Response of piers installed in sand near sloping ground under inclined loading

Foundations supporting electrical transmission line structures are subjected to inclined loads due to gravity dead and live loads, and lateral wind loads. Due to land limitation and linear alignment of transmission lines, many structures are supported by drilled shafts installed in sand near sloping grounds. This paper evaluates the performance and ultimate capacity of piers installed in sand and subjected to inclined loading through a laboratory experimental program. A series of 1 g experimental model tests was conducted on fully instrumented model piers to evaluate their performance and ultimate capacity. The model pier was installed in a sand bed with a relative density of 70% at various setback distances from a slope and was subjected to various loading conditions. The results revealed that the peak soil pressure and the rotation point were captured at depths of 1.95D_pier and 0.74L_pier , respectively, below the ground surface in case of pure lateral loading. It was also found that, in case of pure vertical loading, 28.6