Shaking table modeling of battered pile’s behavior under seismic loading

Battered piles are widely used in foundations where significant lateral resistance is required. The main demerit of these piles is an excellent stiffness, which causes a significant bending moment at the pile cap connection during earthquake loading. In this experimental study, shaking table tests are performed on 2×2 symmetrical pile groups with different rake angles 0°, 15°, and 25°. The dynamic response of groups subjected to sinusoidal input accelerations is analyzed. The results highlight that battered pile groups experienced smaller cap pile displacements in comparison with vertical groups. In addition, the inclined piles had more considerable lateral stiffness and smaller cap horizontal acceleration than vertical piles. The maximum bending moment, occurred at the pile cap rigid connection, was more significant for inclined pile groups. It can be concluded that in a situation where the “displacement” plays an important role, utilizing battered pile groups is preferable.