Abstract: In this study, a series of small-scale laboratory model tests and numerical simulations was performed to investigate the lateral behavior of a single pile embedded in slopes and in horizontal ground. In the model tests, small-scale model piles were fitted with strain gauges around their surface at various depths, while the lateral deflections at the pile head were measured by dial gauges. A total of four sets of model pile tests was conducted with piles installed in model slopes of 0°, 30°, 45°, and 60°. The changes in pile head deflections and their bending moments with changes in pile location and the embedded length of the piles were analyzed by the finite element method (FEM). Subsequently, a new p-y curve (p denotes the soil resistance and y denotes the pile deflection) for a steep clay slope was developed based on those finite element analysis results, taking into account the influences of the declination of the slope and the position of the pile in the slope. The numerical results agree very well with those from a scale model pile load test and other full-scale pile load tests reported in the literature.

Key words: Pile foundation; Slope; Model test; Finite element method (FEM); Lateral load; p-y curve

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