Structural Design of Raft Foundation - A Case Study of Lucknow Region in Uttar Pradesh, India

In this age of rapid growth in population in India, there is a scarcity of land in prime locations, especially in metro cities of the country. To overcome this problem, we are moving towards vertical constriction. The main problem in moving towards vertical construction is the foundation system, if the foundation system in high-rise buildings is not planned and designed smartly and economically then there are different problems related to the foundation system that is going to arise, the soil in that area also plays a very important role in designing of the economical and stable foundation system. It is always beneficial to have a raft foundation on alluvial soil for high-rise buildings. But, however, it is a matter of great concern what foundation will be proposed on such types of natural soils or man-made refills. In this paper, an attempt has been made to design a raft foundation based on its geotechnical analysis. An extensive survey of research works devoted to studying the geotechnical parameters affecting the behavior of raft foundations is carried out with detailed experiments raft foundations are increasingly being recognized as an economical and effective foundation system for high-rise buildings. This paper sets out some principles of design for such foundations, including design for the geotechnical ultimate limit state, the structural ultimate limit state, and the serviceability limit state. Attention will be focused on the improvement in the foundation performance due to the raft being in contact with, and embedded within, the soil.