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THENATIONAL RESEARCH
COUNCIL
OF CANADA LE CONSEIL NATIONAL DE RECHERCHES DU CANADA

Volume 11 Number 2 May 1974 Volume 11 numCro 2 mai 1974

Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Footings on Sand Layer Overlying Clay1

G . G . MEYERHOF
Department of Civil Engineering, Nova Scotia Technical College, Halifax, ova-Scoria
Received September 25, 1973
Accepted October 15, 1973

The ultimate bearing capacity of footings resting on subsoils consisting of two layers
has been investigated for the cases of dense sand on soft clay and Ioose sand on stiff
For personal use only.

clay. The analyses of different modes of soil failure are compared with the results of
model tests on circular and strip footings and some field 'observations of foundation
failures.
La force portante des fondations sur les sols composCs des deux couches est 6tudiCe
pour les cas de sable dense sur argile molle et de sable meuble sur argile raide. Les
analyses thkoriques de diffCrents schCmas de rupture du sol de fondation sont comparkes
avec les rksultats d'essais sur modkles riduits de semelles circulaires et filantes et quelques
observations de la rupture de fondations rkelles. [Traduit par le journal]

Introduction Dense Sand on Soft Clay

Shallow foundations are sometimes located
in a sand stratum of limited thickness on a
deep bed of clay. If the footings rest on a-rela-
tively thin dense layer above a soft deposit,
they may break through the sand stratum into
the clay. On the other hand, for a loose sand
layer overlying stiff clay, bearing capacity
failure may be limited to the sand stratum
unless both deposits have similar individual
bearing capacities. Since the ultimate load on
a layered soil depends to some extent on the
c'eformation characteristics of the layers and
other factors, only a semi-empirical method
of analysis can be developed on the basis of
model tests and some field observations for the
two main cases of a dense layer on a soft
deposit and a loose stratum on a firm bed.
'Presented at the 26th Canadian Geotechnical Con-
ference, Toronto, Ontario. October 18-19, 1973.
Can. Geotech. J . , 11,223 (1974)
Theory
If the ultimate bearing capacity of a homogeneous
thick bed of sand ( q t ) is much greater than that of
the underlying clay deposit ( q b ) , an approximate
theory of the bearing capacity of a footing punching
through a thin sand layer into a thick clay bed can be
developed by considering the failure as an inverted
uplift problem (Meyerhof and Adams 1968). Thus,
at the ultimate load a sand mass having an approxi-
mately truncated pyramidal shape is pushed into the
clay so that, in the case of general shear failure, the
friction angle @ of the sand and undrained cohesion c
of the clay are mobilized in the combined failure
zones (Fig. l a ) .
The forces on the failure surface in the sand can
be taken as equivalent to a total passive earth pressure
P, inclined at an average angle 6 acting upwards on
a vertical plane through the footing edge. Hence, for
a strip footing of width B and depth D at a distance
H above the clay surface the ultimate bearing capacity
is, approximately, given by
[I] +
q. = c N , 2P, sin 6 / B r D+
where N , = bearing capacity factor = 5.14, and
7 = unit weight of sand.
 C A N . G E O T E C H J . V O L . 1 1 , 1974

-i 0 -- and circles. The corresponding value of qu is given

by Eq. [4] after multiplying the first term of the right
hand side ( 1 +0 . 2 B / L ) and the second term by
(1 + B / L ) , with a maximum interpolated between
Eqs. [5]and [7].
The above analyses indicate that the critical thick-
ness ratio H / B of the sand layer for the maximum
value of q, depends on the bearing capacity ratio
q d q t , friction angle @, the shape and depth/width
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9 >>9
( 0 ) THIN LAYER (b) THICK LAYER
FIG. 1. Failure of soil below footing on dense
sand layer above soft clay.
Further,
where K , = coefficient of passive earth pressure.
The angle 6 decreases from about @ near the
footing edge to about zero at the clay surface. Trial
calculations using a logarithmic spiral failure surface
in the sand have shown that the average value of 6
is generally in the range of about @ / 2to 3 @ / 4so that Tests
an approximate value of 2@/3 may be suggested, as
was found in the uplift case. In practice it is con-
venient to use a coefficient K , of punching shearing
resistance on the vertical plane through the footing
For personal use only.
ratio D / B of the footing. This critical ratio H / B is
found to vary theoretically from the thickness ratio
Hr/B of the failure surface for a homogeneous thick
bed of sand when q J q t = 1 (Fig. l b ) to about 2 to
3 times that value for q d q t = 0.
The ultimate bearing capacity of a footing group
is the smaller value of either the sum of the ultimate
loads of the individual footings or the bearing capacity
of an equivalent raft foundation consisting of the
footings and enclosed sand mass, on which the
punching shear resistance acts, only on the perimeter
of the equivalent raft.
Model tests on rough strip and circular foot-
ings of 3 in. width were made on the surface
and at shallow depth in dense sand layers over-

edge so that lying clay of various strengths at the Nova

[31 K , tan @ = K , tan 6 Scotia Technical College (Commissiong 1968;
Ho (1973). The inorganic clay of medium plas-
Substituting Eqs. [2]and [3]into [ I ] ticity used was made more brittle by the addi-
[4] q. = c N , + yH2(1 + 2 D / H ) K Btan @ / B+ yD tion of 2% of lime. After packing the clay into
with a maximum of the large footing test box it was allowed to cure
for a week before the layer of well-graded
clean sand was placed on the clay. The footings
where N, and N , are bearing capacity factors. were loaded to failure within a few minutes to
The punching shear coefficients K , have been de- minimize moisture migration, and the ultimate
termined from the corresponding earth pressure bearing capacity occurred at a settlement of
coefficients K , (Caquot and Kerisel 1949) and are
shown in Fig. 2 for various friction angles @ of the 10-20% of the footing width. Typical test
sand. It is of interest to note that K , increases rapidly results (Fig. 3) show the rapid increaee of the
with @ from about one to two times the Rankine ultimate bearing capacity with thickness of the
value of tan2(45" + @ / 2 ) . sand layer from a minimum for a footing on
The analysis for strip footings can be extended to clay to a maximum for a thick sand deposit.
circular footings by determining the passive resistance
P, inclined at 6 on a vertical cylindrical surface In order to compare the results of the present
through the footing edge (Fig. l a ) . Thus, Eq. [4] and some earlier tests (Tcheng 1957; Yama-
becomes guchi 1963) with the proposed theory, the
[61 g ~= 1.2cNC+ 2yH2(1+ 2 D / H ) s K , tan @ / B+ yD experimental data have been analyzed to de-
termine the punching shear coefficient K, in
with a maximum of Eq. [4] and sK, in Eq. [6] for strip and circu-
lar footings, respectively, on sand layers of
where s = shape factor governing the passive earth thicknesses smaller thanthe critical value. The
pressure on a cylindrical wall. Although the corre- test results after a small correction for the
sponding value of s can be estimated from approxi- effect of footing settlement at failure (Fig. 4)
mate earth pressure theories, it may be conservatively show that for footings on the surface of dense
taken as unity, especially for small ratios of H / B .
The ultimate bearing capacity of rectangular foot- sand in particular, the deduced coefficients K,
ings of width B and length L can be obtained by ixrease as the thickness of the sand layer de-
interpolation between the bearing capacities of strips creases, which may be explained by an increase
 MEYERHOF: ULTIMATE BEARING CAPACITY

Ln 30 I I I
5 Model Tests (see Fig.4):
od
X Str~p 0 x
xLn2 5 - o Circle !Y 50
X d Diepth ~ r e s l e n ~t e i t s 8: 1 3 i n . ( ~ ' = 4 7 ' )

.
W
[r
4 Field Records : :: I Width \ x Strip o Circle
20 - Brown&Poterson(l964)
0
Dovisson (1972)
-
Z
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1 15 -
2
3
,
a Theory

wu 4- Y o r n o g u c h i (1963):B=Z-4 1 n l 9 =36')
0
LL
W
0

ANGLE OF INTERNAL FRICTION

THICKNESS OF LAYER BELOW FOOTING H
WIDTH OF FOOTING I3
FIG. 2. Coefficients of punching shearing resis- FIG. 4. Experimental puncyng shear coefficients
tance. for model tests.

agree fairly well with the proposed theory,

For personal use only.

which is someyhat con's&vative for large fric-

-.-
"i Width
LAYER THICKNESS BELOW FOOTING
WIDTH OF FOOTING
FIG.3. Typical results of model footing tests on
dense sand overlying clay.
of the friction angle + at small overburden
pressures.
The minimum values of K, and sK, of foot-
ings at the surface and shallow depth in dense
sand are roughly the same and indicate a shape
factor of approxirnatcly unity. Using these
results the deduced coefficients K , are found to
tion angles (Fig. 2 ) .
Field Observations
In the Eastern Townships of Quebec a stor-
age tank of 70 ft diameter was resting on 12 ft
of thick loose sand fill overlying a 35 ft thick
stratum of highly plastic sensitive Leda Clay,
and the foundation failed by punching into the
clay during first loading at a base pressure of
2390 p.s.f. (Brown and Paterson 1964). Using
a 2 to 1 spread of the load through the fill, an
average undraincd shear strength of 530 p.s.f.
for the clay, and an average surcharge of
280 p.s.f., the authors obtained a factor of
safety of 1.1 8 on the bearing capacity of the
clay at failure.
An alternative estimate can be made by
using the present analysis to deduce the co-
H efficient of punching shear K, in conjunction
B with a reduccd shear strength of the clay.
Analysis of short term failures on highly plastic
clays (Bjerrum 1972) has shown that the
cffects of anisotropy, progressive failure, and
rate of loading may reduce the undrained shear
~trengthby about 15% for the present plas-
ticity index of 35% for the clay. Substituting
the above data into Eq. [6] 2390 110 X 12 +
= 0.85 x 530 x 6.05 +
2 x 110 x 12'sK.
tan 4/70 + 280 gives sK, tan 4 = 1.55 at
failure. For an estimated friction angle 4 of the
 226 C A N . GEOTECH J . VOL. 1 1 , 1974

loose fill of about 30' and a shape factor
s = 1 , the deduced K, would be about 2.7,
which appears reasonable.
The second case record refers to a silo in the
St. Lawrence River Valley (Davisson 1972).
The structure is 150 ft wide by 210 ft long
and rests on a piled raft foundation at a depth
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Loose Sand on Stiff Clay
Theory
I f the ultimate bearing capacity of a thick bed of
sand ( q t ) is much less than that o f the clay (q,),
the bearing capacity o f a footing on a thin sand
layer may be estimated on the simplifying assumption
that the layer rests on a rigid base. A solution o f this
limiting case has been obtained for a rough strip

of 5 ft in 7 0 ft of thick loose to compact sand
f ll ovellying a 140 ft thick Leda Clay stratum.
The clay has an average plasticity index of
40% and an undrained shear strength in-
creasing from about 1600 p.s.f. at the surface
to about 2500 p.s.f. at a depth of about 80 ft.
Thc rapid settlement and tilting about the
major axis of the structure on first loading
and subsequcnt dredging of the dock area in-
dicated at least local bearing capacity failure.
Using thc total structural and fill loading of
9120 p.s.f. at dredge level and the surface
shear strength of the clay, the author con-
cluded that base failure had occurred.
If the piled raft foundation is considered as
For personal use only.
footing (Mandel and Salencon 1972) and the cor-
responding failure zones are shown in Fig. 5a for a
rough base. The sand mass beneath the footing fails
laterally by squeezing, and the ultimate bearing
capacity may be expressed by
with a maximum o f
In Eq. [8] N,' and N,,' are modified bearing ca-
pacity factors, which dependkon $, the ratio o f H/B,
and the degree o f roughness o f the rigid base. The
theoretical factors N,' add N,,' for a rough base are
shown in Fig. 6. These factors increase rapidly with
$ from the lower limits of N , and N,,, respectively,
and as the ratio o f H / B decreases from the depth

ratio o f H f / B o f the failure surface in a thick bed of

an equivalent pier at dredge level and the
average shcar strength of the clay in the failure
zone is used with a 15% reduction as above,
the ultimate bearing capacity of the rectangu-
lar foundation is estimatcd to be q,, = ( 1
0.2 X 150/210) 0.85 X 2100 X 5 = 10200
p.s.f. which is greater than the applied load.
Accordingly it may be suggested that local
edge failure of the clay has led to the tilting of
the silo by a portion of the equivalent pier
punching through the 28 ft thick layer of com-
pact submerged sand between dredge level and
the Leda Clay. The corresponding coefficient
K, can be deduced for various effective re-
duced widths of the foundation to give the
maximum value of K,, which is found for a
strip footing of 55 ft width or about one-third
of the base width of the equivalent pier.
For this type of edge failure the punching
shearing resistance is mobilized on one side
only of the equivalent footing, and substituting
this data and corresponding undrained shear
strength of 1800 p.s.f. of the clay into the
modified Eq. [4] 9120 = 0.85 X 1800 X 5.14
+ 55 x 28'K, tan + / 2 x 55 gives K , tan + =
3.2 at failure. Using an estimated + of about
35" for the compact sand, the deduced K ,
is about 4.5. This value of K, as well as that
deduced from the other field record support
the corresponding theoretical coefficients, as
shown in Fig. 2.
sand. The values o f H f / B are given in the lower part
o f Fig. 6 for the factors N , and N,,.
A solution for the bearing capacity o f a circular
footing on a thin sand layer resting on a rigid base is
+ not yet available. However, on the simplifying as-
sumptions that in radial planes the stresses and shear
zones are identical to those in transverse planes o f a
corresponding strip footing (Fig. 5a), the contact
pressure distribution beneath the circle may be as-
sumed to be similar to that for a strip (Meyerhof and
Chaplin 1953). On this basis an approximate estimate
of the ultimate bearing capacity o f a rough circular
footing can be obtained from the average contact
pressure at failure and may be expressed by
with a maximum o f
In Eq. [lo] s,' and s,,' are modified shape factors
for circular footings, and the approximate values
which have been determined by the proposed analysis
are shown in Fig. 7 . These factors decrease rapidly
FIG. 5. Failure of soil below footing on loose
sand layer above stiffclay.
 MEYERHOF: ULTIMATE BEARING CAPACITY
LAYER THICKNESS !-! footings (Meyerhof 1951). Thus, Eq. [8] can be
FOOTING WIDTH B modified by multiplying the first term o f the right
10000 I I hand side by [ l - ( 1 - s,')B/L] and the second term by
.-G- I /0.2 [ I - ( 1 - s,~')B / L ] to obtain the ultimate bearing
Z 5000
/ i/ capacity o f a rectangle, with a maximum value inter-
polated between Eqs. [9]and [I 11.
As the bearing capacity o f the sand ( q t ) ap-
proaches that o f the underlying clay (q,,),the failure
surface beneath a footing resting on a thin layer o f
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sand extends into the clay and the shear zones be-
come discontinuous at the interface (Fig. 5b). The
corresponding ultimate bearing capacity may be esti-
mated by using an empirical parabolic interaction
relationship o f

with a maximum for H / B = 0 when q,, = qs given

by Eqs. [9] and [ I l l , and a minimum for H / B 2
Ht/B when q,, = qt given by Eqs. [5] and [7] for
strip and circular footings, respectiv~ly.
I f a uniform load is carried by'a flexible founda-
tion, the possibility o f a local edge failure has to be
considered by using an effectiveheduced width o f the
foundation, as shown above.
I I I
I ' I
Tests
20' 25' 30' 35' 40' 45'
Model tests as mentioned before were car-
For personal use only.

ANGLE OF INTERNAL FRICTION + ried out on strip and circular footings resting
FIG. 6. Theoretical modified bearing capacity fac- on compact sand layers overlying firm clay
tors for strip footings. (C2missiong 1968). The test results (Fig. 8 )
LAYER THICKNESS 5 show a decrease of the ultimate bearing capa-
FOOTING WIDTH B city with greater sand layer thickness from a
maximum for a footing on clay to a minimum
for a thick sand deposit and the observations
support the relationship of Eq. [12]. Figure 8
also shows a special test in which the bearing

X Strip Cloy Cohesion cu =4.0 p.s.i.

0 Circle Sand F r i c t i o n A n g l e $
50 Width B = 3 in.
G-

ANGLE OF INTERNAL FRICTION 4

FIG. 7. Theoretical modified shape factors for
circular footings.
from the conservative upper limits o f s, = 0.6 and
s,,= 1.0 for a thick bed of sand, as @ increases and
the ratio H / B decreases, and both factors tend to
similar values for small ratios o f H / B .
Similarly, the ultimate bearing capacity o f a rec-
tangular footing on a thin sand layer resting on a LAYER THICKNESS BELOW FOOTING 5
rigid base can be estimated by assuming that below
WIDTH OF FOOTING B
the central part of the rectangle the contact pressure
is the same as for a strip and that at the ends the FIG.8. Results o f model footing tests on compact
contact pressures are similar to those below circular sand overlying clay.
 , \
, , I - , : I-

-. '.

228 C A N . GEOTECH. J . VOL. l I , 1974

capacity ratio q,,/q, was unity. In this case u .

z 2000
Present Tests x N:
I o
failure of the footing appeared to be a com- N;
oZI
-23 '\ 'I M I ~ O V ITourmerK71).
C~ i-N (B=&)
bination of punching and sequeezing of the
sand layer. The corresponding bearing capa-
Z
m
1000 " heor or^ - -Ni'"I
[li
city increased with greater sand layer thickness
from about H / B = 1 to a maximum at about
H / B = 1.5 and then decreased to the bearing >
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capacity of thick sand deposit at a ratio of about t

H / B = 2.5.
4
3
200---
In order to investigate the limiting case of U

the bearing capacity of sand layers on a rigid

base, a number of strip and circular footing 4
tests were made on the surface and at shallow
depth in sand layers resting on a rough rigid
baze. Typical test results are shown in Fig. 9.
The rapid increase of the bearing capacity with
smaller sand layer thickness led to some crush-
ing of the sand in the central zone beneath the
footing and the corresponding friction angle + LAYER THICKNESS BELOW FOOTING H
WIDTH OF FOOTING €3
was expected to decrease from the initial value.
The present and some earlier tests (Milovic FIG. 10. Comparison of theoretical and experi-
mental modified bearing capacity factors.
and Tournier 197 1 ) can be compared with the
For personal use only.

propozed theory by analyzing the experimental deduced from the tests on sand layers resting
results to deduce the modified bearing capacity on a rigid base are shown in Fig. 10. Compari-
factors N,' and N,,' and the modified shape son of these factors for footings at various
factors s,' and s,,' in Eqs. [8] and [lo]. The ratios of H / B at failure indicates reasonable
modified factors N,' and N,,' which have been agreement with the theoretical values, es-
pecially in view of the difficulty in obtaining
representative friction angles + from conven-
-
.-
400.. "
For Legend see Fig. 3 tional shear tests. The experimental modified
VI (+=3a0) shape factors (Fig. 11) also agree fairly well
& 200 I I
with the proposed analysis, although the factors
', tend to be smaller and the factors s,,' tend
s

I I I I I
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2-0 00

LAYER THICKNESS BELOW FOOTING H LAYER THICKNESS BELOW FOOTING H

WIDTH OF FOOTING 8 WIDTH OF FOOTING B
FIG. 9. Typical results of model footing tests on FIG. 11. Comparison of theoretical and experi-
sand layer on rigid base. mental modified shape factors.
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For personal use only.