Design of Laterally Loaded Piles

Abstract

Unlike in the case of the axial load capacity, the lateral load capacity must be determined by considering two different failure mechanisms: (1) structural failure of the pile due to yielding of pile material or shear failure of the confining soil due to yielding and (2) pile becoming dysfunctional because of excessive lateral deflections. Although passive failure of the confining soil is a potential failure mode, such failures occur only at relatively large deflections that generally exceed the tolerable movements.