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Validation of 3D finite element solution for

laterally loaded passive piles

Conference Paper · June 2014

DOI: 10.1201/b17017-117

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Anıl Ekici Nejan Huvaj

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Validation of 3D finite element solution for laterally loaded passive piles
A. Ekici & N. Huvaj
Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

ABSTRACT: Three full scale field experiments reported by De Beer & Wallays (1972) and Esu & D’Elia
(1974) have been modeled using 3D finite element method with PLAXIS 3D. Shear box models were estab-
lished to eliminate the effect of site geometries and slope angles which were not reported in these cases. Lat-
eral movement of an unstable soil and loading of passive piles were generated by prescribed horizontal sur-
face displacements in the upper half of the shear box model. Measured field values of pile deflection, bending
moment and shear force distributions through the pile shafts were obtained with these models. In addition, the
accuracy of the 3D finite element method was compared with the accuracy of the other researchers’ predic-
tions for these field experiments. According to the analyses results in this study, it can be stated that the pro-
posed 3D models can realistically predict the measured field values. Calculation accuracy of the methodology
is verified for uniform and non-uniform horizontal soil movement profiles, different pile rigidity and pile ma-
terials, granular and cohesive soil material alternatives and different drainage conditions.

1 INTRODUCTION have become increasingly popular both in research

Passive piles have become one of the most common
slope stabilization methods in recent years. Estima-
tion of lateral loads caused by the movement of an
unstable soil; resultant stresses and bending mo-
ments developed in the pile shaft have vital im-
portance for an economical and safe design. Several
approaches exist for the estimation of passive pile
response in laterally moving soils (e.g. Broms 1964,
Ito & Matsui 1975, Fukuoka 1977, Viggiani 1981).
Because the interaction between the passive piles
and the soil is complex, significant number of varia-
bles are involved in the nature of the problem: pile
spacing, pile embedment depth, pile rigidity,
strength properties of unstable and stable soils, pile
head fixity conditions, location of the piles in the
slope etc. These variables make it difficult to analyze
the factors affecting the real pile-soil interaction es-
pecially with the conventional methods. In this re-
spect, numerical approaches were used to understand
the phenomena (Rowe & Poulos, 1979; Chen &
Poulos, 1993).
Advances in computer processors made it possi-
ble to study geotechnical problems with complex
geometries and properties. Therefore, two and three
dimensional numerical modeling of the problems
and in practice. Validation studies are initially need-
ed to check whether these models can accurately find
solutions to real life problems. In this study, three
full scale laterally loaded passive pile field experi-
ments were modeled to validate the three dimen-
sional finite element methodology by using PLAXIS
3D’s embedded pile option. Two case histories re-
ported by De Beer & Wallays (1972) and a case his-
tory reported by Esu & D’Elia (1974) were selected
for this purpose. De Beer & Wallays (1972) reported
two field experiments for steel pipe pile and rein-
forced concrete piles. In their research, embankment
construction effects on pile foundations subjected to
non-uniform ground movement in sandy soils are in-
vestigated. On the other hand, Esu & D’Elia (1974)
investigated slope stabilizing reinforced concrete
pile in clayey soil. In these case histories the pile de-
flection, bending moment and shear force distribu-
tions through pile shafts were measured.
2 GEOMETRY OF THE 3D FINITE ELEMENT
MODELS
Finite element analysis software PLAXIS 3D was
used for the investigation of laterally loaded passive
pile behavior in this study. Direct response of piles
to a deforming ground was investigated in shear box
analyses instead of modeling a real slope geometry.
The first reason for this is that, in the three case his-
tories used in this study, the 2D or 3D slope geome-
tries (slope height, slope angle, position of the piles
in the slope, the location of the real failure surface
etc.) and the detailed subsurface profile and material
properties were not defined in detail; therefore a real
slope model cannot be analyzed. The second reason
is that, in a real slope, as the soil and the geometrical
properties change, the critical failure surface, the
mechanism of movement, the amount and distribu-
tion of the movement in the unstable zone may
change. Consequently, evaluation of the effect of the
deforming ground on the passive pile response may
be more complex. Therefore, shear box analysis, also
used by Kourkoulis et al. (2011, 2012) is adapted for
the simulation of passive pile behavior (Fig. 1).
In the 3D shear box models, sliding of an unstable
soil above a stable layer and passive loading of piles
were generated with prescribed horizontal surface
displacements in the upper half of the shear box
model (Fig. 1). Embedded pile option in Plaxis 3D
was used to model the vertical pile and its properties
in all analyses (Plaxis 3D Reference Manual 2010).
This option generates embedded piles like linear
beam elements which gives the opportunity of defin-
ing them as structural members with a definite ri-
gidity and mechanical properties. Comparison of the
embedded pile solution with volume pile solution
was given by Dao (2011), who studied the behavior
of lateral loaded passive piles located near the toe of
an embankment. Dao (2011) concluded that embed-
ded pile option in Plaxis 3D gives similar solution as
the volume pile. Six-edged hexagonal soil elements
(having the same diameter and length as the pile) are
defined just around the piles and the same material
properties of the surrounding soil were assigned to
these soil elements (Fig. 2a). In this way, the behav-
ior of the soil having immediate contact with the pile
could closely be observed by providing finer mesh in
that area.
Figure 1. Geometric illustration of the shear box model
In embedded pile option of Plaxis 3D, special in-
terface elements are automatically defined to model
the interaction between the pile and the surrounding
soil. In this default property, Dao (2011) indicated
that Plaxis 3D does not consider sliding (pure slip)
of the soil at the skin of pile in horizontal direction.
Therefore, embedded pile option may not be prefer-
able for laterally loaded piles having perfectly
smooth pile skin interaction surfaces.
Elastic-perfectly plastic Mohr-Coulomb failure
criterion was used in all analyses as the material
model. Although it is well known that, more ad-
vanced soil constitutive models can capture nonline-
ar stress-strain behavior of soil more accurately, they
require significant number of material parameters to
be input. Therefore, Mohr-Coulomb model is con-
sidered to be adequate for the content of this study.
To make sure that the laterally loaded passive pile
behavior is truly represented in the shear box model,
different model geometry and boundary conditions
were studied. The model properties such as the size
of the model, the boundary surface fixity conditions,
and the fineness of the finite element mesh etc. were
studied to determine a suitable model to simulate the
actual pile behavior in the case histories.
2.1 Surface fixity conditions
Standard surface boundary conditions of Plaxis 3D
were applied to the stable soil at the bottom half of
the shear box model and stability of the soil was
provided in this way. For vertical surfaces, this op-
tion provides the fixity of the surface in horizontal
direction. Bottom surface of the model is fixed to
move in all directions.
As for the surface fixities of the moving soil in
the upper half of the shear box model; movement in
y direction is prevented and z direction (vertical di-
rection) is allowed for all side surfaces. In x direc-
tion (horizontal direction), a uniformly distributed
prescribed displacement (ux) was defined on the left
side surface of the model box. Rear and front side
surfaces (Fig. 2) were allowed for movement in x di-
rection. Right side surface boundary was first tried to
be freely allowed to move in x direction however,
load increment failure and soil body collapse errors
were encountered in the vertical model boundary
without any constraint (especially in cohesionless
materials). Therefore, it was determined to take right
hand side surface of the box model fixed in a very
far distance at which both pile and soil deformations
are not affected from this surface fixity (Fig. 2). In
that case, soil in front of the piles does not freely de-
form or spill to the right hand side. Proposed model
geometry simulates landslide stabilization cases
where there is no gap between the soil in front of the
piles and the pile.
2.2 Size of the model
In all model geometry/size/boundary determination
analyses, lateral deformation of the pile head was al-
lowed and full embedment of the pile into stable lay-
er was provided. Additionally, sufficient vertical dis-
tance was left between the end of the pile and the
bottom surface of the box to prevent the develop-
ment of undesired forces and moments at the end of
the pile (Fig. 3).
Figure 2. (a) The embedded pile and surrounding soil elements
used in this study, (b) Boundary surfaces for unstable soil
Figure 3. Three dimensional view of the shear box model
In Figure 3, (d) is defined as pile diameter, (S) is
width of the model, (W) is length of the model, (W1)
is the distance between left side surface and the pile.
(H) is unstable soil depth, (L) is pile length and (Lem)
is embedded pile depth into the stable layer.
Analyses for determining the size of the model
were performed by trying different lengths of the
model (by changing the ratio of the model length in
x direction to the unstable soil depth, W/H). The
goal is to determine a long enough model length so
that the horizontal movements are not influenced
due to the closeness of a fixed boundary at the right
side of the model. In analyses, pile diameter is se-
lected as 1 m; width of the model and unstable soil
depth as 10 times of pile diameter (S=H=10d=10 m).
Different model lengths were studied under the con-
stant lateral movement of left side surface of unsta-
ble soil (ux=10 cm).
The horizontal soil movements at the ground sur-
face due to the prescribed movement applied at the
left side surface are evaluated. Horizontal displace-
ments through the model length were evaluated as
the percentage of residual (remaining) horizontal
displacements according to the dimension ratio
(model length divided by unstable soil depth, W/H).
Residual displacements were obtained as the ratio of
the horizontal movement of a point to the prescribed
horizontal movement input at the left side (Fig. 4).
In Figure 4, in the vertical axis, 100 % indicates the
prescribed movement at the left side, 0 % indicates
the fixed boundary at the right side, and as we move
at the ground surface of the model to the right, the
horizontal movements at the ground surface decrease
to some percentage of the movement prescribed at
the left side surface.
Figure 4. Residual horizontal displacements in x direction at the
ground surface (z=0) versus dimension ratio (Strength parame-
ters of unstable and stable soils: c'=5 kPa, ϕ'=15°)
In Figure 4, it can be seen that, as the length of
the model (W/H) increases the horizontal move-
ments at the ground surface are less and less effected
by the fixed boundary at the right side of the model.
For higher model lengths than W=50d only less than
15 % of horizontal displacements remain at the dis-
tance of W=40d for larger model lengths. Besides to
soil displacement behavior, lateral deflection and
bending moment variance in embedded piles were
also compared for different model lengths. It was
observed that pile deflection and bending moment
profiles are almost the same for larger dimension ra-
tios than W=30d-40d. Consequently, model length in
the direction of movement was chosen as 40 times of
pile diameter (W=40d) for this specific proposed
model geometry. Distance between pile and the left
side surface (where prescribed displacement is ap-
plied) is chosen as W1=5d. In addition, model width
of S=10d was observed to provide sufficient numeri-
cal accuracy for single pile modeling.
2.3 Finite element mesh fineness
Plaxis 3D have five standard finite element mesh
size options and in addition, a desired amount of
mesh fineness and local refinement for a specific
volume or structural object can be provided by
changing the fineness factor.
 Standard mesh sizes (very coarse, coarse, medi-
um, fine and very fine) were evaluated in this study.
Previously determined model size and surface fixity
conditions were used in analyses. Pile head was al-
lowed to move in all cases.
Optimum size of mesh that best simulates the ac-
tual passive pile behavior were determined by inves-
tigating calculation time; deformations and structural
forces for both pile and soils. Calculation time dras-
tically increases from coarse mesh to very fine mesh.
According to the analyses results, very coarse and
coarse mesh analyses lasted around 2-6 minutes,
medium mesh around 10-15 minutes, fine and very
fine meshes around 25-150 minutes for this pro-
posed models and conditions. However, analyses
lasting 8 hours to 2-3 days were encountered for fine
and especially very fine mesh generation for differ-
ent circumstances.
Bending moment and shear force profiles through
pile length were almost identical but only their max-
imum values were different for different mesh fine-
ness. Maximum bending moment and shear force in
the pile tended to decrease from coarse to finer
meshes. Maximum bending moments differ up to 20
%, maximum shear forces differ up to 50 % from
very coarse mesh to very fine mesh options.
In conclusion, it is determined that medium mesh
generation has sufficient degree of fineness and it
gives enough numerical accuracy for the scope of
this study. Displacement and structural forces of
both the pile and the soil generally differ less than 15
% with medium mesh generation and very fine mesh
generation. Medium mesh is selected as the optimum
mesh size considering excessive time consumption
of very fine mesh.
3 CASE HISTORIES
Three full scale field experiments were investigated
with the proposed 3D finite element model using
embedded piles (Ekici, 2013). Two of these experi-
ments were reported by De Beer & Wallays (1972)
and the other case is reported by Esu & D’Elia
(1974). Applicability of three dimensional finite el-
ement solution for the estimation of passive pile be-
havior was studied with these cases. In addition, the
accuracy was compared with the solutions of some
other researchers.
3.1 De Beer & Wallays (1972)
Two case studies were reported by De Beer and
Wallays (1972) in Belgium for the investigation of
laterally loaded adjacent pile foundations in sandy
soils. In one of the cases, a steel pipe pile having 28
m length, 0.9 m diameter and 1.5 cm wall thickness
was used. Reinforced concrete pile with 23.2 m
length and 0.6 m diameter was used in the other
case. Spacing between the adjacent piles has not
been indicated and there is not much information
given about the stiffness properties of the soil pro-
file. However, it was indicated that it consists of
mainly sandy materials. Non-uniform lateral soil
movement profile was measured by using inclinome-
ters (Fig. 5). Measured non-uniform lateral soil
movement profile of De Beer & Wallays (1972) is
simplified in this study as shown in Figure 5. Pile
head was reported to be fixed for both piles. There-
fore, in numerical analyses embedded pile top was
also fixed to move in any direction by using point
displacement property of Plaxis 3D. Deflection and
bending moment distribution of piles were measured
for both cases.
Chen & Poulos (1997) analyzed case studies of
De Beer & Wallays (1972) by using boundary ele-
ment method. They aimed to predict actual laterally
loaded pile response by appropriate assessment of
lateral soil movement, deformation modulus of soil
and limiting soil pressure. They made some assump-
tions about the soil stiffness and pile properties to
match their predictions with the measured field data
(deformation modulus of soil, Es=30 kPa; internal
friction angle, ϕ=33°; deformation modulus for pile,
Ep=210 GPa for steel pipe pile; Ep=20 GPa for rein-
forced concrete pile).
Figure 5. Measured and simplified (for this study) lateral soil
movement profiles for case studies of De Beer & Wallays
(1972)
3.1.1 Case 1. steel pipe pile
Three dimensional model box analyses were con-
ducted for steel pipe pile case according to the given
information and additional assumptions regarding
the approximations of Chen & Poulos (1997).
According to the analyses results, deflection and
bending moment distributions through pile length of
steel pipe pile case is presented in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Pile deflection and bending moment profiles for steel
pipe pile case of De Beer & Wallays (1972) (model dimen-
sions: S=10d=9m, W1=5d=4.5m, W=40d=36m, d=0.9m,
H=17m, L=28m, Lem=11m)
According to Plaxis 3D results, pile deflection
showed very similar distribution with the approxi-
mation of Chen & Poulos (1997). General behavior
through pile length is overestimating the measured
field data. However, maximum deflection and its
depth were estimated with satisfactory accuracy as
around 20 mm deflection at 5.5 m depth.
Bending moment distribution of steel pipe pile
was observed to be well predicted by three dimen-
sional analysis. Maximum bending moment was ob-
served as 1300 kN.m at the depth of 3.5 m from the
pile top. Maximum value of the bending moment
and its depth were estimated very similar to the
measured data and also Chen & Poulos (1997) ap-
proximation. As it can be seen from Figure 6, maxi-
mum bending moment was observed very close to
the depth where maximum pile deflection and also
maximum lateral soil movement occurred as ex-
pected. In addition, values at the lower portions of
the pile showed more similar behavior with the
measured data than Chen & Poulos (1997) approxi-
mation.
3.1.2 Case 2. reinforced concrete pile
According to the analyses results, deflection and
bending moment distributions through pile length of
reinforced concrete pile is presented in Figure 7. Ac-
cording to the numerical analysis results, maximum
pile deflection was observed as 25 mm at 4 m depth
from ground surface. As it can be seen from Figure
7, the depth maximum deflection occurred was accu-
rately estimated however, value of the maximum
pile deflection was overestimated slightly in 3D
analysis. On the other hand, general pile behavior
was observed to be more similar to the measured
field data than Chen & Poulos (1997) especially in
the lower portions of the pile as in the case of steel
pipe pile.
Maximum bending moment was observed as 400
kN.m at 2 m depth. As it is seen in Figure 7, this
value is overestimating the measured field data and
also Chen & Poulos (1997) approximation. Howev-
er, more similar pile response was observed again in
lower portions of the pile with the measured data
than Chen & Poulos (1997).
than Chen & Poulos (1997).
Figure 7. Pile deflection and bending moment profiles for rein-
forced concrete pile case of De Beer & Wallays (1972) (model
dimensions: S=10d=6m, W1=5d=3m, W=40d=24m, d=0.6m,
H=17m, L=23.2m, Lem=6.2m)
Chen & Poulos (1997) emphasized that approxi-
mations to case studies were developed by matching
their predictions about maximum values of the bend-
ing moment and deflections with the measured val-
ues. Therefore, their approximations are generally
well predicted in upper portions of the pile, however
discrepancies arise between measured and predicted
profiles towards to lower portions of the pile. Closer
agreement in lower portions with the measured data
was observed for both steel pipe pile and reinforced
concrete pile cases in Plaxis 3D analyses.
3.2 Esu & D’Elia (1974)
A field case was reported by Esu & D’Elia (1974) in
which a free head reinforced concrete pile was
placed in a sliding slope. The test pile was 30 m in
length, 0.79 m in diameter and had a flexural rigidity
(EpIp) of 360 MNm2. Lateral soil movement was re-
ported to take place in upper 7.5 m however, soil
movement distribution of unstable soil was not re-
ported. There is not much information given about
the stiffness properties of the soil profile however, it
was considered to consist mainly from cohesive type
of soil materials. Inclinometer measurements were
taken from inside of the pile at the center through
pile length to obtain deflections and rotations. In ad-
dition, pile was instrumented with pressure cells at
the depth of 5 m, 10 m and 15 m along its shaft.
Bending moment and shear force distributions
through pile length were presented in the report.
Magueri & Motta (1992), Chow (1996), Chen &
Poulos (1997), Cai & Ugai (2002) investigated Esu
& D’Elia (1974) field study for the verification of
their proposed methodologies. They used infor-
mation given by Esu & D’Elia (1974) and made
some additional assumptions for the missing data
which was required for their solution. Because dis-
placement profile of 7.5 m unstable soil was not re-
ported, it was assumed differently by researchers to
match their predictions with the measured field data.
Figure 8. Assumed lateral soil movement and pile deflection
profiles for Esu & D’Elia (1974) case study (model dimen-
sions: S=10d=8m, W1=5d=4m, W=40d=32m, d=0.79m,
H=7.5m, L=30m, Lem=22.5m, soil properties: cu=40kPa,
Eu=8000kPa)
Figure 9. Bending moment and shear force profiles for Esu &
D’Elia (1974) case study
Lateral soil movement profile in this case study
was assumed differently by several researchers to
match their predictions about pile deflections and
forces with the measured field data. For the same
reason, uniform distribution of 160 mm horizontal
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soil displacement was assumed in this study. This
value is higher than the assumptions of other re-
searchers (Chow 1996, Chen & Poulos 1997, Cai &
Ugai 2003). This indicates that more soil movement
is required in this study with respect to other ap-
proaches to match the same amount of structural
forces for relatively same soil properties.
Pile deflection profile of numerical analysis re-
sults show very similar behavior with the measured
field data and other approximations. Maximum
bending moment was underestimated by 15% and
shear force value was underestimated by 20% alt-
hough the depth where the maximum values oc-
curred was accurately predicted.
4 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
In this study three full scale field experiments
have been analyzed for the validation of PLAXIS 3D
finite element solution. For this purpose, first of all,
the size of the model, boundary fixity conditions and
mesh size properties have been investigated. In all
cases, field measured deflection, bending moment
and shear force distributions through pile length
have been estimated with less than 10-15% error.
It is concluded that the three dimensional finite el-
ement solution with PLAXIS 3D using embedded
pile option is a robust tool to estimate laterally load-
ed passive pile behavior for uniform and non-
uniform soil movement profiles, different pile rigidi-
ty and pile materials, granular and cohesive soil ma-
terial alternatives and different drainage conditions,
provided that the properties of the soil and the soil
movement are accurately represented.
5 REFERENCES
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ally linear movement of the sliding layer in landslides. Ca-
nadian Geotechnical Journal, 2003, 40(1): 46-53
Chen, L.T. & Poulos, H.G. 1997. Piles subjected to lateral soil
movements. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering, Vol. 123, No. 9, pp. 802-811.
Chow, Y.K. 1996. Analysis of Piles for Slope Stabilization. In-
ternational Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods
in Geomechanics, Vol. 20,pp. 635-646.
Dao, T. P. T. 2011. Validation of PLAXIS Embedded Piles for
Lateral Loading. M.Sc. Thesis in Faculty of Civil Engineer-
ing and Geosciences, Section of Geo-Engineering, Delft
University of Technology, Netherlands.
De Beer, E. E. & Wallays, M. 1972. Forces induced in piles by
unsymmetrical surcharges on the soil around the piles.
Proc., 5th Eur. Conf. on Soil Mech. and Found. Engrg.,
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Ekici, A. 2013. Three Dimensional Finite Element Modeling
for the Laterally Loaded Passive Pile Behavior. M.Sc. The-
sis in Civil Engineering, Middle East Technical University,
Ankara, Turkey.
Esu, F. & D'Elia, B. 1974. Interazione terreno-struttura in un
palo sollecitato dauna frana tipo colata. Rivsita Italiana di
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