04-12-2021

Soil Bearing Capacity

For a foundation to function properly,

(1) Settlement of soil caused by the load must be within the tolerable limit, and

(2) Shear failure of the soil supporting the foundation must not occur

Soil Bearing Capacity

(a) spread footing; (b) mat foundation

(c) pile foundation (d) drilled shaft foundation

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Bearing Capacity Criteria

Types of
Failure

General shear Local shear Punching

Failure Failure shear
Failure
Dense Sand/ Stiff Medium Dense Sand/
Clay Medium stiff clay Loose Sand/ Soft clay

General Shear Failure

❑ Consider a strip foundation with a width of B
resting on the surface of a dense sand or stiff
cohesive soil.

❑ Now, if a load is gradually applied to the

foundation, settlement will increase. The
variation of the load per unit area on the
foundation (q) with the foundation settlement is
also shown in the Figure.

❑ At a certain point—when the load per unit area

equals to 𝒒𝒖 a sudden failure in the soil
supporting the foundation will take place, and
the failure surface in the soil will extend to the
ground surface.

❑ This load per unit area, 𝒒𝒖 , is usually referred

to as the ultimate bearing capacity of the
foundation. When such sudden failure in soil
takes place, it is called general shear failure.

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Local Shear Failure

❑ If the foundation under consideration rests on sand or
clayey soil of medium compaction, an increase in the load
on the foundation will also be accompanied by an
increase in settlement. However, in this case the failure
surface in the soil will gradually extend outward from the
foundation, as shown by the solid lines in the Figure.
When the load per unit area on the foundation equals 𝒒′𝒖 ,
movement of the foundation will be accompanied by
sudden jerks.

❑ A considerable movement of the foundation is then

required for the failure surface in soil to extend to the
ground surface (as shown by the broken lines in the
figure). The load per unit area at which this happens is the
ultimate bearing capacity, 𝒒𝒖 . Beyond that point, an
increase in load will be accompanied by a large increase
in foundation settlement. The load per unit area of the
foundation, 𝒒′𝒖 , is referred to as the first failure load
(Vesic, 1963). Note that a peak value of q is not realized
in this type of failure, which is called the local shear
failure in soil.

Punching Shear Failure

❑ If the foundation is supported by a fairly loose
soil, the load–settlement plot will be like the one
in the Figure.

❑ In this case, the failure surface in soil will not

extend to the ground surface.

❑ Beyond the ultimate failure load, 𝒒𝒖 , the load–

settlement plot will be steep and practically linear.
This type of failure in soil is called the punching
shear failure.

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Nature of Failure (Vesic, 1973)

❑ On the basis of experimental results,

Vesic (1973) proposed a relationship for
the mode of bearing capacity failure of
foundations resting on sands. Figure
shows this relationship, which involves
the notation

Terzaghi’s Bearing Capacity Theory

❑ Terzaghi (1943) was the first to present a comprehensive theory for the evaluation of the
ultimate bearing capacity of rough shallow foundations.

❑ According to this theory, a foundation is shallow if its depth, 𝒅𝒇 , is less than or equal to its
width. Later investigators, however, have suggested that foundations with 𝒅𝒇 equal to 3 to
4 times their width may be defined as shallow foundations.

❑ Terzaghi suggested that for a continuous, or strip, foundation (i.e., one whose width to-
length ratio approaches zero), the failure surface in soil at ultimate load may be assumed
to be similar to that shown in Figure. (Note that this is the case of general shear failure).

❑ The effect of soil above the bottom of the foundation may also be assumed to be replaced
by an equivalent surcharge, 𝒒 = 𝜸𝒅𝒇 (where γ is a unit weight o soil).

❑ The failure zone under the foundation can be separated into three parts

1. The triangular zone, immediately under the foundation

2. The radial shear zones
3. Two triangular Rankine passive zones

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Soil Bearing Capacity

Soil Bearing Capacity

Zone-I: Elastic Zone

The soil in this zone remains in a state of elastic equilibrium. The soil wedge abd
immediately beneath the foundation is prevented from undergoing any lateral movement
by the friction and adhesion between the base of footing and soil.

Zone-II: Zone of Radial Shear

Zone-III: Rankine’s Passive Zone

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Soil Bearing Capacity

Soil Bearing Capacity

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Soil Bearing Capacity

Soil Bearing Capacity

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Soil Bearing Capacity

For Sandy Soil (c = 0)

❑  ≥ 36 degree = General Shear Failure,  ≤ 29 degree = Local shear failure

between this range represents the mixed state state of failure .

For c -  soil

❑ Failure of soil specimen occur at a relatively small strain (less than 5%) – General
shear failure

❑ If stress-strain curve does not show peak and has a continuously rising pattern up to a
strain of 10-20%- Local shear failure

Soil Bearing Capacity

Factor of Safety
❑ Calculating the gross allowable load-bearing capacity of shallow foundations requires
the application of a factor of safety (FS) to the gross ultimate bearing capacity, or

❑ The net ultimate bearing capacity is defined as the ultimate pressure per unit area of the
foundation that can be supported by the soil in excess of the pressure caused by the
surrounding soil at the foundation level. If the difference between the unit weight of
concrete used in the foundation and the unit weight of soil surrounding is assumed to be
negligible, then

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Soil Bearing Capacity

Problem

Ans.

Soil Bearing Capacity

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Soil Bearing Capacity

Soil Bearing Capacity

Ultimate Load for Shallow Foundations Under Eccentric Load
❑ To calculate the bearing capacity
of shallow foundations with
eccentric loading, Meyerhof
(1953) introduced the concept of
effective area.

❑ If the eccentricity (e) is in the x

direction, the effective dimensions
are

❑ The lower of the two effective

dimensions is the effective width
(B’) and the other is the effective
length (L’). Thus

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Soil Bearing Capacity

Factor of Safety

❑ There are two basic definitions of the allowable bearing capacity of shallow
foundations. They are gross allowable bearing capacity, and net allowable
bearing capacity.

The gross allowable bearing capacity can be calculated as

Soil Bearing Capacity

❑ The net allowable bearing capacity is the allowable load per unit area of the
foundation in excess of the existing vertical effective stress at the level of the
foundation

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Soil Bearing Capacity

❑ If we assume that the weight of the soil and the weight of the concrete from which the
foundation is made are approximately the same, then

Soil Bearing Capacity

Skempton’s Bearing Capacity Analysis for cohesive Soils
The analysis is valid for any values of Df/B

Df/B

Df/B

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Soil Bearing Capacity

General Bearing Capacity Equation: (Meyerhof, 1963)

The soil-bearing capacity equation for a strip footing given can be modified for
general use by incorporating the following factors:

Depth factor: To account for the shearing resistance developed along the failure
surface in soil above the base of the footing

Shape factor: To determine the bearing capacity of rectangular and circular

footings

Inclination factor: To determine the bearing capacity of a footing on which the

direction of load application is inclined at a certain angle to the vertical

Soil Bearing Capacity

General Bearing Capacity Equation: (Meyerhof, 1963)

❑ Logarithmic failure surface

ends at the ground surface.

❑ The shearing resistance of

soil above the base of the
footing has also been
considered in Meyerhof’s
analysis.

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Soil Bearing Capacity

❑ For strip footing, Sc, Sq and S =1

Soil Bearing Capacity

Meyerhof’s Correction Factors

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Soil Bearing Capacity

Bearing capacity factors for Meyerhof, Hansen and Vesic Bearing capacity
equations

Soil Bearing Capacity

Hansen’s Bearing Capacity Theory:
❑ For cohesive soils, Hansen (1961) gives the values of ultimate bearing capacity
which are in better with experimental values.

❑ Full scale test on footings has indicated that the Hansen equation gives better
correlation than the Terzaghi’s equation.

Same as Meyerhof

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Soil Bearing Capacity

Vesic’s Bearing Capacity Theory:
❑ Vesic (1973) confirmed that the basic nature of the failure surface in soil as
suggested by Terzaghi is incorrect.

❑ Failure surface EF is considered to be inclined at an angle of (45𝑜 + 𝜑/2)

❑ The bearing capacity equation is similar in form of Hansen’s equation

Same as Meyerhof

Soil Bearing Capacity

IS:6403-1981 Code Theory

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Soil Bearing Capacity

Effect of Water Table

❑ q = effective pressure at base

Bearing Capacity fro Plate Load Test

Settlement of Foundation on Granular Soil

1. Plate Load Test

❑ Rough mild steel plates are used

30, 45, 60 ad 75 cm (square)

❑ 5mm fine sand is placed at the

bottom before placing the plate

❑ Seating load 70kg/cm2 is applied

initially and then removed.

❑ Load is applied at 1/5th of the

estimated ultimate bearing capacity.

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Settlement of Shallow Foundation

❑ Record the settlement at time interval of 1, 2.25. 4, 6.25, 9, 16, 25 mins and 1 hr for
each incremental load.

❑ In case of clayey soils the ‘time settlement’ curve shall be plotted at each load stage and
load shall be increased to the next stage either when the curve indicates that the
settlement has exceeded 70 to 80 percent of the probable ultimate settlement at that
stage or at the end of 24 hour period.

❑ For soils other than clayey soils each load increment shall be kept for not less than one
hour or up to a time when the rate of settlement gets appreciably reduced to a value of
0.02 mm/min.

❑ The next increment of load shall then be applied and the observations repeated.

❑ The test shall be continued till, a settlement of 25 mm under normal circumstances or

50 mm in special cases such as dense gravel, gravel and sand mixture, is obtained or till
failure occurs, whichever is earlier.

❑ Alternatively where settlement does not reach 25 mm, the test should be continued to at
least two times the estimated design pressure. If needed, rebound observations may be
taken while releasing the load.

Settlement of Shallow Foundation

Determination of foundation settlement

For granular soil (Terzaghi and

Peck, 1948)

For Clayey soil***

𝑺𝒇 𝑩
❑ ***For cohesive soil, consolidation settlement is
=
𝑺𝑷 𝑩𝑷
significant, which can’t be predicted using this test. So,
this equation shouldn’t be used seriously.

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Settlement of Shallow Foundation

Determination of ultimate bearing capacity

For granular soil

𝑩
𝒒𝒖𝒇 = 𝒒𝒖𝒑
𝑩𝑷

For Cohesive soil

𝒒𝒖𝒇 = 𝒒𝒖𝒑 [ Independent of width ]

Determination of safe bearing pressure

If 𝑆𝑓 , i.e. permissible settlement of foundation of width B is known Then, corresponding 𝑆𝑃

can be calculated from equation below:

Settlement of Shallow Foundation

❑ Once the 𝑆𝑃 is known, the load intensity corresponding to 𝑆𝑃 is read off from the load
settlement curve and taken as safe bearing pressure of the foundation.

Settlement Correction

❑ If WT resides close to the base of the footing, a correction for the WT has to be
applied.

𝑺𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉

𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝑺𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 =
𝑪𝒘
G. L.

𝑫′𝒘 [ IS:8009 ]
𝑫𝒇 𝑪𝑾 = 𝟎. 𝟓 + 𝟎. 𝟓 ≤𝟏
𝐷𝑤 𝑩

B 𝐷𝑤
𝑫′𝒘 𝑪𝑾 = 𝟎. 𝟓 + 𝟎. 𝟓 ≤𝟏 [ Peck, Hansen
𝑫𝒇 + 𝑩 and Thornburn]

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