Soil-Foundation-Superstructure

Interaction for Tall Buildings on

Combined Pile-Raft Foundations
Konstantinos Syngros, Ph.D., P.E.
Alan Poeppel, P.E.
Langan Engineering & Environmental Services, Inc.
Langan International

OVERVIEW
Definitions
Process of Foundation Design for Tall Buildings

Soil Modeling For Structural Design

Case Study
Final Remarks

DEFINITIONS

Foundation Differential Settlements

TOWER

Differential settlements
due to gravity loads
For tall towers even
small differential
settlements can offset
the top by meters and
overstress the structure
A special study is
needed to determine
differential settlements
Raft Foundation

Differential
Settlements

Soil Modeling for Structural Design

Structural Approach

Geotechnical Approach

Winkler Springs Model

Continuum Model

Raft Foundations
A raft consists of a reinforced-concrete slab that
supports the columns and walls of a structure, and
distributes the loads to the underlying soils.

Raft foundations are considered

when:
Individual footings cover more
than about half of the building
area.
Total and differential settlements
are too high.

RAFT
(a.k.a.
MAT)

COLUMN
LOCATIONS

Combined Pile-Raft Foundations

Combined Pile-Raft
foundations are considered
when:
Settlements and differential
settlements are too high
when using only raft
foundations.
PILES/
DRILLED
SHAFTS

Piled Raft - Overview

Combination of raft + piles
Raft to provide adequate
bearing
Piles to reduce total and
differential settlements

Piled-raft consists of a
limited number of piles
strategically located below
heavily loaded area (e.g.:
shear walls)

Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia

Piled Raft - Overview

Brooklyn, N.Y., US

Brooklyn, N.Y., US

Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia

Settlement Comparison between Raft only and

Piled-Raft
Project: Brooklyn, N.Y., US
1Bin
C in
0.8

2.5
A in

B in
0.8
0.9
E in

1D
in

0.7 inC

1.5
A in

0.8
E in

0.8Din

Raft Only

Piled-Raft

Max /L = 1/335

Max /L = 1/630

Process of Foundation Design for

Towers

Project Team for Towers

Developer
Architect
Structural Engineer
Geotechnical Engineer

Local
Consultants
Peer Reviewers
Specialty
Foundation
Contractors

Developing Foundation System

Geotechnical Investigation
Structural Engineer Provides Initial Tower Loads
Initial Studies (Bearing Capacity, Settlement) by
Geotechnical Engineer
Refinement of Studies (Determine Constructability,
Iterative Process between Structural + Geotechnical
Engineer)
Peer Review Process
Contractor Selection Process
Local Authorities Approval Process

Iterative Process General Steps - RAFTS

COLUMN
LOADS

Structural
Engineer

WINKLER SPRINGS,
FOUNDATION
SETTLEMENTS+ STRESSES
REVISED FOUNDATION
SETTLEMENTS+STRESSES
NEW WINKLER SPRINGS,
NEW FOUNDATION
SETTLEMENTS+STRESSES

Geotechnical
Engineer

Iterative Process Combined Pile-Rafts

In addition to Raft Settlements, require
convergence on
Pile Loads
Pile/Subgrade Load Sharing
Column/Wall Loads

Soil Modeling for Structural Design

Soil Modeling for Structural Design

Structural Approach

Geotechnical Approach

Winkler Springs Model

Continuum Model

Elastic
Space

Inelastic
Space

Determination of Soil Springs (K-value)

The K-value (a.k.a. Winkler Spring or
Modulus of Subgrade Reaction) is the ratio
of pressure over displacement

K = p/

Foundation Response
Significant differences in response between
Winkler and Continuum models.
Contact pressure beneath rigid foundations
Settlements beneath flexible foundations

Foundation Response Rigid Raft

Structural Approach

Geotechnical Approach

Winkler Springs Model

Continuum Model

Settlements

Stress Distribution

Foundation Response Flexible Raft

Winkler

Continuum

Settlements

Stress Distribution

Foundation Response
Solution:
Stiffness of outermost springs should be increased
to account for increase in soil rigidity.
For stiff soil, outer springs may increase 30-40%
For soft soil, they may need to increase 2-3
times!

Determination of Modulus of
Subgrade Reaction (K-value)

The K-value can be obtained through:

Method A: Plate load tests
Method B: Tables of typical values /
correlations (based on plate load tests)
Method C: Modeling of the loaded foundation

Determination of Modulus of Subgrade

Reaction (K-value) Method C
Estimate settlements and bearing pressures
at many points within the raft
Determine the K-value from:
K = p/

(pressure/settlement)

Draw K-value contours

If piles are present, pile springs can be
determined as pile force/pile settlement at
the pile locations

CASE STUDY
Tower in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Geotechnical Investigation
Geotechnical Borings
In-situ Testing (i.e., SPT, Pressuremeter Tests)
Laboratory Tests (Index properties, Triaxial,
1-D Consolidation, etc)
Geophysical Methods

Model Parameter Selection

Determine critical parameters such as
Raft thickness
Locations, geometry of piles
Soil Modulus of deformation
Method of construction
Pile/Soil interface strength

Hand Calculations

Finite Element Modeling

Input
Geometry (raft, piles, stratigraphy)
Material Properties (raft, piles, stratigraphy)
Element Selection (Volume, area, line
elements)
Boundary Conditions
Loading (Construction Staging, Self Weight,
Tower Loads)

170m

RAFT: ~ 40m x 60m x 4m

PILES D=2m, L=75m

Typical Soil/Rock Constitutive Models

Soil
Elastic (E, , unit weight)
Mohr-Coulomb (friction angle, cohesion)
Modified M-C/Soil Hardening
Soft Soil/ Modified Cam-Clay
Rock
Elastic (E, , unit weight)
Mohr-Coulomb (friction angle, cohesion)
Hoek-Brown

Typical Structure Models

Raft
Elastic (E, , unit weight), Volume Elements
Plate Elements (thickness)
Piles
Volume Elements (w or w/o interface)
Beam Elements (w or w/o interface)
Embedded Beam Elements w interface

This is the best but model

may become too big for the
computer to handle

Intermediate
situation

Sufficiently accurate and can

handle large number of piles.

Typical Loading Conditions

Soil/Foundation Self Weight
Column/Wall Loads as
Point Loads
Line Loads
Pressure Loads
Foundation Construction
Stages

Settlement Results

~100mm

~35mm

Settlement Results
40 m

70 m

Soil Subgrade Stresses

Vertical Strains (Block Behavior)

Pile Settlements

Pile Axial Loads

Pile-Soil Relative (Slip) Displacement

Soil/Pile Springs Determination

Determine Pile Springs
(Reaction/Settlement)
Determine Area Springs
(Pressure/Settlement)
Determine Pile/Raft Load Share
Provide the above to Structural Engineer

Pile Loads + Settlements

Pile Head Axial Load (MN)

Pile Loads
32

31

33

29

26

32
32

30

39
40

30

27
24

26

27

41

24

26

26
31

25

25

25

24

27

24
28

25

29
40

24

24

28

27

38
27

37

25
27

36

23

27

25

24

26

26

28

25

23

27

29

24

24
25

27

30

27

23

25
27

36

25

25
25

25

27

32

25

28

26
26

26

30

30

31

30
29

Raft Settlements

Soil/Pile Springs
Pile Springs (MN/m)

PILE SPRINGS
488

516
460
499

365

334

335

476

497

486

466

296

301

346

304

332

454

405

306

297

296
336

322
289

279

285
344

465

338

316

343
361
502

457

379

283

264

423

366
304

265

279
298

475

351
282

253

278

351

324
268

261

297

370

298
261

288
312

406

292

280

310

337

385
306

308

366
456

436
372

397

367

461

425

437

499

448

AREA SPRINGS

Winkler Springs Adjustment

Based on Structural Engineers
Settlements
Subgrade Stresses
Pile Loads
Pile/Raft Load Sharing
Wall Loads
Re-run Foundation Model + adjust Area and Pile
Springs appropriately

Comparisons: Iteration 1

Pile Loads > 20%

Settlements >20%

Comparisons: Iteration 2

Pile Loads > 20%

Settlements >10%
Wall Loads>10%

Comparisons: Iteration 3

Pile Loads > 5%

Settlements >5%
Wall Loads >10%

Comparisons: Iteration 4

Pile Loads > 5%

Settlements >5%
Wall Loads <10%

Comparisons: Iteration 5

Pile Loads ~5%

Settlements ~5%
Wall Loads <10%

Shear-Wall Load Changes

RAFT EDGES

RAFT CENTER

FINAL REMARKS
The iterative process gives insight on the
redistribution of column/wall loads.
The redistribution is more pronounced
when the superstructure is stiff
compared to the foundation.
The redistribution may necessitate
stiffening the foundation.

Thank you
Questions?
KSyngros@Langan.com
APoeppel@Langan.com