the failure mechanism of composite foundation is mainly decided by the interaction between soil and cushion in the state of thick cushion or under embankments; and the practical bearing capacity of a pile in composite foundation is not brought into full play. The following rules are got from the calculation results of FEM: (1) the stress ratio of pile to soil (n) decreases with the thickness increasing; as the thickness exceeds 300 mm
the influence of cushion thickness on n reduces sharply; as the thickness exceeds 500 mm
the influence of cushion thickness is small. (2) When the cushion thickness is relatively thin ( 100 mm)
the influence of cushion modulus on n is great; as the thickness exceeds 300mm
the influence decreases; as the thickness exceeds 500 mm
the influence is very small. (3) as the rigidity of bearing plate is smaller than 6.25 MN•m2
the stress ratio of pile to soil increases with the rigidity increasing; as the rigidity exceeds 6.25 MN•m2