Experimental study on the side load transfer of model H piles and sheet piles

Frictional capacities of model H piles and sheet piles under compression loads and pullout loads were determined experimentally in sands. Measured load capacities are compared to predicted capacities based on semi-empirical approaches. The differences between measured and predicted Frictional capacities may be attributed to partial soil plug. Experiments show that, for the same density of soil, load transfer and soil plug is related to the height-to-width ratio of H piles and degree of opening for sheet piles.