Influence of Degree of Saturation on Soil–Pile Interactions for Piles in Expansive Soils
Conventional designs of pile foundations for houses on expansive soils adopt conservative approaches by using swelling pressure measured in oedometer tests to compute pile uplift force. However, in practice, piles are often installed in unsaturated soils, where changes in moisture content influence...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| author | Kuo Chieh Chao A-Nanya Chaladthanyakit Taskid Hossain Asif |
| author_facet | Kuo Chieh Chao A-Nanya Chaladthanyakit Taskid Hossain Asif |
| author_sort | Kuo Chieh Chao |
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| description | Conventional designs of pile foundations for houses on expansive soils adopt conservative approaches by using swelling pressure measured in oedometer tests to compute pile uplift force. However, in practice, piles are often installed in unsaturated soils, where changes in moisture content influence soil behavior. Increasing moisture in expansive soils reduces matric suction, increases soil volume, and induces swelling pressure, all of which affect uplift shear stress. This study investigates the impact of varying degrees of saturation on pile uplift force through a series of laboratory tests on single-pile models. The results of the experimental investigation indicate that uplift force developed along the pile shaft due to the wetting of expansive soils exhibits a hyperbolic trend. A significant portion of the uplift force developed during the early stage of the heaving process. Back-calculation analyses using theoretical equations reveal that the coefficient of uplift, α, and the swelling pressure ratio, β, increases as the initial degree of saturation of soil specimens increases, with a change of less than 10% within the tested range. These findings suggest that constant values of the α and β parameters can be used for pile design in expansive soils, even under unsaturated conditions. Nonetheless, the influence of other factors, such as pile dimensions, pile materials, and soil properties, on the α and β values should be investigated to improve the accuracy of pile design in expansive soil conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1d0f6729b0804284a0d26dc5d858449d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-1d0f6729b0804284a0d26dc5d858449d2025-08-20T03:50:16ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-06-011513710210.3390/app15137102Influence of Degree of Saturation on Soil–Pile Interactions for Piles in Expansive SoilsKuo Chieh Chao0A-Nanya Chaladthanyakit1Taskid Hossain Asif2Department of Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani 12120, ThailandElectricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Nonthaburi 11130, ThailandDepartment of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering. Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Dhaka 1208, BangladeshConventional designs of pile foundations for houses on expansive soils adopt conservative approaches by using swelling pressure measured in oedometer tests to compute pile uplift force. However, in practice, piles are often installed in unsaturated soils, where changes in moisture content influence soil behavior. Increasing moisture in expansive soils reduces matric suction, increases soil volume, and induces swelling pressure, all of which affect uplift shear stress. This study investigates the impact of varying degrees of saturation on pile uplift force through a series of laboratory tests on single-pile models. The results of the experimental investigation indicate that uplift force developed along the pile shaft due to the wetting of expansive soils exhibits a hyperbolic trend. A significant portion of the uplift force developed during the early stage of the heaving process. Back-calculation analyses using theoretical equations reveal that the coefficient of uplift, α, and the swelling pressure ratio, β, increases as the initial degree of saturation of soil specimens increases, with a change of less than 10% within the tested range. These findings suggest that constant values of the α and β parameters can be used for pile design in expansive soils, even under unsaturated conditions. Nonetheless, the influence of other factors, such as pile dimensions, pile materials, and soil properties, on the α and β values should be investigated to improve the accuracy of pile design in expansive soil conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/7102pile foundationsexpansive soilsoil–pile interactionpile uplift forcecoefficient of upliftunsaturated soil |
| spellingShingle | Kuo Chieh Chao A-Nanya Chaladthanyakit Taskid Hossain Asif Influence of Degree of Saturation on Soil–Pile Interactions for Piles in Expansive Soils Applied Sciences pile foundations expansive soil soil–pile interaction pile uplift force coefficient of uplift unsaturated soil |
| title | Influence of Degree of Saturation on Soil–Pile Interactions for Piles in Expansive Soils |
| title_full | Influence of Degree of Saturation on Soil–Pile Interactions for Piles in Expansive Soils |
| title_fullStr | Influence of Degree of Saturation on Soil–Pile Interactions for Piles in Expansive Soils |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of Degree of Saturation on Soil–Pile Interactions for Piles in Expansive Soils |
| title_short | Influence of Degree of Saturation on Soil–Pile Interactions for Piles in Expansive Soils |
| title_sort | influence of degree of saturation on soil pile interactions for piles in expansive soils |
| topic | pile foundations expansive soil soil–pile interaction pile uplift force coefficient of uplift unsaturated soil |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/7102 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kuochiehchao influenceofdegreeofsaturationonsoilpileinteractionsforpilesinexpansivesoils AT ananyachaladthanyakit influenceofdegreeofsaturationonsoilpileinteractionsforpilesinexpansivesoils AT taskidhossainasif influenceofdegreeofsaturationonsoilpileinteractionsforpilesinexpansivesoils |