A laboratory study of the effect of piles asymmetric arrangement on the behavior of piled raft foundation in sand

Abstract

Nowadays, the employment of piled rafts foundations as a solution for decrease of settlement is common. The number of piles and their configuration are determined that settlement of the foundation decreases to an allowable value. In these situations, the configuration of piles is determined in optional manner and strategically. This paper concentrates on laboratory study of effect of asymmetric arrangement of piles beneath the raft in sand. The piles and raft models were made of cast-cast-in-place concrete. The physical models consisted of single pile, single pile in pile group, unpiled raft and piled raft foundation with symmetrical and asymmetrical piles arrangement. The results showed that in the asymmetrical models, increase of bearing capacity due to increase of the number of piles was inefficient and tilt of the foundation increased, significantly. In some of these asymmetrical models, available analytical method overestimated the load capacity of the piled rafts.