Analytical method of load-transfer of single pile under expansive soil swelling

Abstract

The elastic differential equations of load-transfer of single pile either with applied loads on pile-top or only under the soil swelling were established, respectively, based on the theory of pile-soil interaction and the shear-deformation method. The derivation of analytic solution to load-transfer for single pile in expansive soil could hereby be obtained by means of superposition principle under expansive soils swelling. The comparison of two engineering examples was made to prove the credibility of the suggested method. The analyzed results show that this analytic solution can achieve high precision with few parameters required, indicating its’ simplicity and practicability in engineering application. The employed method can contribute to determining the greatest tension along pile shaft resulting from expansive soils swelling and provide reliable bases for engineering design. The method can be employed to obtain various distributive curves of axial force, settlements and skin friction along the pile shaft with the changes of active depth, vertical movements of the surface and loads of pile-top.

Keywords

expansive soil / pile / shear-deformation method / load transfer