Laboratory modeling of laterally loaded pile groups in sand

Extensive laboratory model pile tests were performed to investigate pile group interaction effects. Six types of configurations of pile group with 3 to 8-diameter pile spacing were embedded into loose to medium dense sands. The pile group deflected over two times more than the single pile under the same average load. Group effects significantly reduced load carrying capacity for all rows relative to single pile behavior. The p-y multiplier factor depends upon the configuration of pile group and the pile spacing. The p-multiplier factor for varying the configuration of the pile groups was from 0.2 to 0.5 at 3-diameter spacing in medium dense sand. It was also found that the p-multiplier factor for Pile Spacing Ratio (PSR), greater than unity is higher than that for PSR smaller than unity. Good agreement between the measured and computed pile group responses was obtained from the p-multiplier approach. Single pile tests were also performed for comparison purposes.