BC1 BEARING CAPACITY: (BC) Recall the requirements for a satisfactory foundation: 1.

. Future influences (frost, shrink-swell clay, sinkholes, etc.) 2. Bearing capacity failure (catastrophic, not very common in modern times) 3. Excessive settlements (long term, still a too-frequent problem) Bearing Capacity Design Criteria: o o Bearing Stress (qs) - the bearing stress actually applied to the soil by a foundation, force per unit area (Q s/A). Allowable Bearing Stress (qa) - the bearing stress used as a design limit after consideration of stability, failure criteria, soil layering and variability, influence of other structures/footings, and risk tolerance - typically divide the ultimate bearing capacity by a factor of safety (F.S. 3). Local Shear Bearing Capacity (qls) - the bearing stress at which local shear failure occurs, typically where the bearing stress vs. movement plot becomes significantly nonlinear. Ultimate Bearing Capacity (qu) - the bearing stress at which there is catastrophic movement, usually a general shear failure Bearing Stress, qs

qa

qls

qu

Settlement,

qs

Factors Affecting Mode of BC Failure: o o o o Depth of embedment, Df

emax e Stiffness or relative density, Dr = e x100% max emin Geometry of foundation (B/L), shape Inclination or eccentricity of applied load

Loose or Soft Soil

Dense or Stiff Soil

BC Failure Modes:

o General shear failure (qu)

- abrupt, sudden. Failure surface extends to ground surface (dense sand).

Q Failure Surface

qs qu

Local shear failure (qls)

- occurs slowly,with substantial settlement. Failure surface does

Q Failure Surface

qs qls qu

BC2 not extend to ground surface. Progresses to general shear failure (medium compacted sand, clayey soil)

BC3 o

Punching shear failure (qps)

- continuous punching failure and settlement with gradual increase in qs due to compaction (loose sands), more likely to occur at depth.

qs qps Failure Surface

q u?

Estimate type of failure from geometry & Dr: general shear failure, qu will occur at = (4-10%) x B local shear failure (or punching), qu will occur at = (1525%) x B

(figure by Vesic, 1963)

Terzaghi Bearing Capacity (1943): B.C. still a real problem in Terzaghis era, Prandtl B.C. (1920) for metals assumed weight forces small compared to material strength o Depth of foundation width (i.e. Df B) o Rough bottom, foundation does not slide o homogeneous, semi-infinite, isotropic soil mass o Mohr-Coulomb failure criteria, = c + tan , (usu. effective stress analysis w/ c & ) o General shear failure mode o Movement due only to shear, no settlement o Rigid foundation in comparison to soil stiffness o Soil above bottom of footing acts as surcharge only and has no strength o Applied load vertical, in compression, through footing centroid, no moment o Radial shear zone, governed by passive pressure o Started with plane strain (strip footing), then extended to square & round footings

Q Df

Superimpose effects of c, , q: qu = qc + qq + q = Df = q qs c Pp W Pp c

I 45- /2 III = II Passive Failure Zone Radial Shear Zone

BC4 Terzaghi Bearing Capacity Equation: (basically conservative) for general shear failure: strip: square: circular:
qu =1.0cNc + D f Nq +0.5 BN

Q Df B

Df

qu =1.3cN c +D f N q +0.4 B N
q u = 1.3cN c +D f N q +0.3 B N

bearing factors: N q =
Nc =

a2 2 cos 2 ( 45 + / 2)
Nq 1 , Nc = 5.70 for = 0 tan

Soil: , c, ( 0.75 / 2 ) tan a = e ( in radians)

N 2(N q + 1) tan 1 + 0.4 sin( 4)

(Coduto)

(rigorous calculation for N in chart below or table on next page ) for local shear failure: strip: square: circular: where:
q u =1.0cN' c + D f N' q + 0. 5 B N' q u =1.3cN' c + D f N' q + 0. 4 B N' q u =1.3cN' c + D f N' q + 0.3 B N' c = ( 2 / 3 )c

and or

use in table/chart to get N' bearing factors use = = tan 1 [(2 / 3) tan ] to get N in above equations
1000 General Shear Failure

1000

1000

100 Bearing Capacity Factor, Nc

Bearing Capacity Factor, Nq

General Shear Failure

100

100 Bearing Capacity Factor, N General Shear Failure 10

10 Local Shear Failure 1

10

Local Shear Failure

1 Local Shear Failure 0.1

0.1

0.1

0.01 0 10 20 30 40 50 Friction Angle, degrees

0.01 0 10 20 30 40 50 Friction Angle, degrees

0.01 0 10 20 30 40 50 Friction Angle, degrees