Load-deflection relations of piles subjected to lateral loading are routinely required for design. The use of large diameter open pipe piles became common since its application as foundations for offshore structures, and more recently for bridge retrofitting and new construction designed for withstanding earthquake loading. The accuracy and reliability of the analysis methods remains usually unknown as it requires the systematic examination of the measured performance of many piles. As part of a research aimed at developing the serviceability limit states for the AASHTO specifications, an evaluation of the methods predicting the response of piles to lateral loads was required. This paper presents a database of laterally loaded open and closed pipe piles which were examined by various analysis methods. The performance of the methods when applied to open pipe piles and all pipe piles is reported along with practical conclusions for their use.
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