Simulation of the piled raft in interaction with soil in the Abaqus

Project Overview

In this Abaqus tutorial, the interaction between a piled raft foundation and the surrounding soil is simulated. The piled raft is subjected to a uniform compressive load of 1 MPa.

The model consists of a three-dimensional soil domain, concrete piled raft, and piles. The soil–foundation interaction is considered to investigate the response of the piled raft under compressive loading.

Piled raft foundation and surrounding soil modeled in Abaqus.

Soil Model

The soil domain has a length and width of 40 m and a height of 25 m.

The soil is assumed to behave as an elastoplastic material following the Mohr-Coulomb plasticity model.

Piled Raft Foundation

The piled raft foundation is made of concrete. The piles have a length of 16 m and are connected to the raft to form the piled raft foundation system.

The foundation system is modeled together with the surrounding soil so that the load transfer between the raft, piles, and soil can be investigated.

Concrete piled raft foundation with 16 m long piles.

Analysis Steps

The analysis is performed using three steps. The steps are defined to establish the initial state of the model and then apply the compressive load to the piled raft.

• Step 1: The weight of the soil and piled raft is applied.
• Step 2: An intermediate step is used before applying the external compressive load.
• Step 3: A compressive load is applied to the piled raft.

Three analysis steps used in the piled raft simulation.

Soil–Foundation Interaction

The interaction between the soil, piles, and concrete raft is considered in the numerical model. This allows the load applied to the raft to be transferred through the piles and surrounding soil.

The Abaqus simulation provides a complete numerical model for investigating the behavior of the piled raft–soil system under compressive loading.

Interaction between the soil, piles, and concrete raft.

What You Will Learn

• How to model a piled raft foundation in Abaqus.
• How to create a three-dimensional soil domain.
• How to model a concrete piled raft.
• How to model 16 m long piles.
• How to define the Mohr-Coulomb plasticity model for soil.
• How to establish the initial state of the soil and foundation.
• How to define analysis steps for piled raft loading.
• How to apply the weight of the soil and piled raft.
• How to apply a uniform compressive load.
• How to apply a compressive pressure of 1 MPa.
• How to investigate soil–foundation interaction in Abaqus.
• How to analyze the response of a piled raft under compression.

Key Features

• Piled raft foundation.
• Concrete piled raft.
• 16 m long piles.
• Three-dimensional soil domain.
• Soil dimensions: 40 m × 40 m × 25 m.
• Elastoplastic soil behavior.
• Mohr-Coulomb plasticity model.
• Soil–foundation interaction.
• Three analysis steps.
• Uniform compressive load of 1 MPa.
• CAE file.
• INP file.