Some studies on the load carrying capacity of shallow foundation

resting over geogrid –reinforced sand under eccentric load

The present thesis pertains to the study on the bearing capacity of eccentrically loaded strip
footing on dry sand bed. Due to time constraint other aspects related to shallow foundations
could not be studied. The future research work should address the below mentioned points:
 The present work can be extended to foundations on cohesive soil
 Large scale study to be carried out to validate the present developed equation.
 The present work can be extended to eccentrically inclined loaded reinforced soil condition
 This work can be extended by using different density of sand (i.e. dense sand, medium
dense sand)

Numerical and Analytical Analysis of Geo-grid Reinforced Soil

Wall Subjected to Dynamic Loading
Possible Future Work
The following work is suggested as a continuation of the work in this thesis:
 The numerical model should be subjected to a more detailed sensitivity study to test the
robustness of the numerical results.
 The numerical model could be developed further, either using PLAXIS 2D Dynamics or
an alternative finite element program (e.g. ABAQUS FEA), by incorporating soil
softening in the material model.
 Verification of the Mononobe-Okabe, horizontal slices and two-part wedge method using
the developed numerical model, this should also include vertical acceleration.
 Verification of the Mononobe-Okabe, horizontal slices and two-part wedge method using
other physical models.

Behavior of Single Piles under Axial Loading

Analysis of Settlement and Load Distribution
Further Research
The described elastic theory-based methods are applicable to piles with non-circular cross
sections.
Since 2D axisymmetric was used, it was not possible to validate numerical methods for this case.
In the future, it would be interesting to use 3D modelling to study the behavior of piles with non-
circular cross sections.
There are non-linear load-transfer methods, which can be applied and compared to the elastic
theory based methods.
Although only floating piles were analyzed in this work, the Randolph and Wroth method may
also be applied cases of end-bearing piles, i.e. where the Young’s modulus of the soil increases
abruptly at the pile base. It would be interesting to study the results of numerical analyses in
those conditions.
Besides, it would be interesting to draw charts of the load settlement ratio and the proportion of
load transferred to the pile base in terms of the pile slenderness ratio for different values of the
soil-pile stiffness factor obtained by Plaxis, since the simulations made in chapter 3 all refer to
the same value.
The calibration of numerical methods through static load tests is an interesting and useful work.
In this thesis, the soil was modelled using the Mohr-Coulomb criterion and the Tresca criterion.
It would be appropriate to apply other material models, such as the hardening soil, to this and
other cases, and analyse the differences. The pile-soil interface could also be modelled using
another failure criterion.

laterally loaded piles in sloping ground

Recommendations for future research

The recommendations for future research have b een split up into two categories; one set
recommendations fo cuses on dolphins and one set fo cuses on general research of laterally
loaded piles in sloping ground.

Recommendations for future research regarding laterally loaded piles in sloping ground

 To expand the knowledge of laterally loaded piles in sloping ground and b etter
understand the influence of all parameters, such as the slop e angles, pile prop erties and
soil prop erties, more tests should b e executed. Both full scale tests, mo del tests and
finite element analyses may contribute to a b etter understanding of the laterally loaded
pile in sloping ground.
 A renewed set of p-y curves for the undrained analysis of piles in a slop e is develop ed
by Georgiadis and Georgiadis. However the p-y curves are not recommended in this
thesis since the curves seem to overestimate the lateral load capacity o f piles in soft clay,
the aim should b e in future research to develop renewed p-y curves for other analyses
too.
Advantages of redevelop ed p-y curves are the ease of use, compared to multipliers. Expansion
of the executed tests as describ ed in the previous p oint will undoubtedly contribute to the
development of renewed p-y curves.

 Plaxis 3D is at this moment to o complicated and time-consuming and hence to o exp

ensive for the engineering practice to design a single pile. Therefore, it may b e efficient,
after the development of renewed p-y curves, to expand D-Pile Group a nd LPILE with
the option to analyse a laterally loaded pile in sloping ground.
o It was concluded from the literature review that the pile diameter and the pile roughness

influence the pile-soil interaction of a laterally loaded pile located in a slope. These factors

have not b een regarded in the Plaxis 3D analysis, since the amount of varied parameters

had to be limited within this master’s thesis. The influence of these parameters on laterally

loaded piles in slop es should be examined in future research.

• For practical reasons, piles with a short emb edded length are considered in the Plaxis 3D

analysis. To obtain p-y ratio’s which are characterizing for Dutch conditions at depths beneath
z=-3D, an analysis should be performed with longer piles.

Recommendations for future research regarding dolphins in sloping ground

o The riverbanks are often covered with bed protection, to protect the banks. The
influence of this on dolphins has not been regarded in this analysis and should be
examined in further research. However, it may b e exp ected that the effect of the bed
protection is similar for dolphins located in horizontal level ground.
o As stated, the analysis of sand in Plaxis 3D is only valid for mo oring dolphins, since
the soil is mo delled as drained. Another analysis with undrained sand should b e p
erformed to analyse the pile-soil interaction of breasting dolphins

Numerical Analysis of the

Reuse of Piled Raft Foundations
Examine the effect of pile spacing in the design of piled raft foundations. Small pile

spacings result in block settlement behaviour, where the efficiency of each individual

pile is reduced. Also, the raft linking the piles is known to enhance this block

settlement behaviour. Therefore, the combined effect of the presence of the raft with

pile spacing should be considered in the design of piled raft foundations.

1. Uniform loading was assumed in this research as an idealisation for the structural

loading on the foundations. In practice, concentrated column loading is applied on

rafts which may result in increased bending stress in the raft. In addition, new

developments tend to have a central core, where the majority of the load is

concentrated. The concentration of loading in the central zone would result in even

larger deformations in the central region of the raft. Therefore, this should be

considered when designing the pile support under the raft.

- The effects of boring on the surrounding soil were simulated in the numerical analyses

of piled raft foundations in this research. The installation effects were quantified

through a back analysis of documented pile load tests. Pile driving is another method

of installation, which was not considered in the analyses in this research. A back

analysis of pile load tests on driven piles could be performed in the future.

The ET Creep model was employed for the analysis of piled raft foundations, which
accounts for both consolidation and creep. Another constitutive model could be employed,
which accounts only for consolidation, such as the MCC model, in order to differentiate
the effects of consolidation and creep on the long term behaviour of piled raft foundations.

In this research, the reuse of piled raft foundations has been examined without considering the
addition of fresh piles along with the reused piles. Fresh piles may be required, if the new
structural load is significantly larger than the previous one. Also, if the structural loading on the
piled raft foundation changes or if the existing structure is extended, additional piles may be
required, in order to enhance the piled raft foundation performance in certain areas