Load sharing ratio of pile-raft system in loose sand: an experimental investigation

Abstract

This technical note presents the results of a series of tests carried out on instrumented model pile-raft foundation to investigate the load sharing ratios between the foundation’s components where a loose sand layer is encountered near the ground surface. Four different pile-raft models with two different pile numbers and lengths were considered. In each model, the settlement of the raft and the load of each pile were monitored during the load application process. The experiments showed the effectiveness of pile length on reducing the overall settlement of the pile-raft system. The results showed also that the proportion of load transferred to any pile in a closely spaced pile group increases with its distance from the centre of the group. Unlike some previous studies that classified soil profiles containing loose sands near the surface as unfavourable situations for piled rafts, the experimental results herein represent an evidence of the efficiency of piled rafts even in soil profiles with loose sands immediately beneath the raft. Indeed, ignoring the contribution of the raft would lead to unnecessary over-conservatism in the design of piled rafts.