EVERGREEN

Joint Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences and Green Asia Strategy

ISSN:2189-0420 (Print until Mar 2020)
ISSN:2432-5953 (Online)

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Snakeskin-Inspired Caudal Foundations for Enhanced Skin Resistance

Agata Iwan Candra1,*, Ad Munawir1, Yulvi Zaika1, Eko Andi Suryo1
1Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Brawijaya University, Malang 65145, Indonesia
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
E-mail: agataiwan@student.ub.ac.id (AIC)
Evergreen, Vol. 13, Iss. 02, pp. 839–850, 2026
DOI: 10.5109/7432659
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Received: September 15, 2025 | Revised: January 29, 2026 | Accepted: May 31, 2026 | Published: June 2026
Abstract
This study investigates the application of caudal foundations inspired by snake locomotion to improve lateral stress distribution and enhance soil-structure interaction in pile foundations. This study presents a bioinspired snakeskin-inspired caudal pile geometry that contextually modifies the lateral earth pressure coefficient (K) and skin resistance (Q_s) terms within the classical Meyerhof pile bearing capacity framework. Laboratory tests were conducted on four steel pile models with a diameter of 10 mm: one smooth pile (plain model) and three caudal designs with varying L/H ratios of 20, 26.67, and 33.33. A small-scale automated loading press, equipped with a stepper motor and a continuous stress-strain recording system, ensured precise real-time data acquisition during the tests. Results indicated that the caudal foundation with an L/H ratio of 20 achieved the highest improvement in skin resistance (Q_s = 0.0280 kN) and lateral earth pressure coefficient (K = 3.94) compared to the smooth pile. These findings confirm a direct correlation between L/H ratio and lateral stress distribution, offering theoretical insights into bioinspired foundation designs and practical recommendations for optimizing foundation performance under diverse geotechnical conditions. Future research is suggested to examine the role of pile diameter and other geometric parameters in validating these trends.
Keywords
L/H ratio; caudal foundation; coefficient of lateral earth; Meyerhof equation; skin resistance
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