Lateral Pile Analysis Frozen Soil Strength Criteria

This paper presents a design approach to analyze the effects of lateral loads on piles embedded in a layered frozen soil profile. This design approach makes use of a commercially available computer program that uses p-y curves to model lateral pile loading and soil interaction. Shear strength and strain criteria for both fine-grained and coarse-grained frozen soil are presented for use in constructing p-y curves. These strength criteria are parameterized based on frozen soil temperature and load duration. Inuvik lateral pile load test measurements and deflections calculated using the strength criteria are compared. This comparison indicates that reducing shear strengths by a safety factor of 1.22 will ameliorate most unaccounted-for variations in soil profile. Deflections and moments are also calculated using the strength criteria for two Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, lateral pile load cases.