Modelling horizontally loaded reinforced-concrete piles in a geotechnical centrifuge

Abstract

The design of pile foundations to accommodate horizontal loads is a complex soil−structure interaction problem. Current small-scale laboratory testing of pile foundations is mostly focused on metal piles, which raises the question of the validity of results from these tests, and the principles derived, for the use of analysing and designing reinforced-concrete piles, where not only the soil, but also the piles exhibit highly non-linear material behaviour. This paper describes centrifuge tests that were conducted on scaled aluminium and reinforced-concrete single piles, subjected to lateral loading, with the aim of establishing the suitability of using aluminium alloys for modelling scaled reinforced-concrete piles. With responses similar to literature, both pile types proved to model the behaviour of laterally loaded piles well as far as bending and deflection at low loads are concerned. At larger loads, the reinforced-concrete pile cracked, resulting in non-linear material response, which contributed significantly to the difference in the behaviour between the piles studied. It was observed that the behaviour of reinforced-concrete piles under serviceability loads would not be captured using materials that cannot replicate the reduction in stiffness resulting from crack formation in concrete.