Influences of compaction effect on bearing capacity of laterally loaded piles in sand

Displacement piles are widely adopted in practical engineering. Some of the piles are used to resist the horizontal cyclic loadings induced by wind or wave. Based on the model tests conducted on open-end and closed-end piles, the effects of the initial relative density of sand, pile diameter and length-diameter ratio on the static and cyclic bearing capacities are investigated. The results indicate that the bearing capacity of the open-end piles is generally weaker than that of closed-end piles in both loose and medium-dense sands. Difference in the pile diameter, length-diameter ratio, and relative density of sand will result into significant difference in the bearing capacities of the open-end and closed-end piles. Under cyclic loading, the bearing capacity of the piles in loose sand always increases with the number of loading cycles. In the medium dense sand, the increment in the loading capacity as caused by the cyclic loading is smaller than that in the loose sand, and becomes negative in some cases.