Settlement analysis of piles with rectangular cross sections in multi-layered soils

A method of settlement analysis for axially loaded piles with rectangular cross section embedded in a multi-layered soil medium is presented. The differential equations governing the displacements of the pile–soil system are obtained using variational principles. Closed-form solutions for pile deflection and axial force along the pile shaft are then produced by using the method of initial parameters. The input parameters needed for the analysis are only the pile geometry and the elastic constants of the soil and pile.