Non-linear analysis of pile groups subjected to lateral loads using ‘p-y ’ curve

Abstract. The paper presents the analysis of two groups of piles subjected to lateral loads incorporating the non-linear behaviour of soil. The finite element method is adopted for carrying out the parametric study of the pile groups. The pile is idealized as a one dimensional beam element, the pile cap as two dimensional plate elements and the soil as non-linear elastic springs using the p-y curves developed by Georgiadis et al. (1992). Two groups of piles, embedded in a cohesive soil, involving two and three piles in series and parallel arrangement thereof are considered. The response of the pile groups is found to be significantly affected by the parameters such as the spacing between the piles, the number of piles in a group and the orientation of the lateral load. The non-linear response of the system is, further, compared with the one by Chore et al. (2012) obtained by the analysis of a system to the present one, except that the soil is assumed to be linear elastic. From the comparison, it is observed that the non-linearity of soil is found to increase the top displacement of the pile group in the range of 66.4%-145.6%, while decreasing the fixed moments in the range of 2 % to 20 % and the positive moments in the range of 54 % to 57%