Load Transfer Mechanism of Embankment Supported by Sparse Piles

The load transfer property of embankment fills, cushion, pile (or with cap) and foundation soils are complicated in a piled embankment. In this paper, the vertical load effects of pile and foundation soils at the bottom of embankment were analyzed with consideration of the interaction of each component. The arching effect of embankment fills and the pile-soil interaction were respectively formulated, and then, with continuous displacements and stresses at the bottom of embankment, a calculation method of pile-soil stress ratio was presented. In addition, the influence of the setting of cushion and geosynthetic was analyzed. The present method could definite the load sharing between pile and soil, and may be applied in the engineering design of embankment supported by spares piles.