Title Lateral Response Evaluation of Single Piles Using Inclinometer Data

Authors San-Shyan Lin and Jen-Cheng Liao

Journal, Year Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 2006

Objectives

developing a new simple analytical method to interpreting lateral single-pile load test results base on measure inclinometer data only

however the inclinometer data collected are prone to reduction errors, a method was proposed to minimize the errors to determine p-y curve

with the field data collected from inclinometer, the author able to obtain the deflection, moment, shear force and soil resistance along the shaft.

Methodology

The deflection function of laterally loaded piles is derived based on the principal of conservation of energy and the application of the calculus of variation. Measured inclinometer data form lateral pile load tests, which implicitly include pile-soil interaction effects, were utilized to determine the coefficients of the derived deflection function. Once the deflection is established, bending moment, shear force, and p-y curves at various depths along the pile can be reduced by differentiating the deflection function.

Important findings

The author had verified his proposed method with three real case histories and the comparison of the results show a good agreement.

Only inclinometer data is needed for deriving the deflection function The derived deflection function can be used to describe lateral

behaviors of a single pile system satisfying either free or fixed with away pile head boundary conditions

Nonlinear behavior for variation of the flexural rigidity of the pile is considered in the analysis and adjusted for each load increment

Limitations

The assumption in the theory are: 1) soil response is idealized as one-dimensional; 2) pile material behavior is assumed as nonlinear elastic; and 3) Lateral loading is applied only at pile head

The method only applicable to long pile only. Long pile is defined with the ratio of the pile length versus the relative stiffness factor larger than 4

Gaps in research Using the same method but with some modification, a new model can

be develop which is applicable to the short pile with high loading.

Any other important point

The author’s method is not suitable to be used in my research because in his method he assumed that the lateral load is only on the pile head.