Simplified method for analysing piled raft foundations

Piled raft foundations are recognized to be able to become a cost-effective alternative to conventional pile foundations. For designing the piled rafts, it is required to consider interactions of raft-soil-pile system to predict settlement and internal stresses of the rafts. A simplified method for analysing piled raft foundations is presented where piles and soil are represented by interacting springs and finite elements are used to analyse the raft members. Non-linearity of soil is also considered in the interacting springs. Comparisons are made between the behaviours observed in two full-scale piled rafts and those numerically simulated by the presented method.