Abstract Supporting footings of lightweight buildings on reactive soils are susceptible to damage induced by the cyclic shrink-swell movement of the ground, causing extensive financial damage. Due to this issue and limitations of existing analytical methods, the main aim of this study is to investigate the interaction between shrink-swell soils and raft footings (i.e., stiffened rafts and waffle pod rafts), by performing parametric simulations using a simplified three-dimensional hydro-mechanical finite element model. The developed model considers the link between soil saturation, soil suction and volumetric soil strain. Stiffened rafts and waffle pod rafts were observed to interact differently with reactive soils. Stiffened rafts formed complex soil profiles induced by the obstruction of soil moisture flow provided by in-ground beams. This had a significant effect to changes in soil suction and formation of soil profiles in the covered ground. Waffle pod rafts performed better on swelling soils, while stiffened rafts were more robust on shrinking soils due to the additional support provided by the in-ground beams counteracting applied line loads. A developed improved design guideline based on the performed parametric simulations, considering the influence of geometry, suggests that raft footings require stiffer sections than a traditional method.

中文翻译：

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反应性土壤运动与基础挠度之间的关系：耦合流体力学有限元建模视角

摘要 反应性土壤上轻型建筑的支脚容易受到地面周期性收缩膨胀运动引起的损坏，造成广泛的经济损失。由于这个问题和现有分析方法的局限性，本研究的主要目的是通过使用简化的三元模型进行参数模拟来研究收缩膨胀土和筏基（即加筋筏和华夫格荚筏）之间的相互作用。三维流体力学有限元模型。开发的模型考虑了土壤饱和度、土壤吸力和土壤体积应变之间的联系。观察到加筋筏和华夫格荚筏与反应性土壤的相互作用不同。由于地下梁提供的土壤水分流动受阻，加筋筏形成了复杂的土壤剖面。这对土壤吸力的变化和覆盖地面土壤剖面的形成有显着影响。华夫格荚筏在膨胀土壤上表现更好，而加筋筏在收缩土壤上更坚固，因为地下梁提供了额外的支撑，抵消了施加的线载荷。考虑到几何形状的影响，基于执行的参数化模拟开发的改进设计指南表明，筏基脚需要比传统方法更硬的截面。