SALLOP - SIMPLE APPROACH FOR LATERAL LOADS ON PILES

The problem of a pile subjected to lateral loading is often solved by assuming that the pile is an elastic member and that the soil can be r epresented by a series of nonlinear horizontal springs. The P-y curves describe the nonlinear behavior of the soil springs. Previously, a me thod was developed at Texas A&M University to obtain the P-y curve dir ectly from the pressuremeter curve. This method gave good predictions but was complicated and time consuming. Simple approach for lateral lo ad on piles (SALLOP) is a simplification of the complicated method; it makes use of the pressuremeter limit pressure and the pressuremeter m odulus. It is a semitheoretical or semiempirical method in that the fr amework is theoretical but the factors in the theoretical equations ar e adjusted by comparison to 20 full-scale load tests. The accuracy of SALLOP is very reasonable as shown by comparing measured and predicted behavior for the 20 full-scale pile load tests used to develop the me thod.