Groundwater-Controlled Settlement of Raft Foundations on Marine Clay

Groundwater-Controlled Settlement of Raft Foundations on Marine Clay | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Groundwater-Controlled Settlement of Raft Foundations on Marine Clay Thy Truc Truc Doan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9179880/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates the vertical settlement behavior of marine clay beneath a raft foundation under varying groundwater levels (GWL). Laboratory testing conducted in accordance with Vietnamese Standards (TCVN) and numerical simulations using the Finite Element Method implemented in PLAXIS 3D were performed to evaluate ground deformation characteristics. Experimental results show that the maximum settlement reached 20.77 cm at a GWL depth of 22.3 m under a loading of 800 kN/m². Within the GWL range of 15.3–19.5 m, the total deformation modulus ( K deformation ) , cohesion ( K cohesion ) , and Young’s modulus ( K Yeelastic ) were 44.38 kN/m², 40.2 kN/m², and 200.78 × 10² kN/m², respectively. The shear resistance ( K shear resistance ) attained 124.1 kN/m² under 200 kN/m² loading, corresponding to a vertical displacement ( K dis ) of 0.052 cm at 14.8 m depth. In contrast, numerical simulations predicted a higher maximum settlement of 150.7 cm, with simulated cohesion ( C simu ) and Young’s modulus ( E simu ) of 32.2 kN/m² and 141.2 × 10² kN/m², respectively. Pore water pressures reached 227 kN/m² at 7.3 m depth, associated with a settlement ( K simudis ) of 25.180 cm. The results demonstrate the significant influence of groundwater level fluctuations on settlement behavior and provide a reliable reference for foundation design on marine clay in coastal regions. Geology Vertical Displacement (Settlement) Groundwater level Total Deformation Modulus Young’s modulus cohesion. Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9179880","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":609526138,"identity":"a38066d9-db3d-4633-8565-352a3cc04c45","order_by":0,"name":"Thy Truc Truc Doan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA0klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDCCAwxsDAwVDAwSYB4bMVqOMQOVnSFZC2MbKVr47vcfe8w773CeZP8aA4YPZYcZDG434NcieYyZ3Zh32+FiaYk3BowzzgG13DmAX4sB0GHSvNvSEudJnDFg5m07zCA5I4EYLXOgWv4Sr6XBJnE2f48BMyNQC78EAS2Sx5LNJOccs0mcOYOt4GDPuXQeglr4Dh98JvGmRiJxxvnDGx/8KLOWYyOkBQSYeEAkUOUBIMVDWD0QMP4AkfwHiFI8CkbBKBgFIxAAAA7pQMjregp4AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0010-9730","institution":"Kien Giang University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Thy","middleName":"Truc Truc","lastName":"Doan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-20 14:29:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":true,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9179880/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9179880/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105564241,"identity":"b75f5c38-3e52-4166-9178-a7ad555ea239","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:49:07","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":615373,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9179880/v1_covered_99dc31e3-3a71-4c20-96f5-3b8d172e20e3.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGroundwater-Controlled Settlement of Raft Foundations on Marine Clay\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Kien Giang University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Vertical Displacement (Settlement), Groundwater level, Total Deformation Modulus, Young’s modulus, cohesion.","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9179880/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9179880/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study investigates the vertical settlement behavior of marine clay beneath a raft foundation under varying groundwater levels (GWL). Laboratory testing conducted in accordance with Vietnamese Standards (TCVN) and numerical simulations using the Finite Element Method implemented in PLAXIS 3D were performed to evaluate ground deformation characteristics. Experimental results show that the maximum settlement reached 20.77 cm at a GWL depth of 22.3 m under a loading of 800 kN/m². Within the GWL range of 15.3–19.5 m, the total deformation modulus (\u003cem\u003eK\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003edeformation\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cem\u003e)\u003c/em\u003e, cohesion (\u003cem\u003eK\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ecohesion\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cem\u003e)\u003c/em\u003e, and Young’s modulus (\u003cem\u003eK\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003eYeelastic\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cem\u003e) \u003c/em\u003ewere 44.38 kN/m², 40.2 kN/m², and 200.78 × 10² kN/m², respectively. The shear resistance (\u003cem\u003eK\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003eshear resistance\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cem\u003e)\u003c/em\u003e attained 124.1 kN/m² under 200 kN/m² loading, corresponding to a vertical displacement (\u003cem\u003eK\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003edis\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cem\u003e) \u003c/em\u003eof 0.052 cm at 14.8 m depth. In contrast, numerical simulations predicted a higher maximum settlement of 150.7 cm, with simulated cohesion (\u003cem\u003eC\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003esimu\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cem\u003e) \u003c/em\u003eand Young’s modulus (\u003cem\u003eE\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003esimu\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cem\u003e) \u003c/em\u003eof 32.2 kN/m² and 141.2 × 10² kN/m², respectively. Pore water pressures reached 227 kN/m² at 7.3 m depth, associated with a settlement (\u003cem\u003eK\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003esimudis\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cem\u003e) \u003c/em\u003eof 25.180 cm. The results demonstrate the significant influence of groundwater level fluctuations on settlement behavior and provide a reliable reference for foundation design on marine clay in coastal regions.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Groundwater-Controlled Settlement of Raft Foundations on Marine Clay","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-23 13:19:22","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9179880/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"33535ee4-b394-4213-af50-6545394f5433","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 23rd, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":64860331,"name":"Geology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-23T13:19:23+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-23 13:19:22","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9179880","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9179880","identity":"rs-9179880","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}