Preliminary study on soil-pile interaction under multidirectional horizontal loading

A pair of dynamic tests was performed on pile-group foundation models under both uniaxial and biaxial shakings, by use of the biaxial shaking table at the HKUST centrifuge. By comparing the bending moments developed on the piles, it is found that the symmetric property of pile-group foundation response observed under the uniaxial shaking does not exist any more when under the biaxial shaking. The results of numerical tests using PFC^2D provide some explanation to the phenomenon of orthogonal loading effect. At the same time, the limitation of currently used analysis methods for soil-pile interaction is pointed out based on some derivation. The paper presents the preliminary study on soil-pile interaction under multidirectional horizontal loading, so as to provide basis and reference for further study along this line.