Evaluation of Horizontal Displacement of Long Piles Subject to Lateral Loading in Sandy Soil

In many structures, the applied lateral loads are comparable with gravity loads. These types of piles which are subject to high lateral load are usually divided into two categories including long and short piles. The general methods to estimate lateral bearing capacity of short and long piles are based on ultimate bearing capacity and allowable horizontal displacement respectively. In the present research, in order to evaluate lateral bearing capacity of piles subjected to horizontal loads, steel pipes which were embedded in sand soil to simulate piles in the laboratory. A wide range of laboratory tests were performed to investigate the behavior of long piles with different lengths and diameters. The test results were compared with three different theories including Modulus of Subgrade Reaction, Elastic and khmax approaches. The experimental results reveal that khmax approach is more suitable for determination of horizontal displacement and also estimation of lateral bearing capacity for long piles.