Evaluation of group effect of pile group under dragload embedded in clay

A simple semi-empirical analysis method for predicting the group effect of pile group under dragload embedded in clay was described assuming an effective influence area around various locations of pile group. Various pile and soil parameters such as the array of pile group, spacing of the piles (S), embedment length to diameter ratio of piles (L/D) and the soil properties such as density (γ), angle of internal friction (φ) and pile-soil interface friction coefficient (μ) were considered in the analysis. Model test for dragload of pile group on viscosity soil layer under surface load consolidation conditions was studied. The variations of dragload of pile, resistance of pile tip and the layered settlement of soil with consolidation time were measured. In order to perform comparative analysis, single pile was tested in the same conditions. The predicted group effect values of pile group under dragload were then compared with model test results carried out as a part of the present investigation and also with the values reported in literatures. The predicted values were found to be in good agreement with the measured values, validating the developed analysis method. The model test results show that negative skin friction of pile shaft will reach 80%-90% of its maximum value, when pile-soil relative displacement reaches 2 mm.

A Theoretical Analysis of the Bearing Performance of Vertically Loaded Large-Diameter Pipe Pile Groups

This paper aims to present a theoretical method to study the bearing performance of vertically loaded large-diameter pipe pile groups.The interactions between group piles result in different bearing performance of both a single pile and pile groups.Considering the pile group effect and the skin friction from both outer and inner soils,an analytical solution is developed to calculate the settlement and axial force in large-diameter pipe pile groups.The analytical solution was verified by centrifuge and field testing results.An extensive parametric analysis was performed to study the bearing performance of the pipe pile groups.The results reveal that the axial forces in group piles are not the same.The larger the distance from central pile,the larger the axial force.The axial force in the central pile is the smallest,while that in corner piles is the largest.The axial force on the top of the corner piles decreases while that in the central pile increases with increasing of pile spacing and decreasing of pile length.The axial force in side piles varies little with the variations of pile spacing,pile length,and shear modulus of the soil and is approximately equal to the average load shared by one pile.For a pile group,the larger the pile length is,the larger the influence radius is.As a result,the pile group effect is more apparent for a larger pile length.The settlement of pile groups decreases with increasing of the pile number in the group and the shear modulus of the underlying soil.