Effects of Pile Cap in Single Pile and Lateral Capacity of Pile Group

This paper describes the results for a numerical analysis of single piles and pile groups in clayey soils subjected to monotonous lateral loading using the ABAQUS finite element software. The investigated variables in this study include free head and embedded capped single piles, pile diameter (1.0 m, 0.5 m), pile length (7.0 m, 10.0 m), and pile groups. The 1 x 3 pile group was selected to investigate the individual pile and group lateral resistance, the distribution of the resistance among the piles, the effects of lateral stresses in front of and on the sides of the piles, and the effect of a cap on the lateral resistance of the leading pile. The soil was modeled using Cam-clay constitutive relationship and the pile was a circular concrete pile. The results show that the size of the cap influences lateral capacity of the single pile. The results also show that in pile groups, the pile-soil-pile interaction and the cap affect the resistance in the leading pile, and the p-multiplier for the leading pile of greater than 1.0 was able to be obtained.