2D and 3D Numerical Simulation of Load-Settlement Behaviour of Axially Loaded Pile Foundations

Reliable prediction of settlement behaviour of axially loaded piles is one of the major concerns in geotechnical engineering. Therefore, this paper focuses on the finite element solutions of load-settlement behaviour of a single pile and pile group using PLAXIS numerical package. Three different types of analysis were incorporated: a linear elastic analysis, a complete nonlinear analysis and a combined analysis. The pile case history with settlement measurements made during field pile load test was considered to validate the single pile load-settlement simulation, and the same load test result was extended to simulate the load-settlement behaviour of pile group using RATZ analytical approach. The single pile analysis results suggest that realistic load-settlement predictions can be drawn by considering complete soil as Mohr-Coulomb model at lower working loads, and incorporation of an interface zone thickness of two times pile diameter using Hardening-Soil model is required to simulate the load-settlement behaviour at higher working loads. The group pile analysis results provide a better load-settlement prediction when incorporating an interface zone thickness of pile dimeter from the pile shat using Hardening-Soil model while leaving the remaining soil as Linear-Elastic material.