Experimental Study on Connected and Non-connected Piled Raft Foundations Subjected to Eccentric Loading

Abstract

Piled raft foundations are sometimes used when the supporting soil has no adequate bearing capacity and the raft settlements exceed allowable values. This research investigates the bearing capacity of a foundation subjected to eccentric loads in both connected and non-connected piled raft foundations under 1 g. The load-settlement curves of a strip, square and circular raft are compared. The results illustrate that piled raft behavior is influenced by various factors such as pile length, spacing, shape, and eccentricity ratio in connected and non-connected cases. Test results indicate that connected foundations have greater bearing capacities and lesser settlements in larger pile spacing (S/D = 6), while non-connected foundations have higher bearing capacities and lesser settlements in lesser pile spacing (S/D = 3). Moreover, both the pile length in a connected piled raft system and pile spacing in a non-connected system affected the bearing capacity remarkably. The bearing capacity of the square and circular foundations at S/D = 3 was greater for the non-connected pile (19.8 and 15.8 kg/cm2 receptivity) than the connected pile (18 and 14.1 kg/cm2), while at S/D = 6, the bearing capacity of the foundations was greater for the connected pile than the non-connected pile. However, in both cases, the bearing capacity was enhanced and the settlements were reduced. The effect of various parameters is also evaluated and discussed in this study.