Department of Civil Engineering, Curtin University

Geotechnical Engineering for Foundations

Tutorial (1): Bearing Capacity for Geotechnical Design of Shallow Foundations

1. A square footing is to be constructed on a sandy soil whose properties are: γ = 18 kN/m3, γsat =
20 kN/m3, c’ = 5 kPa and ’ = 30o. The depth of foundation is 0.7 m and the water table is well
below the ground surface.
(a) If the applied load at the foundation level (including the column load, foundation load and
load of soil above foundation) is 250 kN, use Hansen’s method with FS = 3 and determine
the breadth B of footing.
(b) If the ground water table rises to be at 0.5 m below the ground surface, what would be the
new factor of safety against the bearing capacity failure (comment on the result)?
[Answers: B = 0.95 m and FS = 2.7]

2. A rectangular footing 1.5 m × 2.0 m is to be constructed such that its base is located at 1.5 m
below the ground surface and the ground water table is at 0.5 below the ground surface. The
soil has the following properties: γ = 17 kN/m3, γsat = 19 kN/m3, c’ = 20 kPa and ’ = 25o. A
vertical load of 150 kN (including column load + footing load + load of soil above footing) and
a horizontal load (parallel to the breadth of footing) of 75 kN are to be applied simultaneously at
the foundation level. Use Vesic’s method to check whether or not the applied loads can be
carried safely (use FS = 3 and ca = c).
[Answers: qall = 229 kPa and qapp = 40.2 kPa]

3. Find the allowable load (for drained and undrained conditions) that can be applied at the
foundation level of a bridge pier 4 × 12 m including its own-weight. The soil formation is
shown in the figure below. Use Hansen’s method and a factor of safety of 3.
[Answers: Qall = 7970 and 7710 kN]

WT

2m
GS

2m γsat = 17 kN/m3

4 12 m
c’ = 10 kPa

4m ϕ‘ = 20o
cu = 50 kPa
γsat = 18 kN/m3

c’ = 5 kPa
ϕ‘ = 30o
5m
cu = 15 kPa
γsat = 19 kN/m3
4. A circular footing 2 metres in diameter and 0.5 thick is carrying a vertical column load of 1461
kN and is founded at a depth of 0.5 m below the ground surface. The soil profile and properties
from the ground surface are shown in the table below and the water table is at the ground
surface. Use Terzaghi’s method and check the stability of the footing against bearing capacity
failure. Unit weight of concrete can be used to be equal to 25 kN/m3.
[Answer: FS = 1.8 (unsafe)]

Layer Thickness (m) Soil type γsat (kN/m3) c' (kPa) ’ (degrees)
1 1 Sand 20 5 35
2 2 Sandy clay 19 20 25
3 >5 Clay 8 100 10

5. Determine the factor of safety against the bearing capacity failure using Meyerhof’s method for
the footing shown in the figure below. The water table is far below the ground surface and the
depth of foundation is 1.5 m from the ground surface. The soil has the following properties: γ =
18 kN/m3, c’ = 15 kPa and ’ = 20o.
[Answer: FS = 6.6]

M= 67.5 kN.m

3m
Qapp = 450 kN

2m

6. A circular water tank shown in the figure below is to be built on a square footing (20 m × 20 m)
resting on top of the ground surface of a clay soil having an undrained shear strength of 30 kPa.
The tank is subjected to a horizontal wind load equal to 25% of the vertical applied load. The
weight of tank and foundation is 6000 kN and the thickness of footing is 0.5 m. Use
Meyerhof’s method and determine the factor of safety against bearing capacity failure.
[Answers: FS = 0.78]

0.25 W
10 m

5m W

WT GS
20 m × 20 m