Pile group spacing impacts settlement: thicker caps worsen, longer piles better.
The article analyzes how pile groups in soil behave. Piles and caps are modeled as beams and plates, and soil displacements are calculated using Mindlin's equation. Results show that increasing pile spacing and number in a group reduces settlement. Thicker caps increase settlement, while higher soil modulus decreases it. Longer piles also lead to more settlement.