Master Builders Journal

Innovative Substructures on Soft Ground

By : Ir. Dr. Gue See Sew & Ir. Tan Yean Chin

Innovative Substructures on Soft Ground

Ir. Dr. Gue See Sew & Ir. Tan Yean-Chin
Gue & Partners Sdn Bhd (www.gnpgroup.com.my)

Introduction

ground and the building will also cause breakage of

services (e.g. water supply, sewerage lines, etc.).

In Malaysia, the construction of industrial structures,

commercial and residential buildings on soft ground and
hill-site has increased tremendously for the last 15 years
due to depleting good land at cities like Kuala Lumpur,
Penang and Johor Bahru.
In addition, highrise
development in the city also often entails the need for a
deep basement to maximise use of space despite the
implementation of a mass transit system to reduce cars into
and out of the cities. Often these developments will require
innovative design and construction to make them costeffective and shorter construction time but without
sacrificing safety. This paper presents some of the
innovative substructures designed by the Authors firm
and also from some of the projects involved by the
Authors..

Housing Developments on Soft Ground Area

The development of national road networks, residential
and commercial properties have encroached into areas
underlain with very soft soils (e.g. alluvial soils, marine
clays, etc.). In this formation, usually the competent layer
(stiff or dense soils) and bedrock are very deep (sometimes
more than 60m deep) and resulting in higher cost of
foundation.
Geotechnical works in deep deposit of highly compressible
soft clay is often associated with problems such as
excessive differential settlement, negative skin friction and
bearing capacity failure. Conventionally, piles are
introduced to address the issue of bearing capacity and
excessive differential settlement. Piles are often installed
into competent stratum or set in order to achieve the pile
bearing capacity and to limit the differential settlement by
reducing the overall settlement of a structure. However,
this solution only addresses short-term problem associated
with soft clay as pile bearing capacity will be significantly
reduced with time due to negative skin friction (down drag
force acting the piles). Few centimetres of ground
settlement along the pile is sufficient to fully mobilise the
negative skin friction acting on the pile.
This option often reduces the cost-effectiveness of such
conventional solution as correctly the piles have to be
downgraded (using lower allowable capacity thus more
numbers of piles or larger pile size) to cater for the down
drag force acting on these piles due to settling ground with
time. In addition to that, problems such as continuing
settlement of the ground will cause large gap to form
between the building supported on rigid piles and the
settling ground. Figure 1 shows a typical problem
encountered using the piled-to-set foundation on settling
ground. The large differential settlement (between the
Page 1 of 7

Magnitude of
Settlement

Exposed Pile

Closed-Up View of the Gap

Figure 1. Typical example of continue settlement of the

ground causing formation of large gap between the
building with piled-to-set foundation and the settling
ground.
In a housing development project of 1200 acres at Bukit
Tinggi, Klang which is on very soft ground termed as
Klang Clay (Tan, et al. 2004(a)), the Authors have
designed an innovative foundation solutions to solve this
problems.
The site is underlain by alluvial deposits which generally
consist of very soft to firm silty CLAY up to a depth of 25
to 30m with presence of intermediate sandy layers. The
silty CLAY stratum is generally underlain by silty SAND.
Klang Clay can be divided into two distinct layers at a
depth of 15m. The competent hard layer with SPTN
greater than 50 blows is only encountered at depth of 35m
to 40m.

Master Builders Journal

Innovative Substructures on Soft Ground
By : Ir. Dr. Gue See Sew & Ir. Tan Yean Chin

This innovative foundation uses short settlement reduction

piles coupled with strip-raft foundation to support 2-storey
to 5-storey buildings on soft ground. When designing the
foundation system, short piles (length of pile is a quarter to
a half of the depth to hard layer with SPT>50, depending
on the load of the structures). This system can also be
termed as floating piled raft foundation. The conceptual
comparisons of the conventional foundation system and
floating piled raft foundation for low rise buildings are
shown in Figure 2.
(a)

(b)

The floating piled raft foundation is designed to limit

differential settlement and it consists of short piles
strategically located at areas of concentrated load and
interconnected with a rigid system of strip-raft to control
differential settlement (Tan, et al. 2004(b) & Tan, et. al.
2005). This system is the hybrid of piled raft design
combining creep piling and differential settlement
control piling defined by Randolph (1994). The objective
of the design is to provide an optimum piled raft
foundation system that takes into consideration the bearing
capacity contribution of the raft and the piles are
introduced mainly to limit differential settlement. The
general approach is to increase the stiffnesses of areas
where the settlement is expected to be the largest by
introducing settlement reducing piles. Cost comparison
has also been carried out to compare this innovative
system with conventional foundation system that has
been properly designed with negative skin friction
consideration. This innovative system is more costeffective, easier to construct and no long term
serviceability problems.

Actual Completed Houses

(a)

(b)

25m to 30m thick

soft compressible
layer (Klang
Clay)

Foundation System =
9m length of 150mm x
150mm reinforced
concrete (RC) square
piles interconnected
with 350mm x 600mm
strips and 150mm thick
raft.

Dense sand layer

Figure 3. 2-storey link houses on floating piles.

Figure 2. Conceptual Comparison of

(a) Conventional Piled-to-Set Foundation
(b) Floating piled-raft foundation.

Page 2 of 7

This foundation system has shown to be very effective as

demonstrated by the monitoring results on the completed
structures. Figure 3 shows the completed 2-storey link
houses with schematic of the foundation depth relative to
the thickness of the soft compressible subsoil. Figures 4
and 5 show the typical layout of the foundation system for
2-storey link houses and cross section of the strip raft

Master Builders Journal

Innovative Substructures on Soft Ground
By : Ir. Dr. Gue See Sew & Ir. Tan Yean Chin

foundation system respectively.

The floating piles
foundation system is also extended to support 5-storey low
cost apartments at the same site as shown in Figure 6.

Completed 5-storeys Apartments

The floating piled raft foundation has been further

optimized and more cost effective if they are coupled with
shear wall system used for the buildings. This is because
the shear wall frame of the building will increase the
rigidity and stiffness of the whole foundation system thus
shallower strips and short piles are sufficient to satisfy the
design requirements.

Soft compressible layer ( 25 to 30 m)

Piles with varying length (18m, 21m and 24m)

Stiff layer

Figure 6. Schematic of piled raft system with varying pile

lengths superimposed on completed low cost apartments.

MALAYSIA

Site

Figure 4. Typical layout of foundation system for terrace

houses. (Tan, et al. 2004(b))

SUMATRA

Steel Reinforcements are

not shown

Figure 7. Location of palm oil mill in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Tank Structures on Soft Ground Area

Figure 5. Cross-section of strip raft foundation system.

(Tan, et al. 2004 (b))

Page 3 of 7

A 120 ton per hour palm oil mill has been constructed over
the sand filled platform with an area of about 83,000m2 on
soft swampy ground. Figure 7 shows the location of the
proposed site, which is about 50km away from Sg.
Guntung of the Province of Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia
At the proposed site, there are seven numbers of heavy
steel tank structures for the storage of processing water
and processed palm oil. The site is underlain by recent
alluvium and coral reefs of Quaternary age. The original
and the surrounding ground conditions of the site are
generally flat with reduced level of RL+8.3m. The water
level is almost at the original ground surface.

Master Builders Journal

Innovative Substructures on Soft Ground
By : Ir. Dr. Gue See Sew & Ir. Tan Yean Chin

Adopted
(a)

(b)
Figure 9. Comparison of
(a) Conventional Piled-to-Set Foundation
(b) Floating piled-raft foundation

Figures 8 shows the subsoil description from the

boreholes. Generally, the top one metre of the subsoil is
organic materials of peat and decayed tree roots at the
surface. No obvious dessicated weathered crust has been
observed. Underneath the organic materials, the subsoil
mainly consists of very soft normally consolidated clayey
deposit of 34m thick is followed by 12m thick medium
stiff clay overlying the white medium dense fine sand and
dense clayey sand.

Figure 8. Subsoil Conditions at Oil Palm Mill

The steel tanks are seated on 0.5m sand bed coated with
bitumen strips in order to have uniform seating between
the coned-down tank base and the reinforced concrete raft
of 500mm thick. Piled rafts with different pile lengths
have also been used as more cost effective foundation
replacing the conventional piles to set foundaion system as
the support for 2500Ton oil storage tanks on very soft and
compressible alluvial clayey soil of about 34m thick as
shown in Figure 9. The storage tanks sit on a 20m
diameter and 500mm thick reinforced concrete (RC)
circular raft. The pile points have been strategically
located beneath the RC raft. Varying pile penetration
lengths have been designed to minimize the angular
distortion of the thin RC raft and the out-of-plane
deflection at the tank edge. A total number of 137 of
350mm diameter hollow circular prestressed concrete (PC)
spun piles with concrete strength of 60MPa have been
designed and installed to support the tank through the RC
raft. (Liew, et al. 2002).
In order to monitor and validate the actual performance of
the piled raft during water-loading test, strain gauges and
horizontal inclinometer and settlement markers have been
installed in the piles and also the raft. Seven working piles
were instrumented with strain gauge at the pile top. Figure
10 shows the details of the piled raft for the instrumented
tank structures. These tanks have performed better than
our prediction in terms of total and differential measured
settlement.

Page 4 of 7

Figure 10. Layout of Instruments for Piled Raft with

varying Pile Lengths (from Liew, et al., 2002)

Master Builders Journal

Innovative Substructures on Soft Ground
By : Ir. Dr. Gue See Sew & Ir. Tan Yean Chin

Fig. 12. Mushrooms and undulating surface on highway.

Figure 11. Completed Tank Structures

Note : The thicker bitumen layer

means larger settlement and many
topping up had taken place.

Innovative Solution to Address Mushroom

Problems on Soft Ground Area
A piled embankment with individual pilecaps was
constructed in the 1980s as part of the highway in
Malaysia. The original design principle of this solution
was intended to rely solely on the arching of the
embankment materials to transfer the load to the pilecaps
as the soft compressible subsoil between the pilecaps
settled under consolidation. However, shortly after the
expressway was opened to traffic, the embankment
continued to experience large differential settlement in the
form of localized depressions that required regular
maintenance and repaving. The protruding parts of the
embankment with pilecaps as if punching through the
embankment look like mushrooms and therefore, the
term is used to describe the problem. Figure 12 shows
features of the mushroom problem. Meanwhile, Figure 8
shows the differential settlement (mushroom) observed
between the area with and without pilecaps after
excavation at a depth of about 300mm. The Authors were
involved in the investigation of the causes of problems and
design of long term remedial measures.
The area where the mushroom problems are prominent is
predominantly in areas underlain by Quaternary age
deposits and comprises of marine deposits such as clay, silt
and sand with sea shells. The alluvium deposits mainly
consist of very soft to soft silty Clay and clayey/sandy Silt
with the presence of intermittent sand layers with some sea
shells and wood remnant.

Less settlement directly above pilecap

Larger settlement
pilecaps

between

Fig. 13. Differential settlement observed after excavation

for construction of remedial works.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 14. (a) Typical 3D FEM Model of Embankment.

(b) Piles and Pilecaps Modelled.

The modelling of mushroom problems was carried out

using two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D)
finite element method (FEM) programmes for geotechnical
analysis to determine the possible causes of the problems.
A typical FEM model adopted for the investigation is
shown in Figure 14. Results from the FEM analyses have
shown that the differential settlement of the embankment
ranges from 64mm to 156mm with angular distortion as
high as high 4% (1/25). This is in excess of the
recommended values of 1% (1/100) by BS8006 (1995).
Typical results from the FEM analyses showing the
mushroom problem are shown in Figure 15.
Page 5 of 7

(a)

(b)

Fig. 15. Results of 3D FEM analyses showing mushroom

problems (a) top view (b) bottom view.

Master Builders Journal

Innovative Substructures on Soft Ground
By : Ir. Dr. Gue See Sew & Ir. Tan Yean Chin

(a)

(c)

(b)

(d)

(e)

(f)

Fig 16. (a) Milling works up to 300mm deep in progress (b) After milling (c) Laying of
steel reinforcement (d) Concreting (e) Completed RC Raft (f) Pavement
completed, traffic re-opened.
In summary, results of FEM analyses have shown that the
mushroom problems arise due to the ineffective arching
mechanism influenced by the following factors:
a) Unsuitable fill materials
b) Large pile spacing to the height of fill
The occurrence of the mushroom problems has
necessitated regular repaving works to ensure the riding
comfort and safety of the highway. However, repaving
works are only a short-term solution as the embankment
continues to settle due to additional loads from the
pavement. Therefore, an effective remedial design for the
mushroom problems must satisfy the following criteria:
a)

Minimum disturbance to operation of the

expressway
b) Simple and fast to construct
c) Cost effective
d) Minimum long-term maintenance.
After reviewing many feasible options such as a high
strength geogrid with granular infill (on top of pilecaps or
at shallow depths) and a reinforced concrete raft (either on
top of pilecaps or at shallow depths), it was found that a
reinforced concrete (RC) raft at shallow depth offers the
best solution to the mushroom problems satisfying the
above criteria.
Page 6 of 7

The design was checked using FEM analyses to ensure the

required long-term angular distortions of less than 1%
(1/100) as recommended by BS8006 (1995). Results of
FEM analyses have indicated that the angular distortion of
the embankment is below 1% upon construction of the RC
raft.
The RC raft solution at shallow depth essentially involves
the following simple construction sequence:
a)

Excavating of the pavement for a minimal depth for

the concrete raft and wearing course. This is
typically less than 500mm as the thickness of the
concrete raft is approximately 300mm and
thickness of the wearing course is 50mm (total
350mm) and can be easily and speedily carried
out using a milling machine.
b) Laying of steel reinforcement and casting of
concrete.
c) Laying of the wearing course.
The simple construction sequence is very important for
this site due to its location along a busy expressway. The
simple construction sequence minimizes lane closure for
the construction works. In addition, the remedial solution
is easy to construct and does not require a specialist
contractor. The typical construction sequence of the works
is shown in Figures 16.

Master Builders Journal

Innovative Substructures on Soft Ground
By : Ir. Dr. Gue See Sew & Ir. Tan Yean Chin

Conclusion
Innovative designs are the outcomes of exploring various
options or alternatives to conventional solutions. The
various options need to be explored in terms of technical
suitability, cost, time and ease of construction or
installation as well as minimal long term maintenance.
These should not be compromised on the quality, safety
and good engineering practice. This tall order is possible
if we invest in giving your best resources where the value
engineering works are needed most. Commitment to in
house research and development is also a contributing
factor.

References
1. Gue, S. S., Tan, Y. C. Liew, S. S. (2002), Cost
Effective Solutions for Roads and Factories Over Soft
Marine Deposits, CAFEO2002, Cambodia, 2-5
September, 2002.
2. Liew, S. S., Gue, S.S. & Tan, Y.C. (2002), Design and
Instrumentation Results of A Reinforcement Concrete
Piled Raft Supporting 2500 Ton Oil Storage Tank On
Very Soft Alluvium Deposits, Ninth International
Conference on Piling and Deep Foundations, Nice, 3rd
5th June, 2002
3. Randolph, M.F. (1994) Design Methods for Piled
Rafts,: State-of-the Art Report, Proc. 13th Int. Conf.
Soil Mech. Found. Engng, New Delhi Vol. 4, pp 61-82.
4. Tan, Y.C. Gue, S.S., Ng, H.B. & Lee, P.T. (2004a),
Some Geotechnical Properties of Klang Clay, Proc.
of Malaysian Geotechnical Conference 2004, Selangor,
pp.179-186.
5. Tan, Y. C., Chow, C.M. & Gue, S.S.(2004b), A
Design Approach for Piled Raft with Short Friction
Piles for Low Rise Buildings on Very Soft Clay, 15th
SEAGC, Bangkok, Thailand.
6. Tan, Y.C., Chow, C.M. & Gue, S.S. (2005), Piled raft
with Different Pile Length for Medium-Rise Buildings
on Very Soft Clay, (to be published) Proc. 16th Int.
Conf. on Soil Mechanics & Geotechnical Engineering,
Osaka, Japan.

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