ABSTRACT
This research aims to evaluate the behaviour of Piled Raft Foundation (PRF) systems, built on soft clay in consolidation process due to the structural loads and the reduction of the pore water pressure generated by pumping water from deep permeable layers. The experimental work was performed using reduced scale models in geotechnical centrifuge. It was observed that settlement controls are negligible beyond a number of piles. Furthermore, due to the reduction process of pore water pressure, the raft loses contact with the soil partially and, therefore, transfers a higher load to the piles into the PRF system. Thus, if the piles are designed for working very close to the ultimate load, the risk of a total system failure is greater.
