Centrifuge Testing of Fixed-Head Laterally Loaded Battered and Plumb Pile Groups in Sand
McVay MC, Shang Te-I, Casper R
(Received 0 0; accepted 0 0)

Abstract
Centrifuge tests were conducted on driven in-flight fixed-head plumb and battered 3 × 3 pile groups at three-diameter (3D) and five-diameter (5D) spacings. The piles simulated 430-mm-diameter by 13-m-long pipe piles founded in medium loose (D_r = 33%) and medium dense (D_r = 55%) sands. The battered groups were in an A frame arrangement, i.e., each pile in a given row battered the same. Results of the tests showed that fixed-head plumb groups have a 30 to 55% higher lateral resistance than free-headed piles depending on soil density and pile spacing. For the battered 3D-spaced group, the lateral resistance was greater by 20 to 50% than the fixed-head plumb response in the medium dense sand; however, in the medium loose sand, the battered and plumb fixed-head group response was very similar. The latter is attributed to the limited axial tension capacity of the piles in the medium loose sand (D_r = 33%). Increasing the dead load on a battered group to 45% of its axial capacity resulted in a 30% increase in the group's lateral resistance. The lateral resistance of the 5D-spaced battered groups were in all cases greater than their 3D counterparts.

Keywords:
battered pile groups, centrifuge testing, fixed head pile groups, lateral loaded groups, pile groups, pile groups in sand

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Author McVay MC, Shang Te-I, Casper R Title Centrifuge Testing of Fixed-Head Laterally Loaded Battered and Plumb Pile Groups in Sand Symposium , Committee on