An Optimized Prefabricated Raft Footing System for Houses on Shrink-Swell Soils: Preliminary Results

Abstract

The strong demand for houses has been hampered by a shortage of skilled labor in Australia, which can be potentially alleviated using prefabrication. Significant advancements in the design and construction of prefabricated houses have been observed; however, most substructure constructions still use traditional cast-in-place method that is labor intensive and weather-dependent. Prefabrication of footing systems is an advantageous solution since this require minimal manual labor and shorter construction period. The design of an innovative prefabricated footing needs to consider structural integrity and design assembly. One of the important structural issues for light-weight houses is cyclic d..