Preconsolidation, structural strength of soil, and its effect on subsoil upper structure interaction

When constructing a building, manufactured materials are used. That is the reason for their excellent material properties. In the case of the foundation, the natural condition of the soils must mostly always be respected. The geostatical stress plays a significant role on the subsoil behavior because it is the de facto natural form of the soil compaction. The soil has a memory of the highest stress that has ever been loaded on it. The soil can be considered incompressible if the magnitude of a surcharge is lower. In engineering practice the construction of higher buildings is founded in a deeper hole so that the depth of the influence zone achieves an acceptable value for the future surcharge of the upper structure. For very tall buildings, the deep hole foundation must be prolonged by piles. In particular, this article deals with laboratory testing that provides the preconsolidation. In Czech, we term it the structural strength of soil. The test provides the initial void ratio as well as the initial coefficient of fully saturated hydraulic conductivity. The isotropic consolidation test with the triaxial test apparatus and consequent knowledge of the pore pressure course was chosen to determine the initial soil properties, including the preconsolidation level. Derived theory together with the genetic algorithms provide an efficient tool for the determining parameters. Good knowledge of the influence zone is crucial when solving soil structure interaction. The progress of the influence zone was considered from the extensive research carried out at the University of Brasيlia, Brazil. Thus, using the measurements, the preconsolidation and its effect were verified in situ. The derived formulas and presented graphs for influence zone depth estimation have considerable importance for civil engineering practice. The Kantorovich method together with the strategy of convolution was used to reach dimensional reduction when deriving analytical formulas. Recommended results and formulas were verified against FEM code ADINA.