Settlement Profile and Pile Load Distribution Under Vertical Load of Piled Raft Foundation in Clay

In the rigorous analysis using FEM, the load sharing of the piles between the shaft and base resistance increased with increase in limited number of piles i.e. limited to decrease in pile spacing. The load sharing depends upon their location and spacing. The load carried by the center pile reduces with the increase in the number of piles and piled area. For the edge piles, it increased with the increase in the number of piles, whereas decreased for the corner piles. The total load carrying capacity of the piles increased with the pile sizes and spacing. The piled raft settlement decreases with the increase in the number of piles. By rearranging the same number of piles, more settlement of piled raft is observed for less pile spacing, which concentrated at the center, and the settlement is decreased with increase in pile spacing, which scattered outwards. Increased in number of piles is not always advisable and expensive. Based on limitation in settlement as specified by the code, limited number of piles and pile spacing are recommended. The settlement profile along the centre line of the piled raft decreased with the increase in the number of piles and more flexible at larger pile spacing.