Observed and computed settlements of two shallow foundations on sand

A basic step in analyzing the behavior of shallow foundations is to collect full-size structure data. This is important on the one hand to check the actual methods of evaluating displacements of shallow foundation and to carry out settlement predictions, and on the other hand to study the complex interaction between foundation settlements and superstructure damage. This problem is especially important when the foundations rest on a cohesionless soil, owing to the impossibility of having undisturbed samples. This paper reports the experimental data, collected during the construction of two residential buildings, regarding the monitoring of the shallow foundations supported on a gravelly-silty sand deposit. Moreover, in the present work this information was used to evaluate the accuracy and the reliability of the methods proposed by Schmertmann, Burland and Burbidge, and Berardi and Lancellotta; the classic theory of elasticity as regards the establishment of settlements caused by static loads; and the elastic approach proposed by Wolf to estimate foundation rotations. Therefore, the real-size data allowed the analysis of the tolerable settlements problem following the guidelines given by Holtz and the new guidelines reported by the European Committee for Standardization.