Stability Charts for Limiting Horizontal Normal Pressure on Cohesive-frictional Backfill for Deep Contiguous Piled Walls

Abstract

Background: This study presents a numerical solution for determining the limiting uniform normal pressure acting horizontally behind cohesive-frictional backfill material in a deep contiguous piled wall. At this limiting pressure, the soil tends to flow out in gaps between a series of vertical piles placed at a certain uniform horizontal spacing. Methods: The lower and upper bound plane strain finite element limit analysis (FELA) has been carried out for this purpose. The Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, using an associated flow rule, was employed to impose the yield condition in the soil mass. Results: A parametric study was carried out to obtain the magnitude of the non-dimensional limiting lateral resistance (F/cD) as a function of normalized pile spacing (S/D), the friction angle of soils (ϕ), and the adhesion factor (δ) at the soil-pile interface; here, F refers to the lateral normal resistance (force) per unit length offered by the pile, S forms the clear spacing between piles, D is the diameter of the pile and c is soil cohesion. The impact of the different parameters on the failure mechanisms has been examined comprehensively. Conclusion: The lateral resistance (F/cD) offered by the piles increases generally with a decrease in the spacing between the piles. The magnitude of F/cD increases further with an increase in the values of ϕ and δ.