elastic strain theory (still required by building codes) were performed. High-level solid elements were used to develop and compute a finite-element pile-in-soil model in a spatial setting. Another model on the basis of parametric pile elements was designed using the MIDAS software. Results. It is established that the use of numerical calculation methods for evaluating the capacity and movements of pile foundations provides results comparable to those of field tests. These methods demonstrate a higher reliability compared to standardized analytical techniques. Conclusions. The reliability of numerical calculations of pile resistance to lateral impact is shown to be sufficiently high, thus being feasible for use in geoengineering. The use of these methods should be based on advanced non-linear soil models, such as HS, CamClay, etc.