Tutorial 6-1

Piled Raft Foundation Modeling

Welcome to RS3. This tutorial will demonstrate how to model a typical

piled raft foundation using the model shown above. This tutorial only
highlights some features in RS3 particular to this model. For full
explanations of all features used, see previous tutorials.

The finished product of this tutorial can be found in the Tutorial 06

Piled Raft Foundation.rs3 data file. All tutorial files installed with
RS3 can be accessed by selecting File > Recent Folders > Tutorials Folder
from the RS3 main menu.

Model

Start RS3 by selecting Programs Rocscience RS3 1.0 RS3 from

the Windows start menu.

Boundaries
The model is created by drawing the geometry and the material
boundaries as shown. For simplicity, we will use the geometry from a
previously created file.

Select: File Recent Folders Tutorial Folders Piled Raft Foundation -

Geometry.rs3

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-2

Notice that the orientation of the axis has been changed to Foundation
mode to simulate models excavating in the vertical direction.

Materials
Next we will move to the Materials/Staging tab to assign the materials
and properties of our model.

Select: Properties Define Materials

The following has already been entered for the properties of Clay

Select OK.

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-3

Support
Select the Support tab from the workflow at the top of the screen.

First, lets define our liner properties.

Select: Properties Define Liners

Enter the following properties of the raft foundation in the Define Liner
Properties dialog which appears. We will be using a raft foundation with
a thickness of 50 centimeters. Select the Include Weight in Analysis
checkbox.

Enter Name = Raft Foundation, Youngs Modulus = 35000000 kPa,

Poissons ratio = 0.2, Thickness = 0.5 m, Unit Weight = 25 kN/m3 Select
OK.

Next, lets install our raft foundation in stage 2. In this model, we want
the raft foundation to be installed at the top of our model. There are
already material boundaries defining the location of the raft foundation.

Rotate your view so it looks something like this:

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-4

Select: Support Liners Add End Liner

Make sure your install stage is set to 2.

Select OK.

Select the location as shown. Youll see that the selected segments are
now red. Press Enter to confirm the selection.

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-5

Next, lets install the piles which will hold down the liner. First, lets
define the pile properties.

Select: Properties Define Piles

The Pile Properties dialog appears.

Select the Connection Type as Rigid from the drop down. Set the
following properties as shown above:

Name = Pile

Shear Stiffness = 5000 kPa/m

Normal Stiffness = 50000 kPa/m

Base Normal Stiffness = 50000 kN/m

Base Force Resistance = 0 kN

Set Skin Resistance to C and phi and change the following properties:

Perimeter = 1.1 m

Cohesion = 3.2 kN/m

Residual Cohesion = 3.2 kN/m

Friction Angle = 24.79 degrees

Residual Friction Angle = 24.79 degrees

Maximum Shear Resistance = 0 kN/m

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-6

Before you close the dialog box, notice that the Beam Material is set to
Beam 1. In RS3, a pile is simulated as a beam. Therefore, beam
properties are used when defining pile properties, such as Youngs
Modulus, Poissons ratio and the pile dimensions. Material properties
distinct for a pile, such as the soil-pile interaction, are found in the Pile
Properties dialog. Select OK.

Lets define the beam material properties for the pile.

Select: Properties Define Beams

The Define Beam Properties dialog appears. Select the Include Weight in
Analysis checkbox and set the following properties.

Youngs Modulus = 35000000 kPa, Poissons Ratio = 0.2, Area = 0.076 m2,
I-min = 0.00048 m4, I-max = 0.00048 m4

Lets install the piles. Since we know they will be oriented vertically, we
can use the Add End Piles feature.

Select: Support Piles Add End Piles

The Add Pile Pattern On Ends dialog appears. Change the properties
until it looks like the dialog shown below.

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-7

We have just defined a 20 meter length pile spaced 4 meters apart in the
horizontal and vertical direction. It is installed on stage 2. Select OK.
Select the same location as the liner. Youll see that the selected
segments are now red. Press Enter to confirm the selection. You should
be prompted to enter a center point to begin the pile end pattern. Type
the following in the command (prompt) line. Press Enter after typing in
the coordinates.

Enter center point [enter=done, esc=cancel]: 74 -74

The pile end pattern should look like the following in the 2D view.

The model should look similar to the following.

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-8

Select each stage to ensure they behave as desired.

Groundwater
Select the Groundwater tab. In this tutorial, the groundwater table is 3
meters below the surface. In the Project Settings, a steady state
groundwater analysis has already been set. We have already defined zero
pressure at the 3 meter depth as shown.

Field Stress
Go to the Loading/Restraints tab.

Select: Loading Field Stress

Select the Gravity field stress option from the drop down menu. Use the
default settings for all other items. Select OK.

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-9

Loading
Still within the Loading/Restraints tab, a uniform load of 30 kilopascals
has already been applied to the surface of the raft. No other loads need to
be assigned.

Boundary Conditions
Within the Loading/Restraints tab, we must assign restraints to the
external boundary of the model.

Select: Restraints/Displacements Auto Restrain (Surface)

Meshing
Next we move to the Mesh tab. Here we may specify the mesh type and
discretization density for our model. For this tutorial, we will use a 10-
noded finite element mesh type.

Select: Mesh Mesh Setup

The Mesh Setup dialog appears. This dialog allows you to customize
parameters of your mesh. Change the Mesh Type to Graded and the
Element Type to 10-noded tetrahedron. Change the Number of Edges
on External Boundary to 50. Select the Advanced settings. Change
Offset to 3, Grading Factor to 2 and External Grading Factor to 1.
The Offset defines a region of specified element length away from a
custom mesh parameter, an excavated boundary or an external boundary
that will remain ungraded. Since we do not have excavated boundaries, it
is currently using the external boundaries for this parameter. Grading
will begin at the edge of the offset region. The Grading Factor defines
how quickly the elements will be graded away from the offset. Grading is
non-linear, concentrating the mesh elements around the offset region.
Increasing this value causes faster grading, which results in a less dense
mesh. Finally, the External Grading Factor defines the ratio of the
default element length that must be used at the external boundaries. The
default element length is calculated from the Number of Edges on
External Boundary. For example, an External Grading Factor of 0.5
means that the element length at the external boundary is half the
length of the calculated default value. Increasing this value causes the
element lengths at the external boundaries to be larger, which results in
a less dense mesh. Select Mesh. You will see the green status bar
indicating that the mesh is complete. Select OK.

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-10

The mesh is now generated and the status bar should show the total
number of elements and nodes in the mesh.

Your model should look like the following:

Custom Mesh Parameters:

We can customize the number of elements in a particular volume,

surface, edge or point by using the Custom Mesh Parameters. In this
model, we want the smallest elements to be near the top, closest to the
piled raft foundation.

Select: Mesh Apply Custom Parameters

Change Multiply # of Elements to 8 and Selection mode to Volumes.

Select anywhere in the region defining the piled raft foundation and hit
Apply. We have just specified that the number of elements within the
piled raft foundation should be multiplied by 8 from what it was
previously. As a result, the mesh will become denser in and around the
piled raft foundation. Close the dialog box.

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-11

Results

Next we move to the Results tab. From this tab, we can compute and
analyze the results of our model.

First, save your model as Tutorial 06 Piled raft foundation.rs3.

Select: File Save

Use the Save As dialog to save the file. You are now ready to compute the
results.

Select: Analysis Compute

When the computation is complete, we need to set the initial stage as the
reference stage. Right-click the Initial stage (or any stage tab) at the
bottom of your screen and select Stage Settings as shown.

The Stage Settings dialog should appear.

Dragging the Visible Stage indicator selects the stage you would like to
view at the moment. Drag the Reference Stage indicator to the right
until Not used changes to Initial as shown. The current Visible Stage
is not important in this process. We have set the Initial stage as our
reference stage. The solid results of all other stages are calculated with
respect to the solid results of the reference stage.

New Results = Current Stage Results Reference Stage Results

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-12

Select OK to close the dialog box and accept the changes.

On the top right corner of the Results tab, you should see two drop down
menus:

Select Z Displacement for Data Type.

Select: Interpret Add Solid Contour XZ Plane

In the command line at the bottom of the screen, enter a z-coordinate of

80, then press enter to insert the contour at that location.

You can move inserted contour planes in their adjacent direction by

clicking and dragging around the boundary of each plane.

Now lets delete this query plane by right-clicking the edge and selecting
Delete Contour.

Lets view the bending moment contours for the raft.

Select Liner for Material and Moment X (End Liner) for Data
Type.

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-13

Select Moment Y (End Liner) for Data Type.

Lets also take a look at axial force along the piles.

Select Beams & Piles for Material and Axial Force for Data Type.

Lets graph the axial forces on two piles for comparison. First, we will
display the pile numbers to make it easier to match the graph data to its
corresponding pile later on. In the modeler view, right-click any pile and
select Show Forepole / Pile Numbers. The numbers should appear as
shown.

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-14

Select: Graph Graph Beams / Piles

Select pile number 1 and 6 as shown. They should be highlighted in blue.

Select OK. The Graph Query Data dialog should appear.

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-15

Select Plot to graph the results.

Close the chart. We can also compare the bending moment. Repeat the
procedure until you reach the Graph Query Data dialog. This time select
Moment Y for the Vertical Axis.

Rocscience, Inc.
 Tutorial 6-16

Close the chart. Repeat the procedure until you reach the Graph Query
Data dialog. This time select Moment Z for the Vertical Axis.

This concludes the Piled Raft Foundation tutorial. Enjoy using RS3!

Rocscience, Inc.