Session 4/24

The Bearing Capacity of Foundations under Eccentric

and Inclined Loads
Capacit portante des sols de fondation sous charges excentres et obliques

by G. G. M e y e r h o f , Ph.D., M.Sc. (Eng.), F.G.S., A.M.I.C.E., A.M.I. Struct. E., Building Research Station, Garston,
Watford, Herts., England

Summary
The authors recently published theory o f the bearing capacity o f
foundations under a central vertical load is extended to eccentric and
inclined loads. First, an analysis is given for eccentric vertical loads
on a horizontal foundation and is compared with the results o f
laboratory tests on model footings on clay and sand. In the second
section the theory is extended to central inclined loads on horizontal
and inclined foundations and compared with the results o f some
model tests on clay and sand. Finally, it is shown how these methods
o f analysis can be combined for foundation loads which are both
eccentric and inclined and some test results are presented.
Sommaire
La thorie antrieure de la force portante des fondations sous
charge centrale et verticale publie rcemment par lauteur est ten
due aux charges excentres et obliques. Premirement, une analyse
est donne pour des charges excentres verticales sur fondations
horizontales et elle est compare avec les rsultats dessais en labora
toire sur fondations modles dargile et de sable. D ans la deuxime
section la thorie est tendue aux charges centrales obliques et elle
est compare avec des rsultats obtenus avec modles dargile et de
sable. Enfin il est dmontr comment ces mthodes analytiques peu
vent tre combines pour des charges qui sont la fois excentres et
obliques et les rsultats de quelques dessais sont prsents lappui.

Introduction
Foundations are frequently subjected to eccentric and in Thus for a shallow horizontal strip foundation of width B
clined loads due to bending moments and horizontal thrusts and depth D carrying a vertical load Q with an eccentricity
acting in conjunction with the vertical loading. The bearing e on the base (Fig. 1), it may be assumed that the load acts
capacity theory recently published by the author (Meyerhof,\ centrally on a foundation of effective contact width
1951) can readily be extended to cover such loading conditions, B' = B 2<? . (1)
and the present paper gives an outline of the methods together
with the results of some tests with model footings on clay and t
sand.

Bearing Capacity of Foundation with Eccentric Load

Theory. W h e n a foundation carries an eccentric load, it
tilts towards the side of the eccentricity, and the contact
pressure below the base is generally taken to decrease linearly
towards the heel from a m a x i m u m at the toe. At the ultimate
bearing capacity of the foundation the distribution of contact
pressure is not even approximately linear, and a very simple
solution of the problem is obtained by assuming that the
contact pressure distribution is identical to that indicated Fig. 1 P lastic Z on es N e a r R ough Strip F ou n d a tio n w ith E ccentric L oad
previously (Meyerhof, 1951), for a centrally loaded foundation Z on es plastiq u es prs d une sem elle surface rugeuse sou s charge
but of reduced width. excentre

440
If the remaining width B-B' is ignored, which is somewhat
conservative, the corresponding zones of plastic equilibrium
in the material on the side of the eccentricity are the same as
for a similar centrally loaded foundation. (The shear zones
are shown in Fig. 1.) O n this basis for a material of density y,
unit cohesion c and angle of internal friction < p the bearing
capacity can be represented by
Q = qB (2a)
or
= qB' (2b)
where
B'
<7 = c N ca N y (3 )

and Ncq and Nyq are the resultant bearing capacity factors E C C E N T R IC IT Y e / B e c c e n t r ic it y e*/e .
for a central load (Meyerhof, 1951) and depend mainly on < p ( a ) LO O SE A N D P A C K IN G S
and the depth ratio DIB1of the foundation. c0 )
c o m p a c t d e n s e p a c k in g

Fig. 3 B earing C apacity o f F ootings with E ccentric V ertical L oad on Sand

The above expressions give only the base resistance to which
C apacit p o rta n te des fondations su r sable sous charge verticale
must be added any skin friction (Ca + Ps cos <5, see Fig. 1) on excentre
the shaft to obtain the total bearing capacity of the foundation.
The suggested procedure can be extended to a rectangular In order to check the theory when the shearing strength of
foundation of length L and width B, carrying a load Q with the soil is known independently, some tests were made at the
eccentricities ex and ey on the major axes, and to other areas Building Research Station. Footings of 1 in. width and
as shown in Fig. 2 by finding the minimum effective contact various shapes were loaded to failure under different eccentri
area A' (with straight boundary across the base) such that cities on the surface of soft remoulded London clay and
its centroid coincides with that of the load. Then medium H a m River sand in a loose and dense packing (poro
sity of 45 and 37 per cent, respectively). The average shearing
Q=XqA' (4 )
strength of the clay was c = 2 lbs./in2 and for the sand < p= 36
(loose) and < p = 48 (dense) from unconfined compression
- 18|*
and direct shearing tests, respectively. The experimental
procedure of the model tests was similar to that described
previously (Meyerhof, 1948, 1951), and a typical footing after
failure is illustrated by Fig. 4.
L ....li
The test results of the footings on clay (Fig. 5) show that
the average bearing capacity (maximum load/footing area)
decreases linearly, with increase in eccentricity, to zero for
SINGLE ec C tM T R lC IT Y OOUBLE
e c c e n t r ic it y
eJB = 0.5; similarly for any given eccentricity <?v, the bearing
R E C T A N G L E (S Q U A R E S im i u A )
capacity decreases with greater eccentricity e . These results

Fig. 2 Effective C o n tac t A rea o f F o u ndations w ith E ccentric L oad

A ire de co n tact effectif des fondations sous charge excentre

where A is the shape factor (Meyerhof, 1951) depending on the

average length/width ratio L 'B' of the contact area, and q
is given by equation (3).
For foundations whose depth is greater than about their
width appreciable lateral forces are induced on the shaft by
tilting under the load. These forces modify the plastic zones
and increase the bearing capacity; their effect can be estimated
as for rigid cantilever sheet piles (Terzaghi, 1943).
Experiments'. The only published tests results of eccentri
cally loaded foundations appear to be those from an extensive
investigation in Belgium (Ramelot and Vandeperre, 1950).
Circular and square footings up to 16 in. wide were loaded at
various depths in compact sand whose angle of internal
friction at the particular packing was unfortunately not de
termined. The experimental results for surface and shallow
footings (Fig. 3) are consistent with the theory by taking.
cp = 44, which would be a reasonable angle. Shallow footings
were only tested with relatively large eccentricities when the Fig. 4 Failure o f Strip F o o tin g w itli E cccnlric V ertical L oad on Sand
theory is conservative because it neglects the resistance due to R upture de l em pattem ent sur sable sous charge verticale ex
the lateral forces on the shaft. centre

441
 bearing capacity is tilted and the adjacent zones are modified
accordingly. T w o main cases m a y be considered, namely,
foundations with a horizontal base and foundations with a
base normal to the load (i.e. base inclined at a to the horizontal).
The corresponding zones of plastic equilibrium in the material
are shown in Fig. 6 and solutions for the ultimate bearing
capacity q are derived in the appendix (A. 1 and A. 2).
The solution for a horizontal foundation (appendix A. 1)
can be expressed in terms of the vertical component of the
bearing capacity
qv = q C O S a
B
cNcq + y Nyq (5)

where the bearing capacity factors Ncq and Nyq depend on < p,
DIB and a.
These bearing capacity factors, inclusive of any skin friction,
(M C IR C U L A R (\N D S a U P .* & FOOTINGS
are given in Figs. 7 a and 8 a for a shallow strip foundation
( O S T R IP F O O T IN O

Fig. 5 B earing C apacity o f F ootings with E ccentric V ertical L oad on Clay in purely cohesive (<p = o) and cohesionless (c = o) materials,
Force p o rta n te des fondations sur argile sous charge verticale respectively; they decrease rapidly with greater inclination a to
excentre
zero for a surface footing ifa = 90on purely cohesive material
and ifa = < pon cohesionless soil, when failure occurs by sliding
compare well with the estimates when an allowance is made on the base. It should be noted that for foundations on clay the
for some increase in bearing capacity due to the penetration base adhesion c'a m a y vary between 0 and c depending on the
required for mobilization of the shearing strength as for degree of softening of the soil (Meyerhof, 1951), while for
centrally loaded footings (Meyerhof, 1951). The bearing capa cohesionless soil the angle of base friction 5'as <p\ the cor
city of circular and square footings is about 20 per cent greater responding limiting factors are given in Figs. 7 a and 8 a.
than that of strips at the same eccentricity, as found (Meyerhof,
1951) for central loads. Fig. 5 also shows that the customary I
method of assessing the bearing capacity from the m a x i m u m
toe pressure is rather conservative. For single eccentricities of
the load the contact width or length at failure was, within
experimental limits, given by equation (1), while for double
eccentricities the centroid of the contact area at failure coin
cided with the point of application of the load, as had been
assumed in the theory.
The average bearing capacity of the footings on sand (Fig. 3)
decreases approximately parabolically, with increase in ec
centricity, to zero for eJB = 0.5; for a given ex, the bearing
capacity decreases approximately linearly with greater ey.
These results are in fair agreement with the theoretical esti
mates; for large eccentricities on dense sand the observed h ~ 8 '"1
i
bearing capacity is somewhat greater than estimated due to E 45 -# 2 F
//N \\ V f / 's V 1\ / \
the greater angle of internal friction with smaller pressure on L S ii a.
the failure surface. The bearing capacity of circular and square D
A & 'V ' B
footings is the same as that of strips for loose sand but is 1_
about 30 per cent less than that of strips on the surface of
90-? C
dense material, as found (Meyerhof, 1951) for similar central
loads. The customary method of analysis is reasonable for (6) H orizon tal base with large in clin ation o f load
small eccentricities but unsafe for greater eccentricities owing
to the rapid decrease of bearing capacity with smaller effective
contact width. The contact area at failure was similar to that
of footings on clay, and for dense sand the failure surface
width at ground level decreased practically linearly with
greater eccentricity as expected. While the tests on clay and
sand indicated that the middle third ruleis rather arbitrary,
they support the practice of designing shallow foundations
with central loading if possible since the portion outside the
effective contact area can be ignored.

Bearing Capacity of Foundation with Inclined Load

Fig. 6 P la stic Z on es near R o u g h Strip F ou n d a tio n w ith In clined L oad
Theory: Under a central foundation load inclined at an Z on es p lastiq ues prs d un em p attem en t surface rugeuse sou s
angle a to the vertical, the central shear zone at the ultimate charge o b liq u e

442
 The solution for an inclined foundation with a base normal
to the load (appendix A. 2) can be expressed in terms of the
resultant bearing capacity
B
q = cNc,j + y Ny,, (6)

The bearing capacity factors, exclusive of any skin friction,

are given in Figs. 7b and 8b for a shallow strip foundation in
purely cohesive and cohesionless materials, respectively; they
decrease rapidly with greater inclination a to the passive earth
pressure coefficients of a smooth vertical wall for a = 90.
It is of interest to note that for a given a an inclined foundation
has a greater bearing capacity than a horizontal base, which
supports the practice of designing shallow foundations with a
base normal to the resultant load if possible.
The bearing capacity of foundations of other shapes under
inclined loading can at present only be based on empirical
evinence to obtain shape factors A in conjunction with equations
(5) and (6) on account of the variable boundary conditions of
the problem. The theoretical contact pressure distribution at
failure is similar to that of a foundation with vertical load.
Experiments: In view of limited previous experimental
evidence the bearing capacity has been determined for different
inclinations of a central load on horizontal footings as before

FO UNDATIO N DEPTH/WIOTM vl Ct IT A l ) FO R N O T M S E E F W .C a )
7.
\ D /B *
cc \ CL
8
\ FO R IN T E R N e O T . DEPTHS
\ r,
u. \ \ u. S'
B * E
y BA AL >
v3 Z c
e a -o
< - - - ___
i \ Cl.
4 \
u X \ >N
D <3
\ v 7.
a > Oi
4
LLI Ul
<D <>

o o' 40* 60* 80* O 20 40* I. o ' 80*

IN C L IN A T IO N O F LO A D 01 IN C L IN A T IO N OF F O U N D A T IO N <
Fig. 9 A rrangem ent o f M odel Test on F ootin g w ith Inclined L oad
( a i H O R IZ O N T A L FOUNDATION ( M IN C LIN ED FOUNDATION A rrangem ent d essais sur fon dation sous charge o b liq u e

Fig. 7 B earing C apacity F actors for Strip F o u n d a tio n w ith Inclined L oad
in Purely C o h esiv e M aterial with a rough base on the same clay and sand (but in a compact
F acteurs de la c a p a cit p o rta n te pou r em p attem en t so u s charge
o b liq u e en m atire purem ent cohrente
packing with porosity of 38 per cent and < p = 45). In the
tests on clay the inclined load was increased to failure; in
the tests on sand a vertical load was applied and kept constant
while the horizontal load applied by a second proving ring
was increased to failure (Fig. 9). In both cases the footing
remained sensibly horizontal throughout the test.
The test results of the strip footings on clay (Fig. 10) are
in reasonable agreement with the estimates. The bearing
capacity of square footings was about 20 per cent greater than
that of strips at small inclinations, as found previously (Meyer
hof\ 1951) for vertical loads, the difference becoming small for
an inclination exceeding about 25 when failure occurred by
sliding as would be expected theoretically.
The observed bearing capacity of the strip footings on sand
(Fig. 11) conformed with the theoretical estimates and ap
proached zero for an inclination equal to the angle of internal
friction g> = 45, as would be expected. The bearing capacity
of square footings was about 30 per cent less than that of
strips for a vertical load, as found previously (Meyerhof; 1951)
1) HO RIZO N TAL FOUNDATION Cb) IN CLIN ED FOUNDATION for surface loads on compact sand, the difference decreasing
to zero beyond an inclination of about 15. The present ana
Fig. 8 B earing C apacity F actors for Strip F o u n d a tio n w ith Inclined
L oad in C o h esio n less M aterial lysis was also checked by the observation that the failure sur
Facteurs de la ca p a cit p ortan te pour em pattem ent en s o l p u l face width at ground level decreased steadily with greater
vrulent so u s charge o blique inclination of the load and approached zero for a = 45.

443
 E X P E R i M E N TAL R E SULTS: eccentricity, method as above with positive a); the bearing
S T R IP (L / B = 6 )
SQ UARE
X
a
capacity is given by the lower estimate.
E X P E B lM E N T A L R E S U LT S : T H E O R E T IC A L R E S U L T S : Experiments'. Horizontal model footings on clay and sand
S T R IP a / B - 6 )
SQUARE
*
O CO 140
S T R I P ( 4 .= 4 5 ) -----------
as in section 2 were loaded to failure with a single forward
T H E O R E T IC A L R E S U L T S : eccentricity of eJB = 0.25 and different inclinations of the
load; a typical footing after failure is illustrated by Fig. 12.
S T R IP ---------------

\ a :\ The test results are given in Figs. 10 and 11 for clay and sand,
respectively. The bearing capacity was about one-half of that
*s\
E -C E N T R I C IT Y
\ X
of corresponding centrally loaded footings in accordance with
the theory, which was supported by the observed contact area
[ ST UP \ C x/B \ E C C E * T R IC IT Y and mechanism of failure. Preliminary experiments with a
-^
% V K backward eccentricity of loading were also found to be in
'B

reasonable agreement with the estimates.

\ \ V
a
X

s t r '

JN .
lo
10 20* 30* 40 SO"
IN C L IN A T IO N
IN C L IN A T IO N OF LOAO OL
Fig. 10 B earing C apacity o f F o o tin g s w ith Inclined L o a d o n C lay
C apacit portan te des fo n d a tio n s sur argile so u s charge ob liq u e
Fig. 11 B earing capacity o f fo o tin g s w ith inclined lo a d o n sand
C apacit portan te des fo n d a tio n s sur sab le so u s charge oblique
Bearing Capacity of Foundation with Eccentric Inclined
Load
Theory. W h e n a foundation carries an eccentric inclined
load an estimate of the bearing capacity can be obtained by
combining the above methods of analyses. Thus for a shallow
strip foundation with a forward eccentricity of loading (a is
positive, i.e. eccentricity in direction of horizontal component
of load) an effective contact width B' (equation 1) is used in
equations (5) or (6) and the total bearing capacity is given by
equation (2). Similarly, for a double eccentricity on a rectangu
lar or other area the effective contact area and shape factor
are used as in equation (4). If the eccentricity is backward
(a is negative, i.e. eccentricity in opposite direction to horizontal
component of load), failure of the soil occurs either on the
side of the eccentricity (small eccentricity, method as above
but using negative a in analysis) or on the opposite side (large
S
Conclusion
The previous bearing capacity theory of foundations under
20 50 40 S0
OF LOAD oL
a central vertical load has been extended to eccentric and
inclined loads. The theory, which indicates that the bearing
capacity decreases rapidly with greater eccentricity and incli
nation of the load, is supported by the results of loading test
with model footings on clay and sand.
Acknowledgment
The author is indebted to his colleagues, particularly Mr.
L. F. Cooling M.Sc., for helpful criticism and Mr. B. J. Cat-
terall B.Eng., for assistance in carrying out most of the model
tests. The work was carried out as part of the research pro
gramme of the Building Research Board of the Department of
Scientific and Industrial Research and the paper is published
by permission of the Director of Building Research.
Appendix
Bearing Capacity of Horizontal Strip Foundation with
Inclined Load
The region above the failure surface of a shallow rough
strip foundation with load inclined at a to vertical is assumed
to be divided into a central elastic zone ABC, a radial shear
zone ACD and a mixed shear zone ADEF (Fig. 6 a). The
stresses in these zones can be found as shown {Meyerhof,
1951) for a vertical load, by replacing the resultant of the
forces on the shaft AF and the weight of the adjacent soil
wedge AEF by the equivalent stresses p0 and s0, normal and
tangential, respectively, to the plane AE inclined at ft to the
horizontal. O n this basis the vertical component of the bear
ing capacity can, in the first instance, be represented by
qCOS a
B
=--= cNc + p0N + y Ny (7)
or
== Qv +
w here

q[, cNc + p0N,,

= (8)
B
qv -= v- Ny
T (9)

and Nc, N and Ny are the general bearing capacity factors.

Determination of Nc and Nq\ In zone ABC with angle /'at
Fig. 12 F ailu re o f S trip F o o ting with E ccentric Inclined Load on Clay A, the shearing strength Sp under the normal pressure pp on
E m p attem en t su r argile sous charge excentre e t oblique AC is Sp = c + p'p tan q>. Hence from M o h r
s diagram

444
 c + pfi tan ip Determination of Resultant Bearing Capacity. The vertical
Qi [sin (2y> <
p) + sin cp] + p'p (10) component of the resultant bearing capacity is
COS cp
and B
+ pp tan cp qv = cNcq + y Nyq (18)
/
Qv = cos (2y> cp) cot a (11)
cos cp where Ncq (depending on Nc and Nq) and Nyq (depending on
from which y>can be determined from any
given a, cp, c and Ny and Nq) are the resultant bearing capacity factors, and is
computed from the above solutions by determining the foun
pj, (obtained from equations 12 and 13).
dation depth parameters (/?, p0 and i0) for various depths D
In zones ACD and ADE with angle 0 = 180 -1- fi > / v
as shown {Meyerhof, 1951) for a vertical load. For large
and angle ??, respectively, at A, it was shown {Meyerhof, 1951)
inclinations a when qh governs, the horizontal component of
that
the passive earth pressure on the front of the foundation is
Pp t(c + Pi tan cp) e20tan <p c] cot ( 12) added to the shearing resistance on the base given by equation
(15); and if in addition the foundation has a rough shaft,
and the foundation is part of the central zone ABCF (Fig. 6b).
c -(- Pi tan cp It has therefore been found convenient to include the skin
Pi = [sin (2i; + <?>) sin cp\ + p0 (13)
cos Ip friction or vertical component of the passive earth pressure
on the shaft in the bearing capacity factors (Figs. 7a and 8a).
where >} can be determined from the given ratio sjp0.
Substituting equations (12) and (13) into (10)
[1 + sin < psin {2y> ?>)] Bearing Capacity of Inclined Strip Foundation with Base
<7 = c cot <
p e 2 6 t a n <p ___ ]
+
1 sin cpsin (2; + <p) N ormal to Load
1 -)- sin <psin (2y> (p) 2 0 t a n <p
+ Po (14) For a shallow rough strip foundation of width B and depth
1 sin cpsin (2? + cp) D of the upper edge of the base inclined at an angle a to the
or horizontal (Fig. 6c) the zones are similar to those of a hori
q'v = cNc + p0Nq zontal foundation with y>= 45 + <p/2 and with 0 = 135 +
fi a rj (p/2. Using the same approach as above, the
from equation (8) where Nc and Nq have the values given in bearing capacity factors Nc and N in the relation
the square brackets above. B
The horizontal component q'h of the bearing capacity cannot q = cNc + Po Nq + y Ny (19)
exceed the shearing resistance on the base, i.e.
are obtained by substituting these values of y> and into
q'h = q' sin a = q'vtan a equation (14). Similarly it is found that
<c'+^tan<5' (15)
where c'a = unit base adhesion 4Pp sin j^445 +
and S' = angle of base friction. Ny = ---- tan I45 , j COS a (20)
yB2 2 \ 2
For greater inclinations a when q'h governs, equation (14) where Pp is the minimum passive resistance obtained as
must therefore be replaced by indicated earlier.
The resultant bearing capacity
(16) B
tan a tan <5' q = cNcq + y Nyq (21)
obtained from (15).
is determined from these solutions as before, and the bearing
Determination of Ny: The minimum passive resistance Pp
capacity factors are given in Figs. 7 b and 8 b.
acting at cp to the normal on AC in the zone ACDE can be
found either by a numerical step-by-step computation {Ca-
quot and Kerisel, 1949) or by a semi-graphical procedure
{Meyerhof, 1951) based on the logorithmic spiral method. References
Then it can be shown that
C aquot, A . and K erisel, J. (1949): T rait de M canique des S o ls.
G authier-V illars, Paris, p. 85.
yB snr y>
'2P[j________ sin yicos {y>cp)
<7, = y -cos{y><p)> (17) M eyerh of, G. G. (1948): A n Investigation o f the B earing C apacity o f
y^lcosiy cp) cos cp Sh allow F o o tin g s on D ry Sand. Proc. Second Int. C on f. S oil M ech.,
or vol. 1, p. 237.
M eyerh of, G. G. (1951): T h e U ltim ate Bearing C apacity o f F ou n d ation s.
y B \r G otech n iq u e, v ol. 2, p. 301.
= Nv R a m e lo t, C. and Vandeperre, L . (1950): T ravau x de la C om m ission
d Etude des F on d ation s de P yln es. C om pt. R end. R ech ., I.R .S .I.A .,
from equation (9) where Ny has the value given in the square B russels, N o . 2.
bryckets above. T erzagh i, K . (1943): T heoretical S oil M echanics. J. W iley, N ew Y ork,
The above solution holds only for a ^ (5' (see equation 15). p. 355.

445