Behaviours of batter-pile foundations subjected to combination of vertical load and cyclic horizontal loading

In this research, a numerical study through three-dimensional finite element method is carried out to investigate the behaviours of pile foundations including piled raft and pile group subjected to a combination of vertical load and cyclic horizontal loading. Three-pile pile foundation models (with or without batter piles) and six-pile pile foundation models (with or without batter piles), which were used in the experiments by the authors, are considered in the numerical analyses. The foundations work as pile group foundations if the raft base is not in contact with the ground surface, while they are piled rafts if the raft base is in contact with the ground surface. The foundations are modelled as linear elastic. Interface elements are employed to simulate the slippage between the foundations and the soil. In this study, the hypoplastic model, an incrementally non-linear constitutive model, is used to model the ground. The numerical results are compared with the corresponding results from the experiments carried out by the authors. The mechanisms of the resistance and the reduction of displacement and inclination of the piled raft with batter piles were clarified. The piled raft with batter piles is the optimum foundation type to minimize the inclination induced by cyclic horizontal loading.