SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF MAT AND GRIDFOUNDATIONS ON A SOFT FINE-GRAINED SOIL

In cases of large deformations of the ground underlying a structure, mat and grid foundations aretwo options to reduce probable differential settlements, due to their rigidity in the perpendiculardirections and their relatively larger area compared with single spread foundations. A case study oflarge settlements of a structure resting on soft saturated fine-grained soil due to seismic loading isnumerically investigated herein. It is shown that performance of grid foundation is better or identicalto mat foundations, which makes it an alternative with a more economical option to be preferred tomats in the design of foundations in areas of high seismicity.

Keywords:

Mat Foundation , Grid Foundation , Numerical Analysis , Seismic Loading