FIELD TESTS ON ASSEMBLY FOUNDATIONS SUBJECTED TO COMPRESSION AND HORIZONTAL COMBINATION LOADS IN AEOLIAN

In order to obtain the performance of assembly foundations composed of the concrete footing slabs and steel angle columns, which were used for the transmission line engineering in Taklimakan desert, the two field tests of assembly foundations subjected to compression and horizontal combination loads were carried out. The load-displacement both of footing slabs and of foundation top plane, the soil pressure acted on the footing slabs and the stress of the steel angle column were all measured. Under the oblique load, there was no obvious difference among the displacements on foundation top in three directions. The displacement of foundation top plane was mainly made up of the deflection of a steel angle column and that of the aeolian sand subgrade. The displacement value of the steel angle column was 2-3 times of the mean of the aeolian sand. The stress of the steel angle columns did not reach the yield point and buckling strength. The load-carrying property of the foundation was related to the layout of footing slabs. The bearing capacity against overturning of an assembly foundation was weak because of its slight dead weight and the low soil pressure of aeolian sand acted on the steel angle columns. The bearing capacity against overturning in the in the axial direction of the footing slab was higher than that of the opposite. The ultimate compression load of the tests verified the Vesic theory to determine the ultimate compression load when the foundations were subjected to an oblique load in aeolian sand in Taklimakan desert.