Numerical Analysis of Inclined Granular Pile Anchor Subjected to Uplift Forces in Expansive Soil using Abaqus

Granular pile anchor is a new technique that is commonly used to improve the pull out resistance of expansive soil like soft clay, loose sand, and black cotton soil. Using the Abaqus software, this work presents a numerical investigation to estimate the pull out capacity of granular pile anchor in soft clay. By applying a specified displacement of 10% of D (pile diameter) on the granular pile anchor, the effects of length, diameter, angle of inclination (α), and number of GPA at varying spacing values on uplift capacity is examined. Additionally, L/D ratios of both individual and group piles are examined using various variables. The study uses expansive soil and GPA of unit weight 17 kN/m3 and 22 kN/m3, poisson’s ratio of 0.4 and 0.3, modulus of elasticity 4 MPa, and 11 MPa, respectively, for the estimation of uplift capacity. The cohesion value for the expansive clay is 25 kPa, and the angle of shearing resistance for GPA is 36˚. According to the numerical study, both for a single pile and for piles placed in a group, with increases in pile length and diameter, the granular pile anchor s pull-out capability improves. For a pile placed in group the value of the pull-out capacity shows optimum result when spacing (S) is 2.5D. Additionally, the uplift capacity of the granular pile anchor increases with an increase in angle inclination (α) from 0˚ to 10˚, and then decreases from 10˚ to 15˚. The efficiency of GPA is examined, which assists in the choice of the different granular pile anchor parameters.