Chapter 3 Bearing Capacity of Shallow

Foundations
and some comments
Dr Jorge A. Prieto-S, MSc, PhD, PEng

1
EAFIT, 2018

Referencias: “Curso de Cimentaciones, Vancouver 2015”

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4 We have to calculate stresses, or potential failures
at any point below the foundation, not just specific
points-

Therefore we talk about Modes of Failure

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 Comments on Bearing Pressures
Factors of Safety
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CONTACT SURFACE: The bottom of the footing, located at

a specific elevation.
GROSS BEARING PRESSURE (PRESION BRUTA THE
CONTACTO): The total pressure demand or capacity at the
contact surface. In addition to the loads, pressures, coming
from the building, It must include the weight of the footing
and of all overburden soil from the contact surface to
finished grade.
NET BEARING PRESSURE (PRESION NETA DE CONTACTO):
Gross bearing Pressure minus the pressure from the weight
of soil between the contact surface and original ground.
Note: Pressures, stresses, can be effective or totals
E.G. Compare Effective gross and Effective net Pressures

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Definiciones básicas de carga en capacidad de soporte
y factores de seguridad.

1. qgross = Sum of all loads acting at foundation level.

2. qnet = qgross-Po Po = Total overburden presure.

3. q´gross = qgross- u = qgross - γwhw

4. q´net = q´gross – Po´ Note that q´net = . qnet

5. qf = qw -> Fails -> Ground fails.

qf = qw = qwgross, q´wgross -> qunet or q´unet
qs = qa = qugross, q´agross , qunet q´unet
 
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Factors of Safety
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ULTIMATE BEARING CAPACITY (Capacidad de soporte

ultima), qu: This is the bearing pressure that will fail the
soil using a strength criterion.
ALLOWEABLE BEARING CAPACITY, qall: This is the gross
bearing pressure resisting a maximum contact
pressure. Usually the ultimate bearing capacity
divided by a Factor of Safety.
Alloweable Pressure net = qall net= Ultimate capacity
net/FS =qu net/FS
MAXIMUM CONTACT PRESSURE, qmax: This is the gross
pressure applied to the contact surface.

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14 Synthesis

IDEALISATIONS.
Material assumed to be rigid, perfectly plastic (T, gamma
plot)
Usually isotropic, strenght equall in all directions
Material is homogeneous, which means:
- For Undrained bearing capacity, the value of Su is
assumed constant troughout the failure zone
- For drained bearing capacity the effective strength
parameters c´ and φ´ and effective unit weight γ´
are assumed to be constant through the failure zone.

Most theories asume the ground beneath the foundation to

be weightless.
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Synthesis
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1. Rigorous application of the theories of plasticity, e.g. the
method of characteristics.

2. Sliding Blocks: Divide the material into rigid blocks separated

by failure planes such that at failure the blocks can slide past
another to form a mechanism. Then consider the work done
during failure and find the load that causes the failure.
Provides un upper limit to the correct failure ( be carefull)

3. Stress regions (statically admisible stress distributions): The

material is divided up into a number of regions of uniform stress.
By working from one región to the next from a región of known
stress and ensuring the regions are always in equilibrium with
each other and with the applied stresses and are at or below
failure, the pressure causing failure can be obtained.
Provides a lower bound to the correct failure load.
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Synthesis
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4. Limit equilibrium method

One or more ´slip planes´ are assumed. Then static

equilibrium at the failure surface is considered. Similar to the
sliding blocks method but the restriction of a kinematically
admisible mechanism is ignored.

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Método de los bloques
deslizantes
La figura muestra una carga distribuida (po) de ancho B y una
carga Q, las cuales actúan sobre el material que tiene una
resistencia no drenada Su.
Un mecanismo de dos bloques es propuesto. Se puede ver que
el mecanismo es cinemática mente determinado.
Los bloques son llamados C y D . El material circundante es
llamado O.
El trabajo externo hecho por la carga Q y la sobrecarga Po es
igual al hecho por la resistencia Su a lo largo de los planos de
deslizamiento de los bloques.
Regiones de Esfuerzos

La figura muestra una presión uniforme q actuando en la

superficie del material el cual presenta una resistencia no
drenada Su. Una sobrecarga Po actúa a lo largo de q.
El material es dividido en dos regiones separadas por una
discontinuidad de esfuerzos.
Para llevar a cabo el análisis, podemos suponer primero que el
estado de esfuerzos en cada región está en equilibrio con el
esfuerzo aplicado y con las otras regiones y segundo; que el
esfuerzo de corte en cada región no excede Su y
preferiblemente es igual a Su.
 Capacidad soporte de
zapatas superficiales

La expresión para la capacidad de carga en la

condición no drenada, qf, para zapatas corridas, puede
ser escrita en la forma general:

Donde Nc es el factor de capacidad no drenada.

Solución exacta(Prandtl):

Para zapatas enterradas y rectangulares, se aplican

factores de ajuste
 Capacidad soporte de
zapatas superficiales
 
 Capacidad soporte de
zapatas superficiales
 
 Capacidad soporte de zapatas
superficiales, condiciones
Drenadas (Mohr Coulomb)*
 
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Useful for both drain and undrained conditions

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 Before starting with settlements
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Además de Terzaghi y Vesic, otros investigadarores

han propuesto ecuaciones para capacidad de carga
en cimentaciones superficiales, e.g.

Meyerhof

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Remember that the FS is defined in terms of net loads!

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Notar que en este caso se están usando
Factores de Seguridad Directos, i.e. (aplicados
Sobre los parámetros de resistencia)
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