EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF FOUNDATION SETTLEMENT DEVELOPMENT UNDER THE ACTION OF A PAYLOAD

Abstract

The paper presents the results of experimental investigations of foundation settlement development of a multifunctional shopping centre in Minsk, which is under construction.
The presence of temperature and deformation joints on the paired columns of 13 deformation blocks determined the choice of the location of settlement marks and referents, load application sites and the cyclicity of foundation settlement measurements. Previous deformation measurements and the condition of the structures were taken into account.
The payload was applied by constant loading of the three sites with an intensity of 400–600 kg/m² for 72 days, followed by unloading and measurement of settlement values for up to 80 days.

Significant unevenness of settlement along all axes was revealed, which in our opinion is due to the rigidity of the slab frame and complex engineering and geological conditions of the construction site, while stabilisation of settlement is possible only when its value is not more than 1.1 mm, which corresponds to the maximum value of uniformly distributed load of 100 kg/m².
The analysis of calculated and experimentally observed values of settlement and their non-uniformity has shown that the error of calculation methods can be significant and exceed 40 % and more. It is also revealed that any manifestation of dynamic effects negatively affects both the value of foundation settlement and its non-uniformity.