Experimental Investigation on Soil Deformation Caused by Pile Buckling in Transparent Media

Transparent media and particle image velocimetry (PIV) approaches were employed to measure the buckling deformation of fully embedded model piles and the consequent soil deformation under different constraints in a nonintrusive manner. Transparent media (also called transparent soils) are made of fused quartz and a pore solution, the refractive index of which is matched with that of fused quartz. A laser light sheet was employed to irradiate the transport soil and capture digital images of the buckling deformation of the model piles, and PIV was used to obtain the deformation of pile foundation and soil mass. The results show that the effect of the constraint mode at the pile tip on the buckling curve depends on the change in pile strength and slenderness ratio, the movement of soil on both sides of the maximum buckling point fits Rankine’s earth pressure theory, and compared with single-pile buckling, the buckling deformation curve of multiple piles shows an elevated maximum deflection point.