This paper presents the structural behavior of six reinforced concrete pile caps in rectangular arrangement, considering the ground deformability of pile support, different concrete strengths with square or rectangular cross section of column under central load. For this purpose, the analysis emphasizes a strut and tie method design and a three-dimensional numerical using the finite element method. So, the stress flow configuration and the formation of struts were seen in perspective. How much deformable is the ground, more uniform are the reactions distribution observed between the piles. The column cross section influenced the configuration of the connecting struts. The concrete strength variation had more influence in the pile caps strength than the stiffness. The analytical method has shown compatibility which obtained from the numerical simulation results.
reinforced concrete; six pile caps; strut and tie method
