Behaviour of a laterally loaded short-finned pile located on sloping ground

Abstract

Finned piles are considered a novel solution to replace large-diameter piles supporting transmission towers, bridge abutments and so on and are often implemented beneficially for mooring dolphins in offshore areas. This experimental investigation was attempted to examine the lateral response of short-finned piles installed in the proximity of a typical slope of 1V:2H. The 1g model testing of regular and finned piles at different load eccentricities comprised three lateral load tests on horizontal ground and 24 lateral load tests on the slope with the pile at varying distances from the crest. The fin efficiency was observed to decrease with an increase in load eccentricity due to the poorer mobilisation of soil resistance on fins at higher load eccentricities. The finned pile installed at a distance of two pile diameters away from the crest exhibited a net efficiency closer to unity, indicating its ability to improve the receptible subgrade reaction near a loose and steeper sandy slope. An in-depth study of soil resistance developed in the finned pile located at the crest reveals that the fins effectively reduced the soil resistance, specifically in the region above the pivot point.