Computers and Geotechnics 15 (1993) 65-86

EFFECTS OF CAP THICKNESS AND PILE INCLINATION ON THE RESPONSE OF

A PILE GROUP FOUNDATION BY A THREE-DIMENSIONAL NONLINEAR
FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

M.M. Zaman*, Y.M. Najjar**, and A. Muqtadir***

* School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science,

University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA

**Department of Civil, Mechanical and Environmental Engineering

The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052, USA

*** Civil Engineering Department

University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

Effects of pile-cap thickness and pile inclination on the distribution of displacements,

stresses, axial forces, shear forces and bending moments in different piles in a group are
investigated using a nonlinear three-dimensional finite element (FE) technique. An algorithm
based on the interpolation of nodal displacements and finite difference approximation of the
displacement field is developed to evaluate the bending moments and the shear forces in the
piles and the pile cap. An automated scheme implemented in the code enables generation of
a FE mesh for both vertical and inclined piles. Emphasis is given to identify the manner
in which loads are shared by individual piles in the group.

INTRODUCTION

Investigation of nonlinear response of pile groups is an important issue in the analysis

and design of many civil engineering structures such as bridges, high rise buildings and
towers. In the past, many analytical/numerical methods for analysis of pile groups have
employed simplified assumptions such as replacing the soil medium by Winkler springs,
treating the soil medium as an elastic continuum, and neglecting the interaction between
65
Computers and Geotechnics0266-352)(/93/$06.00 © 1993 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd,
England. Printed in Great Britain
 66

various components (namely, the pile-cap, the piles, and the soil medium) [1-14]. Most of
the previous studies have been concerned with vertical piles and relatively few investigations
have involved battered piles [7]. For three-dimensional finite element analysis, inclined piles
pose difficult problems, especially from the point view of mesh generation.
For a structure having potential for high lateral loads it is desirable to consider in the
analysis the battered pile geometry and nonlinear behavior of soil medium, as well as the
various components of the pile group foundation together as a three-dimensional (3-D)
system, so that a realistic response of the system can be obtained.
In this paper, the behavior of a pile group foundation subjected to arbitrary 3-D
loading is analyzed by using an incremental-iterative finite element procedure. The material
nonlinearity of the soil medium is represented by a generalized plasticity model [7,15,16].
An algorithm based on the interpolation of nodal displacements and finite difference
approximation of the displacement field is used to evaluate the bending moments and the
shear forces in the piles and the pile cap. An analytical parametric study is conducted to
investigate the effects of pile inclination and pile-cap thickness on the overall behavior of the
system, particularly on the distribution of forces in individual piles, and on the distribution
of bending moments and shear forces in each pile.

BRIEF REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Approximating the soil surrounding the pile by a Winkler medium [17] and using the
matrix approach to obtain the individual pile forces in a pile group foundation was first
proposed by Hrennikoff [6]. Aschenbrenner [1] extended this approach for three-dimensional
analysis of pile group foundations where piles were assumed to be hinged at the pile cap.
A modified Hrennikoff's method was employed by Reese and O'Neill [14] to analyze the
behavior of a three-dimensional battered pile-foundation system. The torsional response was
taken into consideration in this analysis, but the axial, lateral, and torsional behaviors of the
pile group were assumed to be linearly independent. The principle of superposition was used
to obtain the total pile head forces. Accordingly, this method could not be used for problems
involving nonlinearity.
The procedure proposed by Desai, et al. [5] utilizes the beam-column, plate and
nonlinear spring elements to idealize the behavior of piles, cap, and foundation, respectively.
The pile cap was treated as a thin plate. Wittke [14] used the finite element method (FEM)
to study the behavior of a laterally loaded single pile in a homogeneous and linearly elastic
soil by using a three-dimensional idealization. Ottaviani [11] examined the behavior of a
vertically loaded single pile as well as a pile group by invoking similar assumptions. In these
studies no relative displacement was allowed at the interfaces between the piles and the soil.
Poulos [19] and Butterfield and Banerjee [3] assumed a symmetrical distribution of shear
stress around the axially loaded pile groups which contradicts the findings of Ottaviani [11].
 67

The load transfer mechanism was also studied considering the presence of a pile cap.
Faruque and Desai [20] performed a three-dimensional analysis of a single pile including both
material and geometric nonlinearities. Muqtadir and Desai [9] have reported results of a fully
three-dimensional finite element analysis of a pile group where both the material and the
boundary nonlinearities were taken into consideration. The results of this study were
compared with experimental observations reported by Frucco and Associates [21 ] for a model
pile group.

FINITE ELEMENT FORMULATION

The finite element (FE) method is well documented in the literature [22-26]. Hence,
it is not detailed herein. Only a brief description is presented.

Element Stiffness, Assembly and Solution Procedure

In this study, 8-noded hexahedral elements are used to model the three-dimensional
geometry of the pile-soil system, including the pile cap. An alternative approach would be
to adopt plate bending elements for the pile cap and to consider rotational modes of
deformation for the piles. However, this would lead to incompatible deformations between
soil, pile and pile cap. Previous studies [7-9] have shown that 8-noded hexahedral elements
can adequately describe the pile and the cap behavior when a proper FE mesh is used in the
analysis.
Using the principle of minimum potential energy, the equilibrium equation for an
element can be expressed as

[k] {q} - {Q} (1)

where

[k] - fv [BIT [C]*-P [B] dV (2)

and

Here, [k] is the element stiffness matrix, {Q} is the element load vector, { x"} is the body
force vector, { T } is the surface traction vector, and {a0} is the initial stress vector. Also,
[13] represents the strain-displacement transformation matrix and [C] e+ is the elasto-plastic
constitutive relation matrix.
The stiffness matrices for all elements are evaluated and assembled and the load vector
is assembled to obtain the global equations of equilibrium. A 2x2x2 Gaussian quadrature
 68

[26] integration scheme is adopted to evaluate the element stiffness matrices and the load
vectors. The frontal solution technique developed by Irons [24] and described by Owen and
Hinton [25] is used for the solution of the nonlinear equilibrium equations for the system.

Constitutive Models
The code used in this study has a provision to account for various constitutive models
in the analysis. The models implemented in this code include linear elastic model, nonlinear
elastic (Hyperbolic) model, variable moduli model, Drucker-Prager model, critical state
model, cap model, and the generalized plasticity model developed by Desai and his
co-workers [15,20,27]. In this study, the pile cap and the piles are assumed to be linearly
elastic. Nonlinearity of the soil medium is represented by the generalized plasticity model
in which both yielding and failure surfaces are described by a single mathematical function
to avoid computational difficulties at the junction of yield and failure surfaces which may
arise in two-surface models such as cap model [27].
In the generalized plasticity model used here, the yield function is represented in the
form [15,16]

F - Jzo + cxJl - ~jij~/3 _ ¥Sx - k2 " 0 (4)

where J2D = second invariant of the deviatoric stress tensor, Jl, J3 = first and third
invariants of the total stress tensor, respectively, k = measure of the cohesive strength of the
material, and a, $, y = material response functions. The response function B is made
dependent on the history of deformation and is called the growth or evolution function,
while a, y and k are treated as material constants. The explicit form of B can be expressed
as follows

p - p(~)- 13. [1- ~°.1 (5)

where ~ is the trajectory of plastic strain, formed by the components of the plastic strain
tensor, ~ , according to the following expression
I

- f (6)

13u = value of 13 at ultimate yielding, ~, = material constant for hardening, i = material

constant which identifies the initial size of the yield surface, and n = material constant
related to hardening. Note that for soil with i z 0 , elastic limit does not exist for most
cases. Details of this formulation are given in Ref. [15,16,20].
The elasto-plastic constitutive relation matrix, [C] *p, is derived using the flow rule
and the consistency condition. The final expression can be written in the form [16]:
 69

[c] {aF} {aFar [c]

ao aa
[C] '-p - [C] - (7)
{aF)r [c] (aF} _

¥ {aF}
ao ~o ~ a~

where [C] = constitutive relation matrix for linearly elastic behavior, {0F/0o} = gradient
of F with respect to stress tensor aij and YF = length of the gradient vector in the stress
space.

Nonlinear Incremental-lterative Procedure

An incremental-iterative procedure is used here to solve the nonlinear equilibrium
equations. As mentioned earlier, only material nonlinearity (due to soil) is taken into
account. The procedure is analogous to the Newton-Raphson technique [22]. The total load
is divided into a selected number of increments. The elasto-plastic constitutive relation
matrix [C] "-v is evaluated at the beginning of each load-increment and iteration, based on the
configuration at the previous step/iteration. The calculated responses are adjusted by
evaluating an internal load vector of the system consistent with the constitutive model used.
A subincrementation technique [7,20] is used to improve the accuracy of computed stresses.
The elasto-plastic constitutive relation matrix, [C] e-p, is updated at each subincrementation
level. Theupdated [C] e-p matrix is used to compute the subincremental stresses from the
current subincrement of strain. Total stresses are then computed by summing up all the
subincrements of stresses.

ANALYSIS OF A PILE GROUP FOUNDATION RESPONSE

Problem Description
The problem under consideration is a pile group foundation as shown in Fig. 1. The
group consists of four vertical piles having uniform cross-section (0.45 m x 0.45 m) and
equal length (14.0 m), fully embedded in the soil medium. The pile cap is 3.0 m x 3.0 m
in plan dimensions. The piles are arranged symmetrically in both x and y directions. The
cap is subjected to a vertical load (P) and a horizontal load (Q). Considering the symmetry
of the problem with respect to the X-axis, only half of the pile cap is analyzed here.
Therefore, due to this symmetry, only half of the vertical load (P/2) or/and the horizontal
load (Q/2) need to be applied to this system. Also, note that results applicable to pile #1 are
also applicable to pile #3, and results applicable to pile #2 are also applicable to pile #4. For
brevity, only results pertaining to pile #1 and Pile//2 will be discussed in this paper.
 70

P
PileCap

7z //I
//': I
:
,
z ¥ I

Sle #

~ Pile01
_4

Figure 1 Schematic Presentation of Pile-Cap Foundation

Finite Element Idealization

The finite element (FE) mesh used for discretization of the cap is showa in Fig. 2,
while the mesh for the underlying soil medium is shown in Fig. 3. For clarity of
presentation two figures are used instead of one. The mesh consists of 434 eight-noded
hexahedral elements connected at 684 nodes. In FE idealization a small gap between the pile
and the soil medium is assumed to avoid direct transfer of any load from the cap to the
underlying soil medium. The loads are thus transferred by means of the piles only. Similar
idealization has been used in previous investigations i7,8].
In actual field condition, the soil medium is usually of infinite extent both in the
horizontal and in the vertical directions. In the finite element idealization, the horizontal
boundaries of the soil block in the x and y directions are placed from the pile cap origin at
a distance of 10.0 m, which is more than six times the half-length of the pile cap, in that
direction. Also, the depth (25.0 m) of the soil block is placed at I 1.0 m deeper than the
embedded length of the pile (14.0 m) so that the appropriate boundary conditions can be
imposed at the bottom of the soil block. A similar idealization was used by Muqtadir and
Desai [8], however, the present study employs a more refined mesh.
The boundary conditions used in this analysis are shown in Fig. 3. Note that the
degrees of freedom (DOF) at the bottom face (ABCD) are constrained in all directions. For
the sides ADHE and BCGF, the DOF in the x-direction are constrained, while for the central
plane CDHG and for the side plane ABFE, the DOF in the y-direction are constrained. At
the center plane of the pile cap, the DOF in the y-direction are constrained. Application of
 71

T
t

[
-f
I 3.Ore

Figure 2 Finite Element Mesh of Pile Cap

8

IIIII!1 .....
l llllll
IIIIII ,
25.0

IIIIII
!111111
A
S
SS
•

"Iljl/
i
I

B q>
I__
! - 20.0 m -~/'//~"

Figure 3 Finite Element Mesh of Soil Block

 72

these boundary conditions, makes the total number of active DOF to be 1564.

Material Properties
The piles and the cap are assumed to behave as linearly elastic during the loading
process. The following material properties are used for the generalized plasticity model to
represent the nonlinearity of the soil medium: Young's modulus, E s = 1.12 x l05 kN/m 2,
Poisson's ratio v s = 0.36, a = 0.212, V = 25.28 k N / m 2, k = 0.0 kN/m 2, B = 0.005, and
n = 0.74. While the elastic properties used for piles and pile cap are: Young's modulus, Ep
= 3.0 x 107 kN/m 2 and Poisson's ratio, vp = 0.17.

Calculation of Bending Moment Along the Length of the Pile

The total bending moment at a point in a pile subjected to axial and lateral loads can
be obtained by considering the contribution of [17]: i) moment due to shear force, and ii)
moment due to the axial load and the eccentricity caused by the lateral displacement of the
pile. This means that the total moment at a point along the pile is the summation of moments
caused by the shear and the axial forces separately. In calculating the moment due to the
axial force, the finite element (FE) results for the lateral displacements and the corresponding
axial forces F z at the top and the bottom of each element of the pile are used. The moment
due to the axial force is calculated by multiplying the lateral displacement by the
corresponding axial force. To obtain the moment due to the shear force, the FE results for
the shear forces F x at the top and the bottom of each element of the pile are used. The
flexural moment is assumed to be zero at the tip end of the pile since the pile is free at the
tip. The moment at any point along the length of the pile from the pile tip is evaluated by
simply calculating the area under the shear force diagram up to the point of interest. Then,
the total moment is calculated by summing up the moments caused by the axial and the shear
forces.
To study the percentage contribution of the moment caused by the axial force to the
total moment, a critical case, (P/2) = 200 kN and (Q/2) = 400 kN where the maximum
lateral displacement and axial force are induced in pile #1, is chosen. In this case, it was
observed that the moment caused by the axial force and the corresponding lateral
displacement is less than 0.4% of the calculated total moment. While the contribution of the
moment caused by the shear force to the total moment is greater than 99.6% [10]. As a
result, the moment caused by the axial force is neglected in the parametric study reported
herein. Thus, the total moment at any point along the pile is considered to be equal to the
moment caused by the shear force only.

Calculation of Flexural Moment Along the Central Line of the Pile Cap
To calculate the flexural moments along the central line, a finer and uniform (square)
grid of the pile cap is constructed. For the numerical example considered herein, each
 73

element in the original FE grid has the dimensions of 0.45 m x 0.45 m (Fig. 2). A refined
FE grid is constructed from the original grid. Each element in the refined grid has the
dimension of 0.15 m x 0.15 m. The total number of nodes used to construct the finer,
uniform grid is 231. Nodal displacements in the vertical (Z) direction for all nodes of the
uniform grid are obtained from the nodal displacements of the original FE mesh of the pile
cap (see Fig. 3). The central finite difference technique is used to calculate the bending
moment along the central line of the pile cap using the nodal displacements of the uniform
grid. The bending moments at the free edges of the pile cap are assumed to be zero. Note
that, the bending or the flexural moments reported here for the pile cap or the piles are the
moments about the Y-axis only.

PARAMETRIC STUDY

Effect of Pile Cap Thickness

This study is performed by varying the thickness of the pile cap and keeping all other
parameters constant. Five different pile cap thicknesses, namely, 0.15 m, 0.25 m, 0.35 m,
0.45 m, and 0.60 m, are considered. Also, for convenience in the presentation of results,
the fiexural rigidity (Rp) of the pile cap is expressed as follows [28]:

R, E, t 3
(8)
12(1 - v2p)

where Ep and vp are the elastic properties of the pile cap material, and (t) represents the
thickness of the pile cap. Assuming the rigidity of the pile cap (Rp) is 1.0 at t = 0.25 m,
pile cap rigidities at other thicknesses are calculated, relative to the pile cap rigidity at t =
0.25 m.

Pile arouo with vertical load only

For this case, only a vertical load (P/2) of magnitude 200 kN is applied at the center
of the pile cap. No lateral load is applied. The calculated pile head forces for this case are
shown in Table 1. It is seen that the vertical force in both piles (F~) is the same (100 kN)
regardless of the thickness of the pile cap, as expected. The pile head forces (Fx and Fy)
induced in the x and y direction are maximum when the pile cap thickness is minimum (0.15
m). F x and Fy reach their lowest values when the relative rigidity of the pile cap is
maximum (t = 0.60 m). This trend is in agreement with our intuition. As the pile cap
becomes more rigid, its flexural deformation becomes increasingly small. Therefore, the
interaction between the piles decreases for such a system. Also, owing to the symmetrical
geometry and loading system assumed here, the lateral forces, Fx and Fy are equal in
magnitude (see columns 3, 4, 6, and 7 in Table 1).
 74

TABLE 1: Pile Head Forces Due to Variation in Pile Cap Thickness (P=400 kN, Q = 0 kN)

t Rv Pile Head Forces (kN)

Pile #1 or #3 Pile #2 or #4

(cm) Fx Fy Fz Fx Fy Fz

15 0.22 41.0 41.0 100.0 -41.0 41.0 100.0

25 1.00 40.7 40.7 100.0 -40.7 40.7 I00.0
35 2.75 37.7 37.7 100.0 -37.7 37.7 100.0
45 5.83 33.9 33.9 100.0 -33.7 33.7 100.0
60 13.82 28.9 28.9 100.0 -28.9 28.9 100.0

Pile Grout> with Vertical and Lateral Loads

For this case, initially a vertical load (P/2) of magnitude 200 kN is applied at the
center of the pile cap and then the lateral load (Q/2) of magnitude 200 kN is applied along
the center line of the pile cap. From the calculated pile head forces presented in Table 2,
it is observed that the axial forces (F,) in piles #1 and #2 are quite different. As expected,
the force in pile #1 (or pile #3) is much larger than in pile #2 (or pile #4). With increasing
pile cap thickness, an increasingly larger amount of the load is carried by pile #1. For t =
0.6 m, out of the 200 Kn applied vertical load only about 30.7 kN is carried by pile #2 with
the remainder (about 169.3 kN) carried by pile #1. A reverse trend is observed for the shear
force (Fx); with increasing cap thickness, shear forces (pile head) are more evenly distributed
among the piles in the group.

TABLE 2: Pile Head Forces Due to Variation in Pile Cap Thickness ( P = Q = 4 0 0 kN)

t Rp Pile Head Forces (kN)

Pile #1 or #3 Pile #2 or #4

(cm) Fx Fz Fx Fz

15 0.22 149.1 120.3 50.9 79.7

25 1.00 145.7 133.4 54.3 66.6
35 2.75 139.3 144.5 60.7 55.5
45 5.83 137.1 155.0 62.9 45.0
60 13.82 133.6 169.3 66.4 30.7

Distribution of axial and shear forces in pile #1 for different pile cap thicknesses are
 75

shown in Figs. 4 and 5, respectively. The difference in the axial force distribution in pile
#1 due to change in pile cap thickness seems to be predominant at shallow depth and
maximum at the pile head, where it is connected to the pile cap. Also, it can be observed
that as the thickness of the pile cap increases the axial force in pile #1 increases in
magnitude. An opposite trend is observed for the axial force distribution in pile//2 [10].
Here the axial force decreases in magnitude with the increase in pile cap thickness.
Fig. 5 shows that the difference in the shear force distribution for different pile cap
thicknesses along pile #1 is negligible at depths more than 6.0 m, and noticeable only at
shallow depth, especially at the pile head. Also, it is observed that as the thickness of the
pile cap increases, the shear force distribution along pile #1 decreases especially in the upper
part of the pile. However, the change appears to be insignificant.
Further, from Figs. 4 and 5, it is noted that the axial and shear forces in both piles
are maximum at the surface and minimum at the tip, as expected. A part of the axial load
carried by the pile is transferred to the soil medium through skin friction. The shear force
is carded by the pile only at the surface, while it is carried by both the pile and the
surrounding soi~ along the embedded length of the pile, As a result, the axial and shear
forces in both piles reduce with depth. The axial force distribution is more sensitive to the
variation of the pile cap thickness than the shear force distribution. As the cap becomes more
rigid, it induces a pulling effect in pile//2 due to application of lateral load. Thus, the
soil-structure interaction effects not only depend on the characteristics of the piles and the soil
but also on the pile cap and the superstructure (not included here).
The distribution of flexural moments (about the y-axis) along the central line of the
pile cap for different pile cap thicknesses is shown in Fig. 6. It is observed that the variation
of the pile cap thickness has a significant effect on the moment distribution in the pile cap.
The rate at which the flexural rigidity of the pile cap increases with the increase in pile cap
thickness is more than the rate at which the flexural displacements of the cap decreases. As
a result, the flexural moment in the pile cap increases with increasing pile cap thickness.
The distribution of flexural moments (about the y-axis) in pile #1 for different pile
cap thicknesses is shown in Fig. 7. It is observed that the change in pile cap thickness does
not cause a significant change in the flexural moment, except near the pile head region where
the change in shear force is maximum (see Fig. 5). The difference in the flexural moments
reaches maximum at the pile head. A cap with relatively large thickness behaves
approximately as a rigid body, compared to a cap of smaller thickness. This varying
interaction between the pile cap and the piles affects the mechanism of load transfer between
different piles in a group. Simplified analyses do not account for such interaction effects.
Pile head moments of pile #1 and pile//2 for different pile cap thicknesses are shown
in Table (3). The maximum negative moments induced in both piles for different cap
thicknesses are shown in Table (4). It can be observed from Table (3) that the pile head
moment in pile #1 is maximum at t = 0.15 m, while minimum in pile//2. Note that this is
 76

~.?~,. x.. t=0.25 m

?(

8.

1,

II.

13.

-1)¢1 • ,~, .,h -,;o -;, .;0 .;a -h " "

Axial Force, kN

Figure 4 Distribution of Axial Force Along Pile #1 for Different Pile Cap Thicknesses
(P = 400 kN, Q = 400 kN)
0 i
: ,. , t--0. 6 0 m
L~ t=0.15 m ~/ ~ t=0.45 m

)i t=0.35 m

I,

i,
?,

|,

eL

lb

L3,

t $.

Shear Force, kN

Figure 5 Distribution of Shear Forces Along Pile #1 for Different PLle Cap Thicknesses
(p = 400 kN, Q = 400 kN)
 77

I
+aaI f,\ .t--o'6° m
! :~ t=0.45 m

| I1\ \\
| II ,, \
~ooJ II \,, ,, t=0.35 m
] I1,', \ ~\/
I It: ". ~
| ~l/ ",. \ , / ~ t=o. 25 m
.........
:,r ~ .... ,k : ":-- ,

~', "".."' ,,'/I

| ~\', , tl
-~o04 ~X',
%\ ~,,' , ',/I
'/

i'
!
I ~% /I

- ~00, i I

-SOIl.
_ • .t +_. . .
o.o o.o ~.o ~.s ~.o m[s i;o
Distance, m

Figure 6 Distribution of Moment Along the Central Line of the Pile Cap for Different
Pile Cap Thicknesses (P -- 400 kN, Q = 400 kN)
0 ,

.t=O. 15 m
z~ f/ t=0.25 m
3, ~,~jt--O. 45 m
~. ~ t=0.35 m

1.
I.
?,

I0.

I1,

Ii.
LJ,
LI4,

11,

Moment, kN.m

Figure 7 Distribution of Moment Along Pile #1 for Different Pile Cap Thicknesses
(P = 400 kN, Q = 400 kN)
 78

in total agreement with results reported in Table (2). In view of Table 4, it is observed that
the negative moments induced in both piles are maximum at t = 0.15 m, while minimum at
t = 0.60 m.

TABLE 3: Pile Head Moments Due to Variation in Pile Cap Thickness ( P = Q = 4 0 0 kN)

t Ra, Pile Head Moment (kN-m)

(cm) Pile #1 or #3 Pile I/2 or #4

15 0.22 141.5 0.1

25 1.00 135.6 16.2
35 2.75 126.0 28.3
45 5.83 120.0 39.9
60 13.82 111.0 48.2

TABLE 4: Maximum (Negative) Pile Moments Due to Variation in Cap Thickness

( P = Q = 4 0 0 kiN)

t Rp Pile Head Moment (kN-m)

(cm) Pile #1 or #3 Pile #2 or #4

15 0.22 -16.1 -29.4

25 1.00 -15.1 -23.2
35 2.75 -14.3 -19.1
45 5.83 -13.7 -17.2
60 13.82 -13.2 -17.0

Effect of Pile Inclination

This study is performed by changing the inclination of each pile and keeping all other
parameters constant. The pile cap thickness considered in this study is t = 0.35 m.
Three different pile groups are considered in this analysis (see Fig. 8):
Case 1: Both piles are vertical.
Case 2: Pile #I is battered 5:1 in the direction of the applied lateral load and pile #2
is battered 5:1 in the opposite direction.
Case 3: Pile #1 is battered 4:1 in the direction of the applied lateral load and pile #2
is battered 4: I in the opposite direction.
 79

The finite element (FE) mesh used for the vertical piles is also used for the battered
piles with the same number of nodes and elements except with some modification in the mesh
configurations. The FE mesh for the battered cases is achieved by rotating (in the region
where the piles are located) the two sides of the finite element grid for the vertical case in
the xz plane, to obtain the required slope for each battered case. The regions away from the
piles are kept unchanged.

Pile ~rouo with vertical load only

For this case, only a vertical load (P/2) of magnitude 200 kN is applied at the center
of the pile cap. No lateral load is applied. The calculated pile head forces are shown in
Table 5. The variation of angle of inclination of piles has significant effects on the
distribution of pile head axial and shear forces, while it has a relatively small effect on the
distribution of pile head forces in the y-direction (Fy), as the piles are not inclined in that
direction. As the inclination of piles increases, the pile head axial forces also increase, while
the (pile head) shear forces decrease in both piles. Also, the pile head forces (see Table 5)
in both piles are equal for a given pile geometry.

TABLE 5: Pile Head Forces Due to Variation in Pile Inclination (P=400 kN, Q = 0 kN)

Case Angle of Pile Head Forces (kN)

No. Incli-
nation Pile #1 or #3 Pile #2 or #4

(degree) Shear Fy Axial Shear Fy Axial

I-Vert. 0.0 37.7 37.7 100.0 -37.7 37.7 100.0

II-Batt.
5:1 11.3 16.1 37.1 105.2 -16.1 37.1 105.2
II-Batt.
4:1 16.0 11.3 37.0 100.0 -11.3 37.0 105.9

Pile ~rouo with vertical and lateral loads

For this case, a vertical load (P/2) of magnitude 200 kN is applied initially at the
center of the pile cap and then the lateral load (Q/2) of magnitude 200 kN is applied along
the center line of the pile cap. The calculated pile head forces for this case are shown in
Table 6. It is observed from Table 6 that the variation of inclination angle (see Fig. 8) has
significant effects on the distribution of pile head shear and axial forces. An increase in the
angle of inclination of piles, causes the pile head shear forces in pile #1 to decrease, and in
pile//2 to increase. An opposite trend is seen for the distribution of pile head axial forces.
 80

The distribution of axial forces in pile #1 for different inclination of piles is shown
in Fig. 9. The corresponding distribution of shear forces is also shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 9
depicts that the axial force in pile #1 at and near the pile head increases as the angle of
inclination of the pile increases. An opposite trend is observed in the middle portion. The
axial forces at the tip portions of the pile do not change appreciably due to variation in pile
inclination. From Fig. 10, it is observed that as the angle of inclination of piles increases,
the positive shear forces increase whereas the negative shear forces decrease in pile #1. The
change in the angle of inclination of piles has significant effects near and at the surface
(where piles are connected to the cap).

TABLE 6: Pile Head Forces Due to Variation in Pile Inclination ( P = Q = 4 0 0 kN)

Case Angle of Pile Head Forces (kN)

No. Incli-
nation Pile #1 or #3 Pile #2 or #4

(degree) Shear Axial Shear Axial

I-Vert. 0.0 139.3 144.5 60.7 55.5

II-Batt.
5:1 11.3 105.2 167.8 73.7 42.5
II-Batt.
4:1 16.0 96.7 171.5 76.5 39.7

The distribution of moments along pile #I for different inclination of piles is presented
in Fig. 11. While, pile head moments and maximum negative moments for both piles are
shown in Table 7 and 8. In view of Fig. 11 and Tables 7 and 8, it is noted that as the angle
of inclination of piles increases, the negative moments increase whereas the positive moments
decrease in pile #1. An opposite trend is seen for the moment distribution in pile #2 [10]
(i.e., the negative moments decrease and the positive moments increase with increasing
inclination). As the angle of inclination increases the normal component of displacement
decreases in pile #1 and increases in pile #2. This causes the flexural moments along the
length of the pile to increase and the pile head moments to decrease for pile #1. An opposite
trend is observed for pile #2. The difference in the magnitude of moments appears to be
large when the pile geometry is changed from vertical to battered (5:1). Due to the change
in the angle of inclination, the axial component of displacements increases in pile #1 while
decreases in pile #2. This causes the axial forces to increase in pile #1 and to decrease in pile
#2. This observation supports the results in Table 6. An opposite trend is noticed for the
distribution of shear forces (i.e., shear forces decrease in pile #1 and increase in pile #2,
 81

~Q,- 3.0 m ' - ~

I' , ]

_
P+tO #I
I_
Pile / ~
$ %.!
a) Case #I b) Case ~ c) Case

Figure 8 Schematic Representation of Pile Groups with Different Inclination

L.

3. Battered 4:1

¼,

$.

I.
Battered 5:1
7,

I.

t. Ver

L0.

II.

|Z'

L3,

Lg,

t|, ',, , -, ,

-i. -~..Lu -oo 40 .,il -,0

Axial Force, kN

Figure 9 Distribution of Axial Force Along Pile #1 for Different Inclination of Piles
(P - 400 kN, Q = 400 kN)
 82

because the normal component of displacements decreases in pile #1 and increases in pile
#2).

TABLE 7: Pile Head Moments Due to Variation in Pile Inclination ( P = Q = 4 0 0 kN)

Case Angle of Pile Head Moments (kN-m)

No. Incli-
nation Pile #1 or #3 Pile #2 or #4
(degree)

I-Vert. 0.0 126.0 28.2

II-Batt.
5:1 11.3 -0.7 89.8
II-Batt.
4:1 16.0 -23.9 107.9

TABLE 8: Maximum (Negative) Pile Moments Due to Variation in Pile Inclination

(P=Q=400 kN)

Case Angle of Pile Moments (kN-m)

No. Incli-
nation Pile #1 or #3 Pile #2 or #4
(degree)

I-Vert. 0.0 -14.3 -19.1

II-Batt.
5:1 11.3 -94.3 -0.8
II-Batt.
4:1 16.0 -109.0 -0.7

CONCLUDING REMARKS

A fully three-dimensional nonlinear finite element procedure is used to study the

effects of pile cap thickness and inclination of piles on the response of a pile-cap-soil system.
Nonlinearity of the soil medium is idealized by a generalized plasticity model in which both
yielding and failure surfaces are described by a single mathematical function. The hardening
is characterized by a parameter based on the history of plastic strain. Computer codes are
written for post-processing of FE results to determine flexural moment distribution in the
piles and the cap. An automated scheme is implemented to generate FE mesh for both
 83

/ .i+
I //

4,
2 Battered 4:1 ~ i'+'
7q

$,
Battered 5 : i ~ (,"
!.

ta,
Vertical / ~
tl,
1
t2, I
I
I
I |,

ill,
I
tl'
-rio -,&, .N -~o -,~o -~,, ~ +o"
Shear Force, kN

Figure I0 Distribution of Shear Force Along Pile #I for Different Inclinationof Piles
(P = 400 kN, Q = 400 k.N)

-, ".,
• , ".
,, ',
Et IVertical
Battered 4 :1 ',,'..
~u i .

+,'.

tO.

II,

Ii,
%
I |.

I|.

Moment:, kN.m

Figur¢ 11 Distribution of Mon~nt Along Pile #1 for Different Inclination of Piles

(p = 400 kN, Q = 400 kN)
 84

vertical and inclined piles.

From the numerical results, it is observed that the change in the pile cap thickness and
pile inclination can significantly influence the distribution of pile forces and moments. The
pile cap deforms as a deformable body when its thickness is relatively small while it deforms
as a rigid body at a relatively larger thickness. On the contrary, change in pile cap thickness
does not cause any significant change in flexural moment distribution in piles, except near
the pile head region where the change in shear force is maximum. By changing the pile
inclination, the pile head moments decrease in piles battered in the direction of the applied
lateral load, while increase in piles battered in the opposite direction. The graphical results
presented in this paper will provide an understanding of the response of a pile group
foundation subjected to a three-dimensional type loading.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to express their thanks and gratitude to Professor C.S. Desai,
University of Arizona, Tucson for providing the original computer code.

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 86

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Received 18 June 1992; revised version received 4 March 1993; accepted

5 March 1993