Innovative Geotechnics

PileGroup Validation - Example 10. Full scale static lateral load test of a 3x4 pile group in clay (Rollins et al. 2003)

PileGroup Validation - Example 9. Full scale static lateral load test of a 3x3 pile group in clay (Rollins et al. 2003)

This example is based on the full-scale lateral load test of a 3 × 5 pile group reported by Walsh (2005). The test site comprised alternating sand and clay layers. The piles were steel pipes with an outer diameter of 0.324 m and a wall thickness of 0.0095 m. In the direction of loading, the piles were spaced at 3.92D (1.27 m) centre-to-centre, and 3.29D (1.07 m) centre-to-centre perpendicular to the loading direction. Each pile had an embedded length of 16.6 m, with the groun

This example is based on the full-scale lateral load test of a 3 × 3 pile group reported by Rollins et al. (2005). The piles were spaced at 3.3 diameters centre-to-centre and were driven open-ended into a soil profile consisting of loose to medium-dense sand underlain by clay. Each pile was a steel pipe with an external diameter of 0.324 m and a wall thickness of 9.5 mm, driven to a depth of approximately 11.5 m below the excavated ground surface.

This example is based on the full-scale lateral load test of a 3 × 3 pile group reported by Christensen (2006). The test site comprised alternating sand and clay layers. The piles were steel pipes with an outer diameter of 0.324 m and a wall thickness of 0.0095 m. In the direction of loading, the piles were spaced at 5.65D (1.83 m) centre-to-centre, and 3.29D (1.07 m) centre-to-centre perpendicular to the loading direction. Each pile had an embedded length of 12.8 m, with the

The example of a 3 x 3 pile group in Basile (2020) is analysed using the analysis mode of linear analysis based on elastic solutions in the PileGroup program. In this example, the piles are constructed in a homogeneous elastic soil layer with a Young’s modulus of 50 MPa and a Poisson’s ratio of 0.5. The Young’s modulus of the pile material is 30 GPa. The pile length is 20 m and the pile diameter is 1 m. The spacing between the piles is 3 m.

This example is from the analysis of a 3 x 3 pile group, as documented by Pirrello and Poulos (2014). The pile group consists of piles with a diameter of 0.5 m and an individual length of 15 m. The piles are arranged with a spacing of 2 m between each pile, both horizontally and vertically.

This validation example is based on the model test results of a group of piles embedded in sand as reported in Davisson and Salley (1970). A group of six tubular aluminium piles of external diameter of 12.7 mm and wall thickness of 0.8 mm. The piles were embedded in a tank of dry fine sand to a depth of 0.533 m and loaded through a pile cap just above the level of the sand surface. The shear modulus (G) of the sand is proportional to the depth below the sand surface with the

In this tutorial example, the use of the PileGroup program is demonstrated for analysing a pile group subject to TBM launching loading. This example involves a pile group consisting of 20 numbers of 1200 mm diameter CFA piles of 20 m long, which were spaced at three pile diameters in both directions.

PileGroup is a finite-element based program which has been developed to calculate the deformations and loads of pile groups subject to general three-dimensional loadings such as axial and lateral forces and moments applied on the pile caps. The individual piles within the pile group can be vertical or on a batter with the connection between pile heads and pile cap to be fixed, pinned, or elastically restrained by rotational springs.