In recent years, the embedded pile model has been successfully implemented in PLAXIS 3D. The embedded pile consists of beam elements connecting to the surrounding soil by means of special interfaces (skin interface and foot interface). Although the embedded pile doesn't take into account volume, a particular elastic region around the pile whose dimension is equivalent to the pile diameter is assumed in which plastic behavior is neglected. This makes the embedded pile almost behave like the volume pile. Therefore, it may be said that the embedded pile model is considered as a 'simplified' model of the volume pile. Although the embedded pile is a relatively new feature, it has been validated by comparisons with the volume pile as well as with measurements from real tests. The finding shows that the embedded pile is not only in good agreement with the volume pile, but also able to resemble the real pile behavior. However, these validations are only considered in terms of axial loading (compression loading and tension loading). Therefore it's questionable whether the embedded pile also shows a good performance in the situation of being subjected to lateral loading.

In order to answer this question, this thesis is aimed to give a validation of the embedded pile for lateral loading caused by external forces as well as soil movements in embankment applications. This validation is firstly made in PLAXIS imaginary models (a 'simplified' model as considered in Chapter 3 and 'advanced' models as considered in Chapter 4) and then in a PLAXIS model of a real case study as considered in Chapter 5.