Improving the Lateral Load Capacity of Small-Diameter Helical Piles
摘要
The versatility of helical piles has led to rapid expansion in their use as a foundation technology. They can be applied in virtually all soil types and are easy and fast to install, making them widely used in new construction and rehabilitating existing structures. Helical piles consist of a small-diameter shaft with attached helices of varying diameters, allowing them to support axial compressive and tensile loads efficiently. However, they have limited capacity to resist lateral loads due to the low contribution of the shaft to the load-bearing capacity. To address this limitation, mechanical devices have been incorporated into the pile to increase its lateral load-bearing capacity without increasing its diameter. Numerical methods allow for the simulation of pile-soil interaction in both frictional and cohesive soils, enabling the evaluation of the influence of the placement of the mechanical device. The use of Abaqus/CAE software facilitates the implementation of a 3D model that considers the combined work of the pile, the soil, and the device that restricts the horizontal displacement of the pile, ultimately increasing its lateral load-bearing capacity.