Load settlement behavior of large diameter bored piles in over-consolidated clay

Currently large diameter bored piles represent a very Powerful geotechnical foundation element which are suitable for most subsoil conditions. A complete and realistic consideration of the pile soil interaction is necessary to achieve a reliable, efficient and economic construction. A method based on the theory of elasticity was developed to model the behavior of a single pile applying Mindlin's equation for a point load embedded in an elastic half space as the basic integral function in a boundary element solution. This basic solution was then improved to take into account the effect of a finite half space, soil non-homogeneity and non-linear pile response. To examine the validity of this technique the performance of a well monitored axially loaded single pile in overconsolidated clay was analyzed applying the above mentioned method. Additionally a finite element analysis was carried out applying different: constitutive laws. Both the traditional Mohr-Coulomb model and the more enhanced hardening soil model were applied. The above mentioned boundary element method is further developed to consider the pile group action. A comparison between measurements and the results of the numerical analysis will be presented and discussed.