PILED RAFT FOUNDATIONS

The Piled Raft Concept Many modern structures are being constructed with basement slabs and when piles are used in the foundations it is generally assumed that the basement slab does not carry any of the foundation loads. In some cases however, it is possible to utilize the basement raft slab in conjunction with the piles to obtain a foundation which satisfies both bearing capacity and settlement criteria.

FIGURE 2Relationship between Foundation Settlement and Number of Piles

Thus, the basic objective in designing a piled raft system is to assess the minimum number of piles which must be added to the raft slab in order to satisfy both bearing capacity and settlement criteria. In making this assessment, it is essential to use a method of analysis which considers the combined action of the piles and the raft. Computer Design Method Recently, an efficient computer analysis method has been developed by Coffey. The method analyses a raft or piled raft foundation subjected to vertical and moment loadings, and also to externally imposed soil movements. It is implemented via a computer program GARP (Geotechnical Analysis of a Raft with Piles). For strip or piled strip foundations, the program GASP (Geotechnical Analysis of Strip with Piles) has been developed. Figure 3 illustrates a typical problem which can be analysed.

FIGURE 1 - Concept of Pile-Raft Foundation System

Figure 1

The concept of the piled raft foundation system is illustrated in Figure 1, which shows a simplified plot of load versus settlement for a raft with piles. The working load on the foundation is Pw and if a raft only is used, the settlement (Sr) may exceed the allowable value. On the other hand, if the foundation consists of a large number of piles, so that it effectively acts as a block, the settlement (Sb) may be considerably less than can be tolerated. If a limited number of piles are used with the raft, the settlement will be reduced as compared with the raft-only case, and the load capacity will be increased. Figure 2 shows a typical relationship between foundation settlement and number of piles. It is possible that some or all of the piles will reach their ultimate load at the foundation working load Pw, but as long as the overall load capacity and settlement satisfy the design criteria, the foundation will be satisfactory.

FIGURE 3 - Cross-Section of a Typical Problem which can be Analysed

Consideration is given in the program to interaction among the soil, the raft and the
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piles. Allowance is also made in the program for the effects of externally imposed loadings, on or within the soil. Local bearing capacity or uplift failure, and the development of the ultimate capacity of the piles, can be handled by the programs. The output from the programs includes the detailed distribution of deflection, slope, bending moment, shear and contact pressure beneath the raft, and the load carried in each of the piles below the raft. The program requires information such as the thickness of the soil layers below the foundation, the dimensions of the raft or strip being analysed, and the Young's modulus of the raft and pile materials. In addition, the following geotechnical input data are required: Young's modulus of the underlying soil layers; Limiting bearing pressure (in both tension and compression) beneath the raft or strip; Ultimate capacity of the piles in compression and tension; Any external soil movements which may occur beneath the raft or strip, e.g. due to expansive soil movements or to settlements arising from dewatering or excavation operations.
The QVI Building in Perth standing on a pile raft foundation

Examples of Use of Piled Rafts There are many instances of piled rafts being used to support structures, among these being: The Hyde Park Cavalry Barracks in London, UK Guy's Hospital in London, UK The Messe Turm building in Frankfurt Germany, formerly the tallest building in Europe. The QVI Building, Perth, Australia.

These geotechnical parameters may be assessed roughly from relatively routine geotechnical investigations, but it is generally much more satisfactory to carry out more specific insitu testing in order to increase the accuracy of assessment of the parameters, e.g. by means of plate or screw-plate tests, pressuremeter tests, and pile load tests.

Coffey have used the programs GASP and GARP to implement the piled raft concept in several projects, including: The Manly Hotel, in Sydney Australia Industrial structures at the ICI Plant in Sydney Remedial foundation scheme for the Albion Park Raceway in Brisbane Australia A proposed highrise building in Kuala Lumpur Mine stacker-reclaimer at Camberwell NSW Structures at the Shell refinery in Sydney A commercial building in Sao Paulo, Brazil
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PILED RAFT FOUNDATIONS

Advantages of Piled Rafts The advantages may be summarized as follows: Piles may be located strategically beneath the raft so that differential settlements can be controlled. Piles of different length and/or diameter can be used at different locations to optimize the foundation design. Piles can be designed to carry a load approaching (or equal to) their ultimate load, provided that the raft can develop an adequate proportion of the required ultimate load capacity. Because the piles need not be designed to carry all the load, there is the potential for substantial savings on the cost of the foundations. Profiles with very soft clays at or near the surface, where the raft can contribute only a relatively small proportion of the required ultimate load capacity. Profiles which may be subjected to longterm consolidation settlement; in this case, the soil may lose contact with the raft and transfer all the load to the piles. Profiles which may be subjected to expansive (upward) movements; in this case, the soil movements will result in increased contact pressures on the raft and the consequent development of tensile forces in the piles.

Some Publications Related to Piled Rafts Davis, E.H. and Poulos, H.G. (1972). "T he Analysis of Pile-Raft Systems". Aust. Geomechs Jul, Vol. G2, No. 1, 21-27. Poulos, H.G. (1991). "Foundation Economy via Piled-Raft Systems". Keynote Paper, Proc. Piletalk 91, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 97-106. Poulos, H.G. (1991). "Analysis of Piled Strip Foundations". Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, Ed. G. Beer, J.R. Booker and J.P. Carter, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Vol. 1, 193-191. Poulos, H.G. (1993). "Piled Rafts in Swelling or Consolidating Soils". Jnl. Geot. Engineering. ASCE, Vol. 119, No. 2, 374380. Poulos, H.G. (1994). "An Approximate Numerical Analysis of Pile-Raft Interaction". Intl. Jnl. of Numerical and Analytical Methods of Geomechanics, Vol. 18, 73-92. Poulos, H.G. (1994). "Alternative Design Strategies for Piled Raft Foundations". Keynote paper, 3 rd Int. Conference on Deep Foundation Practice, Singapore, 239-244.

The most advantageous circumstances for piled rafts are those in which the raft can provide a significant stiffness and load capacity, for example, soil profiles involving stiff clays near the surface, or piles in which a stiffer "crust" overlies weaker soil, or profiles containing relatively dense sand. In such cases, analyses indicate that the application of the piled-raft concept can lead to savings in excess of 50% in the number of piles, as compared to pile foundations which are designed to carry all the load, without any contribution from the raft. There may be some increased costs involved if increases are required in the raft thickness or reinforcement, but overall, there is the potential for substantial cost savings by using a piled raft, where the circumstances are appropriate. Circumstances Under Which Piled Rafts May Not Be Appropriate There are soil profiles in which piled rafts may not provide much, if any, advantage over a conventional piled foundation. These include:

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