Passive load estimation on single piles and pile groups from visco-plastic mud-flow

If piles are installed in creeping slopes or next to heavy loads in soft soils (with high water content) they may be loaded due to large, progressive horizontal ground displacements. In such cases pile shafts will be stressed by heavy shear forces and bending moments that may lead to serviceability problems (SLS) or even pile failure (ULS), as that soil squeezes between and around the piles. When modelling such phenomena one should consider the …