An equivalent substructure model for laterally loaded piles considering soil nonlinearity
Journal
Computers and Geotechnics
Journal Volume
200
Start Page
108467
ISSN
0266-352X
Date Issued
2026-12
Author(s)
Wang, Siao-Jhuang
Abstract
The substructuring method is widely adopted in structural analysis to replace foundation models with equivalent elements, enabling efficient simulation of structure–pile–soil systems. However, most existing substructure models are limited to linearly elastic or equivalent-linear soil behavior. This study develops an equivalent beam–spring model to simulate the pile-head behavior of a laterally loaded pile embedded in nonlinear soil. The proposed model consists of a beam supported by two horizontal nonlinear springs and a linear coupled spring at its base. The pile–soil system is divided into an upper region where soil nonlinearity is significant and a lower region where the response remains essentially linear. The lower region is represented by the linear coupled spring, whereas the upper region is modeled using the beam and horizontal nonlinear springs to capture the nonlinear response induced by soil nonlinearity. The model is formulated and calibrated against a full single-pile model by matching the pile-head flexibility response under lateral loading. Its applicability is demonstrated through pushover analyses of a seven-story pile-supported building under both uniform and multilayered soil conditions. Comparisons with full structure–pile–soil interaction analyses show that the proposed equivalent model satisfactorily reproduces the nonlinear pile-head response while substantially reducing the computational cost of structural analysis.
Subjects
Equivalent model
Pile foundations
Pushover analysis
Soil nonlinearity
Substructuring method
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Type
journal article