Behaviour of a lateral loaded single pile in the sloping ground based on laboratory experiment and finite element analysis

Abstract This article studied on the behaviour of lateral loadded pile installed in the sloping ground via laboratory experiment and finite element analysis, focusing specifically on the effect of pile diameter and embedment length. The result showed that the lateral load had a strong affect the behaviour of pile. When the applied lateral load increased, the lateral displacement of the pile increased. Notably, the displacement response was relatively insensitive for low load conditions but became markedly for high load conditions. The investigation into pile diameter revealed that lateral displacement generally decreased with increasing diameter. However, this reduction plateaued at larger diameters (e.g., 100 mm and 150 mm), where displacement values remained relatively consistent. Regarding embedment length, the analysis showed that piles with shorter embedment lengths (e.g., 100 mm) were more susceptible to lateral displacement under loading compared to those with greater embedment lengths (150 mm and 200 mm). This suggests that increased embedment enhances pile resistance to lateral forces. It should be emphasized that the present study relied exclusively on numerical modeling to evaluate the effects of pile diameter and embedment length. As such, the findings are theoretical in nature. To validate and extend these insights, further experimental investigations are recommended.