STUDY OF SHADOWING EFFECT IN PILE GROUP UNDER LATERAL LOADING

The behavior of piles within a group varies depending on the position due to the interaction between the neighboring piles. A number of numerical simulations have been conducted to study the behaviors of pile groups.Only a couple of field tests, however, has been carried out because of the large costs incurred[1]. A number of centrifuge tests were conducted to predict the behaviors of pile groups. McVay et al. conducted a serious of lateral load tests on pile groups founded in sands to study theinteraction effects within a group [2]. Recently, the three dimensional (3-D) behavior of soilaround laterally loaded single pile has been studied using physical modeling and PIV method [3]. In this paper the three dimensional (3-D) behavior of soil around laterally loaded pile group wasstudied on a small scale physical model in the laboratory using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)method. The emphasis is on the shadowing effect within pile group. Tests were performed on pile groups with different pile spacing. In each step of loading digital photos were taken fromdeformed pile group and soil around it by two cameras from elevation and plan views simultaneously during tests. Therefore one of the cameras has been placed vertically in front of test box and the other horizontally on top of it. Image processing was undertaken to evaluate the(3-D) behavior of soil in side and on top. Then obtained data were analyzed by Matlab software and GeoPIV program that results from them were investigated and interpreted in this paper.

STUDY OF SHADOWING EFFECT IN PILE GROUP UNDER LATERAL LOADING Keywords:

Lateral Load , Pile Group , Physical Modeling , PIV