What is the primary cause of differential settlement in buildings?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the primary cause of differential settlement in buildings?
Uniform loading
Soil heterogeneity
Foundation design
Water table fluctuations
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the primary cause of differential settlement in buildings?
Step 1: Understand what differential settlement means. It refers to when different parts of a building sink or settle at different rates.
Step 2: Recognize that buildings are built on soil, which can vary in type and quality.
Step 3: Learn that soil heterogeneity means that the soil is not uniform; it has different layers or types that behave differently under weight.
Step 4: Realize that when a building is loaded, some soil layers may compress more than others, causing parts of the building to settle unevenly.
Step 5: Conclude that the primary cause of differential settlement is this difference in how various soil layers respond to the weight of the building.
