FINITE LAYER ANALYSIS OF THE BEHAVIOR OF A RAFT ON A CONSOLIDATING SOIL

A numerical method is developed in this paper for the analysis of the behaviour of a raft resting on a consolidating soil. The response of t he raft under an applied loading is determined using the finite layer method for the soil and the finite element method for the raft. By con sidering deflection compatibility on the contact surface, the distribu tion of contact pressure is computed at various time steps. The settle ment and bending moment in the raft is then evaluated by applying the calculated contact pressure back to the raft. It is shown that, in som e cases, the maximum moment in the raft occurs during consolidation an d that checking the final moment in the raft by use of elastic theory may not be sufficient.