Numerical investigation on uneven settlement of an aqueduct foundation by three-dimensional random field and finite elements

Uneven settlement of foundations poses a significant threat to structures. The significant influence of non-uniform Young's Modulus on foundation settlement is widely recognized. However, existing research on foundation settlement with non-uniform soil is mostly limited to two-dimensional (2D) models. This study therefore proposes a three-dimensional (3D) computing framework that combines the random finite element method (RFEM) with the Monte Carlo (MC) approach. It utilizes various 3D foundation models with different lengths ( L ) to investigate how the non-uniform soil and foundation length influence the settlement of a strip foundation. The framework was then applied to an aqueduct foundation to investigate its uneven settlement behavior. The results reveal that the mean total settlement for 2D non-uniform soil foundation is at least 5.9 % larger than that for uniform soil foundation. Furthermore, the averaged total settlement derived from the 3D model with a length 10 times its height is 20. 8 % larger than that of the 2D model in random analysis. These results underscore the significance of incorporating the random 3D model in settlement analysis. The findings of this research can aid in the risk assessment of differential settlement.