Bearing Capacity

 foundations are designed to transmit load from the structure they support to the soil  foundations are generally grouped into two categories: A. B. Shallow Foundations Deep Foundations

Shallow Foundations
 the most common (and cheapest) type of shallow foundations are
SPREAD FOOTINGS  square spread footings to support individual columns (also circular)
McCarthy, 6th Ed.

 Strip Footings to support wall loads

McCarthy, 6th Ed.

 Rectangular and Trapezoidal Footings for two columns (combined footing) or machine base

McCarthy, 6th Ed.

RAFT or MAT Foundations

McCarthy, 6th Ed.

 To lower the bearing pressure and reduce differential settlement on soils with low bearing capacity or erratic or variable conditions

FLOATING Foundations

McCarthy, 6th Ed.

 where deep deposits of compressible, cohesive soil are present and piles are impractical  building s substructure is a combination mat and caisson to create a rigid box  weight of earth displaced by foundation is equal to total weight of structure, thereby minimizing settlement from consolidation

Deep Foundations
 used when soil near surface has poor loadload-bearing capacity
loose soil bedrock

 they transmit load through weak soil strata (overburden) to stronger, loadloadbearing stratum (eg., bedrock, dense sand and gravel, etc.)

Types of Deep Foundations

PIERS  where load-bearing stratum loadno more than 5 m deep  not used much any more
McCarthy, 6th Ed.

CAISSONS

 where overoverburden no more than 8 - 9 m thick  replacing piers

McCarthy, 6th Ed.

PILES  deep over-burden overmore than 8 - 9 m thick  Various types and placement methods

Craig, 6th Ed.

Structural Requirements
1. Factor of Safety against General Shear Failure of supporting soil is normally required to be in the range 2.5 3.0 2. Tolerable amount of settlement; in particular, differential settlement should not cause significant damage to structure nor interfere with function 3. Secondary to these, during construction, there should be no adverse affect on adjacent structures or services

Ultimate Bearing Capacity, qf

 The least pressure that would cause shear failure of supporting soil immediately below and adjacent to a foundation

Craig, 6th Ed.

modes of failure:
General Shear Failure

 on low compressibility (dense or stiff) soils  plastic equilibrium throughout support and adjacent soil masses  heaving on both sides of foundation  final slip (movement of soil) on one side only causing structure to tilt

Local Shear Failure

   

on highly compressible soils only partial development of plastic equilibrium only slight heaving on sides significant compression of soil under footing but no tilting

Punching Shear Failure

 on loose, uncompacted soils  vertical shearing around edges of footing  high compression of soil under footing, hence large settlements  no heaving, no tilting

Terzaghi s Theory

Craig, 6th Ed.

 strip footing of infinite length and width B  uniform surcharge, q0 on surface of isotropic, homogeneous soil  Rankine active wedge, ABC: forces q  Passive zones, ADE (on) & BGF (po) (on) (po)

Craig, 6th Ed.

 transition between q
mo: ACD & BCG (zones q
mo: or radial shear or slip fans)  above EDCGF: plastic equilibrium  below EDCGF: elastic equilibrium

 the more general case is a footing at depth D

Craig, 6th Ed.

 Neglecting the shear strength of the soil above depth D implies that this soil is a surcharge: q0 = KD  Terzaghi s general equation: qf = 0.5KBNK + cNc + KDNq 0.5K Contribution of: Soil Self Weight Shear Surcharge Strength

Bearing Capacity Factors

 NK, Nc and Nq are bearing capacity factors and are derived from various sources

Craig, 6th Ed.

General Shear Failure of Footings (Ultimate Bearing Capacity)

 theory was developed for strip footings  to adapt to square, circular and rectangular shapes, Terzaghi & Peck developed shape factors here which are still widely used today:
q f ! 0.5 B( N K S K )  c( N c S c )  KDN q
N q ! e T tan(J ) tan 2 (45  J ) 2

N c ! ( N q  1) cot(J )

N K ! ( N q  1) tan(1.4J )
FOOTING TYPE Strip Square Circular Rectangular S 1.0 0.8 1.6 Sc 1.0 1.2 1.2

1  0.2

( B ) 1  0.2( B ) L L

Allowable Bearing Capacity

 the allowable bearing capacity, qa is the value used in the design of footing size  in North America, a factor of safety against general shear failure, F is applied to the ultimate bearing capacity, qf:

qa !

qf F

 in Britain, F is not applied to the surcharge: 0.5KB ( S K N K )  c( S c N c ) qa !  KDN q F

Skempton s Nc Values
 if undrained shear strength parameters are used for the design then a special case arises:  since Ju = 0, Nq = 1 and:

q f ! cu N c  KD
 values of Nc are acquired from Skempton s Chartp
Craig, 6th Ed.