Study On The Settlement Of The Composite Ground Improved By Rigid Piles Under Embankments

Recent studies and tests have found that the composite ground under embankment is much different from that under the building foundation, for the relatively small rigidity of the embankment attributes to the penetration of the pile head (P), which further causes the negative friction of pile in the ground. So a study proceeded in this paper, mainly on the settlement of the composite ground improved by rigid piles under embankment.First, the composite ground improved by a single rigid pile was studied numerically, and then, the composite ground imitating the real one under embankment was studied further. By the study, some properties of the single-pile ground, such as the side friction of pile, the axial stress in pile and the penetration of pile ends, are known with regard to various cushion moduli, pile moduli, soil moduli, etc. And the relative modulus of foundation (K) is defined further, based on these parameters and the engineering practice, in order to discriminate various foundations into three types—the rigid ones, the quasi-flexible ones and the flexible ones. What is more, the principles are obtained herein about the factors affecting the settlement of the composite ground under the real embankment.