Simplified method to design laterally loaded piles with optimum shape and length

Optimum shape and length of laterally loaded piles can be obtained with different optimization techniques. In particular, the Fully Stress Design method (FSD) is an optimality condition that allows to obtain the optimum shape of the pile, while the optimum length can be obtained through a transversality condition at the pile lower end. Using this technique, the structure is analysed by finite elements and shaped through the FSD method by contemporarily checking that the transversality condition is satisfied. In this paper it is noted that laterally loaded piles with optimum shape and length have some peculiar characteristics, depending on the type of cross-section, that allow to design them with simple calculations without using finite element analysis. Some examples illustrating the proposed simplified design method of laterally loaded piles with optimum shape and length are introduced.