A new model for response of laterally loaded piles in soil-rock mixtures

The S-RM is treated as an equivalent homogenous c-φ geomaterial. A hyperbolic p-y curve, which is governed by initial stiffness and ultimate resistance, is used to describe the nonlinear interaction between the S-RM and the pile. The initial stiffness and ultimate resistance are derived based on two-phase composite material theory and empirical equations for friction angle and cohesion of S-RMs, respectively. The predicted responses of laterally loaded piles in S-RMs with different volumetric block proportions are validated with 3D numerical simulations. The influencing factors on the p-y curves are also investigated in this paper.