Prediction of elastic settlement of rectangular raft foundation — a coupled FE-BE approach

✍ Scribed by Mandal, J. J.; Ghosh, D. P.

• Book ID: 101220463
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 112 KB
• Volume: 23
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0363-9061
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9853(199903)23:3<263::aid-nag965>3.0.co;2-t

✦ Synopsis

A numerical method of analysis is proposed for computation of the elastic settlement of raft foundations using a FEM-BEM coupling technique. The structural model adopted for the raft is based on an isoparametric plate bending finite element and the raft-soil interface is idealized by boundary elements. Mindlin's half-space solution is used as a fundamental solution to find the soil flexibility matrix and consequently the soil stiffness matrix. Transformation of boundary element matrices are carried out to make it compatible for coupling with plate stiffness matrix obtained from the finite element method. This method is very efficient and attractive in the sense that it can be used for rafts of any geometry in terms of thickness as well as shape and loading. Depth of embedment of the raft can also be considered in the analysis.