Assignment 1 – Geotechnical Engineering III

A raft foundation of B x L plan area is to be constructed over a soft ground consisting of a

5.0m thick normally consolidated soft clay layer as shown in the Figure below. The bottom
level of the raft foundation is placed at 2.0m depth due to the semi-basement car park
proposed for the building.

Q kN/m2
0.00m
2.00m
DW Lateritic silty SAND; γwet =
B 18 kN/m3; γsat = 20 kN/m3
W.T.
4.00m

NC silty CLAY; γsat = 18 kN/m3; Cc = 0.32; eo = 0.60

9.00m
Medium dense fine SAND

Due to the difficulties associated with the replacement and other ground improvement
methods, and the high cost associated with the construction of a suitable pile foundation, it is
proposed to improve the soft soil layer by preloading as sufficient time is available for
preloading operation to be completed. There are no buildings located in the adjacent lands
and the site area is sufficiently large than the building foot-print.

It is proposed to place the preloading consisting of H meter high soil fill having a unit weight
of 19 kN/m3 for a time period of 6 months. Once the preloading period is over, it will be
removed and the raft foundation will be constructed. As a junior engineer attached to the
design firm ABC (Pvt) ltd, you are entrusted with the design of the preloading process. You
are requested to check the preloading process by answering to the following questions set by
a senior engineer in your firm.

i. Discuss the difficulties associated with the use of preloading for foundation
construction and the suitability of preloading to this site.
[5 marks]
ii. Divide the clay layer into two sub layers of equal thickness and estimate the
vertical effective overburden pressure at the mid level of each sub layer.
[5 marks]
iii. Assuming a 1V:0.5H stress distribution through the subsurface soil, estimate the
load increment due to the raft foundation at the mid of each sub layer mentioned
above.
[10 marks]
iv. Estimate the average total consolidation settlement of the raft foundation.
[10 marks]
 v. Assuming that the extent of the area of preloading is 2m from each edge of the
raft, estimate the expected settlement of the preload after 6 months and the vertical
effective stress increment at the mid level of each sub layer in the clay layer.
[15 marks]
vi. If the preloading is removed after 6 months and the raft foundation and the
building is constructed, estimate the expected settlement of the building assuming
a 1V:0.5H stress distribution through the subsurface soil. Is the expected
settlement is acceptable?
[20 marks]
vii. Assuming Newmarks method, estimate the stress increment at the mid level of
each sub layer in the clay layer at the mid of the raft and corner of the raft.
[20 marks]
viii. What is the expected differential settlement of the raft, if the Newmarks method of
stress distribution is considered?
[15 marks]

Selection of the problem

Select m, n and p to satisfy the following relationships and use the selected values to obtain
the relevant parameters from Table 1 and 4.
0≤p≤2
0≤m≤4
1≤n≤6
Design office number = 30 p + 6 m + n

Table 1. Selection of L, B of the proposed foundation and preloading height H

m 0 1 2 3,4
L(m) 17 15 22 25
B(m) 15 20 13 15
H (m) 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0

Table 2. Selection of the coefficient of consolidation, Cv of the clay layer

p 0 1 2
2
Cv (m /month) 0.45 0.55 0.60

Table 3. Selection of bearing pressure from the raft (Q) and depth to the water table
(Dw)
n 1 2 3 4 5 6
2
Q (kN/m ) 200 225 250 200 225 250
Dw (m) 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0