LATERAL RESPONSE OF PILE UNDER INDIRECT LOADING DUE TO ADJACENT EXCAVATIONS

The effect of indirect loading due to adjacent excavations on the lateral response of pile in sandy soil is brought out in the paper through numerical analysis by using PLAXIS3D software. In the numerical analysis, the pile was treated as a linear elastic material and the behavior of soil was idealized by using the Mohr-Coulomb model. The indirect loads on the piles are presented as a function of some of the key parameters like depth of excavation and pile location from the excavation face, which are of prime interest to designers. The numerical results in terms of lateral deflections and maximum bending moments in the pile sections with respect to both direct and indirect loads are presented in the paper. In this paper, an attempt has been made to bridge the identified gap in the area of lateral response of piles. The pile foundation subjected to indirect lateral loads due to various practical cases are normally superimposed with direct lateral loads. Therefore, the lateral response of piles under both direct and indirect loading has been investigated by performing a series of coupled analyses using PLAXIS3D software. The numerical results in terms of bending moment and lateral deflections with respect to various parameters such as normalized depth of excavation (He/Be) and pile location from the excavation face (XP) in sandy soil has been discussed. Critical observations on the results have also been made with respect to practical design point of view. The limiting location of the piles up to which indirect lateral loads need to be considered in the design has also been brought out in the following sections.