Wave Analysis of Mat Foundations to Resist Differential Soil Movements
Abstract
Soil differential movement patterns are responsible for considerable damages to all types of structures and pavements such as military facilities, commercial buildings, housing, streets, highways, parking lots, and airfields. These differential movements occur from nonuniform soil volume changes, particularly in expansive clay and collapsible silty soils, attributed to a variety of mechanisms. Among the most important mechanisms leading to volume changes are those mechanisms that change the soil water content and stress. These mechanisms include desiccation from heavy vegetation, increased soil permeability from fissures, perimeter wetting and drying from climate changes, leakage from underground utilities, and many others. This work develops a model for representing nonuniform volume changes by wave patterns of soil distortion underlying the foundation or at the ground surface. Soil-foundation distortion is measured in terms of angular distortion beta which may be calculated as 4A/ lambda where A is the amplitude and Lambda is the wavelength of the wave pattern. The wave pattern model leads to simple methodology for rating the performance of structures subject to differential soil movement and can provide a tool to assist the design of foundations that reduce soil movement patterns.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA234565
Entities
People
- Lawrence D. Johnson