D. P.

Katale

Definitions of Bearing Pressures

Gross
Net

bearing pressure (qgross)

bearing pressure (qnet)

Effective

gross bearing pressure (qgross)

Effective

net bearing pressure (qnet)

Ultimate

bearing capacity (qult)

Safe

bearing capacity (qs)

Allowable

bearing capacity (qa)

Pressumed
Working

bearing capacity (qpressumed)

Bearing pressure (qw )

Types of foundation
Shallow foundations
sometimes called 'spread footings,
include pads ('isolated footings'), strip
footings and rafts.
Deep foundations
include piles, pile walls, diaphragm walls
and caissons
Criterea
D/B < 1
shallow
D/B > 6
deep
D>3m
deep

Pad Foundation

Strip Foundation

Assumptions

Rigid Plastic
Isotropic
Homogenius
Undrained, cu assumed constant
throughout the failure zone
Drained c, assumed constant
Soil assumed weightless
Important for drained conditions

Methods of Determining Bearing Capacity

Pressumed Bearing Capacity tables

Bearing Capcity tables in building codes
Based on past experience

Theoretical and semi-theoretical methods

Field Test results
SPT
PLT
CPT

Pressumed Bearing capacity (BS8004)

Category

Types of rocks and soils

Presumed bearing
value

Rocks

Hard igneous or gneiss

rocks (sound unweathered)

10 000 kN/m

Hard limestone and

sandstone

4 000 kN/m

Schists and slates

3 000 kN/m

Hard shales and mudstones;

2 000 kN/m
soft sandstones
Soft shales and mudstones

600 to 1 000 kN/m

Hard sound chalk: soft

limestone

<600 kN/m

Pressumed Bearing capacity (BS8004)

Category

Types of rocks and soils

Presumed bearing
value

Non-cohesive
soils

Dense gravel or dense sand

and gravel

>600 kN/m

Medium dense gravel,

or medium dense sand and
gravel

<200 to 600 kN/m

Loose gravel, or loose sand

and gravel

<200 kN/m

Compact sand

>300 kN/m

Medium dense sand

100 to 300 kN/m

Loose sand

<100 kN/m
depends on degree
of looseness

Pressumed Bearing capacity (BS8004)

Cohesive
soils

Very stiff bolder clays &

hard clays

300 to 600
kN/m

Stiff clays

150 to 300
kN/m

Firm clay

75 to 150
kN/m

Soft clays and silts

< 75 kN/m

Very soft clay

Not applicable

Peat

Not applicable

Made
ground

Not applicable

Failure modes

Failure modes of model footings

Factors affecting modes of failure

Size of the foundation

Relative density of the soil

Permeability: relating to drained/undrained
behaviour
Compressibility: similar to RD
Shape: e.g. strips can only rotate one way
Interaction between adjacent foundations and other
structures
Relative stiffnesses of soil and footing/structure
Incidence and relative magnitude of horizontal
loadings or moments

Presence of stiffer or weaker underlying layers.

Theortical and semi-theoretical

methods

Limit Analysis methods

Lower bound
Upper bound

Limit Equilibrium
Prandtl
Semi-circular slip mechanism
Circular arc slip mechanism
Skempton (1951)
Terzaghi (1943)
Meyerhof
Vesic
Hansen

Complete solution
Lower bound

Upper bound

Body, Surface
loads

Displacements

Equilibrium

Compatibility
(geometry)

Stresses

Strains

Constitutive

Limit Analysis - Lower bound

Collapse load calculated from;

Statically admissible stress field,
Satisfies boundary conditions,
Is in equilibrium,
No where violets the failure criterion,
Is always a lower bound

Limit Analysis - Upper bound

Collapse load calculated from;

Kinematically admissible velocity field,
For which the external rate of work done;
Is greater than the internal dissipation
Is always greater than the actual collapse load
And therefore an upper bound

Example Lower bound

po

Example Upper bound

v
F

B
qlower

Y
v
2
e

e2
B

Y
B

v e
2v
F

e2

2v

O
X

Velocity diagram

Semi-circular slip failure

Semi-circular slip failure

Moment

causing rotation
= load x lever arm
= [(qult x B] x [B]

Moment

resisting rotation
= shear strength x length of arc x lever arm
= [cu] x [.B] x [B] + qo
At failure these are equal:
qult x B x B = cu x .B x B + qo
Bearing pressure at failure , qult

2 x shear strength + overburden pressure

qult

= 2cu + qo (Ultimate bearing capacity)

This

is an upper-bound solution

Circular arc slip failure

Circular arc slip failure

Moment causing rotation

= load x lever arm
= [qult x B ] x [B/2]
Moment resisting rotation
= shear strength x length of arc x lever arm
= [cu] x [2R] x [R] + qo
At failure these are equal:
qult x B x B/2 = cu x 2 R x R + qo
Since R = B / sin :
qult = cu x 4 /(sin ) + qo
The worst case is when
tan=2 at = 1.1656 rad = 66.8 deg
The ultimate bearing pressure at failure, qult is given by
qult = 5.52 cu + qo

Plastic flow at failure-Ultimate bearing

capacity

A strip footing

A strip footing

A strip footing

A relatively undeformed wedge of soil below the

foundation forms an active Rankine zone with angles
(45 + '/2).
The wedge pushes soil outwards, causing passive
Rankine zones to form with angles (45 - '/2).
The transition zones take the form of log spiral fans
radius of the fan r = r0 .exp[.tan'].
is the fan angle in radians (between 0 and /2)
' is the angle of friction of the soil
ro = B/[2 cos(45+'/2)]
For purely cohesive soils ( = 0) the transition zones
become circular

Prandlt

A relatively undeformed wedge of soil below the

foundation forms an active Rankine zone with angles
(45 + '/2).
The wedge pushes soil outwards, causing passive
Rankine zones to form with angles (45 - '/2).
The transition zones take the form of log spiral fans
For purely cohesive soils ( = 0) the transition zones
become circular for which Prandtl had shown in 1920
that the solution is
qfult = (2 + ) cu = 5.14 cu

Skempton

qult = cu .Ncu + qo

where Ncu = Skempton's bearing capacity factor,

given by the following equations:
Ncu = Nc.sc.dc

where sc is a shape factor and dc is a depth factor.

Nc = 5.14

sc = 1 + 0.2 (B/L) for B L

dc = 1+ (0.053 Df /B ) for Df/B 4

Maximum values of dc when Df/B > 4 is

dc = 1.459144

(Nq = 1, N = 0)

(for strip, square and circular foundations)

These equations can be presented as a chart.

Skemptons chart
These equations can be presented on a chart of
Skempton's bearing capacity factor
Skempton's Bearing capacity facotors
y = -0.0095x 4 + 0.128x 3 - 0.7135x 2 + 2.1249x + 6.168
y = -0.008x 4 + 0.1073x 3 - 0.5966x 2 + 1.7728x + 5.14

10
Bearing capacity factor (Ncu)

B/L = 1

9
8

B/L = 0

7
6
5
4
0

Depth to breadth ratio (D/B)

Terzaghi (1943)

qult = cNcsc + qoNqsq + BNs

Nc, Nq and N. = bearing capacity factors

sc

sq

square

1.3

1.0

0.8

circle

1.3

1..0

0.6

rectangle

1+ 0.3(B/L) 1+ 0.2(B/L) 1 - 0.2(B/L)

B = width, L = length

Meryahof

qult cNcscdc + qNqsqdq +0.5BNsd

Nq = etan tan2(45+/2)

Nc = (Nq-1) cot

N = (Nq-1) tan (1.4

sc = 1 + 0.2 Kp B/L any

sq = s = 1 + 0.1 Kp B/L

sq = s = 1 <10o

>10o

any

dc = 1 + 0.2 Kp1/2 D/B

dq = d = 1 + 0.1 Kp1/2 D/B >10o

dq = d = 1 <10o

Vesci

Hansen
q ult cN c sc d c ic g c bc q' N q sq d q iq g q bq 12 B' N s d i g b