Shallow Foundations

1.2. Bearing capacity

1.2.1. Conventional calculations for uniform soils

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1.3. Bearing Capacity (Principle of Foundation, Alemayehu, 2008)

[

1.3.1. Conventional calculation for uniform soils

1.3.1.1. Presumptive allowable soil pressures
Allowable Soil Pressure according to EBCS-7

The presumed design bearing resistances under vertical static loading are reproduced in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1: Allowable Soil Pressure [EBCS-7]

Presumed
Supporting Compactness* Bearing
ground type Description or Value Remarks
Consistency** (kPa)
Massively crystalline igneous and metamorphic rock (granite, Hard and 5600
basalt, gneiss) sound
Foliated metamorphic rock Medium hard 2800
(salt, schist) and sound
Sedimentary rock (hard shale, siltstone, sandstone, limestone) Medium hard 2800
and sound
Rocks
Weathered or broken-rock Soft 1400
(soft limestone)
Soft shale Soft 850
Decomposed rock, to be assessed as soil as below
Gravel, sand and gravel Dense 560 Width of foundation, b, not less
Medium 420 than 1 m
dense 280
Loose

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Non-cohesive Sand Dense 420 Ground water level assumed to

Soils Medium 280 be at depth not less than b,
dense 140 below the base of the
Loose foundation

Presumed
Supporting Compactness* Bearing
ground type Description or Value Remarks
Consistency** (kPa)
Silt Hard 280
Stiff 200
Medium stiff 140
Cohesive Soft 70
Soils Clay Hard 420
Stiff 280
Medium stiff 140
Soft 70
* Compactness: Dense: N > 30
Medium dense: N = 10 to 30
Loose: N < 10
N = Standard Penetration Test Value

** Consistency: Hard: qu > 400 kPa

Stiff: qu = 100 to 200 kPa
Medium stiff: qu = 50 to100 kPa
Soft: qu = 15 to 50 kPa
qu = unconfined compressive strength

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Allowable Soil Pressure according to DIN 1054

(i) Allowable Average Soil Pressure for Constructions that are Sensitive to Settlement

Such constructions include all statically indeterminate structures (where part of the structure
cannot take settlement by itself without affecting the adjoining structure)
Table 1.2: Non-Cohesive Soils
Foundation Allowable average soil pressure in kPa for spread footings with
Depth, t given width b in m.
m 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3*
0.5 200 300 330 280 250 220
1 270 370 360 310 270 240
1.5 340 440 390 340 290 260
2 400 500 420 360 310 280
For small 150 for b ≥ 0.3 m and
construction t ≥ 0.3m
*For foundation width varying from 3 to 5 meters, the values given in the last column
should be reduced by 10% for every additional meter width. This is, however,
approximate.

(ii) Allowable Average Soil Pressure for Constructions that are not very Sensitive to
Settlement

These are structures where settlement of one part does not cause distress to the construction
(Table 1.3).
Table 1.3: Non-Cohesive Soils
Foundation depth Allowable average soil pressure in kPa for spread footings
m with given width b in m.
0.5 1 1.5 2*
0.5 200 300 400 500
1 270 370 470 570
1.5 340 440 540 640
2 400 500 600 700
For small construction
150 for b≥ 0.3m and
t ≥ 0.3m
* For foundation width greater than 2m, the value given for 2m may be used.

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(iii) Reduction of the Values given in the Tables 1.2 and 1.3

a - If the distance, d, between the highest ground water level and the base of the foundation
is smaller than the foundation width (d < b), the values given in Table 1.3 should be reduced as
follows:

Table 1.3: Non-Cohesive Soils

Foundation depth Allowable average soil pressure in kPa for spread footings
m with given width b in m.
0.5 1 1.5 2*
0.5 200 300 400 500
1 270 370 470 570
1.5 340 440 540 640
2 400 500 600 700
For small construction
150 for b≥ 0.3m and
t ≥ 0.3m
* For foundation width greater than 2m, the value given for 2m may be used.

If the ground water level reaches the base of foundation (d=0), the values should be reduced
by 40%. For d between zero and b, the values may be interpolated linearly between 0 and 1.

b – If horizontal forces H other than vertical forces V exist, the values in Table 1.3 should
be reduced by the ration 1  H  . If the horizontal force H is parallel to the longer side of the
2

 V 

foundation, the values may be reduced by the ratio  H provided that the side ratio is greater
1  
 V 

than 2.

The values of Table 1.2 may be used unaltered provided they are smaller than the reduced
values of Table 1.3.

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(iv) Allowable Average Soil Pressure for Cohesive Soils

Table 1.4: Pure Silt
Allowable average soil pressure in kPa for spread
Foundation depth footings with width, b, from 0.5 to 2m, for stiff to
M semi-hard consistency
0.5 130
1 180
1.5 220
2 250
Table 1.5: Mixed Soil (Grain size from Clay to Sand and Gravel)
Allowable average soil pressure in kPa for spread
footings with width, b, from 0.5 to 2m.
Foundation depth
m Consistency
Stiff Semi-Hard Hard
0.5 150 220 330
1 180 280 380
1.5 220 330 440
2 250 370 500

Table 1.6: Clayey Silt

Allowable average soil pressure in kPa for spread
footings with width, b, from 0.5 to 2m.
Foundation depth
m Consistency
Stiff Semi-Hard Hard
0.5 120 170 280
1 140 210 320
1.5 160 250 360
2 180 280 400
Table 1.7: Clay
Allowable average soil pressure in kPa for spread
footings with width, b, from 0.5 to 2m.
Foundation depth
m Consistency
Stiff Semi-Hard Hard
0.5 90 140 200
1 110 180 240
1.5 130 210 270
2 150 230 300

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For foundation width, b, between 2 and 5 m, the values in Table 1.4 to 1.7 should be reduced
by 10% for every additional meter width.

As supplementary to Tables 1.4 to 1.7 for smaller constructions, for spread footings with
width b ≥ 0.2m and foundations depth t ≥ 0.5m, an average allowable soil pressure value of
80 kPa may be used.

(v) Reduction of the Values given in the Tables 1.4 till 1.7

If the distance between the highest ground water level and the base of the foundation is smaller
than twice the foundation width, the values given in the Tables should reduced.

For the case that the ground water reaches the base of the foundations, the values in Tables 1.4
and 1.5 should be reduced by 25% and those in Table 1.6 and 1.7 by 15%. In between values
may be interpolated.

(vi) Allowable Average Soil Pressure for Spread Footings is Rock

If the subsurface consists of a uniform deep layer of rock and does not manifest any sign of loss
of strength or change of property due to construction, the average values given in Table 1.8 may
be used.

Table 1.8: Allowable Pressure on Rock

Stage of formation Allowable average pressure in kPa of spread footings

Sound Undecomposed Decomposed
Rock of uniform layer 4000 1500
Rock of varying layers 2000 1000

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1.3.1.2. Using soil strength parameters (Soil Mechanics, Alemayehu & Mesfin, 1999)

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Using National Code of Standard –EBSC-7

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