Full-scale experimental assessment of concrete-filled steel pipe piles subjected to special lateral loads in MSPPP structures

Concrete-filled steel pipe piles have been increasingly used in Mono Steel Pipe Pile Pier (MSPPP) structures because of their high strength, ductility, and construction efficiency. Nevertheless, experimental data regarding their resistance to special lateral loads, particularly those induced by vehicular collision, are still limited. This paper presents a full-scale experimental study on the lateral load-carrying capacity of a concrete-filled steel pipe pile representative of an MSPPP configuration. A full-scale static lateral loading test was performed to investigate the pile response under a monotonically increasing horizontal load applied at the pier level. The loading scheme was intended to simulate an equivalent static condition corresponding to vehicular collision actions specified in TCVN 11823:2017. The experimental results indicate that the tested pile sustained a maximum lateral load of 1,275 kN, which is significantly higher than the equivalent static impact load of 720 kN. The pile showed stable flexural behaviour with substantial lateral deformation capacity, without any evidence of local buckling, material fracture, or abrupt loss of load-carrying capacity. These results demonstrate that full-scale static lateral loading tests constitute a practical and reliable method for verifying the resistance of MSPPP piles subjected to special lateral loads and provide useful experimental evidence for structural design and verification