Dynamic response and design of a skirted strip foundation subjected to vertical vibration

Numerous studies have repeatedly demonstrated the efficiency of using skirts to increase the bearing capacity and to reduce settlement of shallow foundations subjected to static loads. However, no efforts have been made to study the efficiency of using these skirts to reduce settlement produced by machine vibration, although machines are very sensitive to settlement and the foundations of these machines should be designed properly to ensure that the settlement produced due to machine vibration is very small. This research has been conducted to investigate the efficiency of using skirts as a technique to reduce the settlement of a strip foundation subjected to machine vibration. A two-dimensional finite element model has been developed, validated, and employed to achieve the aim of the study. The results of the analyses showed that the use of skirts reduces the settlement produced due to machine vibration. However, the percentage decrease of the settlement is remarkably influenced by the density of the soil and the frequency of vibration, where it rises as the frequency of vibration increases and declines as the soil density rises. It was also found that increasing skirt length increases the percentage decrease of the settlement. Importantly, the results obtained from the analyses have been utilized to derive new dynamic impedance values that implicitly consider the presence of skirts. Finally, novel design equations of dynamic impedance that implicitly account to the effect of the skirts have been derived and validated utilizing a new intelligent data driven method. These new equations can be used in future designs of skirted strip foundations subjected to machine vibration.