COMPUTER PROGRAM

GROUP
Version 2016

A Program for the Analysis

of a Group of Piles Subjected to
Vertical and Lateral Loading
(Technical Manual)
by

Lymon C. Reese
Shin-Tower Wang
Luis Vasquez

for

ENSOFT, INC
3003 W. Howard Lane
Austin, Texas 78728

May - 2016
 PROGRAM LICENSE AGREEMENT

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please read the terms of the

following license agreement carefully. You signify acceptance
of the terms of this Agreement by using the product.

This software is licensed only to the user (company or

individual) whose name is registered with ENSOFT, INC., or to
users at the registered location, on only one computer at a time.
Additional installations of the software may be made by the
user, as long as the number of installations is equal to the
number of purchased and registered licenses.

Users that purchased a network version of this software product

are entitled to install the software in all computers on the
network at their registered location. However, the software can
only be used simultaneously by as many users as the total
number of purchased and registered licenses.

The user is not entitled to copy this software unless copying for
backup purposes. The user may not loan, rent, lease, or transfer
this software to any other person, company, or location. This
software and documentation are copyrighted materials and
should be treated like any other copyrighted material (e.g. a
book or musical recording). This software is protected by the
United States Copyright Law and International Copyright
Treaty.
Copyright ® 1987, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2012,
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 by ENSOFT, INC. All rights reserved.

Printed in the Unites States of America. Except as permitted

under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this
publication may be reproduced, translated, or distributed
without the prior written approval of ENSOFT, INC.

Although the program has been used with apparent success in

many analyses, new information is developed continuously and
new or updated versions may be written from time to time. All
users are requested to inform ENSOFT, INC. immediately of
any possible errors that are found in the coding. As errors are
detected, a revised version will be available for all who have
purchased the program to download it from the web site of
ENSOFT, INC.

No warranty, expressed or implied, is offered as to the accuracy

of results from the program. The user relies on the program at
his or her own risk. The program should not be used for design
unless caution is exercised in interpreting the results and
independent calculations are available to verify the general
correctness of the results. The user is assumed to be
knowledgeable of the information that is distributed with the
digital media. The user is assumed to recognize that the input
parameters, e.g. soil properties, increment length, tolerance on
solution convergence, and many others, can have a significant
effect on the solution and must be chosen carefully. The user
should have a thorough understanding of the relevant
theoretical criteria (appropriate references are suggested in the
software documentation). The information presented herein is
not intended or represented to be suitable for direct use in the
engineering design without additional engineering evaluation.
 FOREWORD

The analysis of a group of piles that support a cap or a structure where the
system is subjected to axial and lateral loading is an important problem in soil-
structure interaction. The pile may be of different sizes and may be installed
vertically or on a batter. The piles are assumed to be far enough apart so that there
is no significant pile-soil-pile interaction or, if the piles are spaced closely together,
such interaction is reflected by an appropriate modification of soil resistance
curves.

Computer program GROUP allows the user to analyze the behavior of pile
groups either using a 2-dimensional model or using a 3-dimensional model.

The procedures of analysis of a single pile subjected to lateral loading are

included in GROUP and the user should be familiar with that technology. A
complete discussion of the method of analysis of a single pile under lateral loading
is given in the documentation for LPILE, another program distributed by ENSOFT,
Inc.
CHAPTER 1.

CHAPTER 2.

CHAPTER 3.
CHAPTER 4.
CHAPTER 5.

CHAPTER 6.

CHAPTER 7.
CHAPTER 8.

CHAPTER 9.
CHAPTER 1.
CHAPTER 2.
CHAPTER 3.
CHAPTER 4.
1,200

1,000

800

600

400
J = 0.5

200 J = 0.25

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
y, inches
 f , Friction Angle, degrees

28 29 30 36 41 45

Very Very
Loose Medium Dense Dense
Loose
300
80

Fine Sand Above

70
250 the Water Table

60

200
50

150 40

30
100

Fine Sand Below 20

the Water Table

50
10

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100

Relative Density, %
 F1 = Total force acting on pile above point i at
the point of soil failure
Groundline hi = Equivalent depth of top of layer i

h3
h1 Soft Soil (Layer 1)

h2
1

F1 Stronger Soil Below Weaker Soil

(behaves as if shallower)
2

F2
Weaker Soil Below Stronger Soil
(behaves as if deeper)

F3
CHAPTER 5.
CHAPTER 6.
CHAPTER 7.
CHAPTER 8.
CHAPTER 9.