Pile-soil interaction and settlement effects induced by deep excavations

Abstract

Deep excavations may cause settlement and damage to adjacent buildings, even if they are found on piles. The corresponding pile deformations are determined by axial and lateral effects. This paper describes an analytical model relating axial pile deformation to the vertical soil displacement resulting from the deep excavation and also suggests ways to determine the pile response to lateral displacements. The axial pile-soil interaction is clearly different for end-bearing and friction piles. Common generalizations that end-bearing piles settle the same as the soil settlement at the base level and friction piles with the ground surface settlement present lower and upper bounds, which are only valid for certain idealized cases. The settlement of piles with a large component of shaft friction is determined mainly by the actual load on the pile relative to the pile ultimate capacity. The lateral pile response is governed mainly by the relative stiffness of the pile to the soil. The proposed model was validated with measurements of the North South Line project in Amsterdam.