Design and failure envelopes for square raft and embedded block foundations under combined loading
摘要
Despite the advantages of combined vertical, moment, and horizontal (VMH) failure envelopes, serviceability was not adequately considered in previous studies, leading to the introduction of serviceability-based “design envelopes” in current research, as a complement to conventional failure envelopes. This study employs three-dimensional finite element analysis to develop design and failure envelopes for square raft and cubic embedded block foundations under VMH loading. The numerical investigation, validated against well-documented benchmarks, uses the Hardening Soil model with small-strain stiffness (HSS). The envelopes were developed using probe tests associated with the dominant system parameters: breadth (2.5 to 25 m), embedment depth to breadth ratio (1, 2, and 3), and c-