Numerical determination of end bearing capacity of drilled shafts in sand

Determination of axial capacity of piles has been a challenging problem since the beginning of the geotechnical engineering profession. the axial capacity of a single pile can be estimated by summing the skin friction capacity and the bearing capacity of the pile toe. in this paper,an attempt is made to numerically analyze the end bearing capacity of drilled shafts in sand. the numerical results obtained were compared with the results of pile load test. the comparison between numerical and experimental base load-settlement curves showed that the proposed numerical analysis produces satisfactory predictions. then,variations of the end bearing capacity of drilled shafts versus embedment depth and pile diameter were studied. numerical results showed that with the increase in embedment depth and pile diameter,the end bearing capacity increases,but with a decreasing rate. moreover,the range of failure zone surrounding the pile tip is discussed. © 2017 just. all rights reserved.