A Numerical Study on the Time-Dependent Behavior of Large Piled Rafts in Clay Soil
摘要
The piled raft foundation (PRF) has proven to be advantageous over the traditional foundation types from both bearing capacity and settlement perspectives. In this study, to understand the time-dependent behavior, 3D numerical analyses were performed simulating the consolidation and dissipation of excess pore water pressure (PWP) during the construction and post-construction phases until the completion of consolidation. A parametric study was carried out to assess the effects of varying pile numbers, pile spacings, pile lengths, and raft thicknesses on excess PWP, average settlement, load-sharing, and pile axial load variation with time. The results show that adding piles always proves beneficial in minimizing the excess PWP and average settlement compared to the unpiled raft. The rate of dissipation of excess PWP increases for a lesser pile number with larger pile spacing and longer length piles. The change in the raft thickness has no noticeable effect on the excess PWP dissipation rate. The average settlement post construction is lower for a higher pile number and longer pile length, but it is independent of the change in the raft thickness. There is an upper limit to the pile spacing beyond which the average settlement remains almost the same. The pile load share predominantly remains the same for any PRF configuration after construction and till the end of consolidation. For any pile number with a larger pile spacing and longer length piles, irrespective of the raft thickness, the maximum pile axial load is carried by the middle pile, followed by the edge and corner piles.