Abstract: Based on the extenics， a prediction and evaluation model for soil settlement was established when the soft clay depth，thickness， void ratio， liquidity index and modulus of compression are regarded as evaluating indexes. The advantages of this model is that the evaluation results were expressed by the quantitative data and there is no limit for the number and variety of evaluation factors. Hence， this model can not only be applied to the soil of different engineering geological conditions， but also maximize the utilization of engineering geological exploration. The new method was applied to the sedimentation evaluation regarding foundation soil in Tianjin Binhai New Area. The extenics evaluation results are consistent with the insitu measurements. Furthermore， soft soil thickness and compression modulus are the main factors influencing the sedimentation of study area. Finally， the obtained engineering geological zoning is scientific and reasonable according to the settlement level.

Key words: foundation settlement, engineering geological zoning, extenics, analytic hierarchy process, soft soil