Settlement predictions of shallow foundations for non-cohesive soils based on CPT records-polynomial model

The actual settlement of foundations is one of the main topics in geotechnical engineering due to the complex soil-foundation interactions and nonlinear behavior of subsoil. To consider soil behaviour properly, continuous records of a cone penetration test (CPT), which have been rarely considered in the literature, can be applied to estimate the settlement of a shallow foundation (S-t). In this study, the possibility of predicting S-t via polynomial modelling has been investigated. The input parameters of the polynomial model are contact pressure (q) and corrected cone tip resistance (q(t)). To implement the model, datasets from 46 different geotechnical sites were employed. Fourteen rows of data were randomly selected for comparison with previous empirical equations, and the remaining datasets were selected for modelling stage. Also, the efficacy of the polynomial model, compared to the previous alternatives, has been assessed, and a straightforward approach for estimating S-t has been presented. It was observed that CPT records could be a beneficial alternative to estimate S-t for shallow foundations. Also, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of input parameters on S-t. Based on the sensitivity analysis, it was concluded that q(t) contributes the most impact on the settlement.