Unveiling the bearing behavior of variable cross-section deep rock-socketed piles in complex strata: A hybrid experimental-numerical investigation

Unveiling the bearing behavior of variable cross-section deep rock-socketed piles in complex strata: A hybrid experimental-numerical investigation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Unveiling the bearing behavior of variable cross-section deep rock-socketed piles in complex strata: A hybrid experimental-numerical investigation Renyi Chen, Weimin Wang, Yonggao Yin, Banglu Xi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9409292/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Deep rock-socketed piles (DRSPs) are widely used in long-span bridges in the Wanjiang River Basin, however, the side resistance (SR) along the pile shaft cannot be fully mobilized. A new type of variable cross-section DRSPs (VDRSPs) is proposed to accommodate the load redistribution caused by stratigraphic variations. Investigating the bearing mechanism of VDRSPs is therefore an important research area. In this study, model tests were conducted on three groups of such piles with different variable diameter ratio ( α ). The results show that as α increases, the pile head settlement decreases significantly. The ultimate bearing capacity at α = 0.75 is 35.7% higher than that at α = 0.50. The SR increases notably at the soil-rock interface, and the proportion of load carried by SR increases with increasing α . A pile-rock interaction model was established, and four pile parameters were selected to conduct a sensitivity analysis. Further results reveal that the diameter variation ratio α and the position of the variable cross-section ( h / L ) have significant effects on the bearing capacity, whereas the pile length L and the elastic modulus E p of the pile have minor influences. The plastic zone expands downward from the pile top with increasing load, and both α and h / L govern the region of stress concentration. Comprehensive findings indicate that reasonably increasing α and positioning the variable cross-section near the soil-rock interface can effectively enhance the utilization of SR and the ultimate bearing capacity. The conclusions provide a rational basis for the design of VDRSPs. deep rock-socketed piles variable cross-section load transfer mechanism variable diameter ratio side resistance Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9409292","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":637613097,"identity":"e29af220-1403-443d-b4ed-386c27bd8716","order_by":0,"name":"Renyi Chen","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAuklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDADfmbmww9I0WDAINnOlmZAmhaD8zwKEsS5Z/YZww9v2/7IGx/mAWqssYkmqEXiXI6x5Nw2A8Nth3kPPGA4lpbbQNBFPDwG0jxnDBLMDvMlGDA2HCZKi/FvkBbjZh4DCWK1mEnzVBgkGDATq0XiDFuZ5ZwKY8MZh4GBnECMX/h7mDffeGMgJ8/ff/jwgw81NoS1MDBwGDDwwNgJhJWDAPsDhJZRMApGwSgYBdgAAA/yNteZgoqxAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Anqing Vocational and Technical College","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Renyi","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""},{"id":637613099,"identity":"cd6da991-528e-4163-9f20-318762e5742a","order_by":1,"name":"Weimin Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hefei University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Weimin","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":637613101,"identity":"d0838cf5-9447-4d11-843e-a912b8e1cb73","order_by":2,"name":"Yonggao Yin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hefei University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yonggao","middleName":"","lastName":"Yin","suffix":""},{"id":637613102,"identity":"b0a95d6c-3080-40ae-8057-7d5d98d671ef","order_by":3,"name":"Banglu Xi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hefei University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Banglu","middleName":"","lastName":"Xi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-14 01:53:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9409292/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9409292/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108978151,"identity":"fb341510-888b-4536-bb9a-e1f1fe13f7fb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-11 11:34:22","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1762309,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9409292/v1_covered_f027c080-1812-4b1b-acfd-97cffedb5248.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Unveiling the bearing behavior of variable cross-section deep rock-socketed piles in complex strata: A hybrid experimental-numerical investigation","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"deep rock-socketed piles, variable cross-section, load transfer mechanism, variable diameter ratio, side resistance","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9409292/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9409292/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eDeep rock-socketed piles (DRSPs) are widely used in long-span bridges in the Wanjiang River Basin, however, the side resistance (SR) along the pile shaft cannot be fully mobilized. A new type of variable cross-section DRSPs (VDRSPs) is proposed to accommodate the load redistribution caused by stratigraphic variations. Investigating the bearing mechanism of VDRSPs is therefore an important research area. In this study, model tests were conducted on three groups of such piles with different variable diameter ratio (\u003cem\u003eα\u003c/em\u003e). The results show that as \u003cem\u003eα\u003c/em\u003e increases, the pile head settlement decreases significantly. The ultimate bearing capacity at \u003cem\u003eα\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.75 is 35.7% higher than that at \u003cem\u003eα\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.50. The SR increases notably at the soil-rock interface, and the proportion of load carried by SR increases with increasing \u003cem\u003eα\u003c/em\u003e. A pile-rock interaction model was established, and four pile parameters were selected to conduct a sensitivity analysis. Further results reveal that the diameter variation ratio \u003cem\u003eα\u003c/em\u003e and the position of the variable cross-section (\u003cem\u003eh\u003c/em\u003e/\u003cem\u003eL\u003c/em\u003e) have significant effects on the bearing capacity, whereas the pile length \u003cem\u003eL\u003c/em\u003e and the elastic modulus \u003cem\u003eE\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003ep\u003c/sub\u003e of the pile have minor influences. The plastic zone expands downward from the pile top with increasing load, and both \u003cem\u003eα\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eh\u003c/em\u003e/\u003cem\u003eL\u003c/em\u003e govern the region of stress concentration. Comprehensive findings indicate that reasonably increasing \u003cem\u003eα\u003c/em\u003e and positioning the variable cross-section near the soil-rock interface can effectively enhance the utilization of SR and the ultimate bearing capacity. The conclusions provide a rational basis for the design of VDRSPs.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Unveiling the bearing behavior of variable cross-section deep rock-socketed piles in complex strata: A hybrid experimental-numerical investigation","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-11 04:27:37","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9409292/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"dec9ce49-ade1-4abe-816d-937d56fab308","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 11th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"33273701642406632013132137157484715722","date":"2026-05-11T01:31:09+00:00","index":22,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-10T09:42:04+00:00","index":21,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"156101089921943159113709892573525720534","date":"2026-05-06T04:56:39+00:00","index":19,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"271582628792537116585448867109796187244","date":"2026-05-05T14:29:53+00:00","index":18,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"319841599224254059783696050643381680556","date":"2026-05-04T10:04:24+00:00","index":17,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"13","date":"2026-05-04T03:53:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-11T04:27:38+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-11 04:27:37","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9409292","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9409292","identity":"rs-9409292","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}