Computations of uplift capacity of pile anchors in cohesionless soil

Abstract

A method of analysis for the uplift capacity of pile anchors in cohesionless soil is proposed using Kötter’s equation that facilitates computation of the distribution of soil reaction on the axis-symmetric failure surface, which is assumed to be the frustum of a cone with a characteristic angle of inclination with the pile–soil interface. A closed-form solution for the uplift capacity is obtained with no requirement of any charts or tables. Empirical relations using available literature are proposed for expressing critical embedment ratio and computation of net uplift capacity. The results are compared with a set of experimental data for 28 cases, ranging from loose to dense cohesionless soil up to maximum embedment ratio of 40, vis-à-vis available theoretical solutions. The proposed method leads to the predictions that are in good agreement with the experimental results. It further demonstrates the successful application of Kötter’s equation in the estimation of uplift capacity of pile anchors.