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CHAPTER8.ANALYSESOFTHELATERALLOADTESTSATTHEROUTE351
BRIDGE
8.1INTRODUCTION

Animportantobjectiveofthisresearchistodeterminewhetheraccurateanalysesofthelateralload
deflectionbehaviorofcompositepilescanbeperformedusingthesameprocedurestypicallyusedfor
prestressedconcretepilesandotherconventionalpiletypes.Iftheycan,thiswouldremoveoneofthe
impedimentstousingcompositepilesbyverifyingthatestablishedprocedurescanbeemployedfor
designtoresistlateralloads,atleastforthetypeofcompositepilesstudiedinthisresearch.

Thischapterdescribestheprocedureusedforanalyzingthelateralloadtestsofthethreetestpilesat
theRoute351Bridgeproject.Theresultsoftheanalysesarecomparedtothemeasuredresponses
presentedinchapter6.Abriefoverviewofthelaterallyloadedpileproblemandadescriptionofthe
methodologyusedinlateralpileanalysesalsoarepresentedinthischapter.

8.2GOVERNINGDIFFERENTIALEQUATIONFORTHELATERALLYLOADEDPILE
PROBLEM

Alaterallyloadedsinglepilepresentsasoilstructureinteractionproblem.Thesoilreactionisdependent
onthepilemovement,andthepilemovementisdependentonthesoilreaction.Thesolutionmust
satisfyanonlineardifferentialequationaswellasequilibriumandcompatibilityconditions.Thesolution
usuallyrequiresseveraliterations.

Elasticbeamrelationshipsthatareusedcommonlyinanalysisoflaterallyloadedpilesaresummarized
intable41.Thesequantitiesareobtainedfromdifferentiatingdeflectionywithrespecttothedistance
alongthepile(x).

Table41.Relationshipscommonly

Variable Formula Units

Distancealongthelengthofthepile(measuredfrom
X [L]
pilehead)

Distancetoneutralaxiswithinpilecrosssection Z [L]

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Deflection Y [L]

Slopeorrotationofpilesection [Dimensionless]

Curvature [Radians/L]

Bendingmoment [FxL]

Shearforce [F]

Axialload Q [F]

Soilreaction(orloadintensity) [F/L]

Notes:EpIp=flexuralstiffnessofpile,whereEp=elasticmodulusofpilematerial,andIp=momentof
inertiaofpilecrosssectionwithrespecttotheneutralaxis.

Figure179showsaloadedpileandtypicalprofilesofnetsoilreaction,deflection,slope,andmoment.

Figure179.Laterallyloadedpileproblem

ThegoverningdifferentialequationfortheproblemofalaterallyloadedpilewasderivedbyHetenyi
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(1946).Thedifferentialequationcanbeobtainedbyconsideringmomentequilibriumoftheinfinitesimal
elementoflength(dx)asshowninfigure179.

(58)

Neglectingquadraticterms,anddifferentiatingtwicewithrespecttox,weobtain:

(59)

Theterminvolvingtheaxialload,Q,canbeignoredforthetestpilesinvestigatedinthisresearchsince
theverticalloadpresentduringtestingwasmainlyfromselfweightandcanbeconsiderednegligible.
Themagnitudeofthebendingmomentactingatagivensectionofapilecanbecalculatedby
integratingthenormalstresses, (z),actingwithinthecrosssectionofarea,A,asfollows:

(60)

Ifweassumethatplanesectionsofthepileremainplaneafterloading,wecancalculatethestrains
acrossthepilecrosssectionifweknowtherotationofthesection, =dy/dx,andthepositionofthe
neutralaxis.Foragivenrotation, ,wehavethefollowing:

(61)

where

u(x,z)=isthedisplacementinthexdirectionacrossthepilecrosssection

e(z)=strainsinthexdirectionacrossthepilecrosssection

z=distancetotheneutralplane

Substitutingtheexpressionfor (z)fromequation61intoequation60,weobtain:

(62)

IfthepilematerialislinearelasticwithaconstantYoungmodulus,Ep,wewouldhave:

(63)

Substitutingequation63intoequation59andignoringtheaxialloadterm,Q,weobtain:

(64)

Fromconsiderationofthehorizontalforceequilibriumoftheinfinitesimalelementofthepileshownin
figure179,weobtain:

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(65)

Substitutingequation65intoequation59,weobtainthefollowinggoverningdifferentialequation,which
iscommonlyusedtoanalyzepilesunderlateralloads:

(66)

Thevariable,p(x),inequation66correspondstotheresultantsoilresistanceforceperunitlengthofpile
thatoccurswhentheunitlengthofpileisdisplacedalateraldistance,y,intothesoil.Acrucialpointfor
solutionofthedifferentialequationshownaboveisadequaterepresentationofthesoilreaction,p.Ifthe
soilreaction,p,hasalinearrelationshipwithlateralpiledeflection,y,theequationhasaclosedform
solution.However,therelationshipbetweenthesoilreaction(p)andthepiledeflection(y)isnonlinear
andalsovariesalongthepiledepth.Inpractice,itiscommontosolvethisdifferentialequation
(equation66)usingnumericalmethodssuchasthefinitedifferencemethod,andbymodelingthesoil
reactionusingnonlinearpycurves.Theanalysespresentedinthischapterwerecarriedoutusingthis
approach.Thepymethodusedtomodelthesoilreactionisdiscussedinsection8.3.

8.2.1AssumptionsandLimitationsoftheGoverningDifferentialEquation

Implicitinthederivationofequation66isthefactthatthepileismadeofahomogeneous,isotropic,
linearelasticmaterialwiththesamemodulusofelasticityintensionandcompression.Hence,the
flexuralstiffnessofthepile,EpIp,isassumedtoremainconstantduringbending.Asshowninchapter
6,thisassumptionisnotvalidforthepilestestedinthisresearch.Thenonlinearityoftheelastic
propertiesofthepilescanbedealtwithduringthenumericalsolutionofthedifferentialequationby
meansofsuccessiveiterationstoaccountforthenonlinearpropertiesofthestructuralmaterialsofthe
pile(ReeseandVanImpe2001).

Anotherimportantassumptionusedinthederivationofequation66isthatshearstrains(or
deformations)aresmallthatis,normalsareassumedtoremainnormaltotheneutralaxis.Thisisa
commonassumptioninclassicalbeamtheoryorBernoulliEulertheory.TheMindlinbeamtheory,onthe
otherhand,assumesnormalstotheneutralaxisremainstraightandundeformed,butnotnecessarily
perpendiculartotheneutralaxis(Holzer,2001).Ifwedenotewith theangleofrotationofthenormal,
wehavethefollowingforbothbeamtheories:

BernoulliEulertheory: =dy/dx

Mindlintheory: =dy/dx+

Iftheshearstrain, ,iszero,thetwotheoriesareequal.TheMindlintheoryassumestheshearstrain
isconstantoverthecrosssection,thatis,independentofz.Inreality,theshearstrain(orstress)varies
overthecrosssection variesparabolicallyoverarectangularcrosssectionmadeofauniform
material.TheeffectofsheardeformationsonbeamdeflectionshasbeenstudiedbyStippes,etal.
(1961).Theyfoundthatthetotaltipdeflectionofacantileverbeamwithuniformlydistributedloadand
rectangularcrosssectionisasfollows:

(67)

wheretheadditionaldeflectionduetosheardeformationsisgivenbythesecondterminthebrackets.

TheeffectofsheardeformationsincreaseswithincreasingE/Gratiosanddecreasingslendernessratios
(L/D).ForthepilestestedattheRoute351Bridge,theslendernessratio(L/D)isabout15(considering
onlythelengthofthepilewherelateraldeflectionsaresignificant),andtheE/2Gratioisestimatedtobe
about1.3fortheprestessedconcreteandFRPpiles,andabout5fortheplasticpile.Therefore,theerror
associatedwithneglectingsheardeformationsisestimatedtobelessthan0.6percentforthe
prestressedconcreteandFRPpiles,andlessthan2.2percentfortheplasticpile.However,Han(1997)
pointedouttheimportanceofconsideringsheardeformationswhenstudyinglaterallyloadedFRP

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compositepiles.ThisisbelievedtobeespeciallyimportantwhendealingwiththinwalledorhollowFRP
beams.Han(1997)reportedvaluesofE/2Gbetween4and15fortypicalFRPcompositesmaterials
(withnoconcreteinfill).TheseE/2Gratioswouldresultindeflectionerrorsbetween1.8percentto6.7
percentforaslendernessratioof15.

8.3METHODOLOGYUSEDTOANALYZETHELATERALLYLOADEDTESTPILES

Thepymethodiswidelyusedfordesignoflaterallyloadedpiles.Thismethodreplacesthesoilreaction
withaseriesofindependentnonlinearsprings.Thepycurvesrepresentthenonlinearbehaviorofthe
soilbyrelatingthesoilreactionandpiledeflectionatpointsalongthepilelength.Areviewofthepy
methodispresentedinsections8.3.1and8.3.2.

8.3.1PyCurves

8.3.1.1Introduction

Thepredictionofthesoilresistanceatanypointalongthepileasafunctionofpiledeflectionisperhaps
oneofthemostcriticalfactorsinsolvingtheproblemofalaterallyloadedpile.Thedistributionof
stressesagainstacylindricalpilebeforeinstallationisshowninfigure180(a).Atagivendepth,the
stresseswillbeuniformandnormaltothepilewall(assumingthepileisinstalledverticallyandwithout
inducingbending)(ReeseandVanImpe2001).Afterthepileissubjectedtolateralloading,thepilewill
deflectandthesoilstressesactingonthepilewouldhaveadistributionsimilartothatshowninfigure
180(b).Itisimportanttopointoutthatsomeofthestresseswillnotbeperpendiculartothepilewalldue
todevelopmentofshearstressesattheinterfacebetweenthepileandthesoil.Thenetsoilreaction,
p(x),isobtainedbyintegratingthestressesaroundthepilecrosssection.Theunitsofp(x)areforceper
unitlength.

Figure180.Illustration.Distributionofstressesagainstapilebeforeandafterlateralloading

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(adaptedfromReeseandVanImpe2001).

Ingeneral,pycurvesarenonlinearandtheyareafunctionofdepth,soiltype,andpiledimensionsand
properties.Atypicalpycurveisshowninfigure181.Importantelementsofthepycurveincludethe
initialslope,Epymax,andtheultimatesoilresistancevalue,Pult.Atanypointofthepycurvethesoil
reaction,p,isrelatedtothepiledeflection,y,throughthepymodulus,Epy(ReeseandVanImpe2001).
Thepymodulusisalsoknownasthereactionmodulusandithasunitsofforce/length2.Reeseand
VanImpe(2001)proposeusingthenomenclaturegivenaboveinsteadofthemodulusofsubgrade
reaction,whichwasoriginallydevelopedtodescribesettlementoffootingsandrelatesthefooting
pressure(unitsofforce/length2)tothefootingsettlement(unitsoflength).Theseauthorsalsopointout
that,althoughthesubgrademodulusandEpyarerelatedtothevaluesoftheYoungmodulusofthesoil,
Es,theyarenotonlyafunctionofthesoil,butratheraresultofthesoilstructureinteractionprocess
betweenthesoilandthefootingandpile,respectively.

Figure181.Graphs.Typicalpycurveandresultingpymodulus(ReeseandVanImpe2001).

Ideallypycurvesshouldbegeneratedfromfullscalelateralloadtestsoninstrumentedtestpiles.Inthe
absenceofexperimentallyderivedpycurves,itispossibletouseempiricalpyformulationsthathave
beenproposedintheliteraturefordifferenttypesofsoils.Table42liststhesourcesforsomeofthepy
expressionscommonlyusedinpractice.

Table42.Recommendedcriteriaforpycurvesindifferentsoils(adaptedfrom

Reese,etal.,1997).

SoilTypeandCondition Reference

Softclaybelowthewatertable Matlock(1970)

Stiffclaybelowthewatertable Reese,etal.(1975)

Stiffclayabovethewatertable WelchandReese(1972),ReeseandWelch(1975)

Sands Reese,etal.(1974)

Sands API(1993)

Soilswithcohesionandfriction EvansandDuncan(1982)

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Weakrock Reese(1997)

Strongrock Nyman(1980)

Thepycurvesarenotdefinedsolelybysoilcharacteristics(AshourandNorris2000).Inadditiontothe
propertiesofthesoilsurroundingthepile,thepycurvesareinfluencedbyseveralotherfactors,such
as:pilecrosssectionalshapeanddimensions,interfacefrictionanglebetweensoilandpile,pile
bendingstiffness,andpileheadconditions(AshourandNorris2000,ReeseandVanImpe2001).
AshourandNorris(2000)usedthestrainwedgemodeltostudyanalyticallytheinfluenceofsomeof
thesefactorsonpycurves.Theyfoundthatforuniformsanddeposits,astifferpileresultsinstifferpy
curves.Theyalsofoundthatiftwopileshavethesamewidth,butonehasacircularcrosssectionand
theotherhasasquarecrosssection,theresultingpycurveswillbedifferent.Thesquarepileinsand
showedasoilpileresistancehigherthanthecircularpile.ThefindingsfromAshourandNorrisarebased
onanalyticalstudies,andtothebestofourknowledgenofullscaleexperimentshavebeenreportedto
confirmtheirfindings.ReeseandVanImpe(2001)alsopointedouttheinfluenceoftheshapeofthepile
crosssectiononthesoilresistance,p,asillustratedinfigure182.

Figure182.Illustration.Schematicshowingtheinfluenceofshapeofcrosssectionofpileonthe
soilreactionp(adaptedfromReeseandVanImpe2001).

Themajorityofthemethodslistedintable42consideronlytheinfluenceofthesoilpropertiesandthe
pilewidth.Ifotherfactorssuchaspileshapeandsurfacetexturemustbeconsidered,pycurvesshould
beobtainedexperimentallybasedonfullscaletests.

Thepyanalysescarriedoutinthisresearchusedpublishedrecommendationsforpycurves.The
recommendationsbyReese,etal.(1974),wereusedforthesandysoilsatthetestsite.Abrief
descriptionoftheserecommendationsisprovidedbelow.

8.3.1.2PycurvesforsandsbasedonrecommendationsbyReese,etal.,1974

Thetypicalshapeofapycurveforsands,asrecommendedbyReese,etal.,1974,isshowninfigure
183.

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Figure183.Graph.Elementsofacharacteristicpycurveforsandbasedonrecommendationsby
Reese,etal.(1974).

Asshowninfigure183,themainelementsthatdefinethepycurvesforsandsrecommendedby
Reese,etal.(1974),are:

Initialpymodulus,Epymax,thatdefinestheinitialportionofthecurveuptopointA.
Ultimatesoilresistance,pult,whichdefinesthecurveatpointCandbeyond.
TransitionzonebetweenpointsAandC.

ThecoordinatesofpointCarey=3b/80,andp=pult,wherebisthepilewidth.Thetransitionzone
consistsoftwoparts:aparabolicsectionbetweenpointsAandB,andastraightlineportionbetween
pointsBandC.ThecoordinatesofpointBaredefinedas:

(68)

whereAbarsubscriptsandBsarecoefficientsobtainedfromchartsprovidedbyReese,etal.,1974

TheequationoftheparabolaisobtainedknowingthatitpassesthroughpointBandthatitmustbe
tangenttothestraightlinebetweenpointsBandC.ThecoordinatesofpointAareobtainedbyfinding
theintersectionpointoftheinitialstraightportion,withslopeEpymax,andtheparabola.

TheLPILE4.0Mprogramincludesthistypeofpycurveasadefaultpycurveforsands.Thepy
curvesaregeneratedautomaticallybytheprogram.Theuserneedstospecifytheinitialslopeofthe
curve(Epymax)andthesoilpropertiesofthesand(effectiveunitweightandfrictionangle)todefinethe
ultimatesoilresistance(pult).

Reese,etal.(1974),recommendusingavariationofEpymaxthatincreaseslinearlywithdepth,
accordingto:

(69)

where

k=aconstantgivingthevariationofEpymaxwithdepth

x=depthbelowgroundsurface

Typicalkvaluesforlooseandmediumdensesandsbelowthewatertableare5.4and16.3MN/m3
(34,403and103,847lbf/ft3),respectively(Reese,etal.,1974).

Beforepresentingtheanalysesresults,abriefdescriptionofthepymethodofanalysisispresentedin
thefollowingsection.

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8.3.2PyMethodofAnalysis

ThepymethodofanalysisoflaterallyloadedpilesisanalogoustotheTZmethoddescribedinchapter
7toanalyzetheaxiallyloadedpiles.Inessence,themethodconsistsofdividingthepileintoaseriesof
incrementsofequallength.Thegoverningdifferentialequation(equation66)issolvedusingthefinite
differencetechnique.Thesoilisidealizedasaseriesofindependentnonlinearspringswhose
characteristicsarerepresentedbythepycurvesdescribedintheprevioussection.Theidealization
usedinthepymethodisshowninfigure184.

Figure184.Illustration.Schematicshowingpymodelusedforanalysisoflaterallyloadedpiles.

Theremainderofthischapterwilldealwithlateralloadanalysescarriedoutforthetestpilesatthe
Route351project.

8.4NUMERICALANALYSESRESULTS

TheanalysesperformedinthisresearchusedthepymethodandthecomputerprogramLPILEPlus
4.0M(2000).Thisprogramemploysafinitedifferenceformulationtosolvethedifferentialequation
presentedintheprevioussection,withnonlinearpycurvestomodelthesoil.LPILEPlus4.0Mallows
computationofthepileresponsewithuserspecifiednonlinearpileflexuralstiffness,EpIp.

Theprogramcontainsdefaultpycurvesthatcanbeusedfordifferenttypesofsoils.Asanalternative,
theprogramalsoallowstheusertoinputpycurvesdevelopedusingotherformulations.Forthe
analysescarriedoutinthisresearch,thepileswerediscretizedinto300elementsthemaximumnumber
ofincrementsallowedintheLPILE4.0Mprogram.

8.4.1GeneralInputInformation

8.4.1.1Pileinformation

Table43summarizesthepilepropertiesusedintheanalyses.Thenonlinearflexuralstiffness
relationshipspresentedinchapter6wereusedforthethreetestpiles.

Table43.Propertiesoftestpiles.

Property PrestressedConcretePile FRPPile PlasticPile

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Width/diameter(m) 0.610 0.622 0.592

Perimeter(m) 2.44 1.95 1.86

Area(m2) 0.372 0.304 0.275

Length(m) 18.0 18.3 18.3

InitialEpIp(kNm2) 335,610 186,510 71,705

EpIpversusM Seefigure113(b) Seefigure113(b) Seefigure113(b)

Notes:EpIp=flexuralstiffnessofpile,M=bendingmoment.1m=3.28ft

1kNm2=2,421lbfft2

8.4.1.2Uppersoilstratigraphyinformationforpyanalyses

Thesoilstratigraphynearthetopofthepileisthemostimportantwhenstudyinglaterallyloadedpiles
(Duncan,etal.,1994).Typically,thesignificantlateraldeflectionsofpilesoccurwithintheupper8to10
diameters.Theuppersoilstratigraphyofthetestpilesitewasfoundtobesomewhatdifferentatthe
northandsouthendsofthesite.

Figure185showsrepresentativeinsitutestinformationfortheupper10.0m(32ft)ofstratigraphyatthe
northernendofthetestpilesite.Theuppermostlayeratthenorthernendofthetestpilesiteissiltyfine
sandfillapproximately1.0m(3.2ft)thick.Thefillisunderlainbyloosetomediumdense,siltyfinesand
toadepthof13.0m(42.6ft).

Thestratigraphyoftheupper10.0m(32ft)atthesouthendofthetestpilesiteisshowninfigure186.
Thestratigraphyatthesouthendconsistsof0.5m(1.6ft)ofsiltysandfill,whichoverliesamedium
stiffsandy,silty,claylayerthatextendstoabout1.8m(5.9ft)depth,whichoverliesloosetomedium
densesiltysand.Theextentoftheclaylayerwasdeterminedprimarilybasedonthevisual
classificationoftheretrievedsplitspoonsamplesfromboringSPT2.Thepresenceoftheclaylayer
wasconfirmedindirectlyviainterpretationoftheCPTandtheflatdilatometer(DMT)testinformation
availableforthesouthendofthetestsite.

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Figure185.Graphs.Insitutestdatafortheuppersoilsatthenorthernendofthetestpilesite.

Figure186.Graphs.Insitutestdatafortheuppersoilsatthesouthernendofthetestpilesite.

8.4.2PyAnalysesResults

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AseriesofpyanalyseswerecarriedoutusingthedefaultpycurvesembeddedintheLPILEprogram
fordifferenttypesofsoils.Asshowninsection8.4.1.2,thepredominanttypeofsoilatthetestsite
consistedofsiltysands.ThedefaultpycurvesrecommendedbyReese,etal.(1974),wereselectedto
modelthesesoils.

Theuppermostsoillayeratthetestsiteconsistsofmanmadefills,withanaveragethicknessofabout1
mand1.8m(3.3ftand5.9ft)atthenorthandsouthendsofthetestsite,respectively.Sinceallthree
testpileswereinstalledinpitsapproximately1.0m(3.3ft)deep,themajorityofthefillmaterialswere
consideredtoberemoved.Therefore,thepyanalyseswerecarriedoutusingasoilmodelconsistingof
predominantlysiltysands.However,itisrecognizedthattheclayeyfilllayerpresentinthesouthernend
extendsabout0.9m(2.9ft)beyondthepitbottomoftheprestressedconcretepile.Thisremnantfill
wasnotspecificallyincorporatedintheLPILEmodelforthetestpileinthesouthsideinstead,itwas
assumedtobepartoftheunderlyingsiltysanddeposit.Thisapproximationwasconsideredreasonable
giventhesandyandsiltynature,andthethickness,ofthelowplasticclayfilllayer.Theresultsofthep
yanalysesforthethreetestpilesaresummarizedinthefollowingsections.

8.4.2.1Analysesfortheprestressedconcretetestpile

Theprestressedconcretepileislocatedatthesouthernendofthetestpilesite.Thesurface
stratigraphyforthispileisshowninfigure186.Thepitexcavatedforthispileis0.79m(2.6ft)deep.
Theoriginalgroundsurfaceandthepointofloadapplicationare1.24mand1.34m(4ftand4.4ft)
belowthetopofthepile,respectively.

TheLPILEanalyseswerecarriedoutusingatwolayermodelconsistingofalayerofloosetomedium
densesandapproximately10m(32.8ft)thick,underlainbymediumtodensesand.TheLPILEmodel
wasconstructedtotakeintoaccountthe0.79m(2.5ft)deeppitexcavatedbeforeinstallationofthis
pile.Asmentionedearlier,thesiltysandsweremodeledusingthepycurvesrecommendedforsands
byReese,etal.(1974).Themaininputinformationrequiredtodefinethesecurvesistheinitialpy
modulusandthefrictionangleofthesand.Theinitialpymodulusforsandscanbeadequatelymodeled
asincreasinglinearlywithdepth(Reese,etal.,1974).Therateofincreaseofthepymoduluswas
selectedbasedontrialanderroruntilabestfitwasobtainedbetweentheLPILEresultsandthefield
measurements.Thepyparametersthatprovidedthebestmatcharesummarizedintable44.Theinitial
pymodulusvaluesusedintheanalysesareshowninfigure187.

Table44.ParametersusedtodefinedefaultpycurvesinLPILEforthe

prestressedconcretepile.

Parameter LooseSand MediumDenseSand

Defaultpycurve Reese,etal.,1974 Reese,etal.,1974

',Submergedunitweight(kN/m3) 10 11

c,Cohesion(kPa) 0 0

,Frictionangle(degrees) 33 35

Epymax,Initialmodulusofpycurve Seefigure187 Seefigure187

1kN/m3=6.36lbf/ft3
1kPa=0.145lbf/inch2

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Figure187.Graph.InitialpymodulusprofileusedtodefinepydefaultcurvesforLPILE
analysesontheprestressedconcretepile.

Thepredicteddeflectedpileshapesarecomparedtothemeasuredshapesinfigures188through190.

Figure188.Graphs.Predictedversusmeasuredlateraldisplacementprofileforprestressed
concretepile(lowlateralloads).

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Figure189.Graphs.Predictedversusmeasuredlateraldisplacementprofileforprestressed
concretepile(mediumlateralloads).

Figure190.Graphs.Predictedversusmeasuredlateraldisplacementprofileforprestressed
concretepile(highlateralloads).

Figures188190showthatthedeflectedshapesofthepilearepredictedreasonablywellusingthepy
modulus(Epymax)valuesfromfigure187andthepycurveequationsrecommendedbyReese,etal.,
(1974).However,thepredictionsoverestimatethelateraldeflectionsforthetwofirstloadsof51.2and
97.3kN(11,520and21,893poundforce),andslightlyunderpredictthelateraldeflectionsforthehigher
loadlevels.ThiscouldberelatedtothecharacteristicsoftheReese,etal.,(1974)pycurvesthatmay
beonthe"soft"sideatlowloadlevelsand"stiff"athighloadlevels.Asillustratedinfigure183,the
Reese,etal.,(1974)curvesuseaparabolaandastraightsectiontoconnectthePultwiththeinitialpy
modulusline.Sincethereareseveralpossiblewaystoconnectthesetwostates,itisconceivablethat
othershapesoftransitionzonewillresultindifferentpredictionresults.Atransitionzoneshapethatis

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stifferatlowloadlevelsandsofterathighloadlevelsmaybebettersuitedtocapturethebehaviorofthe
soilsencounteredatthissite.However,theapproachwastousethedefaultpymodelthatwould
producethebestlevelofpredictionpossible.

UsingtheLPILEsoilmodeldescribedabove,thepilelateraldeflectionsandheadrotationsatground
surfacewerecalculated.Theresultsareshowninfigures191and192.

Figure191.Graph.Calculatedloaddeflectioncurvefortheprestressedconcretepile.

Figure192.Graph.Calculatedloadslopecurvefortheprestressedconcretepile.

Thepredictedvaluesoflateraldeflectionandpileheadrotationatthegroundsurfaceshowreasonably
goodagreementwiththefieldmeasurements.Thesefiguresalsoshowthepredictedvaluesifthe
flexuralstiffnessofthepileismodeledasbeingconstant,thatis,independentofthelevelofapplied
moment.Thepredicteddeflectionsusingconstantpileflexuralstiffnessareapproximately7percent
lowerthanmeasuredatthepileunderlargelateralloads(>200kN(45,000lbf)),andtheagreementis
closeratlowerlateralloads.Thisfindingisreasonablesincetheflexuralstiffnessoftheprestressedpile
isapproximatelyconstantuptoamomentofabout400kNm(295,028lbfft)(seefigure113(b),chapter

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6).Beyondthismoment,theflexuralstiffnessofthispiledecreasesalmostlinearlywithincreasing
appliedmoment.Asimilarbehaviorwasobservedfortheheadrotations.

8.4.2.2AnalysesfortheFRPpile

TheFRPpileislocatedatthenorthernendofthetestpilesite.Thestratigraphyinformationforthispile
isshowninfigure185.Thepitexcavatedforthispileis1.06m(3.5ft)deep.Theoriginalgroundsurface
andthepointofloadapplicationare1.09m(3.6ft)and0.79m(2.6ft)belowthetopofthepile,
respectively.

Forthispile,theLPILEmodelusedintheanalyseswasconstructedusingtwolayers:anupperlayerof
loosetomediumdensesand,andalowerlayerofmediumtodensesand.Thepyparametersthat
providedthebestmatcharesummarizedintable45.Bothsandlayersweremodeledusingthepy
curvesofthetyperecommendedbyReese,etal.(1974).

Table45.ParametersusedtodefinedefaultpycurvesinLPILEfortheFRP

pile.

Parameter LooseSand MediumDenseSand

Defaultpycurve Reese,etal.,1974 Reese,etal.,1974

',Submergedunitweight(kN/m3) 10 11

C,Cohesion(kPa) 0 0

,Frictionangle(degrees) 33 35

Epymax,Initialmodulusofpycurve Seefigure193 Seefigure193

1kN/m3=6.36lbf/ft3
1kPa=0.145lbf/inch2

Theinitialpymodulusvaluesthatprovidedthebestfitwiththefieldmeasurementsareshowninfigure
193.Thepredicteddeflectedpileshapesarecomparedtothemeasuredshapesinfigures194through
196.

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Figure193.Graph.InitialpymodulusprofileusedtodefinedefaultpycurvesforLPILE
analysesontheFRPpile.

Figure194.Graphs.PredictedversusmeasuredlateraldisplacementprofileforFRPpile(low
lateralloads).

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Figure195.Graphs.PredictedversusmeasuredlateraldisplacementprofileforFRPpile(medium
lateralloads).

Figure196.Graphs.PredictedversusmeasuredlateraldisplacementprofileforFRPpile(high
lateralloads).

Thesefiguresshowthatthepiledeflectionsarepredictedreasonablywellusingthepycurves
recommendedbyReese,etal.(1974),forsandsandthepymodulus(Epymax)valuesfromfigure194.
Forthefirstlateralloadof51.6kN(11,610lbf),thepredictionoverestimatesthelateraldeflections.This
couldberelatedtothepycurveshapecharacteristics,asfortheprestressedconcretepile.

Usingthepycurvesgivenabovetomodelthesoil,lateraldeflectionsandpileheadrotationswere
computedfortheFRPpileatthegroundsurface.Theresultsareshowninfigures197and198.

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Figure197.Graph.CalculatedloaddeflectioncurvefortheFRPpile.

Figure198.Graph.CalculatedloadslopecurvefortheFRPpile.

Thepredictedvaluesoflateraldeflectionandpileheadrotationatthegroundsurfaceshowgood
agreementwiththefieldmeasurements.Thesefiguresalsoshowthecalculatedvaluesassumingthat
theflexuralstiffnessofthepileisconstant,thatis,independentofthelevelofappliedmoment.The
predicteddeflectionsusingconstantpileflexuralstiffnessareapproximately30percentlowerthan
measuredunderlargelateralloads(>150kN(33,750lbf)),andtheagreementiscloseratlowerlateral
loads.ThisfindingisreasonablesincetheflexuralstiffnessoftheFRPpileisapproximatelyconstant
uptoamomentofabout200kNm(147,514lbfft)(asshowninfigure113(b),chapter6).Beyondthis
moment,theflexuralstiffnessofthispiledecreaseswithincreasingappliedmoment.Asimilarbehavior
wasobservedforthepileheadrotations.

8.4.2.3Analysesfortheplasticpile

Theplasticpileislocatedatthecenterofthetestpilesite.Theextentofthesurficialfillatthislocation
wasnotdetermined,butisexpectedtobesimilartotheconditionsfoundatthesouthandnorthendsof
thesite.Thepitexcavatedforthispileis0.91m(3ft)deep.Theoriginalgroundsurfaceandthepointof
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loadapplicationare1.02mand1.21m(3.3ftand4ft)belowthetopofthepile,respectively.

Forthispile,liketheotherpiles,thetwolayerLPILEmodelconsistedofalayerofloosesandextending
10m(32.8ft)deepandanunderlyinglayerofmediumtodensesand.Thepyparametersthatprovided
thebestmatcharesummarizedintable46.Bothsandlayersweremodeledusingthepycurvetypes
recommendedbyReese,etal.(1974).

Table46.ParametersusedtodefinedefaultpycurvesinLPILEforthe

plasticpile.

Parameter LooseSand MediumDenseSand

Defaultpycurve Reese,etal.,1974 Reese,etal.,1974

',Submergedunitweight(kN/m3) 10 11

c,Cohesion(kPa) 0 0

,Frictionangle(degrees) 33 35

Epymax,Initialmodulusofpycurve Seefigure199 Seefigure199

1kN/m3=6.36lbf/ft3
1kPa=0.145lbf/inch2

Theprofileofinitialpymoduluswiththedepththatprovidedthebestmatchisshowninfigure199.The
predicteddeflectedpileshapesarecomparedtothemeasuredshapesinfigures200through202.

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Figure199.Graph.InitialpymodulusprofileusedtodefinedefaultpycurvesforLPILE
analysesontheplasticpile.

Figure200.Graphs.Predictedversusmeasuredlateraldisplacementprofileforplasticpile(low
lateralloads).

Figure201.Graphs.Predictedversusmeasuredlateraldisplacementprofileforplasticpile
(mediumlateralloads).

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Figure202.Graphs.Predictedversusmeasuredlateraldisplacementprofileforplasticpile(high
lateralloads).

Figures200202showthatthepiledeflectionsarepredictedreasonablywellusingthepycurves
recommendedbyReese,etal.(1974),forsandsandthepymodulus(Epymax)valuesfromfigure199.
Thelevelofagreementbetweenthecalculationsandmeasurementswassimilarforthedifferentload
levels,suggestingthattheReese,etal.,(1974)pycurvesadequatelycapturetheresponsemeasured
inthefield.

UsingtheLPILEsoilmodeldescribedabove,pilelateraldeflectionsandheadrotationsattheground
surfacewerecomputed.Theresultsareshowninfigures203and204.

Figure203.Graph.Calculatedloaddeflectioncurvefortheplasticpile.

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Figure204.Graph.Calculatedloadslopecurvefortheplasticpile.

Thecalculatedvaluesoflateraldeflectionandpileheadrotationatthegroundsurfaceshowgood
agreementwiththefieldmeasurements.Forthispile,thepredictedvaluesusingvariableandconstant
flexuralstiffnessofthepilearethesame.Thisfindingisreasonablebecausetheflexuralstiffnessofthe
plasticpileisprimarilytheresultofcontributionsfromthesteelrebarcage.Therefore,asshowninfigure
113(b)(chapter6),theflexuralstiffnessforthispileisapproximatelyconstantuptoamomentofabout
650kNm(479,421lbfft).Thismomentwasnotexceededduringfieldloadtesting.

8.4.3ComparisonoftheInitialpyModulusCurvesfortheThreeTestPiles

Theinitialpymodulusforthethreetestpileswasassumedtoincreaselinearlywithdepth.This
assumptionwasconsideredreasonableforsanddepositssuchasthoseencounteredatthetestsite.
Therateofmodulusincreasewithdepthwasselectedtoprovidethebestmatchbetweentheanalytical
predictionsandthefieldmeasurements.Usingthisapproach,weobtainedratesofmodulusincrease
withdepthof1.7,5.5,and2.2MN/m3(10,831,35,041,and14,016lbf/ft3)fortheprestressed,FRP,and
plasticpiles,respectively.Thesevariationsarenotinagreementwiththetrendexpectedbasedonthe
resultsoftheaxialloadtests,forwhichtheaverageunitshaftcapacitieswere61.8,46.9,and48.9kPa
(8.96,6.80,and7.09(lbf/inch2)fortheprestressedconcretepile,theFRPpile,andtheplasticpile,
respectively.

Thedifferencesinthebackcalculatedrateofincreaseoftheinitialpymoduluswithdepthcanbedueto
severalfactors,suchas:

Differencesinsoilstratigraphyatthelocationofeachtestpile.Forexample,athinclaylayer
wasencounteredatthesouthernendofthetestpileareaneartheprestressedconcretetestpile.
Thislayerwasfoundtoextendabout0.9m(2.9ft)belowthepitattheprestressedconcretepile
location.
Differencesinpilepropertiessuchascrosssectionalshape,pilewidth,pilestiffness,surface
roughness,andinterfacefriction.

Althoughthemethodologybasedondoublederivationofthebendingmomentversusdepthcurves
(ReeseandVanImpe2001)ismoreappropriatefordetailedbackcalculationofpycurves,eventhis
methodwouldnothaveproducedpycurvesinaccordancewithexpectationsbasedonthepile
characteristics.Itseemsmostlikelythatthedifferencesinpycurvesareduelargelytodifferencesin
subsurfaceconditions.

8.5LIMITATIONSOFPYANALYSES

ThepymethodwasselectedtoanalyzethelateralloadtestscarriedoutattheRoute351Bridge.This
methodologywasselectedbecauseitiscommonlyemployedinpractice.Forthisresearchproject,it
wasdesirabletoverifywhetherestablishedprocedures,suchasthepymethod,couldbeemployedto
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analyzecompositepiles.Despitethepopularityofthismethod,ithaslimitationsasdescribedbelow:

Thesoilisidealizedasaseriesofindependentnonlinearspringsrepresentedbypycurves.
Therefore,thecontinuousnatureofthesoilisnotexplicitlymodeled.
Theresultsareverysensitivetothepycurvesused.Theselectionofadequatepycurvesisthe
mostcrucialproblemwhenusingthismethodologytoanalyzelaterallyloadedpiles(Reeseand
VanImpe2001).
Selectingappropriatepymodulusandpycurvesisadifficulttask.Whiletheselectionofvalues
oftheinitialpymodulus(Epymax)isrelatedtothesoilmodulus,itisalsorelatedtothe
interactionbetweenthepileandthesoil.ReeseandVanImpe(2001)pointoutthatpycurves
andmodulusareinfluencedbyseveralpilerelatedfactors,suchas:
Piletypeandflexuralstiffness.
Typeofloading(monotonicorcyclic).
Pilegeometry.
Pilecapconditions.
Pileinstallationconditions.

8.6SUMMARY

Numerouspyanalyseswerecarriedouttodeterminetheadequacyofthismethodtoanalyzelaterally
loadedcompositepiletypessuchastheonesstudiedinthisresearchproject.

Aderivationofthegoverningdifferentialequationforthelaterallyloadedpileproblemwaspresented,
andpossiblelimitationsincompositepilesanalysiswerediscussed.

Theimportanceofconsideringsheardeformationsinlateralpileanalyseswasdiscussed.Theimpactof
sheardeformationsincreaseswithincreasingE/Gratios,anddecreaseswithincreasingslenderness
ratios(L/D).Forthetestpilesassessedinthisproject,theerrorassociatedwithneglectingshear
deformationsisestimatedtobelessthan2.5percent.

Theimportanceofincludingthenonlinearityoftheflexuralstiffnesswasdiscussedandillustratedwith
theanalysesresults.

TheresultsofthepyanalysesusingpublishedpycurvesthatareembeddedintheLPILE4.0M
computerprogramshowedreasonablygoodagreementwiththefieldmeasurements.

TheinitialmodulusofthepycurveswasfoundtoincreasewithdepthatthehighestratefortheFRP
pile,atanintermediateratefortheplasticpile,andatthelowestratefortheprestressedconcretepile.

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