An Experimental Investigation of Batter Pile Performance Under Seismic Activity

Batter piles are commonly used in geotechnical structures to resist large lateral loads. A comprehensive study has been performed considering different parameters such as batter angles (10 degrees, 20 degrees, and 30 degrees from vertical), soil conditions, base shaking amplitude, and tip conditions to investigate the behavior of batter piles under seismic loading conditions. Two groups of piles, the vertical and batter piles, were tested in dry sand. The seismic response of the foundation system, such as lateral and vertical displacements of the raft foundation model, acceleration time history, and bending moment along the piles' length, were observed. The results indicated sufficient seismic resistance with batter piles compared to vertical ones. Smaller vertical and lateral displacements were reported with increasing batter angles. Also, batter piles provide lower moment values than the corresponding vertical pile's group by about 42%, 43%, and 28% for edge, corner, and center piles, respectively.