A State-of-the-Art Review of Piled Raft Foundations Focusing on Behavioral Mechanisms and Emerging Research Needs

A State-of-the-Art Review of Piled Raft Foundations Focusing on Behavioral Mechanisms and Emerging Research Needs | 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 Systematic Review A State-of-the-Art Review of Piled Raft Foundations Focusing on Behavioral Mechanisms and Emerging Research Needs MOHD AAQIB, Sheikh Abbas Muhammad This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8281385/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 Piled raft foundations (PRF) provide an effective solution for supporting heavily loaded structures where shallow foundations alone cannot satisfy settlement or bearing requirements. Over the past several decades, rapid developments in numerical modelling, experimental testing, and field monitoring have significantly advanced the understanding of PRF behaviour. However, the design of these systems remains challenging because of complex soil-pileraft interactions, variable loading conditions, and differing performance between connected and disconnected configurations. This review is motivated by the need to consolidate dispersed research findings and to identify the critical gaps that continue to limit reliable and economical PRF design. The paper systematically reviews the historical evolution, design philosophies, load-transfer mechanisms, settlement behaviour, and interaction effects governing PRF performance across various soil types. Key themes include behaviour of connected piled rafts (CPR) under axial, horizontal, and eccentric loads, performance of disconnected piled rafts (DPR) with granular cushion layers, influence of pile number, spacing, length, raft stiffness, and soil density on load sharing; and recent experimental and centrifuge studies validating numerical modelling trends. Despite extensive progress, significant gaps remain in understanding CPR-DPR comparative behaviour, performance of vertical versus battered piles, and the role of geosynthetic layers in enhancing load distribution and reducing settlement. The review concludes that PRF systems can substantially reduce differential settlement, improve load-carrying efficiency, and lower construction costs when optimally designed. The implications of this synthesis highlight the need for integrated design approaches, advanced modelling techniques, and targeted experimental research to improve the reliability and resilience of piled raft foundations in modern geotechnical engineering. Piled Raft Foundation Connected Piled Raft Disconnected Piled Raft Geogrid-Reinforced Piled Raft Vertical and Battered Piles Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. 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. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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-8281385","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Systematic Review","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":558865855,"identity":"fc9d6f38-9dbf-4283-be18-219e8a89c62e","order_by":0,"name":"MOHD AAQIB","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"National Institute of Technology Srinagar","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"MOHD","middleName":"","lastName":"AAQIB","suffix":""},{"id":558865856,"identity":"4200ae22-6169-4420-bd13-284bb7d4611b","order_by":1,"name":"Sheikh Abbas Muhammad","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Islamic University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sheikh","middleName":"Abbas","lastName":"Muhammad","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-04 16:53:09","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8281385/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8281385/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":98436171,"identity":"5917a052-c31f-4f99-a67c-c1f7d7fdc4a4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-17 16:55:01","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1138155,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ReviewPaperNew.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8281385/v1_covered_7793f62f-e68d-4b1d-a34f-cc4d402934c1.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"A State-of-the-Art Review of Piled Raft Foundations Focusing on Behavioral Mechanisms and Emerging Research Needs","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","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":"Piled Raft Foundation, Connected Piled Raft, Disconnected Piled Raft, Geogrid-Reinforced Piled Raft, Vertical and Battered Piles","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8281385/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8281385/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003ePiled raft foundations (PRF) provide an effective solution for supporting heavily loaded structures where shallow foundations alone cannot satisfy settlement or bearing requirements. Over the past several decades, rapid developments in numerical modelling, experimental testing, and field monitoring have significantly advanced the understanding of PRF behaviour. However, the design of these systems remains challenging because of complex soil-pileraft interactions, variable loading conditions, and differing performance between connected and disconnected configurations. This review is motivated by the need to consolidate dispersed research findings and to identify the critical gaps that continue to limit reliable and economical PRF design.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paper systematically reviews the historical evolution, design philosophies, load-transfer mechanisms, settlement behaviour, and interaction effects governing PRF performance across various soil types. Key themes include behaviour of connected piled rafts (CPR) under axial, horizontal, and eccentric loads, performance of disconnected piled rafts (DPR) with granular cushion layers, influence of pile number, spacing, length, raft stiffness, and soil density on load sharing; and recent experimental and centrifuge studies validating numerical modelling trends. Despite extensive progress, significant gaps remain in understanding CPR-DPR comparative behaviour, performance of vertical versus battered piles, and the role of geosynthetic layers in enhancing load distribution and reducing settlement.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe review concludes that PRF systems can substantially reduce differential settlement, improve load-carrying efficiency, and lower construction costs when optimally designed. The implications of this synthesis highlight the need for integrated design approaches, advanced modelling techniques, and targeted experimental research to improve the reliability and resilience of piled raft foundations in modern geotechnical engineering.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A State-of-the-Art Review of Piled Raft Foundations Focusing on Behavioral Mechanisms and Emerging Research Needs","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-16 05:42:16","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8281385/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":"5504fb88-6547-46a9-838e-bde05780c251","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 16th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-16T05:42:16+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-16 05:42:16","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8281385","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8281385","identity":"rs-8281385","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}