Abstract: This paper presents the findings on the horizontal bearing performance of prestressed reinforced concrete (PRC) pipe pile group. Using field horizontal static load tests, we conducted an analysis and comparison of the horizontal bearing capacity among single piles, single pile caps, and double pile caps, while also investigating the influence of pile caps on the horizontal bearing capacity of the pipe piles. We used the ABAQUS software to compare and analyze the effects of pile group with different pile cap thicknesses, numbers of piles, and pile spacings. The findings show that the horizontal critical load of a double pile cap is twice that of a single pile cap, while the horizontal ultimate load of a double pile cap is 3.095 times that of a single pile cap. An increase in cap thickness increases the bending moment at the pile top. Conversely, there is a slight decrease in the horizontal bearing capacity of the pile group. As the number of piles increases, the mutual influence between adjacent piles decreases, leading to an enhancement in the overall bearing capacity of the pile group. The horizontal bearing capacity of pile groups augments with greater pile spacing. The findings provide a theoretical foundation and serve as a reference for the application of PRC pipe piles in highway bridge engineering.

Key words: prestressed reinforced concrete (PRC) pipe piles, horizontal static load test, horizontal bearing capacity, pile cap, pile group effect, ABAQUS