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Bearing capacity of pile groups under vertical eccentric load

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Abstract

The paper deals with the problem of the bearing capacity of pile groups under vertical eccentric load. Widespread practice is to consider the achievement of the axial capacity on the outermost pile as the ultimate limit state of the pile group. However, this approach neglects the ductility of the foundation system and may be thereby overconservative. With the aim of proposing an alternative and more rational approach, a novel formulation for interaction diagrams based on theorems of limit analysis is presented and discussed. The methodology is applicable to the general case of groups of unevenly distributed, dissimilar piles. Piles’ connections to the pile cap are modeled as either hinges or rigid-plastic internal fixities. An application example to a slender structure is also provided, showing that the proposed approach can lead to significant advantages over the traditional design.

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Abbreviations

α :

Adhesion factor

α M :

Inclination of the applied moment vector

γ b, γ s :

Partial resistance factors for pile base and shaft capacity

γ st :

Partial factor for shaft capacity in tension

γ su :

Partial factor for undrained shear strength

δ :

Coefficient depending on number of piles

δθ :

Increment of rotation

δW i, δW k :

Increments of work done by internal forces

δE i, δE k :

Increments of work done by external forces

η :

Efficiency of a pile group

ξ 3 :

Correlation factor to derive characteristic value

ξ j :

Coordinate of the j-th pile in the reference system (ξ, η)

σ VL :

Total overburden stress at depth L

A b :

Base area of the block containing the piles

A s :

Side area of the block containing the piles

B :

Distance between two external piles of a row

c :

Abscissa of the center of the row

d :

Pile diameter

L :

Pile length

M :

External moment vector

M 0 :

Moment capacity of the pile group under zero axial loading

M u, M ui, M uk :

Moment capacities of the pile group

M ux, M uy :

Moment capacities along x- and y-axes in the 3D domain

m :

Number of alignments of piles parallel to external moment vector M

m yc, m yt :

Dimensionless yielding bending moments

M yc, M yt :

Yielding bending moments

N c :

Bearing capacity factor

N u :

Axial capacity of the single pile in compression

N uj :

Axial capacity in compression of the j-th pile

n :

Number of piles in a row

p :

Number of piles in a group

p k :

Unit base resistance

P k :

Characteristic value of pile base resistance

Q :

External axial capacity

Q i, Q j :

Axial loads on piles i an j

Q 0 :

Axial capacity of the pile group

Q u, Q ui, Q uk :

Axial capacity of the pile group

S k :

Characteristic value of pile shaft resistance

S u :

Axial capacity of the single pile in uplift

S uj :

Axial capacity in uplift of the j-th pile

s :

Pile spacing

s k :

Unit shaft resistance

s u :

Soil undrained shear strength

x j :

Abscissa of the j-th pile

y j :

Ordinate of the j-th pile

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Acknowledgements

This research has been developed under the auspices of research projects ReLUIS 2014-2017, granted by Italian Emergency Management Agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Università della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Aversa, CE, Italy

    Raffaele Di Laora

  2. Università di Napoli Parthenope, Napoli, Italy

    Luca de Sanctis & Stefano Aversa

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  1. Raffaele Di Laora
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  2. Luca de Sanctis
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  3. Stefano Aversa
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Correspondence to Raffaele Di Laora.

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Di Laora, R., de Sanctis, L. & Aversa, S. Bearing capacity of pile groups under vertical eccentric load. Acta Geotech. 14, 193–205 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-018-0646-5

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