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Grid Versus Mat Foundations in Areas of High Seismicity: A Case Study in Northern Iran

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Abstract

This paper investigates the performance of grid and mat foundations under two- and five-storey buildings in an earthquake loading. A detailed study was conducted on a defined area in a northern region of Iran where the ground is covered with thick soft fine-grained soil strata with a potential of cyclic softening. Overall, the observed behavior shows better performance of the grid foundation modeled in this study. Its performance exceeds in its bearing capacity, which is higher than that of the mat foundation with the same size. The relative vertical displacement of the corners of the grid foundation is almost the same or even less than that of the mat foundation after an earthquake. On the contrary, the total average displacement of the mat foundation is larger than that of the grid foundation. Further, there is concentration of stresses in local areas at sides in the mat foundation, in contrast to grid foundation, in which a nearly uniform distribution of stress is observed all over the foundation., Taken together, the structure of the grid foundation employs its capacity nearly fully, making it a more economical option in comparison to the mat foundation of the same size. Based on findings from this study, consideration of grid foundation as an alternative of mat foundation is recommended.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported partly by the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES) and partly by the Natural Disasters Research Institute (NDRI). The authors gratefully acknowledge the IIEES and NDRI as well as Dr. Moosavi, Dr. Haghshenas and Mrs. Rakhshande for the valuable data they gathered from the field observations. The authors also thank Mr. M. Asgari, Mr. G. Hadavi and Mr. S. Azadmanesh for their assistance in conducting the tests.

Funding

This study was supported partly by the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology and partly by the Natural Disasters Research Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology, No.21, Arghavan St., Northern Dibaji St., Lavasani Ave., Tehran, 19395/3913, Iran

    Javad Jalili, Farajdollah Askari & Azadeh Marghaiezadeh

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  1. Javad Jalili
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  2. Farajdollah Askari
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  3. Azadeh Marghaiezadeh
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Correspondence to Javad Jalili.

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Jalili, J., Askari, F. & Marghaiezadeh, A. Grid Versus Mat Foundations in Areas of High Seismicity: A Case Study in Northern Iran. Geotech Geol Eng 41, 3427–3446 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-023-02466-w

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