Response of piles and casings to horizontal free-field soil displacements

Abstract

A simple method of analysis for predicting the response of piles and casings to horizontal free-field soil displacements is presented. Such free-field displacements can be induced in the soil by ice or earthquake loading and can damage piles or casings within the soil. The method involves a modification to the conventional laterally loaded pile problem to account for the load induced by the free-field deflections.The method is applied to analyze the response of a casing within a caisson-retained island subject to high ice loading. The results indicate that flexible casings essentially track with the soil and are subjected to low forces and moments, whereas stiff casings deflect as a rigid body and attract high forces and moments.