Novel Approach for Assessing Pile Base Response

This paper proposes a numerical approach to evaluate the base load–settlement response of cast-in-situ piles in sandy soils. The method assumes that the load response of the pile base can be modeled as the response of a rigid disk on a nonlinear-elastic half space following a hyperbolic stress–strain model captured through a stepwise-linear incremental procedure. Furthermore, empirical expressions for the bearing capacity factor are derived for specific relative settlements, along with an approximate closed-form equation for the estimation of the pile base load–settlement response that can be easily implemented in pile design practice. The performance of the method is validated against results from calibration chamber tests, finite-element analyses, and full-scale pile load tests.