Time-Dependent Response of Soft Soil Under Tilted Storage Tanks

Abstract

AbstractTilting of foundations due to differential settlement is reported in the case of many structures. Such phenomenon may occur due to the non-availability of adequate soil data or inappropriate design considerations. In the case of a tilted structure founded on soil strata consisting of a soft soil layer, it is important to take timely remedial measures. Therefore, it is required to analyze the changes in the response to soft soil with time in such cases. In this study, the time-dependent behavior of soft foundation soil under a tilted cylindrical storage tank is analyzed to develop an overview of the consolidation settlement of soil. The analysis is performed using the finite element software package Plaxis 3D. The foundation of the tank is considered a uniformly loaded circular raft made of concrete. A soil layer system is selected for the analysis of differential settlement considering variation in thickness of the soft soil layer along the diameter. Effect of size of raft and stiffness of soft soil is also studied to develop further understanding of the problem. It was observed that differential settlement of tank may occur even in the uniform soil layer, but tilting is dependent on a change in thickness of the soft soil layer. It was also observed that tilting reduces with an increase in stiffness of the soft soil.KeywordsTiltingStorage tankSoft soil