Introduction. Modern construction of bridge structures requires solving diverse geotechnical problems and developing new types of structurally reliable and economically reasonable foundations, including in complex geological conditions. In the world practice of construction of bridges and other structures in recent decades, one of the progressive developments is the combined piled raft foundation, where the loads from the structure are distributed between the piles and the raft.
Problem statement. One of the current issues in the practice of bridge structures design in Ukraine is the development of economically reasonable and rational design solutions for foundation systems, which is especially important in the perspective of the post-war restoration of the country's civil infrastructure. Thus, combined piled raft foundations, which have proven themselves as an alternative to pile foundations with significant savings in the construction budget, have never been used in bridge projects in Ukraine.
Purpose. To investigate the theoretical prerequisites, existing methods, and world experience in design of combined piled raft foundations and assess the possibility of their application in the Ukrainian practice of design and construction of bridge structures.
Results. Over the past decades, foreign and domestic scientists have been studying the issues of piled raft foundations, resulting in a number of simplified and detailed analysis and design methods, including those using modern powerful software packages, and, as a result, a global trend of increasing the number of facilities using this type of foundation, including in bridge structures.
Conclusions. The study of combined piled raft foundations for bridge structures and the development of scientific basics for their calculation and design is a relevant direction in soil mechanics and foundation construction in Ukrainian practice, as well as in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
