A method to compute the non-linear behaviour of piles under horizontal loading

The empirical evidence for vertical piles under horizontal or lateral loading is firstly reviewed. The load-deflection relationship is nonlinear from the early stages of loading, while the load-moment relationship is nearly linear. Moving from the available experimental evidence, typical design issues are addressed and a validation of the widespread Broms' method is then carried out. To predict the pile-soil interaction, a computer code, NAPHOL, based on a hybrid BEM approach, is fully presented and discussed. A limiting pressure profile, coupled with a cut-off procedure, allows the method to cope with the nonlinear behaviour. Simple guidelines and equations, to calibrate the model parameters, are derived on the basis of the back-analysis of a significant number of case histories. The program is finally used to throw light on the mechanism of the pile-soil interaction under horizontal loading.