Pseudostatic Approach to Analyze Combined Pile-Raft Foundation

A new simplified approach based on the pseudostatic method of analysis is proposed to investigate the response of a combined pile-raft foundation (CPRF) and a group pile considering the complex interaction. In this method, the raft is considered as a plate supported by group of piles and soil, where piles are modeled as Euler beam elements resting on elastic Winkler foundation and the raft is divided into square grids attached with horizontal springs. The reliability of the proposed method is verified by laboratory testing results and those of Plaxis3D simulations for a 4-piled raft system. Good agreement between the laboratory results, numerical simulations, and the proposed method is demonstrated, showing the potential applicability of the new simplified method.