WORKBOOK

Shallow foundations
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 QUESTION
S
O Define the following terms:
L (a) Foundation;
U (b) Base of the foundation;
T (c) Embedment depth;
I (d) Shallow foundation;
O (e) Ultimate bearing
N capacity;
S (f) Allowable bearing
capacity;
(g) Factor of safety.

1 page
 SOLUTIONS

2 page
 QUESTION
S
O What are the ultimate net
L bearing capacity and the
U allowable bearing capacity
T of shallow footings? and
I How do I determine the
O allowable bearing capacity
N for shallow footings?
S

3 page
 SOLUTIONS

4 page
 QUESTION
S
O What are the assumptions
L made in bearing capacity
U analyses?
T What soil parameters are
I needed to calculate its
O bearing capacity?
N What effects do
S groundwater and eccentric
loads have on bearing
capacity?

5 page
 SOLUTIONS

6 page
 QUESTION
S
O What are the assumptions
L made in the derivation of
U Terzhagi’s bearing
T capacity theory?
I Write the equation for the
O ultimate bearing capacity
N in local shear is
S determined?

7 page
 SOLUTIONS

8 page
 QUESTION
S
O Differentiate between the
L general shear failure and
U the local shear failure. How
T the ultimate bearing
I capacity in local shear is
O determined?
N
S

9 page
 SOLUTIONS

10 page
 QUESTION
S
O Discuss the effect of water
L table on the bearing
U capacity of the soil.
T
I
O
N
S

11 page
 SOLUTIONS

12 page
 QUESTION
S
O Discuss Meyerhof’s
L bearing capacity theory.
U How does it differ from
T Terzhagi’s theory.
I
O
N
S

13 page
 SOLUTIONS

14 page
 QUESTION
S
O To obtain a higher bearing
L capacity, either width of
U the footing could be
T increased or the depth of
I foundation can be
O increased. Discuss
N critically the relative merits
S and demerits.

15 page
 SOLUTIONS

16 page
 QUESTION
S
O Discuss the various factors
L that affect the bearing
U capacity of a shallow
T footing. Write brief critical
I notes on settlement of
O foundations. How do you
N ascertain whether a
S foundation soil is likely to
fail in local shear or in
general shear?

17 page
 SOLUTIONS

18 page
 QUESTION
S
O Discuss the various types
L of foundations and their
U selection with respect to
T different situations.
I
O
N
S

19 page
 SOLUTIONS

20 page
 QUESTION
S
O Discuss the effect of
L shape on the bearing
U capacity. Differentiate
T between safe bearing
I capacity and allowable soil
O pressure.
N
S

21 page
 SOLUTIONS

22 page
 QUESTION
S
O Bring out clearly the effect
L of ground water table on
U the safe bearing capacity.
T
I
O
N
S

23 page
 SOLUTIONS

24 page
 QUESTION
S
O Describe the procedure of
L determining the safe
U bearing capacity based on
T the standard penetration
I test.
O
N
S

25 page
 SOLUTIONS

26 page
 QUESTION
S
O Explain the recommended
L construction practices to
U avoid detrimental
T differential settlement in
I large structures.
O
N
S

27 page
 SOLUTIONS

28 page
 QUESTION
S
O What is meant by bearing
L capacity of soil? How will
U you determine it in the
T field? Describe the
I procedure bringing out its
O limitations.
N
S

29 page
 SOLUTIONS

30 page
 QUESTION
S
O Write brief critical notes
L on:
U (i) Standard Penetration
T test
I (ii) General shear failure
O and local shear failure of
N shallow foundations.
S

31 page
 SOLUTIONS

32 page
 QUESTION
S
O Give the algebraic
L equations showing the
U variation of safe bearing
T capacity of soil (for clay
I and sand to be given
O separately) in shallow
N foundation with:
S (i) depth of foundation; (ii)
width of foundation; and
(iii) position of water table.

33 page
 SOLUTIONS

34 page
 QUESTION
S
O For the following cases,
L determine the allowable
U gross vertical load-bearing
T capacity of the foundation.
I Use Terzaghi’s equation
O and assume general shear
N failure in soil. Use FS =
S 4.00.
B Df
Part ’
(m) (m)
(a) 1.22 0.91 25
(b) 2 1 30
(c) 3 2 30
c’ 
Part
(kN/m2) (kN/m3)
(a) 28.75 17.29
(b) 0 17
(c) 0 16.5
Use continuous type for (a)
and (b), and square type
for (c).
(Answer: (a): 252.6 kN/m2;
(b) 176.8 kN/m2; (c) 280
kN/m2)

35 page
 SOLUTIONS

36 page
 QUESTION
S
O A square column
L foundation has to carry a
U gross allowable load of
T 1805 kN (FS = 3.0). Given:
I Df = 1.5 m,  = 15.9
O kN/m3, ’ = 34, and c’ =
N 0. Use Terzaghi’s equation
S to determine the size of
the foundation (B).
Assume general
shear failure.
(Answer: B = 2 m)

37 page
 SOLUTIONS

38 page
 QUESTION
S
O Use the general bearing
L capacity equation to solve
U C1 question.
T (Answer: (a): 267.6 kN/m2;
I (b) 184.7 kN/m2;
O (c) 368.8 kN/m2)
N
S

39 page
 SOLUTIONS

40 page
 QUESTION
S
O The applied load on a
L shallow square foundation
U makes an angle of with the
T vertical. Given: B = 1.83
I m, Df = 0.9 m,  = 18.08
O kN/m3, ’ = 25, and c’ =
N 23.96 kN/m3. Use FS =
S 4.0 and determine the
gross allowable load. Use
Meyerhof’s method.

41 page
 SOLUTIONS

42 page
 QUESTION
S
O A column foundation,
L showed below, is in plan.
U Given: B = 3 m, L = 2 m,
T Df = 1.5 m, D1 = 1 m, D2 =
I 0.5 m, ’ = 25, and c’ =
O 70 kN/m3. 1 = 17 kN/m3,
N 2 = 19.5 kN/m3. Use FS
S = 3.0 and determine the
net allowable load the
foundation could carry.
Use Meyerhof’s method.
(Answer: 5760 kN)

43 page
 SOLUTIONS

44 page
 QUESTION
S
O For a square foundation
L that is B x B in plan,
U vertical gross allowable
T load, Qall = 3330 kN, Df =
I 2 m,  = 16.5 kN/m3, ’ =
O 30, and c’ = 0 kN/m3, FS
N = 4.0. Determine the size
S of the foundation. Use
Meyerhof’s method.
(Answer: B  3 m)

45 page
 SOLUTIONS

46 page
 QUESTION
S
O An eccentrically loaded
L foundation is shown in
U figure down below. Use FS
T of 4 and determine the
I maximum allowable load
O that the foundation can
N carry. Use Meyerhof’s
S effective
area method.
(Answer: 377.8 kN)

47 page
 SOLUTIONS

48 page
 QUESTION
S
O Repeat C7 using Prakash
L and Saran’s method.
U (Answer: 287.37 kN)
T
I
O
N
S

49 page
 SOLUTIONS

50 page
 QUESTION
S
O A square footing is shown
L in figure down below. Use
U FS = 6 and determine the
T size of the footing. Use
I Prakash and Saran theory.
O
N (Answer: qu (eccentric) =
S 936.47 kN/m2, Qu = 1066
kN/m)

51 page
 SOLUTIONS

52 page
 QUESTION
S
O Determine the ultimate
L bearing capacity of a
U square footing of size 1.2
T m if the depth of
I foundation is 1 m. Take c’
O = 25 kN/m2,  = 18 kN/m3
N and c = 15 kN/m2.
S

53 page
 SOLUTIONS

54 page
 QUESTION
S
O A circular foundation is of
L 2.4 m diameter. If the
U depth of foundation is 1 m,
T determine the net
I allowable load. Take  =
O 19 kN/m3, c' = 30 kN/m2,
N ' = 15° and factor of
S safety as 3.0. Use
Terzaghi's equation and
assume local shear failure.

55 page
 SOLUTIONS

56 page
 QUESTION
S
O A square column
L foundation has to carry a
U gross allowable load of
T 1805 kN (FS = 3.0). Given:
I Df = 1.5 m,  = 15.9
O kN/m3, ’ = 34, and c’ =
N 0. Use Terzaghi’s equation
S to determine the size of
the foundation (B).
Assume general
shear failure.
(Answer: B = 2 m)

57 page
 SOLUTIONS

58 page
 QUESTION
S
O A square footing with a
L size of 8 ft by 8 ft is to
U carry a total load of 40
T kips. The depth of the
I footing is 5 ft below the
O ground surface, and
N groundwater is located at
S the ground surface. The
subsoil consists of a
uniform deposit of
soft clay, the cohesion of
which is 500 lb/ft2. The
soil’s unit weight is
110 lb/ft3. Compute the
factor of safety against
bearing capacity failure.

59 page
 SOLUTIONS

60 page
 QUESTION
S
O A square footing 0.3 m by
L 0.3 m is placed on the
U surface of a dense
T cohesionless sand (unit
I weight 18.2 kN/m3) and
O subjected to a load test. If
N the footing fails at a load of
S 13.8 kN, what is the value
of for the sand?

61 page
 SOLUTIONS

62 page
 QUESTION
S
O A load test is performed
L on a 0.3-m by 0.3-m
U square footing on a dense
T cohesionless sand (unit
I weight 18.0 kN/m3). The
O footing’s base is located
N 0.6 m below the ground
S surface. If the footing fails
at a load of 82 kN, what is
the failure load per unit
area of the base of a
square footing 2.0 m by
2.0 m loaded with its base
at the same depth in the
same materials?

63 page
 SOLUTIONS

64 page
 QUESTION
S
O A square footing 2 m by 2
L m is to be constructed
U 1.22 m below the ground
T surface, as shown in
I figure below. The
O groundwater table is
N located 1.82 m below the
S ground surface. The
subsoil consists of a
uniform, medium dense,
cohesionless soil with the
following properties: Unit
weight of soil = 18.53
kN/m3;  = 32; c = 0 kPa.
Determine the foundation
soil’s allowable bearing
capacity if a factor of
safety of 3 is used.

65 page
 SOLUTIONS

66 page
 QUESTION
S
O A square footing is to be
L constructed on a uniform
U thick deposit of clay with
T an unconfined
I compressive strength of 3
O kips/ft2. The footing will be
N located 5 ft below the
S ground surface and is
designed to carry a total
load of 300 kips. The unit
weight of the supporting
soil is 128 lb/ft3. No
groundwater was
encountered during soil
exploration. Considering
general shear, determine
the square footing
dimension, using a factor
of safety of 3.

67 page
 SOLUTIONS

68 page
 QUESTION
S
O A proposed square footing
L carrying a total load of 500
U kips is to be constructed
T on a uniform thick deposit
I of dense cohesionless soil.
O The soil’s unit weight is
N 135 lb/ft3, and its angle of
S internal friction is 38. The
depth of the footing is to
be 5 ft. Determine the
dimension of this
proposed footing, using
a factor of safety of 3.

69 page
 SOLUTIONS

70 page
 QUESTION
S
O A wall footing is to be
L constructed on a uniform
U deposit of stiff clay, as
T shown in figure. The
I footing is to support a wall
O that imposes 130 kN/m of
N wall length. Determine the
S required width of the
footing if a factor of safety
of 3 is used.

71 page
 SOLUTIONS

72 page
 QUESTION
S
O Compute and draw soil
L pressure diagrams for the
U footing shown in figure for
T P = 70 kips and H = 20
I kips.
O
N
S

73 page
 SOLUTIONS

74 page
 QUESTION
S
O Compute and draw soil
L pressure diagrams for the
U footing shown in figure for
T P = 70 kips and H = 10
I kips.
O
N
S

75 page
 SOLUTIONS

76 page
 QUESTION
S
O Considering general shear,
L compute the safety factor
U against a bearing capacity
T failure for each of the two
I loadings in Problem 9–14
O if the bearing soil is
N cohesionless,  = 30;  =
S 110 lb/ft3; and c = 0 kPa.
groundwater is 10 ft below
the base of the footing

77 page
 SOLUTIONS

78 page
 QUESTION
S
O Considering general shear,
L compute the safety factor
U against a bearing capacity
T failure for each of the two
I loadings in Problem 9–14
O if the bearing soil is
N cohesive,  = 0;  = 110
S lb/ft3; and c = 3000 lb/ft2.
groundwater is 10 ft below
the base of the footing

79 page
 SOLUTIONS

80 page
 QUESTION
S
O Considering general shear,
L compute the safety factor
U against a bearing capacity
T failure for each of the two
I loadings in Problem 9–14
O if the bearing soil is
N cohesive,  = 0;  = 110
S lb/ft3; and c = 3000 lb/ft2.
groundwater is located at
the ground surface.

81 page
 SOLUTIONS

82 page
 QUESTION
S
O Considering general shear,
L compute the safety factor
U against a bearing capacity
T failure for each of the two
I loadings in Problem 9–14
O if the bearing soil is
N cohesionless,  = 30;  =
S 110 lb/ft3; and c = 0 lb/ft2.
groundwater is located at
the ground surface.

83 page
 SOLUTIONS

84 page
 QUESTION
S
O For the footing shown in
L figure, the vertical load,
U including the column
T load, surcharge weight,
I and weight of the footing,
O is 120 kips. The horizontal
N load is 10 kips, and a
S moment of 50 ft-kips
(clockwise) is also
imposed on the
foundation. 1. Compute
the soil contact pressure
and draw the soil contact
pressure diagram. 2.
Compute the shear on
section a–a (Figure 9–47).
3. Compute the moment
on section a–a (Figure 9–
47). 4. Compute the factor
of safety against
overturning. 5. Compute
the factor of safety against
sliding if the coefficient of
friction between the soil
and the base of the footing
85 page
is 0.60.
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