Comparative experimental and numerical analysis of pile under lateral load in granular soil in Chilca, Perú

Resumo

Piles are frequently used in low resistance soils and often are subjected to lateral loads from different
phenomenon as wind, waves, earthquakes events, ground lateral pressure, etc. Lateral resistance of piles should be
analyzed to guarantee the stability by theoretical methods or in situ tests for correct design. These investigation
compares the deflection results of a lateral load test with the responses in ultimate limit state, p-y and finite element
method to serve as an example that the different procedures, some more than others, provide a real approximation
to the behavior of the pile under lateral load, therefore carry out an optimal design. The test to analyze experimental
behavior was carried out in Chilca, to the down south of Lima in Peru, where full-scale load test provides a solid
basis for understanding the problem. The geotechnical characterization was carried out with SPT field tests and
seismic refraction results. The properties of the tubular A572 grade 50 steel pile are known for being standardized.
Pile under lateral load test followed the guidelines of the ASTM D3966 standard. The analytical and numerical
calculations were compared with the experimental measurements through graphs of displacements along the pile,
these by performing 3D numerical analysis with the commercial program Abaqus® using elastoplastic constitutive
model with Mohr Coulomb failure criterion for the FEM, using GEO5® to solve the subgrade reaction approach
(p-y) problem using Matlock and Reese approximation as soil modulus, at last for the ultimate limit state, Broms
and Meyerhof formulations for flexible piles were used.