Model tests on the interaction action between tall buildings and piled-raft foundations

Abstract

Model testings were carried out to study the effects of the stiffness of pile caps on the behaviour of tall buildings. The results of a series of tests on perspex models of buildings indicate that the deflections of the buildings, the stresses of the structural members of the superstructures as well as the distributions of load among the supporting piles are significantly affected by the pile cap stiffness; and therefore, the interaction effects between the superstructures and substructures have to be fully accounted in the design of tall buildings, especially for cases where pile caps are fairly flexible.