Assessment of Stress Paths Around Large-Diameter Loaded Piles Under Lateral Cyclic Loading

Stress-strain response of the soil is dependent on the particular stress path imposed by the nearby geotechnical structure. This paper uses 3D numerical analyses to explore the stress paths experienced by soil elements around large diameter piles in sand subjected to cyclic lateral loading. Based on the outcome of the finite element analysis, typical stress paths for different soil elements around the pile are extracted featured with variation of normal stress and shear stress and the rotation of principal stress axis. This preliminary investigation provides recommendation for experimental campaign of tests and the Hollow Cylinder Torsional Apparatus is found enables a much better simulation, including the replication of the rotation of principal stress axes.