3D Analysis of an Irregular-Geometry Foundation under the Effects of an Expansive Soil

The expansive soil effect generates, first of all volumetric variation which causes changes in the soil's profile. The expansion pressure starts on the inside of the expansive soil mass as humidity increases, and, as a consequence, the tendency to increase its volume also increases. A 3-D analysis of an irregular-geometry plate foundation subject to expansive effects is presented. The analysis involves the soil's response and is represented by link bearings. The expansion effects are transmitted by the links to the foundation based on prescribed displacements with the shape of a paraboloid. The study herein developed considers the 3-D behavior of an irregular slab foundation; it focuses on the structural implications over the plate foundation due to expansive phenomenon. Commonly the solutions developed do not cover the 3-D implications of the whole phenomenon and the stiffness properties of an irregular plate foundation. The treatment covered in this study allows us to get more realistic results of the stress-strain state of plate foundations than the ones obtained through 2D models. The expansion effects generally have a random character because the place where they will occur cannot be certainly predicted, the proposed procedure It has the feasibility of rapidly studying cases of expansion occurring in the plate foundation, generating a versatile interaction with the user of the program developed for this purpose.