Finite‐Layer Analysis of Axially Loaded Piles

In this paper, a method is presented that may be used for the analysis of axially loaded piles in isotropic or cross‐anisotropic soils. The method employs the finite‐layer theory for the analysis of the soil, and because the method requires very little computer storage, it is particularly suited to microcomputers. The performance and versatility of the method is studied by comparing the finite‐layer solutions with those obtained from other continuum approaches. For all of the cases studied (which involved isotropic, layered, or nonhomogencous soils), the finite‐layer results are found to be in very close agreement with the results of the other methods. The method is shown to be capable of producing accurate results, and some original solutions are obtained to the problem of a pile bearing onto a thin layer of soil that is cither softer or stiffcr than the rest of the soil. The effect of the cross‐anisotropic soil model used in the pile analysis is demonstrated with parametric solutions and also with a field case study of a pile embedded in over‐consolidated London clay.