A modified variational approach for the analysis of piled raft foundation

A modified variational approach is presented to study the behavior of piled raft foundation under vertical loads. The free-body for analysis is a flexible raft isolated from piled raft foundation instead of pile group–soil system or whole pile raft system, which are usually used in other researches. The deflected shape of raft is represented by a function with a set of undetermined coefficients and the interactions between piles and/or the surface loads of soil are evaluated by a simplified approximate analytical solution. The response of the piled raft system is determined by the principle of minimum potential energy. Compared to other rigorous approaches, the present method is computationally efficient and inexpensive. The solutions obtained using the present method of analysis are shown to be in good agreement with other available published results.