Paper Details

This study explores the behaviour of single vertical piles embedded in layered soils under combined lateral and axial loads, focusing on how deflections and internal force distributions change along the pile and across different diameters. The impact of pile head conditions, free-head versus fixed-head, on lateral performance is examined in detail. The main goal is to quantify the pile’s mechanical response and interaction with stratified soils under realistic boundary conditions and loading scenarios. A series of numerical simulations using LPile software was conducted, incorporating nonlinear p-y, t-z, and q-z curves to model soil-pile interaction accurately. Pile diameters from 0.8m to 2.0 m were tested under combined axial loads up to 1501.90 kN and lateral loads up to 294.12kN. The soil profile included alternating medium-stiff clay and me-dium sand layers to represent typical field conditions. Outputs measured included pile head deflection, bending moments, and shear force distribution along the pile shaft. Results indicated that larger diameters significantly reduced lateral deflections due to increased stiffness. Fixed-head piles exhibited less lateral deflection compared to free-head piles, especially in the top 5 meters. Conversely, bending moments near the head were higher in fixed-head piles, showing a trade-off between deflection control and in-ternal forces. Transition zones between soil layers caused local variations in internal forces, with sharper gradients in mixed profiles. Overall, pile response under combined loads depends heavily on head fixity and diameter.

Sushil Acharya, Prof Dr.N.P Kaushik, “Behaviour of Pile in Layered Soils Under Combined Loading Using Lpile”, International Journal of Advance Engineering and Research Development (IJAERD), Vol. 13, Issue 6, pp. 17-24, June 2026.