SHALLOW FOUNDATION: ULTIMATE BEARING CAPACITY

SHALLOW FOUNDATION
 if the depth of the foundation is less than or equal to the width of the foundation.

FOUNDATION
 is an integral part of a structure. The stability of a structure depends upon the stability of the
supporting soil.

Two important factors that are to be considered are:

a) The foundation must be stable against shear failure of the supporting soil.
b) The foundation must not settle beyond a tolerable limit to avoid damage to the structure.

The other factors that require consideration are:

 location  depth of the foundation.

In deciding the location and depth, one has to consider:

 erosions due to flowing water,  ground water level,
 underground defects such as root holes,  presence of expansive soils
cavities, unconsolidated fills,

In selecting a type of foundation, one has to consider:

 functions of the structure  the subsurface condition of the soil,
 load it has to carry,  cost of the superstructure.

Design loads also play an important part in the selection of the type of foundation. The various loads that are
likely to be considered are:
 dead loads,  lateral pressures exerted by the foundation
 live loads, earth on the embedded structural elements,
 wind  the effects of dynamic loads.
 earthquake forces,

In addition to the above loads, the loads that are due to the subsoil conditions are also required to be
considered are :
 lateral or uplift forces on the foundation elements due to high water table,
 swelling pressures on the foundations in expansive soils,
 heave pressures on foundations in areas subjected to frost heave
 negative frictional drag on piles where pile foundations are used in highly compressible soils.

Types of shallow foundations:

a. plain concrete foundation, c. reinforced concrete rectangular foundation,
b. stepped reinforced concrete foundation, d. reinforced concrete wall foundation
THE ULTIMATE BEARING CAPACITY OF SOIL

Consider the simplest case of a shallow foundation subjected to a central vertical load. The footing is founded
at a depth Df below the ground surface. If the settlement, S, of the footing is recorded against the applied
load, Q, load-settlement curves, similar in shape to a stress-strain curve, may be obtained.
The shape of the curve depends generally on the size and shape of the footing, the composition of the
supporting soil, and the character, rate, and frequency of loading. Normally a curve will indicate the ultimate
load Qu that the foundation can support.

SOME OF THE TERMS DEFINED

Total Overburden Pressure q0

 the intensity of total overburden pressure due to the weight of both soil and water at the base level of
the foundation.

Effective Overburden Pressure q'0

 the effective overburden pressure at the base level of the foundation.

Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Soil, qu

 the maximum bearing capacity of soil at which the soil fails by shear

Net Ultimate Bearing Capacity, qnu

 the bearing capacity in excess of the effective overburden pressure q‘o

Gross Allowable Bearing Pressure, qa

Net Allowable Bearing Pressure, qna

Safe Bearing Pressure, qs
 defined as the net safe bearing pressure which produces a settlement of the foundation which does not
exceed a permissible limit.

TYPES OF FAILURE IN SOIL

TERZAGHI'S BEARING CAPACITY THEORY

Terzaghi (1943) used the same form of equation as proposed by Prandtl (1921) and extended his theory to
take into account the weight of soil and the effect of soil above the base of the foundation on the bearing
capacity of soil.

Terzaghi made the following assumptions for developing an equation for determining qu:
1. The soil is semi-infinite, homogeneous and isotropic,
2. the problem is two-dimensional,
3. the base of the footing is rough
4. the failure is by general shear,
5. the load is vertical and symmetrical,
6. the ground surface is horizontal,
7. the overburden pressure at foundation level is equivalent to a surcharge load q'0 = γ Df where y is the
effective unit weight of soil, and D,, the depth of foundation less than the width B of the foundation,
8. the principle of superposition is valid,
9. Coulomb's law is strictly valid, that is, σ = c + σ tan ф

Mechanism of Failure
The shapes of the failure surfaces under ultimate loading conditions. The zones of plastic equilibrium
represented in this figure by the area gedcf may be subdivided into:
1 . Zone I of elastic equilibrium
2. Zones II of radial shear state
3. Zones III of Rankine passive state
ULTIMATE BEARING CAPACITY: GENERAL SHEAR FAILURE
STRIP FOOTING
qult = C Nc + q Nq + ½ γ B Ny
SQUARE FOOTING
qult = 1.3 C Nc + q Nq + 0.4 γ B Ny

RECTANGULAR FOOTING
0.3 B 1 0.2 B
q ult =C N c 1+[ L ] [
+qNq+ γ BNy 1−
2 L ]
CIRCULAR FOOTING
qult = 1.3 C Nc + q Nq + 0.3γ B Ny

where:
qult = ultimate bearing capacity
C = cohesion of soil
q = effective surcharge
ɣ = unit weight of soil
Nc, Nq, Ny = bearing capacity factors that are non-dimensional and are only functions of the friction angle Ø.
B = dimension of each side of the foundation or for circular footing it is equal to its diameter

ULTIMATE BEARING CAPACITY: LOCAL SHEAR FAILURE

For loose sand and soft clay:
c’ = 2/3 c and tan Ø’ = 2/3 tan Ø

STRIP FOOTING
qult = C Nc’ + q Nq’ + ½ γ B Ny’
SQUARE FOOTING
qult = 1.3 C Nc’ + q Nq’ + 0.4 γ B Ny’

RECTANGULAR FOOTING
0.3 B 1 0.2 B
q ult =C N c ' 1+ [ L ]
+qN q '+ γ BNy ' 1−
2 [ L ]
CIRCULAR FOOTING
qult = 1.3 C Nc’ + q Nq’ + 0.3γ B Ny’
where:
Nc’, Nq’, Ny’ = bearing capacity factors that are non-dimensional and are only functions of the friction angle Ø.

BEARING CAPACITY FACTORS:

∅ πtan∅
(
N q =tan 2 45+
2)e

N c =( N q−1 ) cot ∅

Ny=2 ( Nq−1 ) tan ∅