SFDD01 1/8/06 11:23 AM Page 359

N Allowable Bearing Pressure for

Foundations on Non-Cohesive Soil

The general route for establishing the allowable bearing pres- of topsoil and silty clay overlying a considerable depth of
sure is as follows. medium dense sand. Average SPT values for the top metre
of sand are in the range N = 22 41; a conservative average
(1) Divide the ultimate bearing capacity by a factor of safety
value of N = 25 will be assumed for determining the allow-
(typically 3.0), to obtain the safe bearing capacity.
able bearing pressure.
(2) By looking at predicted values for settlement, deter-
mine the bearing pressure which corresponds to an A square base of 2 m 2 m is initially assumed. From
acceptable level of settlement. Fig. N.1, the allowable bearing pressure is na = 280 kN.
(3) The allowable bearing pressure is the lower of the two This gives a capacity of
values obtained from (1) and (2).
Pa = na BL
In section 2.3.5 Safe bearing capacity cohesionless soils, it = 280 2.0 2.0
states that: = 1120 kN <P = 1500 kN Not enough
foundation design on non-cohesive soil is usually gov- At this allowable bearing pressure, the required area of a
erned by acceptable settlement, and this restriction on square base would be
bearing pressure is usually much lower than the ultim-
A = P/na
ate bearing capacity divided by the factor of safety of 3.
= 1500/280
Generally only in the case of narrow strip foundations
= 5.36 m2
on loose submerged sands it is vital to determine the
= 2.31 m 2.31 m
ultimate bearing capacity, since this may be more critical
than settlement. However examination of Fig. N.1 indicates that a larger
width of base will result in a lower allowable bearing
This indicates that a settlement rather than a bearing capacity
pressure. A 2.4 m 2.4 m base will therefore be assumed;
calculation would be the normal route for establishing the
from Fig. N.1 this gives an allowable bearing pressure of
allowable bearing pressure for sands and gravels. Because
na = 270 kN. The actual bearing pressure is
of the uncertainties and assumptions involved in detailed
settlement calculations, this approach is normally short- n = P/A
circuited by use of the Terzaghi and Peck allowable = 1500/(2.4 2.4)
bearing pressure chart in Fig. N.1. = 260 kN/m2 <na = 270 kN OK

The allowable bearing pressures in the chart assume a max- and the area of the base is
imum settlement of 25 mm, which experience has shown A = BL
is a satisfactory value for maintaining total and differential = 2.4 2.4
settlements within acceptable limits. They also assume = 5.76 m2
the water-table is at least a depth of B below foundation
level; if the water table is at or close to the foundation level Worked Example 2: Rectangular pad base
then the allowable bearing pressures indicated should be
halved. The previous example will be reworked for a rectangular
base, whose width is limited by site constraints to B = 2.0 m.
To use the chart, an SPT value is obtained from the soils A base size of 2.0 m 2.5 m is initially assumed. From
investigation report. The proposed width of base, together Fig. N.1, the allowable bearing pressure is na = 270 kN. This
with the SPT value, are used to read off an allowable gives a capacity of
bearing pressure. This is then checked to ensure it exceeds
the applied bearing pressure; if not the base length and/or Pa = na BL
width is increased, and the process repeated until a satis- = 270 2.0 2.5
factory base size is obtained. = 1350 kN <P = 1500 kN Not enough
Increase length of base by the ratio P/Pa
This process is illustrated in the following worked examples.
L = 2.5 (1500/1350)
Worked Example 1: Square pad base = 2.8 m
A pad foundation is required to support a superstructure This results in a bearing pressure of n = na = 270 kN/m2, and
load of P = 1500 kN. The soils investigation indicates 0.9 m a base area of
SFDD01 1/8/06 11:23 AM Page 360

360 Appendices

700

max. settlement 25 mm

600

N = 50
500
Allowable bearing pressure (kN/m2)

standard penetration resistance

N = 40
400

N = 30
300

N = 20
200

N = 10
100

N=5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Width of footing: B (m)

Fig. N.1 Allowable bearing pressure on sands (Reproduced from Terzaghi, K. & Peck, R.B. (1996) Soil Mechanics in
Engineering Practice, 3rd edn, by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).

A = BL is critical see sections 2.3.2 and 2.3.4.) Nevertheless a

= 2.0 2.8 = 5.6 m2
It will be noted that the rectangular base results in a slightly
lower area than the square base. (The opposite is true for
cohesive soils where bearing capacity rather than settlement
square column base should be preferred to a rectangular
one; mass concrete square bases will require a lesser thick-
ness for load dispersion, while reinforced square bases
will have lower bending moments and thus require less
reinforcement.