Monitoring and numerical investigation of a rigid inclusions-reinforced industrial building

This paper describes a case history of a pile-supported industrial structure with an area improvement ratio of 2.2%. Field-monitored data from the contact pressures acting on the pile, the mattress, and underneath the concrete slab; pore-water pressures; settlements; and vertical strains in the inclusions are reported and discussed. The case history is back-analyzed by performing a three-dimensional (3D) finite difference analysis. The measured and computed results are compared and discussed. Based on the field observations of the contact stresses and pore-water pressures and the numerical simulations of the industrial structure construction, it is clear that there was a load transfer from the soil to the piles due to soil arching. The measured contact pressure acting on the pile was approximately six times higher than that acting on the soil located between the piles. Numerical predictions of the stress reduction, differential settlement, and pile strain are consistent with the measured values during construction of the industrial structure. This concurrence of the numerical and experimental data permits evaluation of these behaviors at the end of the industrial building construction.