Analysis of Load Distribution Coefficient of Piled Raft System: A Numerical Approach

Abstract

The external load acted upon the piled raft is divided between the piled raft components, i.e., piles and the raft present in the piled raft system. But such perception of load distribution does not include interactions among the raft and the piles or among all piles present in a group, and in order to involve such interaction nature, some researchers have presented a load distribution coefficient. Therefore, the major goal of this study is to measure the load distribution coefficient for the piled raft system through numerical modeling. To comprehend the effect of various parameters on the load distribution coefficient, the raft width, number of pile, pile spacing-to-diameter ratio and thickness of clay soil to pile embedded length are altered. The profiles of load distribution coefficient for different design variables are presented in this study, and it can be found that the load distribution coefficient maintains a nonlinear profile with the normalized settlement of the piled raft system, where the load distribution coefficient increases with the increase in the normalized settlement by following a power law. Considering all the model configurations, it is observed that the range of load distribution coefficient $$(\xi_{{\text{PR}}} )$$ varies between 0.75 and 1.11. This phenomenon indicates that the $$\xi_{{\text{PR}}}$$ mostly has a negative effect on the piled raft system. Due to this negative influence of the load distribution coefficient on piled raft system, a proper valuation of this coefficient is very much essential before designing any piled raft system.