ABSTRACT

The role of piles in piled raft is complex as the load distribution and the reduction in settlement is not uniform across the foundation. For this reason, until recently, piles were used only to improve the serviceability and the ultimate limit state of the raft foundations. In reality, however, significant interaction takes place between the raft and the piles, and it is not uncommon to overload the piles. In order to appreciate the above effects, two issues are addressed in this paper. First, to identify the contribution of the raft and the proportion of load it transfers to the piles. The location of the piles was important in this case. Second, is to obtain the optimal length of the corner and central piles. Centrifuge model tests were conducted at 30 g on model piled raft resting on sand bed.