International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering

ISSN: 1938-6362 (Print) 1939-7879 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/yjge20

Numerical investigation of the lateral response of

battered pile foundations

Lassaad Hazzar, Mahmoud N. Hussien & Mourad Karray

To cite this article: Lassaad Hazzar, Mahmoud N. Hussien & Mourad Karray (2016): Numerical
investigation of the lateral response of battered pile foundations, International Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering, DOI: 10.1080/19386362.2016.1224030

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19386362.2016.1224030

Published online: 25 Aug 2016.

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Numerical investigation of the lateral response
of battered pile foundations
Lassaad Hazzar1*, Mahmoud N. Hussien1,2 and Mourad Karray1
Three-dimensional finite difference parametric analyses have been carried out to investigate the influence
of vertical loads on the lateral performance of battered piles in both sandy and clayey soils. Different batter
angles and soil stiffness were considered to examine the salient features of this complex soilstructure
interaction problem. Numerical results show that the lateral response of battered piles embedded in
sands is influenced by the value and the direction of the pile inclination, the presence of vertical loads as
well as the soil state of density. When the lateral load acts in the opposite direction of the pile inclination
(negative batter angle), the lateral response of the piles increases substantially with the batter angle as well
as the sand packing. The response of piles at positive batter angles, however, does not appear to vary
considerably with the batter angle or the sand density. The effect of the vertical loads on lateral response
of battered piles in sands is found to be very pronounced. On the other hand, the lateral response of
piles embedded in a clayey soil at negative batter angles increases greatly with the inclination angle and
does not vary with its undrained shear strength. The lateral response of the piles with positive inclination
angles is independent of the batter angle and the soil stiffness. Moreover, the presence of a vertical load
prior to the application of a lateral load to a battered pile does not alter its lateral capacity.
Keywords: Battered piles, Lateral response, Vertical loads, Mohr circle, Finite difference modelling

Introduction inclined piles can be classified depending on their direction of

Piles are used as a common foundation solution for high-rise
buildings, high retaining walls, offshore structures, etc., and
are normally subjected to lateral loads in addition to their own
vertical loads. When the horizontal load per pile exceeds what
can be withstand by a vertical pile, battered piles are used in
conjunction with vertical piles to improve the overall efficiency
of the pilesoil system as they transmit the applied lateral loads
partly in axial compression, rather than through shear and bend-
ing when only vertical piles are used.
Although the obvious superiority of battered piles in resist-
ing lateral loading, they do not receive an adequate geotechnical
research interest compared to vertical piles. The most prom-
inent research on this topic were some laboratory tests per-
formed on model inclined piles to investigate their behaviour
(e.g. Murthy 1965; Alizadeh and Davisson 1970; Meyerhof and
Ranjan 1973; Awad and Ayoub 1976; Ranjan et al. 1980; Hanna
and Afram 1986; Veeresh 1996; Zhang et al. 1999; Zhang et al.
2002). These studies inferred that the values of batter angles
as well as the direction of piles inclination with respect to the
applied lateral loads are the underlying factors that control the
battered piles performance. According to Zhang et al. (2002),
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Sherbrooke
University, Sherbrooke, Canada
2
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Assiut University,
Assiut, Egypt
*Corresponding author, email Lassaed.Hazzar@USherbrooke.ca
inclination with lateral loads to: Pile battered reverse, if the
lateral load acts opposite to the direction of pile inclination
(negative batter angle), and Pile battered forward, if the lat-
eral load acts in the direction of the pile inclination (positive
batter angle). General experimental observations reveal that
pile battered reverse offer more resistance than pile battered
forward. Lu (1981) concluded that the lateral capacity of pile
is zero for a pile battered forward and maximum for a pile
battered reverse, indicating that the upper layer soil support
in a negative batter is enormous. In the same context, Zhang
etal. (1999), based on centrifuge test results and data reported
in the literature, reported that the lateral pile response increases
over plumb piles were 4, 14, 24 and up to 50% in very loose,
loose, medium dense and dense sands, respectively, at negative
angle batter (14). In contrast, the lateral response decreases
over plumb piles were 4, 5, 15 and up to 35%, respectively, at
positive angle batter (14). Zhang et al. (1999) concluded that
the effects of pile batter were significant in medium dense and
dense sands, but minor in very loose and loose sands. The axial
ultimate shaft resistance, however, decreases with an increase
in the pile inclination as reported by Hanna and Afram (1986)
based on an experimental investigation using mode1 piles
pushed in medium dense sand deposits at different inclination
up to 30 with respect to the vertical and tested under vertical
loads. Hanna and Afram (1986) attributed this reduction to the
reduction in the average mobilised angle of friction between

2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Received 21 July 2016; accepted 8 August 2016
DOI 10.1080/19386362.2016.1224030 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering 2016 1
Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations
1 Typical mesh used for the 3D finite differences analyses: pile length (L)=10.0m, pile diameter (B)=1.0m and batter angle
()=25.5)
the pile shaft and sand taking into account the vertical earth
pressure distribution. These results raise an important ques-
tion regarding to how the vertical and the lateral loads applied
to the batter piles interact and how this interaction could be
affected by pile batter angle as well as soil types. Although, this
issue is amply discussed in the literature for both single and
grouped vertical piles (e.g. Karthigeyan et al. 2006; Achmus
and Thieken 2010; Hussien et al. 2012, 2014). It represents
a challenge for geotechnical engineers and practitioners due
to the complexity of the problem and the required resources
and time.
Aiming at filling part of this gap, we study several aspects
of the performance of battered piles under pure lateral loads as
well as a combination of lateral and vertical loads in both sandy
and clayey soils through parametric three-dimensional (3D)
analyses employing the finite differences (FD) code, FLAC3D
(Itasca 2009). The first part of the paper outlines the numerical
model and shows its consistency with available experimental
results.
Finite differences modelling
Mesh details
The behaviour of battered piles under both lateral and
combined loading conditions is investigated through three-
dimensional (3D) analyses employing the finite differences
(FD) program, FLAC3D (Itasca 2009). An advanced computer
system with parallel processor technology was used to min-
imise the computation time. Taking advantage of symmetry,
only half of the actual model was built, thus significantly
reducing the computational effort. Figure 1 shows the general
2 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016
layout and meshing of the FD half model used for the pile
soil system. A floating battered pile with a diameter, B and a
length, L was embedded in a soil stratum with total thickness
corresponding to Lcos+6B, where is the batter angle. The
pilesoil system was meshed with 8-node brick elements,
and the soil elements are fairly small adjacent to the pile and
gradually increase in size as they move away from it. The
soil element size was kept uniform at 0.5m in the vertical
direction. The total mesh size was extended to a horizontal
distance of 16B from the centre of the pile. This distance was
decided after performing a number of initial trial analyses
with several horizontal distances until the displacements and
stresses of the pile did not change significantly with further
increase in the distance. All displacements were restrained at
the bottom of the meshes while those at the vertical external
faces were fully fixed in the x- and y-directions. The sym-
metry face were fixed against displacement normal to the
symmetry plane, but were free to move on the surface of the
plane. The top and bottom of the pile were set as displacement
and rotation free.
Soil model
As only the undrained behaviour of the soil was being consid-
ered, it was deemed sufficient to use a total stress model for the
soil. This model is implemented into FLAC3D as a modification
of the MohrCoulomb failure criterion and requires the fol-
lowing six parameters: mass density (), cohesion (c), friction
angle (), dilatancy angle (), elastic bulk modulus (K) and
elastic shear modulus (G).
 Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations

2 Comparison between the FD predicted results and the test data of Zhang et al. (1999): a loose sand-negative angle, b loose
sand-positive angle, c dense sand-negative angle and d dense sand-positive angle

Pile model interface elements are allowed to separate if tension develops

In this study, the pile is assumed as linear elastic material. Three
parameters are required to define the pile material behaviour.
These parameters are the mass density (p), the elastic bulk
modulus (Kp) and the elastic shear modulus (Gp).
Pilesoil interface
The pilesoil interface was simulated using the basic concept
of the Coulomb friction model, which relates the maximum
allowable shear stress (friction) across an interface to the con-
tact pressure between the contacting bodies. The shear strength
was defined with zero cohesive strength and 2/3 of the friction
angle for sandy soils. In the case of clayey soils, the interfaces
were assumed to have zero frictional strength and the same
cohesive strength of the surrounding soil. Separation is able to
cause a significant increase in displacements and therefore the
across the interface. Once a gap is formed between the pilesoil
interfaces, the shear and normal forces are set to zero (Itasca
2009).
In the current study, involving nonlinear analysis, high
pilesoil interface stiffness is assigned to minimise the con-
tribution of pilesoil interface elements to the accumulated
pile displacements. According to the results of trial numerical
analyses conducted to identify an appropriate stiffness value, a
value of 108Pa/m for both kn and ks was found to be sufficient to
ensure that no additional deflections were attributed to the pile
due to the deformation of the springs representing the interface.
Numerical modelling procedures
The model is first brought to an equilibrium stress state under
gravitational loading before the installation of the pile. In the
next stage of analysis, the model is brought into equilibrium

 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016 3

Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations

3 Comparison between the FD predicted results and the test data of Ranjan et al. (1980) and p-y method (Matlock, 1970): a =30,
b =0 and c =+30

after the installation of the pile. The installation is modelled by velocity at the pile top. The modelling of the pile installation
changing the properties of the pile zones from the properties process is rather complicated, so that pile is assumed to be
representing the soil material to those representing the pile in a stress-free state at the beginning of the analysis, and the
material. It is helpful to know the addresses of the grid points effect of the pile installation is not considered in the current
at the pile, to facilitate both the loading of the pile and the analyses.
monitoring of the pile response.
The ultimate vertical capacity (Vult) of the pile is evalu-
ated by applying a vertical velocity at the pile head while Table 1 Pile dimensions and material properties (CISC 2011)
the pile load and settlement are monitored. Following the
Pile details
recommendation of CGS (2013), the value of Vult is defined
in this study as the vertical load corresponding to the point Outside diameter B (mm) 406.4
Thickness T (mm) 6.3
with maximum curvature on the vertical loadvertical dis- Length L (m) 10.0
placement curve. Type of pile Aluminium
After the model is brought to equilibrium for the vertical Youngs modulus Ep (MPa) 78,000
Mass density p (kg/m3) 6260
loading, the pile top is then displaced laterally for a deflec- Poissons ratio p 0.29
tion of 0.25B. This is accomplished by applying a horizontal

4 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016

 Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations

Table 2 Model parameters of sandy soil used in parametric study

Mass density Shear modulus G Bulk modulus K Undrained shear Angle of friction
Soil type (kg/m3) (MPa) (MPa) strength cu (kPa) ()
Very loose 1600 4.6 10.0 0 26 (Dr=0%)
Loose 1800 7.7 16.7 30 (Dr=40%)
Dense 2000 19.2 41.7 36 (Dr=60%)
Very dense 2200 26.9 58.3 42 (Dr=87%)

Table 3 Model parameters of clayey soil used in parametric study

Mass density Shear modulus G Bulk modulus K Undrained shear Angle of friction
Clay type (kg/m3) (MPa) (MPa) strength cu (kPa) ()
Soft 1600 6.00 58.0 20 0
Medium 9.00 87.0 30
Medium 11.70 113.1 39
Stiff 19.20 185.6 64

4 Lateral loadlateral deflection curves of battered piles: a very loose sand, b loose sand, c dense sand and d very dense sand

 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016 5

Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations

Validation of the proposed numerical

model
Before describing the numerical results on the influence of
batter angle and vertical loads on the lateral response of battered
piles, the applicability of the adopted model was verified by
predicting the pile load test data from two published cases stud-
ies. The first case corresponds to centrifuge tests on battered
piles embedded in sandy soils while the second corresponds
to laboratory tests on a model pile embedded in clayey soils.

Model pile (Zhang et al. 1999)

5 Influence of pile batter angle on lateral resistance of piles
installed in sandy soils with deferent densities
Lateral load tests on battered piles were conducted in a cen-
trifuge at 45g. These tests simulated prototype square piles
with 0.43-m wide and 13.7-m long founded in loose and dense
sand. Five pile inclinations were modelled: 7 and 14 at neg-
ative pile batter, plumb, and 7 and 14 at positive pile batter.
The lateral load was applied at the pile head. The free length
corresponding to the distance between the point of lateral load
application and the ground surface is 2.14m. The Youngs

6 Analyses of battered pile, with several batter angle , installed in a very dense sand: a Mohr circles of a soil element adjacent
to a Pile battered reverse and at a depth of 2m, b Mohr circles of a soil element adjacent to a Pile battered forward and at a
depth of 2m, c variation of the confining pressure along the pile stress paths of soil elements attached to the pile at different
depths and d stress paths of soil elements attached to the pile at different depths

6 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016


7 Vertical loadvertical displacement of Piles battered
reverse inclined by of 12.5 and installed in sandy soils
with deferent densities
modulus of the model aluminium was 73.1MPa. The soil used
in the study was mixed sand with average particle diameter
of 0.23mm. The sand layer was prepared by dry pluviation
through three rectangular sieves (US standard sieve No. 14)
which were stacked on top of the rectangular sample container.
Two sample densities were prepared for the tests: (1) loose sand
and (2) dense sand. The dry unit weights corresponding to these
relative densities were 14.05 and 14.50kN/m3, respectively.
Originally, the internal friction angles of the sands were 34.5
and 37.1, respectively (Zhang et al. 1999). The comparisons
between the FD predictions and the reported data, correspond-
ing to battered piles in the loose and dense sands, are shown
in Fig. 2. It should be noted that the combination of loads
and pile rigidities adopted in the previous study (Zhang et al.
1999) does not allow the piles to be deformed beyond their
elastic limits as it is shown in Fig. 2. The 3D numerical results
are fully consistent with the experimental results obtained by
Zhang et al. (1999).
Model pile (Ranjan et al. 1980)
A model aluminium pile of 9.5mm outside diameter and
1.0-mm wall thickness, embedded 360mm in soft clay
(cu=15.2kPa) was tested by Ranjan et al. (1980). The labora-
tory test was performed on a single pile under a lateral load and
batter angles of 30, 0 and +30. The soil Youngs modulus
considered by Ranjan et al. (1980) (600kPa) was used in the
current analysis. The Poissons ratio of the clayey soil was
selected at 0.49 assuming an undrained response during the
load test. The lateral loadlateral deflection curves obtained
from the current FD analysis are compared with the published
results of Ranjan et al. (1980) and the p-y method (Matlock
1970) as shown in Fig. 3. The experimental results agree more
or less with the p-y method scheme with a difference increases
to almost 11% at maximum lateral deflection level of 1.5mm
for the three batter angles. In spite of this, the numerical results
 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016
Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations
show a fairly good comparison with the experimental results
reported by Ranjan et al. (1980). Hence, it could be concluded
that the numerical scheme adopted in the present investigation
is capable of modelling the behaviour of battered piles under
lateral loads.
Parametric studies
FLAC3D was used to perform a series of analyses on battered
piles embedded in sandy or clayey soils, and subjected to pure
lateral and combined vertical and lateral loads. The primary
objective of these analyses is to study the influence of typical
parameters on the lateral response of battered piles. Due to the
abundant number of parameters involved, this study focuses
on a selected number of parameters. These parameters include
batter angle (), vertical load, relative density of sandy soil, and
undrained shear strength, cu of clayey soil.The piles considered
in this study are made from aluminium alloy tubes with an
open end and hollow circular section. Material properties of
these piles are extracted from Handbook of Steel Construction
(CISC 2011). Table 1 presents the dimensions and the material
proprieties of the used piles. On the other hand, soil proper-
ties considered are grouped in Tables 2 and 3 for sandy and
clayey soils, respectively. For each sand density, the proposed
friction angle and its corresponding relative density (Dr) are
chosen with reference to Skempton (1986) and A.P.I. (1993).
The dilatancy angle is not considered in the current analyses.
The elastic shear modulus, G for cohesive soil was determined
using the undrained shear strength, cu based on the correlation
provided by Poulos and Davis (1980):
G = 300 cu (1)
The response of battered piles was investigated first for sev-
eral batter angles () ranged from 25.5 to 25.5 (these val-
ues correspond to the limit values where the model is stable
in the numerical analysis with respect to the adopted pile
dimensions) under pure lateral load. Then, the analyses are
repeated under the combined action of vertical and lateral
loads, where the value of vertical load is selected to be equal
to the ultimate value (Vult) of the battered pile. The combined
loads are applied in two stages. In the first stage, vertical
loads were applied at pile head and then in the second stage,
lateral loads were applied while the vertical load was kept
constant. The numerical results under pure lateral loads and
combined lateral and vertical loads on battered piles are pre-
sented and discussed separately for sandy and clayey soils in
the following sections.
Numerical modelling results and
discussion
Influence of batter angle in sandy soils
Figure 4(ad) shows the influence of a batter pile angle () on
the lateral response of battered piles installed in sandy soils.
Each plot in Fig. 4 corresponds to a different state of sand
density including very loose, loose, dense and very dense. It
is appeared from Fig. 4 that the lateral response of Piles bat-
tered forward, is not much affected compared to a vertical pile
(=0). In the case of very loose sand, the lateral response is
slightly increased for of 25.5 and not significantly changed
7
Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations
8 Lateral loadlateral deflection curves of Piles battered reverse inclined by of 12.5 and Piles battered forward inclined by
of 12.5 for the analyses with and without vertical loads: a very loose, b loose, c dense and d very dense sands
for of 12.5. In the case of very dense sand, the lateral
response is relatively decreased for of 12.5 and 25.5. For
the Piles battered reverse, the lateral capacities are consid-
erably increased for of 12.5 and 25.5 in all sand state
considered.
The variation of the ratio of lateral capacities of battered
piles relative to vertical pile with the battered pile angle is
portrayed in Fig. 5 for different states of sand densities. The
general trends in Fig. 5 indicate that the lateral capacities of
battered piles depend on both the pile batter angle and the sand
density. For positive batter angle, the dependence of the bat-
tered pile response of the pile batter is minimal especially for
very loose and loose sands. This result confirms that proposed
by Meyerhof and Yalcin (1994). For from 0 to 18, the lateral
response is not significantly changed relative to the correspond-
ing response of vertical pile in very loose and loose sands. For
dense and very dense sands, the lateral response of battered
piles however, decreases by almost 8 and 11%, respectively. For
8 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016
more than 18, the lateral response increases by 6 and 4% in
very loose and loose sands, respectively, and decrease by 5 and
11% in dense and very dense sands, respectively. For negative
batter angle, the dependence of the battered pile response on
the pile batter becomes more significant with increasing sand
relative density. The percentages of the increases in lateral
capacities are 14, 18, 22, and reach 24% for of 12.5. For
of 25.5, the increases are 39, 45, 58 and reach 61% in the
very loose, loose, dense and very dense sands, respectively.
The reason for the considerable increase in the lateral
response for Piles battered reverse and the little change for
Piles battered forward has been examined by plotting the
stress state (Mohr circle) of a soil element adjacent to the pile
and at a depth of 3m. The major (1) and the minor (3) prin-
cipal stresses corresponding to stress state of the soil element
at 0.25B lateral deflection of the battered piles are plotted in
Fig. 6(a) for of 25.5, 12.5and 0 and in Fig. 6(b) for
of 0, 12.5 and 25.5.
 Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations

9 Influence of pile batter angle and vertical loads on the lateral resistance of battered piles in a very loose sand, b loose sand,
c dense sand and d very dense sand

Figure 6(a) illustrates that the negative batter angle
increases the major principle stress relative to that correspond-
ing to the vertical pile under pure lateral load. The increase in
the major stress then increases the mobilised shear strength, fm
of the soil according to:
1 3
fm = sin(90 + ) (2)
2 Considerable increase and decrease in the confining pressure
At the same lateral deflection of 0.25B, Fig. 6(a) confirms that
the soil shear strength is reached for of 25.5. More lateral
deflection of pile is needed for of 12.5 and 0 to reach
failure. On the other hand, when the batter angle decreases
from 0 to 25.5, 3 increases and therefore there will be a
stress increment v0 (difference between 3 corresponding to a
vertical pile and 3 corresponding to a battered pile with nega-
tive batter angle) due to the negative pile inclination. According
to Zhang et al. (2002), the stress increment v0 would cause
considerable increase in the shear strength of the soil element.
For the case of positive batter angle, when the batter angle
increases from 0 to 25.5, 3 slightly decreases and therefore
the v0 would cause a little decrease in the shear strength of
the soil element (Fig. 6(b)). Therefore, the stresses from nega-
tive inclination of pile will cause a little decrease in the lateral
response of the pile.
in the soil in the vicinity of the battered pile inclined, respec-
tively, by 12.5 and 12.5, and installed in very dense sand are
shown in Fig. 6(c). This increase or decrease in the confining
stress of soil, then, increases or decreases the resistance of
soilpile interaction.
Figure 6(d) shows the stress paths of soil elements attached
to the pile installed in very dense sand and at depths of 1.0m
and 2.5m for both the cases of Pile battered reverse inclined
by of 12.5, Pile battered forward inclined by of 12.5

 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016 9

Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations

and vertical pile (=0). For all considered depths, Fig. 6(d)
confirms that the soil element in the case of battered pile
inclined by of 12.5 reached the failure surface earlier than
that in the others cases corresponding of of 0 and 12.5.
Moreover, the soil element located at 1.0m reached the failure
surface before the other soil elements at deeper depths due to
the load transfer from the pile to the adjacent soil.

Influence of vertical loads in sandy soils

10 PIC vs. for several sand densities
The ultimate vertical capacities of battered piles installed in
sandy soils with different states of density are evaluated by
applying vertical velocities at the piles heads and monitoring
the piles loads variation with their settlements as plotted in
Fig. 7 for the case of battered pile inclined by 12.5. The
value of Vult is selected as the vertical load corresponding
to the point with maximum curvature on the vertical load
vertical displacement curve as defined by CGS (2013). Figure 7
indicates that the ultimate bearing capacity of a battered pile
inclined by 12.5 is approximately 66, 77, 123 and 158kN
for very loose, loose, dense and very dense sand, respectively.

11 Analyses of battered pile installed in a very dense sand with and without vertical loads: a Mohr circles of a soil element adjacent
to a battered pile inclined by a =12.5and at a depth of 3m, b Mohr circles of a soil element adjacent to a battered pile
inclined by =12.5 and at a depth of 3m, c stress paths of soil elements attached to the pile inclined by =12.5 at different
depths and d stresses of a soil element adjacent to the pile inclined by =12.5 at a depth of 3m

10 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016

 Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations

12 Lateral loadlateral deflection curves of battered piles in clayey soil for a cu=20kPa, b cu=30kPa, c cu=39kPa and
d cu=64kPa

Figure 8 shows the influence of vertical loads on the lateral PV = v PV = 0

response of Piles battered reverse inclined by of 12.5 and
Piles battered forward inclined by of 12.5 installed in sandy
soils. Each plot in Fig. 8 corresponds to a different state of sand
density including very loose, loose, dense and very dense. In
the presence of vertical loads, the lateral capacities developed
at all deflections are less and more than the corresponding load
developed under pure lateral load in the case of Piles battered
reverse inclined by of 12.5 and Piles battered forward
inclined by of 12.5, respectively.
Figure 9 shows the effects of both batter angle () and ver-
tical load (Vult) on the lateral response of battered piles in sandy
soils. Each plot in Fig. 9 corresponds to different states of sand
density including very loose, loose, dense and very dense. A
quantity termed as the percentage improvement in lateral capac-
ity (PIC) has been defined to measure the influence of vertical
loads on the lateral response of battered piles.
PIC = 100 (3)
PV = 0
where PV=v is the lateral capacity under combined loads and
PV=0 is the lateral capacity under pure lateral load (without
vertical load). The variation of the PIC values with for several
sand densities has been represented in Fig. 10.
It could be observed from Fig. 10 that the PIC values
increase with the increase in batter angle . For negative angle,
PIC is the same for very loose, loose and dense sands. In the
case of very loose sand, PIC reaches 21.4% for of 25.5.
For positive angle, in the case of very dense sand PIC varies
considerably with the sand density and it reaches 45% for
of 25.5.
The comparative results shown in Figs. 9 and 10 confirm
that the presence of vertical loads is as important as the batter

 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016 11

Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations

13 Influence of pile batter angle on the lateral resistance of

battered piles in clayey soil for several cu
angle in the design of battered piles foundation under lateral
loading.
The reason of the decrease in lateral capacity of Piles bat-
tered reverse and the increase in lateral response of Piles
battered forward installed in sandy soil under the action of
vertical load has been examined, firstly, by plotting the stress
state (Mohr circle) of a soil element adjacent to the pile and
at a depth of 3m. The major (1) and the minor (3) principal
stresses corresponding to stress state of the soil element after
0.25B lateral deflection of the Pile battered reverse inclined
by of 12.5 and Pile battered forward inclined by of at deeper depths due to the load transfer from the pile to the
12.5 installed in very dense sand (almost same results for the
others sand densities) are plotted in Fig. 11(a, b), respectively,
for both the cases with (V=Vult) and without (V=0) vertical
loads.
As expected, Fig. 11(a, b) shows that the inclusion of verti-
cal load decreases slightly and increases, respectively, the major
principle stress relative to that corresponds to the case of a pile
under pure lateral load. On the other hand, the corresponding 3
is very slightly increased and increased, respectively.
15 Vertical loadvertical displacement of Piles battered
reverse inclined by of 12.5 and installed in clayey soils
with deferent cu
Figure 11(c) shows the stress paths of soil elements attached
to the Pile battered reverse inclined by of 12.5 installed
in very dense sand and at different depths for both the cases
with (V=Vult) and without (V=0) vertical loads. For all con-
sidered depths, Fig. 11(c) confirms that the soil element in the
case of (V=Vult) reached the failure surface earlier than that
in the case of (V=0). Moreover, the soil element located at
1.0m reached the failure surface before the other soil elements
adjacent soil.
The variation of stresses (major, minor, vertical, horizontal)
of a soil element adjacent to the Pile battered reverse inclined
by of 12.5, installed in very dense sand and at a depth of
3m, with lateral deflections are plotted for both the cases with
(V=Vult) and without (V=0) vertical loads in Fig. 11(d). Figure
11(d) indicates that the inclusion of vertical load increases the
soil stresses compared to the corresponding stresses in the
case of pure lateral loading. Figure 11(d) shows also that the

14 Analyses of battered pile, with several batter angle , installed in a stiff clay (cu=64kPa): a Mohr circles of a soil element
adjacent to a Pile battered reverse and at a depth of 3m and b Mohr circles of a soil element adjacent to a Pile battered
forward and at a depth of 3m

12 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016

 Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations

16 Lateral loadlateral deflection curves of Piles battered reverse inclined by of 12.5 and Piles battered forward inclined by
of 12.5 for the analyses with and without vertical loads in clayey soil for: a cu=20kPa, b cu=30kPa, c cu=39kPa and
d cu=64kPa

orientation of the minor principle stress 3 and the major prin-
ciple stress 1 in both analyses with and without vertical loads
are similar up to the maximum lateral deflection of 100mm.
Influence of batter angle in clayey soils
Figure 12 shows the influence of batter pile angle () on the
lateral response of battered piles installed in clayey soils. Each
plot in Fig. 12 corresponds to an shear strength cu value. The
same trend is observed as that in the case of Piles battered
reverse in sandy soils. The lateral capacities are considerably
increased for of 12.5 and 25.5 in for all cu considered. In
the case of Piles battered forward, the lateral response is not
significantly changed for of 12.5. For of 25.5, the lateral
response is considerably increased in a soft clay (cu=20kPa),
moderately increased in a medium clay (cu=30 and 39kPa),
and moderately slightly increased in a stiff clay (cu=64kPa).
The variation of the ratio of lateral capacities of battered
piles relative to vertical pile with the battered pile angle is por-
trayed in Fig. 13 for different cu. The general trends in Fig. 13
indicate that the lateral response of battered piles depend only
of the pile batter angle and not on the undrained shear strength
cu. For the case of Piles battered forward, the dependence of
the lateral response on the pile batter is minimal especially for
from 0 to 12.5 and for until 18 in a stiff clay (cu=64kPa).
For of 25.5, the maximum increase in lateral response is of
the order of 11% in very soft clay. In the case of Piles battered
reverse, the dependence of the lateral response of the pile bat-
ter is almost the same in all cu. For of 25.5, the maximum
increase in lateral response is of the order of 25% in stiff clay
(cu=64kPa).

 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016 13

Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations
17 Influence of pile batter angle and vertical load on the lateral resistance of battered piles in clayey soil for: a cu=20kPa,
b cu=30kPa, c cu=39kPa and d cu=64kPa
Similar to the case of sandy soil, the mechanism of the
considerable increases in the lateral response of Piles battered
reverse and the little increases in the lateral response of Piles
battered forward installed in clayey soil has been examined
by plotting the stress state (Mohr circle) of a soil element adja-
cent to the battered pile and at a depth of 3m. The ultimate
shear stress ult, corresponding to the failure, is calculated by
the following equation:
1
ult = 1 = cu (4)
2 piles installed in clayey soils with different cu are evaluated by
The 1 and 3 corresponding to stress state of the soil ele-
ment before the application of lateral load on a Pile battered
reverse and a Pile battered forward installed in a stiff clay
(cu=64kPa) are plotted in Fig. 14(a, b), respectively, for sev-
eral . It is clear that the Mohr circles corresponding to vertical
pile (=0) have larger radius than those corresponding to
14 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016
=25.5 and 12.5 in the case of Piles battered reverse
and =12.5 and 25.5 in the case of Piles battered forward.
Thus, the batter angle increases the lateral resistance of soil and
subsequently will lead to development of power resistance to
lateral pile deformation. These observations illustrate well the
results given in Fig. 12.
Influence of vertical loads in clayey soils
Similar to clayey soil cases, the ultimate vertical capacities of
applying vertical velocities at the piles heads and monitoring
the piles loads variation with their settlements as plotted in
Fig.15. Figure 15 shows that Vult of the battered pile inclined
by 12.5 and installed in clayey soil is approximately 84, 144,
185 and 329 kN in soft (cu=20kPa), medium (cu=30kPa),
medium (cu=39kPa) and stiff (cu=64kPa) clays, respectively.
 Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations

Figure 16 shows the influence of vertical loads on the lateral

response of Piles battered reverse inclined by of 12.5
and Piles battered forward inclined by of 12.5 installed
in clayey soils. Each plot in Fig. 16 corresponds to a different
state of clay rigidity including soft with cu of 20kPa, medium
with cu of 30kPa and cu of 39kPa, and stiff with cu of 64kPa.
In the presence of vertical loads, the lateral response developed
at all deflections are less and more than the corresponding load
developed under pure lateral load in the case of Piles battered
reverse inclined by of 12.5 and Piles battered forward
inclined by of 12.5, respectively.
Figure 17 shows the effects of both batter angle () and ver-
tical load (Vult) on the lateral response of battered piles in clayey
soils. Each plot in Fig. 17 corresponds to different rigidity of
clay including soft, medium and stiff. As the case for sandy soil,
Fig. 18 shows the variation of the percentage improvement in
lateral capacity (PIC) according to the batter angle value for
several cu of clay. It could be observed from Fig. 18 that the
PIC values increase with the increase in batter angle . While
the increase in cu doesnt appear to have significant effect. The
18 PIC versus for several cu of clay
maximum PIC reaches 15.1% for of 22.5 in the case of a

19 Analyses of battered pile installed in a rigid clay (cu=64kPa) with and without vertical loads: a Mohr circles of a soil element
adjacent to a battered pile inclined by a =12.5and at a depth of 3m, b Mohr circles of a soil element adjacent to a battered
pile inclined by =12.5 and at a depth of 3m, c stress paths of soil elements attached to the pile inclined by =12.5 at
different depths and d stresses of a soil element adjacent to the pile inclined by =12.5 at a depth of 3m

 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016 15

Hazzar et al. Lateral response of battered pile foundations
medium clay with cu of 39kPa, and 9.4% for of 22.5 in the
case of a stiff clay with cu of 64kPa.
The comparative results shown in Figs. 17 and 18 confirm
that the presence of vertical loads is as important as the batter
angle and the undrained shear strength of clay in the design of
battered piles foundation under lateral loading.
The reason of the decrease in the lateral response of Pile
battered reverse and the increase in the lateral response of
Pile battered forward in clayey soil and under the action of
vertical loads has been also examined through variations of
Mohr circles of a soil element adjacent to the pile and at a depth
of 3m. The 1 and 3 corresponding to stress state of the soil
element after the application of vertical load and before the
application of lateral load on a Pile battered reverse inclined
by of 12.5 and a Pile battered forward inclined by of
12.5 installed in clay are plotted in Fig. 19(a, b), respectively,
for both the cases with (V=Vult) and without (V=0) and for cu
of 64kPa. When Vult is applied to the Pile battered reverse,
the Mohr circle has larger radius than this corresponding to
(V=0). Thus, the presence of the vertical loads decreases the
lateral resistance of soil and subsequently will lead to devel-
opment of lower resistance to lateral pile deformation. For the
case of Pile battered forward, when Vult is applied, the Mohr
circle has smaller radius than this corresponding to (V=0).
Thus, the presence of the vertical load increases the lateral
resistance of soil and subsequently will lead to development of
power resistance to lateral pile deformation. Figure 19(c) shows
the stress paths of soil elements attached to the Pile battered
reverse inclined by of 12.5 in stiff clay (cu=64kPa) at
different depths for both the cases with (V=Vult) and without
(V=0) vertical loads. For all considered depths, the soil ele-
ment in the case of (V=Vult) reached the surface failure earlier
than the soil element in the case of (V=0). The variation of
stresses (major, minor, vertical, horizontal) of a soil element
adjacent to the Pile battered reverse inclined by of 12.5
and installed in stiff clay (cu=64kPa) at a depth of 3m, with
lateral deflections are plotted for both the cases with (V=Vult)
and without (V=0) vertical loads in Fig. 19(d). Figure 19(d)
indicates that the inclusion of vertical load decreases the soil
stresses compared to the corresponding stresses in the case of
pure lateral loading.
Conclusions
The influence of the vertical loads on the behaviour of laterally
loaded battered piles in sandy and clayey soils was investigated
by means of numerical modelling using the computer program
FLAC3D. The verified numerical model was used to perform a
parametric study with different batter angles and soil rigidities
to evaluate the lateral response of battered piles subjected to
lateral as well as combined loading. Based on the results of
this parametric study, the following conclusions can be made.
(1)The lateral response of the battered piles in sandy soils
under lateral loads is influenced by both pile batter
angle, and sand density. For a range of from 0 to
18, the lateral response of Piles battered forward is
not significantly changed relative to the corresponding
capacities of vertical piles in very loose and loose sands.
However, for dense and very dense sands, these lateral
capacities decreases by almost 8 and 11%, respectively.
16 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering2016
For a range of more than 18, the lateral capacities
increases by 6 and 4% in very loose and loose sands,
respectively, and decrease by 5 and 11% in dense and
very dense sands, respectively. In the case of Piles bat-
tered reverse, the lateral capacities are considerably
increased with the increase in both and sand density.
The percentages of these increases reach 39, 45, 58 and
61% for of 25.5 in very loose, loose, dense and very
dense sands, respectively.
(2)The influence of vertical load (corresponding to the
ultimate vertical load) on lateral response of battered
piles in sandy soils is very important. The percentage
improvement in lateral capacity (PIC) increases with
the increase in value. For positive batter angles, PIC
varies considerably with the sand density and reaches
45% for of 25.5 in the case of very dense sand. For
negative angles, PIC is almost the same for very loose,
loose and dense sands and reaches 21.4% for of
25.5 in the case of very loose sand.
(3)In the case of clayey soils, the lateral response of battered
piles depends only on the batter angle and does not vary
with the undrained shear strength cu of clay. For less
12.5, the lateral capacities of Piles battered forward are
not changed for all cu considered. But, when is more
12.5, these lateral capacities are moderately increased.
The maximum increase of these lateral capacities is of
the order of 11% in the case of a very soft clay for
of 25.5. In the case of Piles battered reverse, the lat-
eral capacities are increased and the maximum increase
reaches 25% in the case of a stiff clay for of 25.5.
(4)The effects of vertical load on the lateral response of
battered piles in clayey soils is moderately important.
The PIC values increase with the increase in and the
increase in cu doesnt appear to have significant effect
on the PIC value.
It is fair to mention that the current parametric analyses
dont account for the pile flexibility and installation method (i.e.
driving or drilling of the pile). Consequently, the above conclu-
sions may not be applied for soilpile systems with character-
istics substantially different from those adopted in this study.
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