Research On Load Supporting Mechanisms Of Pile-Supported Embankments

The pile-supported embankment is a new ground improvement technique over soft soil. This technology is most suitable for situations where soft soil is underlain by a stiff soil layer or bedrock, time is of the essence, and limits on total and differential settlement must be controlled.By analyzing the embankments on the pile cap, the paper builds the fundamental equations which are based on equilibrium state, take into account the condition of continuous stresses, then establish the fundamental differential equation on both the pile and the soil. Finally, these equations are solved on boundary condition by considering the embankments, pile and soil as a whole body. The ratio of the load on pile, the stress-reduction ratio and the ratio of stress between pile and soil are obtained.The formulas are employed to analyze several practical cases, and the results are close to the field test results. It indicated that this method can reflect the real action of the load supporting mechanisms of pile-supported embankments.Influencing regularities with regard to soil arching effect, the ratio of the load on pile, the stress-reduction ratio and the ratio of stress between pile and soil are found by parametric analysis. The influencing factors include center-to-center spacing between piles, pile length, pile diameter, pile cap diameter, embankment height, pile modulus, soil modulus, etc.