FOUNDATION ENGINEERING:

BEARING CAPACITY
galuh chrismaningwang
BEARING CAPACITY
The soil ability to support a vertical load
Shallow Foundation
The purpose of foundation is to provide a solid
base upon which the superstructure is built.
The two main modes of failure/damage that
occur to a foundation are: Df
• Settlement
 particles don’t move relatively to each other
B
• Bearing capacity
 particles do move relative to each other Shallow Foundation
 develop a shear plane
Df < B (Terzaghi)
Df < 3-4B
Ultimate Shear Failure Modes
Consider a strip footing of width B loaded in some granular soils
Occurs in dense sand
Rule of thumb, ’36

General Shear Failure

Occurs in loose sand
Rule of thumb, ’< 36
Why don't failure planes extend to surface for local
shear failure?
1. Soil becomes denser with shear
2. Geometry changes with settlement
Local Shear Failure
Bearing Capacity Failure
 Terzaghi’s Bearing Capacity Equation
After reading a paper by Prandtl about armor-piercing ammunition, Terzaghi got an
idea for developing a similar method to compute soil bearing capacity

III III
I
II II

I: Elastic zone
II: Prandtl zone
III: Rankine passive zone
 Terzaghi’s Bearing Capacity Equation
There are three parts to Terzaghi’s bearing equation that contribute to Pp on the elastic zone

𝟏
𝑷𝒑 = 𝜸𝑯𝟐 𝑲𝜸 + 𝒄𝑯𝑲𝒄 + 𝒒𝑯𝑲𝒒
𝟐

Friction along the soil wedge Cohesion along the soil wedge Weight of the surcharge
Terzaghi’s Bearing Capacity Equation (1943)
Using the principle of superposition, the contribution from soil weight, soil cohesion, and surcharge
can be combined into a single equation to produce the ultimate bearing capacity, qu.
𝟏
𝒒𝒖𝒍𝒕 = 𝒄′𝑵𝒄 + 𝒒𝑵𝒒 + 𝜸𝑩𝑵𝜸 Strip
𝟐
𝒒𝒖𝒍𝒕 = 𝟏. 𝟑𝒄′ 𝑵𝒄 + 𝒒𝑵𝒒 + 𝟎. 𝟒𝜸𝑩𝑵𝜸 Square
𝒒𝒖𝒍𝒕 = 𝟏. 𝟑𝒄′ 𝑵𝒄 + 𝒒𝑵𝒒 + 𝟎. 𝟑𝜸𝑩𝑵𝜸 Circular

Note:
“q” in second term of the equation refers to the pressure from the soil above the base of the
foundation (𝑞 = 𝛾𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 × 𝐷𝑓 )
“” In the third term of the equation refers to the unit weight of the soil below the foundation
(𝛾 = 𝛾𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤 )
Terzaghi’s Bearing Capacity Equation
Table 3. 1 in Das provided the bearing capacity factors for the case of general shear failure.
Table 3.2 provided the modified bearing capacity for the case of local shear failure.
If ’< 36, then you should assume local shear failure, not general shear failure.
Case 1

Df

B
Meyerhof’s Bearing Capacity Equation (1963)
𝟏
𝒒𝒖 = 𝒄′ 𝑵𝒄 𝑭𝒄𝒔 𝑭𝒄𝒅 𝑭𝒄𝒊 + 𝒒𝑵𝒒 𝑭𝒒𝒔 𝑭𝒒𝒅 𝑭𝒒𝒊 + 𝜸𝑩𝑵𝜸 𝑭𝜸𝒔 𝑭𝜸𝒅 𝑭𝜸𝒊
𝟐
Note:
= cohesion
q = effective stress at the level of the bottom of the
foundation
 = unit weight of soil
B = width of foundation (=diameter for a circular
foundation)
Fs,Fqs,Fs= shape factors
Fd,Fqd,Fd = depth factors
Fi,Fqi,Fi = inclination factors
N, Nq, N= bearing capacity factors
Meyerhof’s Bearing Capacity Equation (1963)
Meyerhof’s Bearing Capacity Equation (1963)
Factor of Safety
Because there is a lot of uncertainty associated with geotechnical engineering and soil
strength parameters, we often apply hefty doses of conservatorism.
For bearing capacity, we can compute the allowable bearing capacity as

𝒒𝒖𝒍𝒕
𝒒𝒂𝒍𝒍 =
𝑭𝑺

FS really varies depending on the consequences of failure, the degree of information

known about the soil condition, and the potential for human error. Typically, FS is about
2.5-3.0.

If using LRFD, the above equation can be written as:

𝒒𝒔 = ∅𝒒𝒖𝒍𝒕
∅=resistance factor=0.4 to 0.7
Case 2
 Homework
For the following cases, determine the allowable gross vertical load
bearing capacity of the foundation. Use Terzaghi and Meyerhof
equation, also assume general shear failure in soil. Use FS = 3.
Part B Df ’ c’  Foundation type
A 1.2x m o.9x m 25 28.yz kN/m2 18.xy kN/m3 continous
B 2.Y m 1.Y m 30 0 17.zx kN/m3 continous
C 3.Z m 2.Z m 30 0 16.xz kN/m3 square