A variational approach for the analysis of pile group–pile cap interaction

This paper presents a variational approach for the analysis of pile groups having rigid pile caps in contact with the ground. The pile groups are assumed to be embedded in an isotropic elastic half-space. Both the deformations and shear stresses of group piles are each represented by a finite series with a set of undetermined constants, and Mindlin's solution is applied to evaluate the interaction among the piles, pile cap and soil. The response of the pile group–pile cap system is determined by the use of the principle of minimum potential energy. Comparison of the present solutions with other numerical methods has shown good agreement. The computed results are also shown to be in favourable agreement with field measurements.