Nonlinear analysis of laterally loaded rigid piles in cohesionless soil

In this paper, a method is developed for nonlinear analysis of laterally loaded rigid piles in cohesionless soil. The method assumes that both the ultimate soil resistance and the modulus of horizontal subgrade reaction increase linearly with depth. By considering the force and moment equilibrium, the system equations are derived for a rigid pile under a lateral eccentric load. An iteration scheme containing three main steps is then proposed to solve the system equations to obtain the response of the pile. To determine the ultimate soil resistance and the modulus of horizontal subgrade reaction required in the analysis, related expressions are selected by reviewing and assessing the existing methods. The degradation of the modulus of horizontal subgrade reaction with pile displacement at ground surface is also considered. The developed method is validated by comparing its results with those of centrifugal tests and three-dimensional finite element analysis. Applications of the developed method to laboratory model and field test piles also show good agreement between the predictions and the experimental results.