Simplified Approach for Settlement Analysis of Vertically Loaded Pile

Abstract

This paper investigates a new and simplified nonlinear approach considering the softening effect of the soil–pile interface to predict the settlement of a single pile and a pile group. The approach adopts a nonlinear model described by a piecewise function to simulate the relationship between skin friction and soil–pile relative displacement. The relationship between the pile-bottom load and the settlement also is addressed in a piecewise function. A simplified calculation approach is proposed to predict the settlement on pile head. The results of the proposed approach and those of the published literature and the field test data are compared. Correction made by the proposed approach also is validated. Numerical results show that the proposed approach generates a reasonable settlement prediction on pile head. Parametric analysis compares the influence of different parameter values on the load-settlement curve on the pile head.