Response of vertical and batter piles under combined lateral and vertical loading conditions in sandy soil

Pile foundation undergoes combination of lateral and vertical loads in various onshore and offshore structures. These loads are generally analyzed individually without considering the effect of combination of loads. The research work that includes experimental as well as numerical modeling on vertical and batter piles under the combined loading condition is rather scarce and inconclusive. The present research focused on understanding the behavior of vertical and batter piles under the effect of both lateral and vertical loads individually and in combination as well. Keeping in view all the conditions, piles, and testing chamber were modeled. The piles having varying slenderness ratios and different batter angles were considered for the study. Further, the model test results were simulated using the software PLAXIS-3D. The results show that the vertical load capacity is higher than the lateral load capacity of the pile. Under combined loading conditions where lateral loads are predominant, the load carrying capacity of the pile was found lesser than the individual vertical loading condition. However, it increases with the increase of vertical loads which tends to make the sand dense surrounding the pile. Vertical and batter piles under each loading condition shows unique trend of bending moment. The simulation of the numerical test results and model test results display a good match.