Sensitivity Analysis of Foundation Soil Physical–Mechanical Properties on Pile Foundation Stability

Abstract

The stability of pile foundation is influenced by many interacting factors, particularly geological conditions. Quantifying the impact of physical and mechanical soil properties on pile stability is critical for achieving optimal design outcomes. This study investigates the sensitivity of key soil parameters and validates the findings with a case study of a university building in Kashkar, Xinjiang, China. A three-dimensional pile–soil model was developed in Abaqus and calibrated with static load test data. Variable control and orthogonal experiments were conducted to examine settlement patterns and ultimate bearing capacity under varying soil parameters. Settlement and ultimate bearing capacity were adopted as stability indicators. Sensitivity analysis was performed through multi-factor variance analysis, sensitivity analysis of factors (SAF), and variance inflation factor (VIF) collinearity analysis. The results show that the most influential parameters are the friction coefficient of the soil above the pile tip, the Poisson’s ratio of the pile-end soil, the Poisson’s ratio of the soil above the pile tip, the friction coefficient of the pile-end soil, and the elastic modulus of the pile-end soil. These findings provide a quantitative basis for optimizing design parameters and improving the efficiency and reliability of pile foundation design in sandy soil regions.