Lateral performance of piles evaluated via inclinometer data

The performance of laterally loaded piles is often obtained via in situ lateral pile-load tests. In general, inclinometer measurement is routinely used in these lateral pile-load tests. In an effort to develop an efficient method for interpretation of lateral pile-load test results via measured inclinometer data only, an analytical model is proposed based on the energy conservation of the pile-soil system. A Fourier series function is used to represent the deflection behaviour of the pile-soil system. To obtain the shear, moment and soil reaction along the pile shaft, convergence of the series after differentiation is guaranteed by applying the Cesaro sum technique. Three full-scale lateral pile-load cases are then used to verify the feasibility of the methodology developed, as well as to make comparisons with other methods.