Closure of "Pile Cap Soil Interaction from Full-Scale Lateral Load Tests"

The results of full-scale lateral load tests on three groups of six piles were published earlier in January , 1976 as Proc Paper 11849. Additional full-scale lateral load tests were performed on the same pile groups and piles after removing 4 in. of soil from under the pile caps to study the effect of the soil directly under the pile caps on the lateral capacity of pile groups. In the range of 16.66 kips/pile to 33.33 kips/pile lateral loads, the absence of the soil under the pile caps increased significantly both the lateral deflections of the pile groups and bending moments in piles.