P-Y curves from the SPT test for laterally loaded single piles in sand

P-Y curves-based design methods offer a powerful framework of analysis of laterally loaded piles. This paper aims at presenting a practical method of direct construction of the P-Y curves for piles in sand on the basis of the number of blows N_SPT measured during the SPT test. This method was developed from a detailed interpretation of full-scale lateral loading tests on single piles carried out in sandy soils. The two main parameters of the P-Y curve, namely the lateral reaction modulus and the lateral soil resistance, were directly correlated to N_SPT. The methodology of construction of the P-Y curve from the SPT data is presented and the validation of the proposed method by testing it in a small sized database of full-scale loading tests showed a very good predictive capability.