Numerical Study on Lateral Capacity of Piles with Casing in Cohesive Soil

The interaction of soil and structure is important in the behaviour of structures under dynamic or static loading conditions. It has an impact on the behaviour of the soil and also how the pile behaves when the load is applied. The analysis is critical for predicting more precise behaviour of the structure and improving structural safety under extreme loading conditions. When subjected to lateral loads, a pile behaves like a transversely loaded beam. In response to applied load, the pile shifts horizontally, resulting in pile bending, rotation, or translation. Resistance to lateral loads is typically provided by the shear which is on the base of the cap, soil passive resistance on the face of the cap, and the passive resistance provided by the soil against the shaft of pile. If the lateral load towards the pile increases beyond the limit due to earthquake, wind action, naturals calamities, etc., casings can be provided to improve the lateral capacity. This paper presents the numerical study on lateral capacity of piles with different casing material with different thickness in cohesive soil. Steel, BFRC and Polypropylene fibre were used as casing materials. Pile with steel casing of 18 mm thickness shows minimum lateral deflection. Steel casings effectively improve the ultimate capacity of piles when lateral load is applied. Analysis is performed through the usage of PLAXIS 3-D software. The evaluation has become less difficult with the advent of excellent computers and software tools such as finite element analysis software.