FULL SCALE STATIC LOAD TEST ON THE SPIDER NET SYSTEM

Abstract

The Spider Net System Footing (SNSF) is a raft foundation system that commonly used in Indonesia. It contains a plate, downward ribs system for reinforcement, and the compacted filled soil. The ribs are in longitudinal and transversal, called as settlement rib and in diagonal direction, named as construction rib. This paper explores the load transfer mechanism along the plate, the ribs, filled soil and the base soil under the footing system. The mechanism is investigated by conducting full scale static load test on SNSF. Strain gauges were installed to monitor the strain increment of each footing elements during loading. 3D numerical analysis was also conducted to verify the experimental results. To analyze the results, Load-Ultimate Ratio Factor (L-URF) was proposed. L-URF was a ratio between ultimate soil bearing capacity of the SNSF and the applied loading at specific element. Higher the L-URF value means higher loading applied at its associate element. Both experimental and numerical results show that at the first stage the loading was fully carried out by the tip of the ribs and transferred to the soil stratum under the footing system. Increasing the loading, the ribs, plate, and filled soil altogether sustain the loading and then transferred to the soil stratum below the footing system. The results also affirm that SNSF generate higher bearing capacity compare with simple shallow footing.