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Soil bearing capacity
Geotechdata.info - Updated 15.04.2015

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Allowable bearing capacity: The maximum pressure that can be applied to the soil from the
Subscribe to our free foundation so that the two requirements are satisfied:
monthly newsletter.
1. Acceptable safety factor against shear failure below the foundation
Email: 2. Acceptable total and differential settelement

Ultimate bearing capacity: The minimum pressure that would cause the shear failure of the
supporting soil immediately below and adjacent to the foundation.

Need Geotechnical Typical values of soil bearing capacity

Equipment?
Request a quote For preliminary design purposes, BS 8004 [1] gives typical values of allowable bearing capacity which
should result in an adequate factor of safety against shaer failure without accounting for the
setllemenet criteria [2].

LATEST NEWS Bearing value

Soil type Remarks
New entry to Geotechnical
(kPa)
Business Directory more
Width of foundation not less than 1
Huder-Amberg test updated m. Water table at least at the
more Dense gravel or dense sand and gravel > 600 depth equal to the width of
foundation, below base of
New Entries for GeSoftware foundation.
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Dense dense gravel or medium dense sand
200-600 -
and gravel
Loose gravel or loose sand and gravel < 200 -

Compact sand > 300 -

Medium dense sand 100 - 300 -

Susceptible to long term
Very stiff boulder clays and hard clays 300 - 600
consolidation settelement
Stiff clays 150 - 300 -

Firm clays 75 -150 -

Soft clays and silts < 75 -

Very soft clays and silts - -

Ultimate bearing capacity for shallow foundations according to Terzaghi

The utimate bearing capacity for shallow foundations can be calculated using the relation proposed by
Terzaghi [3]:

and the net ultimate bearing capacity:

With the bearing capacity factors:

factor for surcharge

factor for cohesion

factor self-weight [4]

factor self-weight [5]

and

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11/28/2018 Soil bearing capacity - Geotechdata.info
B, L, D Width, Length and Depth of foundation,

cohesion, effective frinaction angle and effective unit weight

In case of a rectangular foundation, the terms of the above relations should be multiplied by the
respective shape factors as follows [6]:

In case the loads are not applied vertically, additional factors should be also considered for inclined
loads.

SpreadSheet for Soil Bearing capacity: Free download

Geotechdata_Bearing_Capacity.xlsx

REFERENCES

1. BS 8004: (1986): Code of practice for foundations

2. Craig, R. F. (1986), Soil Mechanics, 4th ed., ISBN 0-412-38430-2
3. Tezaghi, K. (1943): Theoretical soil mechanics, John Wiley and sons, New York
4. Hansen, J. B. (1968): A revised extended formula for bearing capacity. Danish Geotechnical
Institute Bulletin, No. 28
5. Meyerhof, G. G. (1963). Some recent research on the bearing capacity of foundations. Canadian
geotechnical journal Vol. 1 No. 1
6. Terzaghi, K. and Peck, R. B. (1967): Soil mechanics in engineerin practice (2nd ed). John Wiley
and Sons, New York

Citation :
Geotechdata.info, Soil Bearing capacity, http://geotechdata.info/parameter/bearing-capacity.html (as of
April 15, 2015).

Other soil parameters

» Angle of friction
» Cohesion
» Dry unit weight
» Young's modulus
» Void ratio
» Soil Permeability coefficient
» Soil porosity

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