Rigid cylinder in a transversely isotropic half-space under lateral loads

SUMMARY A boundary integral equation method is presented for a rigid cylindrical pipe-pile of finite length embedded in a transversely isotropic half-space under lateral loads. In the framework of three-dimensional elastostatics, the complicated soil-structure interaction problem is shown to be reducible to three coupled Fredholm integral equations. Through an analysis of the associated Cauchy singular kernels, the intrinsic singular characteristics of the radial, angular, and vertical interfacial load transfers are rendered explicit. By means of a complicated numerical procedure, detailed results on the three-dimensional load–transfer process are provided for benchmark comparison and practical applications. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.