Calculation Approach for Lateral Bearing Capacity of Single Precast Concrete Piles with Improved Soil Surrounds

Abstract

Precast concrete (PC) piles with cement-improved soil surrounds have been widely used for soft ground improvement. However, very few calculation approaches have been proposed to predict the lateral bearing capacity. This study aims at investigating the lateral capacity of a single PC pile reinforced with cement-improved soil through a series of 3D finite element analyses and theoretical studies. It is revealed that application of cement-improved soil around the PC pile can obviously reduce the induced lateral deflections and bending moments in the pile and can significantly increase its capacity to resist lateral loading. To account for the reinforcement effect of cement-treated soil, a modified m approach is proposed by introducing a modified coefficient to enable the predictions of the lateral bearing capacity for such reinforced PC piles. It is revealed that the modified coefficient is approximately linearly related to the compressive bearing capacity of improved soil surrounds.