Horizontal Bearing Capacity - Brom's Method

The horizontal bearing capacity of a pile is verified in the "Horizontal bearing

capacity" frame. Several analyses can be carried out. The verification analysis can
be carried out for individual loads, prescribed displacements, or the program finds
the most critical load (can be selected from a combo list). Assuming the prescribed
displacement type of load requires the introduction of boundary conditions in pile
head (translation and rotation).
The reinforced concrete pile requires inputting the reinforcement profile, number
of profiles and reinforcement cover, which influence the pile bending stiffness.
The input parameters for the analysis of pile horizontal bearing capacity are the pile
material characteristics (modulus of elasticity and strength of a given
material), pile geometry (pile length l and its diameter d) and also the pile load due
to shear force and bending moment.
When adopting the analysis according to the Broms method the program ignores
up to now input soil layers and checks the single pile horizontal bearing capacity only
for the soil defined in the "Horizontal capacity" frame. Soil parameters are specified
based on the type of soil:

 cohesive - requires inputting the undrained cohesion of soil cu, modulus of subsoil
reaction kh, coefficient of cross-section bearing capacity γk and the coefficient of bearing
capacity reduction γQu.
 cohesionless - requires inputting the effective angle of internal friction φ, unit weight of
soil γ, furthermore the coefficient of subsoil reaction nh, coefficient of cross-section bearing
capacity γk and the coefficient of pile bearing capacity reduction γQu.
The frame further allows for inputting the criteria of type of pile:

 standard - in this case, the pile stiffness coefficient β*l, respectively η*l is calculated
automatically by the program.
 user-defined - this option allows the user to set the pile stiffness coefficient β*l,
respectively η*l to check short as well as medium piles.
Type of pile can be considered in two ways:

 free head - rotation at pile head is not constrained

 restrained - pile is constrained against rotation at its head. In such cases we typically deal
with piles that are part of a planar pile grid or a pile group.
The reduction coefficient of cross-section strength γk serves to reduce
the flexure bearing capacity Mu.
The reduction coefficient of bearing capacity γQu serves to reduce the overall
value horizontal bearing capacity of a single pile Qu.
The result of an analysis is the horizontal bearing capacity of a single pile Qu and
displacement of a pile at the terrain surface u.
The "In detail" button opens the dialog window that contains a detailed listing of the
verification results.
The analysis results are displayed on the desktop. Visualization of results can be
adjusted in the frame "Drawing Settings".

Frame "Horizontal bearing capacity" - Broms method

Pile Horizontal Bearing Capacity - Brom’s Method

Analysis of a single pile according to Broms is described in Broms, 1964. This
method exclusively assumes a pile in the homogeneous soil. Thus the analysis
method does not allow for layered subsoil. The type of analysis of the pile horizontal
bearing capacity is specified in the "Settings" frame, tab "Piles".
When adopting the Broms method for the analysis of horizontal bearing capacity the
program disregards up now input soil layers. The soil parameters are specified in the
"Horizontal bearing capacity" frame based on the type of soil (cohesive,
cohesionless).
The input parameters for the analysis of pile horizontal bearing capacity are the pile
material characteristics (modulus of elasticity and strength of a given
material), pile geometry (pile length l and its diameter d), and also the pile load due
to shear force and bending moment.
The coefficient of pile stiffness β for cohesive soils is given by:

where: E*I - bending stiffness of pile section [MNm2]

kh - modulus of subsoil reaction [MNm3]

 diameter of a single pile [m] - in case of a pile with a circular variable
d - cross-section the calculation of parameter β assumes a constant value
of the pile diameter d1 input in the "Geometry" frame

The coefficient of pile stiffness η for cohesionless soils follows from:

where: E*I - bending stiffness of pile section [MNm2]

nh - coefficient of soil modulus variation [MNm3]

The program automatically determines whether to consider a long or a short pile

based on the values β*l (for cohesive soils) and η*l (for cohesionless soils),
respectively. Because literature offers different criteria for different types of piles, the
program allows the user to define them. For an intermediate pile length the
verification analysis considers both short and long piles and then the program
automatically chooses the result with the lowest value of the pile horizontal bearing
capacity Qu.

Dialog window "Pile type criteria"

Type of pile criteria (long, short, medium) are considered according to the following
conditions:

 free head: for long piles, it holds β*l > 2,5; for short piles then β*l < 2,5
 restrained: for long piles, it holds β*l > 1,5; for short piles then β*l < 1,5
Type of pile (pile head support) can be considered in two ways:

 free head - rotation at pile head is not constrained

 restrained - pile is constrained against rotation at its head. In such cases we typically deal
with piles that are part of a planar pile grid or a pile group.
Another important input parameter is the flexure bearing capacity. This quantity is
automatically back-calculated by the program using the following relation:
where: Wy - section modulus of the pile section [m3]

f - strength of the pile material [MPa]

reduction coefficient of cross-section strength [-] - the cross-section

bearing capacity is according to different standards pre-multiplied by
γk -
different safety coefficients. This coefficient enables to adapt the
program to these standards.

In case of a steel-reinforced concrete pile the flexure bearing

capacity, Mu depends on the amount of designed steel.
The reduction coefficient of bearing capacity γQu reduces the overall magnitude of
the single pile horizontal bearing capacity as:

where: Qu - horizontal bearing capacity of a single pile [kN]

γQu - reduction coefficient of bearing capacity [-]

The result of an analysis is horizontal bearing capacity of a single pile Qu,

respectively Qu,red and displacement of a pile at the terrain surface u.
Literature:
[1] BROMS, BENGT. B.: Lateral Resistance of Piles in Cohesive Soils. Proceedings
of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Journal of the Soil Mechanics and
Foundations Division, Vol. 90, SM2, 1964.
[2] BROMS, BENGT. B.: Lateral Resistance of Piles in Cohesionless Soils.
Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Journal of the Soil
Mechanics and Foundations Division, vol. 90 SM3, 1964.