A Numerical Investigation to Determine the p–y Curves of Laterally Loaded Piles

This paper focuses on a numerical approach to finding the p–y curves for laterally loaded piles. The Drucker–Prager plastic model is employed and implemented within a finite element MATLAB code. The pre- and post-processing code for Gmsh and related numerical tools are established as well. The p–y curve results from this new approach have been validated and compared to the typical design equations of API (American Petroleum Institute) and Matlock. The validation reveals that the code leads to lower p–y curves than the API and Matlock equations when the horizontal displacement is less than 0.35 times the diameter of the pile (B). A sensitivity analysis of the number of elements and the interface thickness is presented. The results indicate that the obtained p–y curves are independent of the two factors. Finally, the influence of clay content on the p–y behavior is investigated by the implemented MATLAB code. When y < 0.15B, the same lateral capacity values are resulted at clay contents of 27.5% and 55%, and they are higher than the ones for 0% clay content. The p–y curves show a decreasing trend with increasing clay content after y > 0.15B.

Analysis of Laterally Loaded Piles in Undrained Clay Concave Slope

A concave slope is a common type of slope. This paper proposes a simplified method to study the effect of a clay concave slope on laterally loaded piles. The hyperbolic p - y curve model is selected as the lateral pile-soil interaction model of the concave slope. Considering the two angles of the concave slope, the variation of the ultimate soil resistance with depth is divided into two parts, and the ultimate soil resistance varies nonlinearly with depth. The reduction factor method and normalization method are used to obtain the initial stiffness. The theoretical results will be compared with the calculation results of the 3D FE analysis to prove the rationality of this method. Finally, the simplified method is used to analyze the response of laterally loaded piles under different parameters.