• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2019

The formulas offered so far on the settlement of raft footings provide only a rough estimate of the actual settlement. One of the best ways to make an accurate estimation is to conduct 3-dimensional finite element analyses. However, the required procedure for these analyses is comparatively cumbersome and expensive and needs a bit more expertise. In order to address this issue, in this study, a raft footing settlement formula was developed based on ninety finite element model configurations. The formula was derived using multi-parameter exponential regression analyses. The settlement formula incorporates the dimensions and the elastic modulus of a rectangular raft, vertical uniform pressure and soil moduli and Poisson's ratios up to 5 layers. In addition to this, an equation was offered for the estimation of average deflection of the raft. The proposed formula was checked against 3 well-documented case studies. The formula that is derived from 3D finite element analyses is useful in optimising the raft properties.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.13-25
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• 2015

With the increasing usages of micropile, several researchers have been studying the bearing characteristics of micropile or micropile-raft system. But most cases of research were focused on the bearing capacity of micropile-raft system on sand layer. And it was not considered that the bearing capacity of micropile-raft system was affected by the failure mode of soil and pile installation conditions. Thereby this study conducted the numerical analysis to estimate the bearing capacity of micropile-raft system on sand or silt layer with different shear failure mode. It was found that the bearing capacity of micropile-raft system installed in positive or negative angle was larger than that of the system installed in vertical angle, in the case of the sand layer undergoing the general shear failure. In the case of silt layer undergoing the punching shear failure, the bearing capacity of micropile-raft system installed only in negative angle was larger than that installed in vertical or positive angle. And the bearing capacity of foundation system in positive angle was similar to the vertical micropile-raft system.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.449-461
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• 2018

The load sharing ratio (${\alpha}_{pr}$) of piles is one of the most common problems in the preliminary design of piled raft foundations. A series of 3D numerical analysis are conducted so that special attentions are given to load sharing characteristics under varying conditions, such as pile configuration, pile diameter, pile length, raft thickness, and settlement level. Based on the 3D FE analysis, influencing factors on load sharing behavior of piled raft are investigated. As a result, it is shown that the load sharing ratio of piled raft decreases with increasing settlement level. The load sharing ratio is not only highly dependent on the system geometries of the foundation but also on the settlement level. Based on the results of parametric studies, the load sharing ratio is proposed as a function of the various influencing factors. In addition, the parametric analyses suggest that the load sharing ratios to minimize the differential settlement of piled raft are ranging from 15 to 48% for friction pile and from 15 to 54% for end-bearing pile. The recommendations can provide a basis for an optimum design that would be applicable to piled rafts taking into account the load sharing characteristics.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.433-445
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• 2020

A new code, called PRaFULL (Piled Raft Foundation Under Lateral Load), was developed for the analysis of laterally loaded Combined Pile Raft Foundation (CPRF). The proposed code considers the contribution offered by the raft-soil contact and the interactions between all the CPRF system components. The nonlinear behaviour of the reinforced concrete pile and the soil are accounted. As shallower soil layers are of great relevance in the lateral response of a pile foundation, PRaFULL includes the possibility to consider layered soil profiles with appropriate properties. The shadowing effect on the ultimate soil pressure is accounted, when dealing with pile groups, as proposed by the Strain Wedge Model. PRaFULL BEM code obviously requires less computational resources compared to FEM (Finite Element Method) or FDM (Finite Difference Method) codes. The proposed code was validated in the linear elastic range by comparisons with the code APRAF (Analysis of Piled Raft Foundations). The reliability of the procedure to predict piled raft performance was then verified in nonlinear range by comparisons with both centrifuge tests and computer code PRAB.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.533-550
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• 1999

Optimal design of raft-pile foundations is examined by combining finite element technique and the optimization approach. The piles and soil medium are modeled by three dimensional solid elements while the raft is modelled by shell elements. Drucker-Prager criterion is adopted for the soil medium while the raft and the piles are assumed to be linear elastic. For the optimization process, the approximate semi-analytical method is used for calculating constraint sensitivities and a constraint approximation method which is a combination of the extended Bi-point approximation and Lagrangian polynomial approximation is used for predicting the behaviour of the constraints. The objective function of the problem is the volume of materials of the foundation while the design variables are raft thickness, pile length and pile spacing. The generalized reduced gradient algorithm is chosen for solving the optimization process. It is demonstrated that the method proposed in this study is promising for obtaining optimal design of raft-pile foundations without carrying out a large number of analyses. The results are also compared with those obtained from the previous study in which linear analysis was carried out.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.23-33
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• 2009

In this study the characteristics of piled raft was investigated by using both centrifuge and numerical modeling. The ultimate bearing capacities of single pile, unpiled raft, freestanding pile group and piled raft were compared in order to investigate load sharing of each element : pile and raft. The comparison determined parameters to simply evaluate the ultimate bearing capacity of piled raft. Centrifuge test results were simulated by numerical simulation to verify the parameters.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.17-24
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• 2008

In this study, two-dimensional finite element method has been developed to simply consider the nonlinear load-settlement behavior of piled raft foundation subjected to vertical loads. The raft is modeled as the plate finite element based on Mindline's theory and the pile is modeled as the proposed simple pile model that is easy to consider the complex nonlinear load-settlement behavior between pile and soil. The developed numerical method has been compared with the settlement data of lab-scaled experiment and numerical solutions to verify that the developed numerical method shows satisfactory prediction for the nonlinear load-settlement of piled raft foundation.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.83-91
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• 2017

In case of estimation of settlement for the piled-raft foundation, it is necessary to consider interaction among raft, piles and soil. But, simple analytic methods usually are not applicable to considering this complicated interaction. In this study, a computer-based approximate analytic method, HDPR, was developed in consideration of above mentioned interaction in order to analysis of settlement for the piled-raft foundation. The finite element method was applied to raft analysis by means of the Mindlin plate theory, and soil and piles were modeled as springs which were connected with their raft. The linear spring which can consider multi layered soil and the non-linear spring were applied to soil springs and pile springs, respectively. The raft-piles-soil interaction was reflected to each spring. In order to verify the developed analytic method, it was compared and analyzed with 3D FEM analysis, existing approximate analytic method and site monitoring data. As a result, the developed analytic method showed reasonable results of settlement estimations of raft and piles for each case. From a practical point of view, it is confirmed that this analytic method is able to apply for analysis and design of the piled-raft foundation.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.5-16
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• 2023

The effect of raft flexibility on piled raft foundations in sandy soil was investigated using a numerical analysis and an analytical study. The investigation's emphasis was the load sharing between piles and raft following the raft rigidity (K_R), end-bearing conditions. The case of individual piles and subsequently the response of groups of piles was analyzed using a 3D FEM. This study shows that the α_pr, load-sharing ratio of piled raft foundations, decreases as the vertical loading increases and as the K_R decreases. This tendency is more obvious when using friction piles compared to using end-bearing piles. The effect of raft rigidity is found to be more significant for the axial force distribution - each pile within the foundations has almost similar axial forces of the pile head with a flexible raft; however, each pile has different values with rigid rafts, especially with the end-bearing piles. The axial force of the pile base with floating piles shows similar point-bearing resistance for all the piles; however, it shows different values with end-bearing piles. The differential settlement ratio of rafts showed a larger value with lower K_R.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2000.03a
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• pp.29-49
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• 2000