THE EFFECTS OF PILE NUMBER ON THE PERFORMANCE OF PILED RAFT FOUNDATIONS IN SAND

Volume Title: ICASGE2025

Paper ID : 1165-ICASGE (R1)

¹Faculty of Civil Engineering, HoChiMinh City University of Technology, Vietnam

²Can Tho University

This study examines the behavior of piled raft foundations in sandy soils under vertical loading, focusing on load distribution and settlement. Physical model tests, analytical calculations, and Finite Element Modelling (FEM) were conducted to assess the effect of pile number on foundation performance. The results indicate that increasing the number of piles enhances load transfer to the piles while reducing the load carried by the raft. This effect is more pronounced in AM and FEM compared to PM. FEM demonstrates a smooth and consistent reduction in axial load, while experimental results show fluctuations, likely due to pile-soil interaction. The load-settlement curves exhibit a linear response at low loads, transitioning to non-linear behavior as the piles reach their ultimate capacity. Discrepancies between FEM simulations and experimental findings highlight the need for improved numerical modeling and refined experimental techniques to enhance prediction accuracy. These findings provide valuable insights into how pile number and spacing influence load transfer mechanisms in piled-raft foundations, emphasizing the importance of selecting an appropriate analytical model for performance evaluation.

Piled raft; Sand; physical modelling; load distribution

Geotechnical Engineering (GEO)