p-y Formulations from Elastoplastic Finite-Element Analysis of Laterally Loaded Piles

The p - y method has commonly been used in the design of laterally loaded piles . The results of a p - y analysis are highly dependent on the p - y curves or relationships used in the analysis. Since the p - y curves routinely used in p - y analyses had been traditionally derived empirically from data obtained from a limited number of lateral pile load tests and in situ test data, the domain of applicability of the p - y method would necessarily be limited. An alternative path for p - y curve development is to obtain them from realistic numerical analyses, an approach explored in this study. This paper presents the results of a series of three-dimensional finite-element analyses of single piles in uniform soil profiles of sand and clay using advanced two-surface-plasticity constitutive models. The analyses were performed for different values of pile diameter, pile length, and lateral load eccentricity. For sand, we considered various values of relative density. We extracted p - y curves from the simulation results and studied the factors that would be expected to have an impact on the p - y curves: relative density, soil type, pile diameter, load eccentricity, and depth to the water table. The analyses were validated against load test results. Based on these analyses, we propose a new set of p - y relationships that can be used for sand or clay in the design of laterally loaded piles.