Design and Performance of Concrete Pile Strengthened with Lengthened Steel-Tube Core: Model Tests and Numerical Simulations

In order to solve the problem of insufficient bearing capacity of existing concrete piles, a type of concrete pile with an additional lengthened strengthening core is designed, by inserting the steel tube through guiding hole and pouring core concrete. To reveal the mechanical performance of the reinforced piles, scale model tests and finite element simulations were performed. The results showed that both the vertical and horizontal bearing capacity increase with the length of the stiffening core. The axial force of the enhanced core is also smaller than conventional concrete piles, and the extended core can share the axial force of the foundation pile to improve the stress distribution of the pile body. These findings point toward a useful and general method for increasing the load capacity of existing concrete piles.