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The Elastic Analysis of

Compressible Piles and Pile Groups
Article in Gotechnique January 1971
Impact Factor: 1.87 DOI: 10.1680/geot.1971.21.1.43

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BUTTERFIELD, R. & BANERJEE, P.

K. (1971). Gdotechnique
21, No. 1,43-60.

THE ELASTIC ANALYSIS OF COMPRESSIBLE PILES AND

PILE GROUPS
R. BUTTERFIELD*

and P. K. BANERJEEt

SYNOPSIS
The response of rigid and compressible single piles
embedded in a homogeneous isotropic linear elastic
medium has been obtained by a rigorous analysis
based on Mindlins solutions for a point load in the
interior of an ideal elastic medium.
The analytical method is described and is extended
to analyse axially loaded rigid and compressible pile
groups with floating caps spaced in an arbitrary
manner.
The results are presented as a series of graphs
showing the effect of variation of the ratios of pile
length to a diameter, the ratio of the modulus of
elasticity of the pile to the shear modulus of the
medium E,/G and the effect of base enlargement on
the load displacement
characteristics
of single
axially loaded piles.
Graphs are also presented showing the effect of
length to diameter ratio, pile spacing and E,/G ratio
on the response of a range of typical pile groups.
The results are compared with published data from
more approximate solutions and laboratory and fullscale pile loading tests,
The latter indicate that the
analyses may usefully calculate group settlement
ratios and allow the extrapolation of load displacement data on single piles to predict group behaviour.

La reponse de pieux simples, rigides et compressibles noyes dans la masse dun milieu tlastique
lineaire isotrope a &.e obtenue par une analyse rigoureuse basee sur les solutions de Mindlin pour charge
ponctuelle & linterieur dun milieu elastique ideal.
La methode analytique est Btendue a lanalyse de
groupes de pieux rigides et compressibles, charges
axialement avec casques flottants. espaces dune
manibre arbitraire.
Les resultats sont represent& par une gamme de
graphiques montrant leffet de la variation des rapports entre la longueur du pieu avec le diametre, le
rapport de module delasticite du pieu avec le module
de cisaillement du milieu E,/G et leffet de lagrandissement de la base sur les caracteristiques
de
deplacement de pieux simples, charges axialement.
Des graphiques montrent egalement Ieffet du
rapport longueur a diametre et du rapport E,/G et
de lespacement des pieux, sur la reponse dune
gamme de groupes de pieux typiques.
Les resultats sont compares avec les informations
publiees dapres des solutions plus approximatives
et de laboratoire et des essais en vraie grandeur de
charge de pieux.
Ces derniers indiquent que lanalyse peut utilement permettre le calcul du rapport de tassement de
groupe et faciliter lextrapolation
des donnees de
deplacement de charge pour des pieux simples pour
predire le comportement des groupes.

INTRODUCTION

The reliable prediction of foundation displacements at working load remains a major civil
engineering problem. However, the results of a long series of experiments at the Waterways
Experimental Station, summarized by Turnbull et al. (1961), showed for saturated clays close
agreement between experimentally determined values of the stresses under surface loads and
the values computed from elastic solutions based on the analysis given by Boussinesq (1885).
There is therefore some justification for attempting to obtain useful predictions of load displacement characteristics of piles and pile groups based on elastic theory.
Several investigators (DAppolonia and Romualdi, 1963; Mattes and Poulos, 1969; Nair,
1963; Poulos and Davis, 1966; Poulos, 1968; Saffery and Tate, 1961; Salas and Belzunce,
1965; Seed and Reese, 1955; Sowers et al., 1961) outlined approximate methods based on elastic
theory for analysing different aspects of the load displacement behaviour of single axially
loaded piles and piers. Poulos and Davis (1968) and Mattes and Poulos (1969) published more
* Senior Lecturer, Civil Engineering Department, University of Southampton.
t Senior Scientific Officer, Highways Engineering Computer Branch, Ministry of Transport.

43

44

R.

BUTTERFIELD

AND

P.

K.

BANERJEE

NOTATION

A,
a
b
il
&h
J%
G
GI, G,

fi(4
_f1m
fi(4
L
N
12,fn

P, P,
PZ
P,
RCl

R,

cross-sectional area of pile shaft

radius of pile shaft
radius of pile base
depth of point load
diameter of base
diameter of shaft
modulus
of
Youngs
pile
material
shear modulus of half space
material
weighting functions over shaft
and base respectively
prescribed vertical shaft displacement
prescribed vertical base displacement
prescribed radial shaft displacement
length of pile
number of piles in a group
number of intervals of integration over the shaft and over
the base respectively
total load on pile and end load
respectively
load carried by shaft at any
depth z below the surface
nth iterated value of P, for
compressible pile
ratio of displacement of underreamed pile to that of plain
pile
displacement of a pile group
under load N x P to that of a
single pile under load P

s
W, 2)
W(r, 4
(WA*
(US),
CwlJi

w, r~
(w;)
xyJ
awl@, 4,
6U,(r, 4

spacing of piles in a group

radial displacement at point
(7, z) due to a loaded pile
vertical displacement at point
(y94
vertical displacements of shaft
radial displacements of shaft
vertical displacements of base
elements
of discrete
pile
medium interface
vertical and radial displacement
of any shaft element
iterated values of {W,}
local
Cartesian
co-ordinate
system
elementary vertical and radial
displacements at point (r, 2)
elementary quantities in e, .z
and E directions respectively
global cylindrical co-ordinate
system
local cylindrical
co-ordinate
system
fictitious vertical shaft, radial
shaft and vertical resultant
base intensities respectively
&, & for 9th pile
WG
Poissons ratio of elastic half
space
Poissons ratio of pile material
vertical stress, shear stress and
radial stress respectively

accurate analyses which included the effects of the pile length to diameter ratios, base enlargeTheir analysis was based on the
ment, thickness of the elastic layer, and pile compressibility.
following assumptions, in addition to those of ideal elasticity.
(a) The pile shaft load was replaced by uniform vertical shear stress on the surface of

each of a suitable number of small cylindrical pile elements.

(b) The pile base was assumed to be a smooth disc, not necessarily of the same diameter

as the shaft, across which the base load was uniformly distributed.
(c) The disturbance of the continuity of the elastic half space due to the presence of the
piles was ignored.
The analysis presented in this Paper is capable of eliminating assumptions (b) and (c) and
shows that assumption (b) has asignificant effect on the response of underreamed piles and very

ELASTIC

ANALYSIS

OF COMPRESSIBLE

PILES

AND

PILE

GROUPS

45

short plain piles and that appreciable errors occur in the calculated values of radial stress components in the immediate vicinity of a loaded pile due to assumption (c).
Poulos (1968) has also presented an approximate general study of axially loaded groups of
incompressible piles incorporating assumptions (u)-(c).
It is shown that pile compressibility is important in group behaviour and that the load distribution between the piles can be markedly different from that predicted by incompressible
pile analyses.
The analysis deals with arbitrarily spaced compressible piles under a rigid pile cap where the
cap is not in contact with the ground surface, although the cap group interaction problem has
been studied (Banerjee, 1970) and will be dealt with (Butterfield and Banerjee, 1971a).
Whereas the elastic analyses incorporate gross idealizations of any field situation and introduce parameters which are inevitably imprecise, comparisons with published experimental
results have been made which show encouraging agreement in situations where either data
from single plain pile load tests are to be extrapolated to estimate the working load response of
single underreamed piles and groups of piles or group settlement ratios are to be estimated.
An attempt has also been made to present the theoretical analysis in an elegant and general
way since it offers a novel, powerful and versatile means of attacking many associated problems of interest to the foundation engineer which are less tractable by other methods.
METHOD

OF ANALYSIS

Figure 1 (a) represents an outline of a cylindrical pile of length L and radius a inscribed in a
homogeneous isotropic elastic half space defined by G and II. The essence of the analysis is to
find a fictitious stress system + which, when applied to the boundaries of the figure inscribed
in the half space, will produce displacements of its boundaries which are identical to the specified boundary conditions of a real pile system of the same geometry and also satisfy identically
the stress boundary conditions on the free surface of the half space. The stresses 4 are
fictitious in that they are to be applied to the boundaries of the fictitious half space figure and
are not necessarily therefore the actual stresses acting on the real pile surfaces (Banerjee,
1970). However, once the + values have been determined it is a simple matter to calculate the
0

6
,

t;
Elemental area =
/aSBSc

(a)

Fig.

Integration
1.
(1936) equations
4 and (c) 4%

of Mindlins
for (a) &
(b)

R.

46

BUTTERFIELD

AND

P.

K.

BANERJEE

actual stresses and displacements they produce anywhere in the half space, including those on
the real pile boundaries.
Let 4, be a vertical fictitious stress acting in the half space along the pile shaft boundary
at a depth c below the surface, the vertical and radial displacements SW,(r, z) and 6U,(r, z)
respectiveIy at a point B(r, z) due to & acting on the surface of an eIementa1 cylinder of height
6~. The radius a can be obtained by integrating Mindlins point load solution (Mindlin, 1936)
for (c$,&&) over the surface of the elemental cylinder. The results can be expressed as
SW,(Y, z) =

s2n

a&(KW,(c,

a&{KU,(c,

iw,(Y, z) =

6c}d6

yl, z) Sc} do

rl, z)

0
2A

s 0

where KW,(c, yl, z) and KU,(c, I~, z) derived from Mindlins soIution are given in the Appendix.
Mindlins solution is used here in the kernels of the integrals since it automatically satisfies the
stress boundary conditions on the unloaded surface of the half space.
The total vertical and radial displacements at B(r, z) due to all such elemental shaft intensities are then obtained by integration as

ss
L

W,(y, z) =

U,(y, z) =

2n

~,aKW,(c,

rl, z) de dc

$,aKU,(c,

rl, z) dBdc

0 0
L 2n

ss0 0

Similarly taking & to be the fictitious vertical stress over the base area of the pile acting at a
point O(E, 0, L) (Fig. l(b)) the vertical and radial displacements at B(Y, z) due to &, can be
expressed by analogy with equations (3) and (4) as
c$~EKW,(L, r2, z) de de
Y,, z)

,eKU,(L,

dtda

where KW,(L, y2, z) and KU,(L, r2, z) can be obtained by substituting C=L and rz=
ly2+ E2- zye cos e,]u2 for rl in equations (26) and (27) respectively in the Appendix.
Thus the total vertical and radial displacements at a point B(Y, z) due to both vertical
shaft and base intensities are given by
W(Y, z) =/:s;
L

~1, z) de dc+/;/;

[&dW,(c>

yl,

2n

U(Y, z) =

ss0

[+,aKW,(c,

-41
de dc+

[&KW,(L>
b

ss0

y2, z)] de de

(7)

(8)

21~

[$,EKU,(L,
r2,Z)l

de

de

Equations (7) and (8) can be solved for the following boundary conditions. At B(r, 0), o,=
~,~=0, at B(a, z), O<z<L,
W(a, z)=.fi( z ) and at B(Y, L), 0 <Y <<6, W(Y, L) =fi(L) = constant for a rigid base. In these conditionsf,(z) is the prescribed vertical displacement of the
However, the solution does not take into
shaft face andf,(L) is the value of fi(z) at z=L.
account the lateral restraint of the pile-soil interface, i.e. the effect of the pile reinforcement
on the half space. In order to satisfy this additional requirement (that U(a, z) =fi(z),
0 <z < L) a fictitious radial stress intensity & is applied over the pile shaft. This is a mathematical device and is not the interface radial stress due to the loaded pile. The vertical and
radial displacements at B(r, z) due to & can be obtained by integrating over the pile shaft

ELASTIC

ANALYSIS

OF COMPRESSIBLE

PILES

AND

PILE

GROUPS

47

surface, Mindlins (1936) solution for an embedded point load acting parallel to the surface of
an elastic half space. The displacements (Fig. l(c)) are given by
L
W&a

2)

U,(r, z)

2n

Y, z) dBdc

a#,KW,(c,

ss0 0

=ILj2
a&KU&,
0 0

r, z) dB dc

(9)
(10)

where KW,(c, r, z) and KU,(c, Y, z) are given in the Appendix.

Thus from equations (7)-(10) the total vertical and radial displacements at a point B(r, z)
due to a pile loaded with an axial load are

ss
L

W(r,

2)

2n

0 0

Y, z) d0 dc+

q$aKW,(c,

2n

0 0

ss

r, z) d&Jdc

&aKW,(c,

ss
b

2n

r2, z) d6 de

+,eKW,(L,

0 0

L
up,

2)

2n

L
+,aKU,(c,

ss0 0

~1,

z)

de dc+

2R

0 0

ss

&aKU,(c,

(11)

Y, z) de dc

278

. . * (12)
~,EKU,(L, Y,, .z) dB de
ss0 0
Equations (11) and (12) can be used to calculate the displacement components at any point
within the half space if the distributions of 4,, & and $b are known from prescribed displacement boundary conditions at the pile soil interface.
A simple numerical treatment of integral equations similar to equations (11) and (12) has
been suggested (Butterfield and Banerjee, 1971b) in which the pile shaft is divided into n. equal
segments each of thickness G, and the base into m rings each of annular radius G,. The vertical and radial displacements of any element i on the shaft can then be written in discrete
form (see the Appendix) as
+

(Bs)* = j$I (&),(Kss)~+

(u.Ji = jil
where i=l,

2, 3,. . ., n.
twb)i

(A)j(KSu)i,+

$,

(&),(KRS)ij+

j21 (+r)AKRU)i,+

jJ
j$l

(+b),tKBs)iI

(AJAKBU)t~

(13)

(14)

Similarly the vertical base displacements (wb), are given by

jjl

(h),(KSf%j+

jgl

(4r)AKW~j+

j$,

($b)AKBB)i,

(15)

wherei=
1,2,3 ,..., m.
The integrals involved in the various K factors (see the Appendix) can in general be
evaluated by simple quadrature formula, but a fine mesh subdivision of the field is required at
the singularities in order to obtain reliable values of the diagonal elements in the Kij matrices
(these singularities occur when i = j and the load points and field points coincide).
SOLUTION

FOR

SINGLE

PILE

&I
II

Equations (13), (14) and (15) can be written in matrix notation a1s
{WJ
VJJ
or

iwb>

[KSS]

[KRS]

[KBS]

[KSU]

[KRU]

[KBU]

[KSB]

[KM?]

[KBB]

{W} = [K](Q)

{M

{4b)

(17)

48

R.

BUTTERFIELD

AND

P.

K.

BANERJEE

which provides a formal solution for {@I

(@} = [KJ-l(w)

(18)

where {CD}are the required shaft (vertical and radial) and base stress intensities and {W> are
the given shaft (vertical and radial) and base displacements. [K] will always be non-singular
and diagonally dominant for the class of problems being discussed (Banerjee, 1970).

For a rigid pile the vertical displacements of all points on the shaft and the base are the
same and are equal to the displacement of the head of the pile. The radial displacement at
the shaft face is zero. Thus if unit displacement is applied to the head of the pile, from
equation (18)
{&Z}
If radial displacement compatibility

= Kl-l{

i}

(194

is ignored

{ii}

[KJ-{ii:>

. . . . . .

Wb)

where

The results obtained from these equations show that

(a) the solution of equations (19a) and (19b) produces values of {&} and {&,} which agree

within 3% for piles with length to diameter ratios greater than 10

(b) for pile geometries commonly encountered in practice the consideration of radial
compatibility has a negligible effect on the determination vertical displacement for
a given load
(c) if accurate evaluation of the stresses arising in the immediate vicinity of the pile is
necessary, radial displacement compatibility must be included (Butterfield and
Banerjee, 1970).
When the distributions of c$~and &, over the pile shaft and base respectively have been
obtained for a prescribed displacement of the head of the pile, the load P, carried by the pile
at any depth below the surface is found from

P,=

Z?ia$$dc+
s L

b27iE#bde
s 0

(20)

The total load P required to produce unit displacement of the head of a rigid pile is given by
substituting z= 0 into equation (20). Also once {CD}have been obtained displacements at any
field point B(r, z) can be calculated directly from equations (11) and (12) when they are restated in discrete form.
Solution fey a colrtpressible pile
The solution from equation (19a) will, if applied to a compressible pile, lead to an underestimation of displacement of the pile head for a given load.
If the pile is assumed to be perfectly bonded to the medium the vertical displacement of a
shaft element at a depth z will differ from that at a depth z+dz by an amount equal to the

ELASTIC

ANALYSIS

OF COMPRESSIBLE

Fig. 2. Compressible pile displacement pattern. W is the vertical

displacement of the pile of diameter D and length L under a
vertical load P

PILES

Fig.

AND

3.

Pile

PILE

group
system

49

GROUPS

co-ordinate

elastic compression of the pile length dz (Fig. 2). Since for any pile section the vertical direct
stress is much greater than other stresses, to a good approximation

aw

az=-A,E,
u = -/+&;a

(21)

where A, is the cross-sectional area of the pile shaft, E, is Youngs modulus of the pile material
and pLpis Poissons ratio of the pile material
Equations (21) can be written in finite difference form and used in an iterative scheme for
the solution of (16) as follows
(a) The rigid pile solution (19a) is obtained.
(b) Values of P, are found from equation (20) and substituted into equations (21) as a
first approximation, giving new {Wi} and { Wi} values.
(4 UK>, 0%) and W> are substituted in (16) as an approximation giving new {&}, (c&}
and {c&} values.
(d) A new value PL is obtained for each section of pile and the cycle (b), (c), (a) is
repeated until the value of Pg between two successive iterations differs by an
acceptably small value.
ANALYSIS

OF PILE

GROUPS

The foregoing analysis can be extended directly to deal with general pile groups.
following approximations are introduced to reduce the order of the matrices involved.

The

(a) Since the introduction of {&} produces negligible effect on the total load required for a
given settlement, radial displacement compatibility is ignored.
(b) In general, the surface intensities {&} and {&} will be functions of (c, 0) and (E, ~9)
respectively. Allowing for this greatly increases the number of linear equations
involved in the problem and therefore {+J and {&,} are approximated by equivalent
rotationally symmetric distributions which are therefore independent of 0. It is
thought that these approximations will introduce negligible errors in the calculated displacements and loads for pile spacings commonly encountered in
practice.
An integral representation of the vertical displacement of a point B(y, 0, z) due to a number

R. BUTTERFIELD

50

AND P. K. BANERJEE

N of arbitrarily spaced piles can be written, by analogy with equation (7), as (Fig. 3)
W(r,

8, z)

= ,zl{

L
so/,

2n
(q$),dW,(c,

~1, 2) de

dc +~,~,

2n
(+b)aEKw2(L,

2* 2) de

de

(22)

>

where

rl = [yp+ a2 - 2r,a cos O,]l/2

Y2 = [$+E 2 - 2TpEcos e,] U2
y, = ~~2+ S; - 2rs, cos (e - e,)]

12

p=1,2,3
,..., N, s, is the distance of the 9th pile from the origin of the global axes (Fig. 3)
and N is the number of piles in the group.
As before equation (22) can be written for discrete subdivision of the pile-medium interfaces as
(ws)iq

2 f?

p=l

j=1

(ds)i~[KSSliipq+

2 2

p=l

j=l

(+b)jp[KBBltjtw

(23)

for the shaft elements and

for the base elements, where [KSS],,,,, [KBS]I,,, and so on are analogous to similar matrices
developed for a single pile (see the Appendix). The computational effect can often be decreased
by using the symmetry of a group, since for piles carrying identical loads the order of the matrices
Equations (23) and (24) can be combined and written as
can be reduced proportionately.
Wi, = &pq@jjp
or
{W}=

[K]{@}

. . . . . . . . (25)

which can be solved for both incompressible and compressible pile groups as before.
It is interesting that although [K] will in general be a fully populated matrix its order is
determined only by the number of surface element subdivisions adopted over the pilemedium interfaces.
It is therefore of a much lower order than the matrices generated by
solution methods involving the use of three-dimensional elements throughout the volume of
the system.

LID
0

20

D =

Diamcterofrhafc

W =

Vertical displacement

40

Ml

86

loo

100
of head of pile

1,

Fig. 4. Load displacement curves for compressible piles

R. BUTTERFIELD

52

AND

P. K. BANERJEE

k/PI

x 100

60

[PJPJ
0

20

x IO0

40.

60

80

100

Fig. 7 (above and left). Base load contribution

for compressible underreamed piles

Fig. 8 (below).
(a) Effect of L/D on the interaction between piles, (b) effect of compressibility on interaction between piles

I.0

1.4

I.8

RX

2.2

,,'

31

(a)

2.6

,---/'

I
I
(b)

ELASTIC

ANALYSIS

OF COMPRESSIBLE

PILES

AND

PILE

GROUPS

53

Again, once {@I has been determined the actual displacements occurring at any field point
B(r, 19,z) can be calculated from the discrete form of equation (22).
DISCUSSION

OF RESULTS

In the following Figs 4-7 refer to single compressible plain and underreamed piles and Figs
8 and 9 to groups of plain compressible piles under a rigid floating pile cap. In all cases a
range of 6000 < X 6 co is considered which covers the range of material properties of major
practical interest.
(X= E,/G wh ere G is the shear modulus of the half space material.)
Figure 4 shows the effect of the compressibility ratio X on the load displacement behaviour
of plain piles over a range of LID ratios. The two significant features of the curves are the
negligible effect of h for shorter piles (L/D < 20) and the fact that the results converge to the
rigid surface disc solution as LID approaches zero.
The effect of pile compressibility on the shaft surface shear stress distribution is shown in
Figs 5(a) and 5(b). For the shorter pile (L/D=20, Fig. 5(a)) the effect of h is seen to be
negligible and the stress distribution agrees closely with that obtained by more approximate
analyses (Mattes and Poulos, 1969; Poulos and Davis, 1968). Fig. 5(b) shows similar curves
for a longer pile (L/D = 80) in which the h = 60 000 and h = 00 results are almost identical and
similar to the short pile results. However, the shear stress distribution is radically altered in
the more compressible system (X=6000).
(An accurate assessment of the direct radial stress
(u,) at the pile-medium interface can be made by obtaining the limiting value of the radial
stress at points in the medium as they approach the interface asymptotically, Butterfield and
Banerjee, 1970.)
Comprehensive load displacement curves are presented in Figs 6(a)-6(c) for compressible
underreamed piles over a range of base to shaft diameter ratios (16 D,/D, < 6). Whereas these
curves enable the absolute value of the pile head displacements to be estimated, the relative
influence of (Do/OS) and X can be seen more clearly in Fig. 6(d) where they are related to the
ratio of the settlement of an underreamed pile to that of a plain pile under the same load (R,).
In all cases the effect of h on R, is seen to be very small (6000 < h < co). The stiffening of the
system (i.e. decrease in R,) achieved by enlargement of the base is also very small for the longer
piles (L/D,=SO) and even for the shorter piles (L/D,=20) R, 1s
. only reduced to around 0.8 for
DJD, =4.
The accurate inclusion of a rigid pile base in the analysis has the effect of increasing
R, by about 10% above more approximate predictions and also indicates a small increase in
R, with decreasing h, for shorter piles, reversing the trend of earlier analyses (Mattes and
Poulos, 1969; Poulos and Davis, 1968). This is also reflected in the proportion of the total
load carried by the base PE/P (Figs 7(a)-7(c)) whICh is considerably decreased in the more
rigorous analysis for underreamed piles with DJD, > 24.
Figures 8(a) and 8(b) relate the settlement ratio R, for groups of N compressible plain piles
(N=2, 3, 4) under a rigid cap for LID ratios of 20 and 40 and h values of 6000 and co, where
R, is the ratio of the vertical displacement of the pile cap under a load of N x P to that of a
single pile under a load P. Although R, is strongly influenced by LID the effect of h is
negligibly small for all the shorter piles (L/D < 40).
It is interesting that R, remains at about 1.5 for the longer piles even when the pile spacing
exceeds 32 diameters, and also that the principle of superposition (Poulos, 1968) applies less
well to the results for compressible piles.
Curves showing both the load-displacement behaviour and the individual pile load sharing
of larger groups of compressible piles under a rigid floating cap are presented in Figs 9(a)-9(g).
These results have been obtained without using Pouloss superposition approximation for the
non-symmetrical groups. A standard close spacing of s/D=23 has been adopted throughout
to indicate the likely worst case values of R,.
Variation of h is seen to have a considerable effect on the load sharing between the piles

R.

54

BUTTERFIELD

AND

P.

K.

BANERJEE

aMS/d

clMi3/d

am/d

I
I ,

ELASTIC

ANALYSIS

OF COMPRESSIBLE

PILES

AND

PILE

GROUPS

55

R. BUTTERFIELD

56
Table

AND

P. K. BANERJEE
Table

1. s/D ~2.5, L/D =25, y=0*5

I
Type of group

3x3

4x4

5x5

I__-

Type

0.541

0.460

0.403

h=coT

0672
~~
0.665

0.550

0.456

0.396

x=6OOOt

j 0.620

0500

0.420

0.371

h=co*
NIR,

2x2

of
group
3x3

2.

Pile
number

5x5

pIpave*

plpavet
X=03

X=6000

I.520
0.74
0.050
(tension)

1.510
0.750
0.060
Iltension)

1.380
0.765
0.120

2.020
0.960
0.05

2.020
0.965
0.044

I.840
0.965
0.180

2.580
I.180
1.160
0.010
0.010
0.190

2.520
1.190
1.160
0.048
0.106
0.095

2.300
I.190
1.141
0.145
0.119
0.095

-::
3

3
1

* The results were obtained using a uniform stress

distribution under the pile base and superposition
principle by Poulos (1968).
t The results were obtained using the analysis
outlined in this Paper.

~=0*5

1
4x4

s/D =2*5, L/D=25,

:
4
:

within the groups but a much smaller effect on the overall group response. A reduction in I\
from co to 6000 produces only about 10% reduction in R, (Table l), whereas the individual
pile load sharing pattern changes markedly (Table 2). As X decreases the load carried by the
internal piles in a group increases although the contribution of these piles in 4 x 4 and 5 x 5
groups (Figs 9(f) and 9(g)) is still generally less than 10% of that of the outer piles.

COMPARISON

WITH

EXPERIMENTAL

RESULTS

Figures 10 and 11(a)-1 1(c) are comparisons of the previous analytical results with published
test data from model and full-scale pile tests.
The upper curve in Fig. 10 which relates LID to the percentage of load taken by the base
for plain piles (D,JDs= l), calculated for G=4000 lbf/sq. in. and ~=0*45, is a reasonable fit to
the results of Whitaker and Cooke (1966) and a rather similar test reported by Sowers et al.
(1961), both on full-scale piles. Measurements from full-scale underreamedpile tests (Whitaker
and Cooke, 1966) are also plotted and the theoretical curve, for Db/Ds = 2 and the elastic parameters given, is now an acceptable prediction of these results. The analysis has therefore
extrapolated the plain pile test results successfully to predict the response of the underreamed
piles. The curved marked slip in this Fig. 10 refers to an extension of the analysis to include
incremental slip at the pile-soil interface (Banerjee, 1970).
Figures 1I(a) and 11(b) are comparisons of calculated and measured settlement ratios for
small-scale model tests on pile groups generally at factors of safety of about 2 on ultimate load.
Unfortunately the lack of published detailed load displacement curves obtained from single
piles concurrently with the group test results, together with the variety of definitions of R, used
by different authors and the considerable scatter of the measured data, makes conclusive comparison of theory and experiment difficult.
However, in Fig. 1l(a) the results of Saffery and Tate (1961) are shown, relating pile
spacing (s/D) to R, for 3 x 3 groups of 2 in. dia. piles in remoulded London Clay, and compared
with calculated curves. Agreement with the lower curve (H/L = 18) is quite good. H is the
total thickness of the compressible layer above the rigid base of the bin and H/L N 1.8 is the
experimental value. Comparison with the H/L = co curve emphasizes the considerable effect
of bin depth on R, in model tests. (Th e inclusion of H/L in previous analyses is straightforward, Banerjee, 1970.)

Fig. 11 (right).
Comparison with test results on 3 x 3
pile groups: (a) and (b) settlement ratios, (c) load
sharing between piles

Fig. 10. Comparison between calculated and measured end loads on plain and underreamed piles

Load taken by the bare:%

1
1

E
E
i
= 4

.$I

58

R.

BUTTERFIELD

AND

P.

K.

BANERJEE

Figure 11(b) is a similar comparison with model tests by Whitaker (1957, 1960) on 3 x 3
groups of & in. dia. piles also in remoulded London Clay. Again when H/L is taken into
account reasonable agreement with the theoretical
curves is obtained, although Whitaker
defines R, as the ratio of the settlement of the pile group to the settlement of a single pile at
half the ultimate load of each.
A more stringent test of the theoretical model is to compare the calculated and measured
load distributions
between individual piles in the group and this has been done in Fig. 11 (c) for
the 3 x 3 pile group tests of Whitaker (1957) and Sowers et al. (1961). Once more the patterns
of calculated and measured loads are similar although the general trend is for the load to be
more evenly distributed
between the piles than the elastic analysis predicts with h= co.
Points are also shown indicating
how a more even load distribution
is produced when h is
reduced to 6000. Poulos (1968) has made comparisons similar to those shown in Figs ll(a)1 I (c) using his less rigorous analysis with h = co and he arrived at essentially identical conclusions.
CONCLUSIONS

A rigorous elastic analysis of bonded compressible plain and underreamed

piles and compressible piles in general groups under a rigid floating cap has been presented in which the
truly rigid pile base and radial deformation
compatibility
conditions can be included.
The results of the refined analysis of this Paper have been compared with analyses by
Poulos (1968) in which at least the final two conditions were relaxed.
Overall load-displacement

behaviour

For single plain piles the more rigorous results differ from those of Poulos by less than 5%
whenever LID 2 5.
For single underreamed
piles with D,/D,-3,
this analysis predicts a reduction in system
stiffness relative to that given by Poulos of 5-25% as LID is varied between 20 and 5.
For the groups of plain piles the value of R, is essentially the same in this Paper as that
given by Poulos and the effect of h (6000 < h < co) is negligible.
Local load distribution within and around the piles

For single piles and particularly

underreamed
piles the full analysis in this Paper is necessary if accurate values of direct stresses are to be obtained.
If only the shaft and base load division is required then this analysis with the relaxation
of the radial compatibility
requirement
is adequate.
These remarks also apply to the pile group analyses where additionally
the load sharing
between individual piles in the group is strongly influenced by h, the loads being more evenly
distributed
between compressible piles in a group.
Comparisons with published experimental
data suggest that the elastic analyses may be
applicable to the extrapolation
of single pile test data to predict the response at working loads
of underreamed
piles and pile groups and also to the prediction of group settlement ratios (RJ.
APPENDIX
It can be shown directly from Mindlins

KW,(c,

v, 2) =

R2

(3-44r)+8(1-p)Z-(3-4p)
(z-c)
r+
where

(1936) equations that

R?

I (z-c)~ I

RZ

(3-4~)(~+~)~--2~~+6~~(~+~)~

(3-4$-c)_4(1-p)(l-2~)
----+Rjl
R,(R,+z+c)
2

17, = [Y:+(z-c)~]~~
R, = [Y?+(z+c)~]~~
II = [r2+ a2-22ra cos S,]lZ

6c++c)

cosa

P-3

G1
.

(27)

ELASTIC

ANALYSIS

OF COMPRESSIBLE

PILES

AND

PILE

GROUPS

Also
(3-44r)(z-c)

6cz(z+c)+4(1-_c~)(1-2~)

59

1 - (28)

.....(29)
where

RI = [xa+ya+(z-c)a]la
R, = [xa+y2+
x = rcos

(z+c)~]~

&-a

y = --rsin&
Integrals for the various K matrices are as follows.
[KSS],,

= 2s;;;1,0,s;

aKWl(c,

+,I, 2) de dc

[KRS],,

= 2s;;:

aKW,(c,

y, 3) de dc

[KBS],,

= 2/:,G-,,,,/;

,,,,-1

cKW,(L,

r2, z) de de

[KSUlif= 2~~~~I,GI/~aKUI(c.
rl,4 de dc
[KRUI,,=~:,o;I,GI-;aKG(c,y,2)de&
LKB7-3,= 2f;t1,0,s;cKU,(L +,a2)de de
where

y1 = [2a2--2a

cos ep

?f=Od

Ye = [~2+~2-2~~
y1 =

cos e,y

[2a2-22a2 cos ep

Y=CZ
7, = [9+2--

2ar cos ep

z = (i-&)G,

Also
r1 = [r2+a2-2ar
y1 =

p2+9-

cos eC11'2

2ar cos e,y

r2 = [rr+ 3 - 2rr cos e,y

REFERENCES
BANERJEE, P. I<. (1970).

A contribution to the study of axially loaded pile foundations.

Ph.D. thesis,
University of Southampton.
BOUSSINESQ, J. (1885).
Application of potentials to the stud-v of the equilibrium and mozlements in elastic soils.
Paris : Gauthier-Villars.
BUTTERFIELD, R. & BANERJEE, P. I<. (1970). A note on the problem of a pile reinforced half space. Geotechnique 20, No. 1, 100-103.
BUTTERFIELD, R. & BANERJEE, P. K. (1971a).
The problem of pile group-pile cap interaction.
Gdotechnique
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DAPPOLONIA, E. & ROMUALDI, J. P. (1963).
Load transfer in end bearing steel H-piles.
J. Soil Mech.
Fdns Div. Proc. Am. Sot. civ. Engrs 89, SM2, l-25.
MATTES, N. S. (1969).
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MATTES, N. S. & POULOS, H. G. (1969).
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Proc. Am. Sot. civ. Engrs 95, SMI, 189-207.

MINDLIN, R. D. (1936).
Force at a point in the interior of a semi-infinite solid.
J. Physics 77, &lay, 195.
RAIR, K. (1963).
A theoretical investigation of the load settlement characteristics of a single pile.
Ph.D.
thesis, Ohio State University.

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BANERJEE

POULOS, H. G. (1968).
Analysis of the settlement of pile groups.
GCotechnique 18, No. 4, 449-471.
The settlement behaviour of single axially-loaded incompressible
POULOS, H. G. & DAVIS, E. H. (1968).
piles and piers.
GCotechnique 18, No. 3, 351-371.
Model tests on pile group in a clay soil with particular reference
SAFFERY, M. R. & TATE, A. P. K. (1961).
to the behaviour of the group when it is loaded eccentrically.
Proc. 5th Int. Conf. Soil Mech. 2, 129.
Resolution theorique de la distribution des forces dans les pieux.
SALAS, J. A. J. & BELZUNCE, J. A. (1965).
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SEED, H. B. & REESE, L. C. (1955). The action of soft clay around friction piles. Proc. Am. Sot. civ. Eflgrs
81, Paper 842, December, 28 pp.
SOWERS, G. F., MARTIN, C. B. & WILSON, L. L. (1961).
The bearing capacity of friction pile groups in
homogeneous clay from model studies.
Proc. 5th Int. Conf. Soil Mech. 2, 155.
THERMAN, A. G. (1964).
Computed load capacity and movement of friction and end bearing piles embedded
in uniform and stratified soils. Ph.D. thesis, Carnegie Institute of Technology.
Computed movements of friction and end bearing piles emTHERMAN, A. G. & DAPPOLONIA, A. (1965).
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TURNBULL, W. J., MAXWELL, A. & AHLVIN, R. G. (1961).
Stresses and deflections in homogeneous soil
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WHITAKER, T. & COOKE, R. W. (1966). An investigation of shaft and base resistances of large bored piles
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