A raft on compressible ground.
Why can a larger raft settle less under the same load?
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Why can a larger raft settle less under the same load?
Fit every essential assembly before testing the load path.
A rigid raft distributes load over a Winkler bed of independent vertical springs.
Illustrative educational model with chosen dimensions and materials, not an engineering design, capacity certification, code-compliance check or safety recommendation. Linear rigid-raft Winkler teaching bed; chosen k_s is not a soil survey value. No differential settlement or punching check.
Reduce the declared linear-bed settlement to 4 mm or less.
Compare raft settlement with contact area and bed stiffness.