Generalized Solutions for Axially and Laterally Loaded Piles in Multilayered Soil Deposits with Transfer Matrix Method

To investigate the influence of the axial force and its distribution along the pile shaft on the response of laterally loaded piles, a generalized solution is proposed based on the transfer matrix approach, in which the transfer matrix coefficients for piles in the free, elastic, and plastic zones were analytically obtained through Laplace transformation. This proposed method can handle piles in multilayered soil deposits with any form of p-y curve. The proposed methodology is validated by comparing its predictions with the laboratory model pile test results. A good match between model prediction and the laboratory model pile test results implies that the proposed method can be used to evaluate the pile response under combined loads effectively. Moreover, the axial force distribution along the pile shaft is simplified as a constant, which equals to the vertical load applied at the pile head. Finally, the authors investigated the influence of vertical loads and the pile-embedded ratio on the ultimate lateral bearing capacity of piles under combined loads. The ultimate lateral bearing capacity will decrease significantly as the embedded ratio is reduced and also will decrease with increased vertical load at the pile head. (C) 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.