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Sobie Recent Research On The Bearing Capacity of Founbl4Tions
Sobie Recent Research On The Bearing Capacity of Founbl4Tions
OF FOUNBl4TIONS
The first part of the paper summarizes the La premiPre partie de cet article prdsente
results of recent research on the bearing capa- un rdsumd des recherches rGcentes exdcut4es
city of spread foundations of various shapes sur la force portante des fondations super-
under a ce~atralvertical load and outlines the ficielles de diffgrentes forines soumises A. une
effects of foundation depth, eccentricity and charge centrde verticale; elle donnp aussi 1111
inclination of the load. Siiliple forlnulae have expos6 des effets rksultant de la profondeur
been derived for use in practice and their des fondations, de l'excentricitd et de l'obli-
application to the design of rigid and flexible qiaitk de la charge. Des formules siniples y
foundations is briefly indicated. sont d4rivdcs polar l'e~nploidans b pratique,
The second part of the paper discusses the et !'application de ces formules au calcul des
bearing capacity of single piles under vertical fondations rigides et flexibles est brihvernelrt
and incliired loads. The bearing capacity of expliqu4e.
piled foundations and frce-sta~rdingpile groups La deiaxi61ne partie discute de la force
is outlined, and the restalts of model tests on portante des pieux sinlples soiatnis A des
pile groups under central and eccentric loads charges verticales et obliques. La force por-
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are briefly analysed in relation to some prob- tante des fondations sur pieux et des groupes
lems in practice. de pieux isoles y est trait6e; les rksultats
d'essais sur n~odkle r6duit de groupes de
pieux soumis B des charges ccntr4es et excen-
trkes sont analysds brikvernent en rapport
avec quelques problenles pratiques.
Twent). j7ears have passed since Terzaghi (1943) published his well-k1low11
bearing capacity theory, which with his earlier consolidation theory of clays
and later settlement :ui~alysisof sands led to a better understanding of the
fundamentals of foundatio~! behaviour. Under this stirrlulus the study of the
bearing capacity and settlement of foundatiorls in the field amplified by
'
The ulti~-r-nate
bearing capacity of spread foundations on u11iforx-n soils can
generally be estimated with sufficient accuracy on the basis of plastic theory,
and the theoretical relationship can be represented by (Terzaglli, 1943) :
*Head, Department of Civil Eragineering, and Director, School of Graduate Studies, Nova
Scotia Technical College, Halifax, Kova Scotia.
shape factors
i S, = 1+ 0.2N4B/L
(:%1 Sg = S, = 1, (4 = 0)
\ and S , = S ~ = ~ + O . ~ I I ~ ~ B ; ;( Z
4 >, 3 0 ° )
with symbols as before.
I t should be noted that for large values of the angle of iasternal friction
(4 > 30") the experimental factor N, for circuIar or square foundations is
smaller than that for strip foundations, whereas the opposite result is expected
from bearing capacity theory. As shown previously (ILIeyerhof, 19G1), this
difference can he explained by the influence of the inter~nediateprincipal
stress, which in the plane strain condition under strip foundations raises the
experimental bearing capacity for large friction aiigIes considerably above the
theoretical value. While triaxial compression tests can, therefore, be used to
determine the shear strength parameters for circular or square foundations,
plane strain compression tests should be made to deterniiase the corresponding
paranleters for strip foundations, when good agreement between the estimated
and observed bearing capacities will be obtained.
For rectangular foundations the friction angles 6 cars be interpolated between
the plane strain and triaxial values in proportion to the side ratio B/L of the
foundation. Since the angle of internal friction in plane strain compression
tests is roughly 10 per cent greater than in triaxial con~pressiontests (Bishop,
1961; Bjerr~nm and Kurnrneneje, 1961) the friction angles for rectangular
fo~lndationsare roughly given by
d, = 1
(5) d, = d, = 1, ($I =0)
and d, = d, = 1 + 0.1 -\/N+D/B, (4 > 10')
with symbols as before.
As the depth of the fouildation increases, the depth factors increase at a
decreasing rate and approach a xnaxin~un~ value which can be used for an
estimate of the point resistance of piles, as shown below.
Fotandations of building frames, retaining walls and similar structures are
generally subjected to eccentric and inclined loads, and these loading con-
ditions can substa~itiallyreduce the bearing capacity of foundat ions. In order
to allow for the eccentricity e of the resultant load K on the base of a foundatio~a
of width B (Figure 2), it was suggested (R:Ieyerllof, 1 9 5 3 ~ that
) an effective
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foualdatioil width B Pis used in equation (1) and this width .is twice the distance
of the load fro111 the toe of the foundation, i.e.
Detailed anode1 tests have shown that this procedure is on the safe side. The
experimerltal effective width is between the above-inentioned value and the
width estimated frorrl the coilventional contact pressure distribution (trape-
ziriraa or triangle), which can be explained tlleoretically by more accurate
failure zones (Hansen, 1955). For a double eccentricity of the load an effective
contact area can be determined in such a way that its centre of gravity coin-
cides with the resultant of the load. I11 this connection a straight line of
rotation across the base is required as the boundary of the effective contact
area, but an approximate rectangular area of an effective width B Pand effective
length I,' based on equation (6) in both directions is suficiently accurate in
practice.
The influence of inclined loads on the bearing capacity of spread foundations
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can readily be taken into account by using inclination factors, which have
been deduced from more exact calculations (Schultze, 19.52; Meyerhof, 1 9 5 3 ~ ) .
In this connection the influeilce of the lateral soil resistance on foundations
below the surface is particularly effective. For rough foundations the vertical
cornporient of the bearing capacity under a load inclined a t an angle of a
with the vertical (Figure 2) can be approxinlated by the following inclination
factors (Meyerhof, 195Cib):
i i, = 2:* = (1 - ~ 1 / ! 3 0 O ) ~
and iy = (1 -
The vertical conlponent of the bearing capacity in the general case of
eccentric irnclined loads is, therefore, approximrrtely,
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load under various loading conditions and slab sizes have been obtained. The
proposed method can be used for both the assuinptiol-n of a n~oduIussf sub-
grade reaction and a nlodulus of deformation of the soil, and is confirmed by
the results of loading tests on large slabs and model tests under concentrated
loads.
The hearing capacity of a single pile is the s u ~ nof point resistance and skin
friction, both of which depend or1 the properties of the soil and the charac-
teristics and method of installing the pile. Since the point resistance of vertical
and inclined piles loaded in the direction of the pile is practically identical,
equation (I) cran be used if the bearing capacity factors include the limiting
values of the depth factors, and the influence of the shape of the base atld the
connlprcssibility of the soil (hlleyerhof, 1959 and 19Glu). For axially loaded
single piles the ultimate bearing capacity is therefore, approxirnately,
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dense sand than the cone resistance, whicla seems to be due to the volunae
cha~lgesassociatecf with the deformation of the soil in the failure zone (Kerisel,
1961). A rough estimate of the bearing capacity of piles in such soils can also
be obtained from the results of standard penetration tests (Rlfeyerhof, 1956a).
More difficult is an estimate of the bearing capacitjr of piles which are not
axially loaded. IVhile a pile with transverse load can be designed sinlilarly to
a wall but with the additional soil resistance on the sides parallel to the load
(Terzaghi, 1943), the bearing capacity of an obliquely loaded pile is between
the transverse and longitudinal value. By the inclined loading the lateral
earth pressure governing the skin friction is increased and the axial corn-
poilent of the bearing capacity governing the point resistance is reduced, as
for a deep fountfation. Hence the bearing capacity of batter piles is smaller
if the load is more incliiled than the batter of the pile, although the bearing
capacity call be increased by fixity a t the pile head, as shown by the results
of tests in sand (Evans, 1954; Tschebotarioff, 1954). For the purpose of
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estirllating the bearing capacity of such piles the relationships can coilverliently
be represented by polar bearing capacity diagrams (Meyerhof, 1960a).
Recent investigations of the group rtction of piles and ultimate bearing
capacity of pile foundations have shown that two types of pile groups have to
be distinguished, namely pile groups in which the caps or foundations rest
on load-bearing soil (piled foundations) and pile groups with caps clear of
the ground or with piles driven through soft strata into dense soil (free-standing
pile groups).
A piled foundation (Figure 3) can be considered as a pier foundation with
its base a t the depth of the pile points, and the total bearing capacity is
practically independent of tlle pile spacing. Although a t present only irloclel
tests with a central vertical load on piled foundations in clay are available
(Whitaker, IDGO), some exploratory loading tests on vertical pile groups with
;L close pile spacing in sand (Kishida, 1962) indicate that similar conditions
probably obtain generally for piled foundations in uniforna soils. For a central
load on such foundations with vertical piles a t customary spacixlgs iip to
about four or five pile diameters the total bearing capacity is thus the sum
of the Blase resistonce of the equivalent pier and the shearing strength of the
soil along the perimeter of the group less the weight of the enclosed soil (Ter-
zaghi and l'eck, 1948).
For eccentric or inclined load the foundation tilts and the earth pressure
on the sides of the group and the base shear should generally be taken into
accourlt (Figure 3). Exploratory loading tests on ~rlodelpilecf foundations
under vertical load with eccentricities up to one-half the width of the group
indicate that the reduced vertical base resistance is offset by an increased
skin friction. As a result the total bearing capacity of the group is practically
unaffected by the ecceiltricity of the load, within the above experimental
limit, and can be estimated as for piled foundations under :I central load.
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