Numerical Modeling of Soil-Structure Interaction: Case of Raft Foundations

Urban development often requires the use of tall structures to maximize the use of ground space and meet the growing and innovative demands of designers and architects. In most cases, the challenge for these types of projects is to find a fair balance between justifying the stability of structures and the profitability of the project, which is conditioned by optimizing the foundation system. To achieve this, the use of soil-structure interactions, which studies the reciprocal effects between soils and structures in contact with them, allows for a comprehensive response to most technical problems and provides all possible optimizations and better modeling of resilient and adaptable structures that can withstand natural forces and environmental impacts. To achieve this, engineers and scientists are working on improving soil and structure modeling techniques, collecting and analyzing geotechnical and environmental data, using advanced technologies such as numerical modeling and simulation, and designing structures. This case study focuses on a 25-story tower built on a low-bearing sandy-loam soil. The support soil study was conducted based on geotechnical investigations, and soil-structure interactions were calculated using the pressuremeter method for all possible combinations. This study demonstrates that the use of refined calculations by integrating soil-structure interactions allows for significant optimization of foundation solutions and precisely defining and delimiting risk zones where solicitations are maximal.