CE 6320 : SOIL MECHANICS AND FOUNDATIONS

LECTURE 1:
BEARING CAPACITY OF SHALLOW
FOUNDATION
 LECTURE CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION

 DEFINITION OF SHALLOW FOUNDATION

 TYPES OF SHALLOW FOUNDATION

 DEFINITION OF BEARING CAPACITY OF SOIL AND IT’S TYPE

 SOIL PROPERTIES NECESSARY FOR FOUNDATION DESIGN

 FOUNDATION DESIGN CRITERIA

 FACTORS AFFECTING BEARING CAPACITY OF SOIL

 METHODS OF DETERMINING BEARING CAPACITY

INTRODUCTION

Even the most carefully designed

structures can fail if they are not supported
by suitable foundations

A structures of all types have to rest on

the soil existing at the site.

The load of the superstructure is transmitted to the supporting soil through foundation base
which are to be designed properly so as to ensure the shear failure does not occur and
settlement of the foundation due to applied load does not exceed the tolerable limit.
DEFINITION OF SHALLOW FOUNDATION

A foundation is termed as shallow if the depth is less than 3 m or less than the breadth of
the foundation i.e ( < )

Shallow foundations are also called spread foundations

TYPES OF SHALLOW FOUNDATION
Pad foundations
These are usually provided to
support structural columns.
They may be circular, square or
rectangular slab section.
Strip foundations
A strip foundation has a length >>
than breadth. They are normally
provided for load bearing walls or
closely spaced columns where it is
not economical to deal with
individual pads
Raft/Mat foundations
Raft foundations are required on
soils of low bearing capacity or
where structural columns are
closely spaced in both directions
such that individual pads would
nearly touch each other.
 DEFINITION OF BEARING CAPACITY OF SOIL
What is the bearing capacity of soil?
In a nutshell, bearing capacity is the capacity of soil to support the loads that are applied to
the ground above.

It depends primarily on the type of soil, its shear strength and its density. It also depends on
the depth of embedment of the load – the deeper it is founded, the greater the bearing
capacity.

Where there is insufficient bearing capacity, the ground can be improved or alternatively
the load can be spread over a larger area such that the applied stress to the soil is reduced to
an acceptable value less than the bearing capacity. This can be achieved with spread
foundations composed of reinforced concrete.
 DEFINITION OF TO BEARING CAPACITY OF SOIL
Why is ground bearing pressure important?

Ground bearing pressure (bearing capacity of soil) is important because whenever a load is
placed on the ground, such as from a building foundation, a crane or a retaining wall, the
ground must have the capacity to support it without excessive settlement or failure.

This means that it is important to calculate the bearing capacity of the underlying soil
during the design phase of any construction project.

Failing to understand and account for the ground bearing pressure before beginning the
project could have catastrophic consequences, such as a building foundation collapsing at a
later stage.
 TYPES OF BEARING CAPACITY OF SOIL AND ITS FORMULAS

Bearing Capacity:
Maximum pressure which a soil can take (due to supporting structure without failure) i.e the
largest intensity of pressure which may be applied by a structural member to the soil which
support it without causing excessive settlement or danger of failure.

Ultimate bearing capacity ( f)

Gross pressure (Max pressure) at the base of foundation at which the soil can withstand
without undergoing shear failure.

Net Ultimate bearing capacity ( f)

Net increase in pressure at the base of foundation that cause shear failure of the soil, It is
equal to gross pressure minus overburden pressure ( )
f = f−
 TYPES OF BEARING CAPACITY OF SOIL AND ITS FORMULAS CONT…

Net Safe bearing capacity ( s)

Net bearing capacity divided by a suitable factor of safety

=
For building foundations, the recommended factor of safety is between 2.5 and 3

Safe bearing capacity ( s)

It is the maximum gross pressure which the soil can carry safely without shear failure. It is
equal to the net safe bearing capacity plus the original overburden pressure ( )

=
+

Allowable bearing capacity ( a)

This is the net intensity of loading which the foundation will carry without undergoing
settlement in excess of the permissible value but not exceeding the net safe bearing capacity
 SOIL PROPERTIES NECESSARY FOR FOUNDATION DESIGN

For designing the foundations, following parameters are required:

a. Density of soil

b. Angle of earth frustum

c. Limit bearing capacity of soil

These soil properties are normally obtained either by conducting in-situ or Laboratory tests on
soil sample collected from the field during soil investigation or from available testing record
of the area
 FOUNDATION DESIGN CRITERIA
Three main design criteria must be considered for a shallow foundation:

Adequate depth
The founding depth i.e. the depth from the surface to its underside should be sufficient to
prevent effects due to changes of ground surface
Sufficient depth to prevent overturning moments when the structure is subjected to
horizontal forces

Limiting settlement
The amount of tolerable total and differential settlements depends on functional and user
requirements and also economic factors.
Most settlement damage may be classified as architectural damage as they normally affect
finishes.
 FOUNDATION DESIGN CRITERIA CONT…

Factor of safety against shear failure

In foundations, shear failure occurs when soil divides into separate zones which move
partially or fully along slip surfaces

At this point, a plastic yielding condition has developed whereby the shear stress along the
slip surface has reached a limiting value(ultimate limit state)

The principal criteria for design will be satisfying a given factor of safety against shear
failure
 FOUNDATION DESIGN CRITERIA CONT…
Three principal modes of shear failure;

1. General shear failure

This mode of failure occurs in dense or over consolidated soils of low compressibility
 A clearly defined plastic yield slip forms under the footing and develop outwards to
the surface
 Heaving of the ground occurs on both sides of the footing
 Failure is sudden and often accompanied by severe tilting on one side
 FOUNDATION DESIGN CRITERIA CONT…
Three principal modes of shear failure;

2. Local shear failure

 Occurs in compressible soils
 A significant vertical movement may take place before any noticeable heaving
 Shear planes develop but fail to extend to the ground surface
 Very little tilting may take place
 The settlement which occurs usually is the principal design criteria
 FOUNDATION DESIGN CRITERIA CONT…
Three principal modes of shear failure;

3. Punching shear failure

 Occurs in weak compressible soils
 Considerable vertical movement take place
 Slip surfaces restricted to vertical planes adjacent to the sides of the footing
 Heaving at the surface is usually absent and may be replaced by a drag down
 Normally there will be no tilting
 This kind of failure may be observed in highly compressible clays and in loose sands
 FACTORS AFFECTING BEARING CAPACITY OF SOIL

The bearing capacity is governed by a number of factors. The following are some of the more
important ones which affect bearing capacity:

(i) Nature of soil and its physical and engineering properties

(ii) Nature of the foundation and other details such as the size, shape, depth below the

ground surface and rigidity of the structure

(iii) Total and differential settlements that the structure can withstand without functional
failure

(iv) Location of the ground water table relative to the level of the foundation and

(v) Initial stresses, if any.

 METHODS OF DETERMINING BEARING CAPACITY

The following methods are available for the determination of bearing capacity of a foundation:
(i) Bearing capacity tables in various building codes

(ii) Analytical (Calculation) methods i.e Terzaghi’s formula etc.

(iii) In-situ Methods i.e Plate Bearing & Cone Penetration Test
 METHODS OF DETERMINING BEARING CAPACITY CONT…
Based on Analytical method we’ll concentrate only on Terzaghi´s approach.

TERZAGHI´S BEARING CAPACITY FORMULA

The formula was developed for long foundations (strip foundations) then extended to square
and circular foundations
A general shear failure is considered.

CEB 3319 FOUNDATION ENGINERING

 METHODS OF DETERMINING BEARING CAPACITY CONT…

TERZAGHI´S BEARING CAPACITY FORMULA CONT..

Assumptions Made:
The depth of the foundation is less than or equal to its width ( ≤ )
The base of footing is rough (quite true as the actual field conditions appears)
The shear strength of the soil is governed by Mohr – Coulomb equation
The load on the footing is vertical and is uniformly distributed
The footing is long (continuous) L/B is infinite, where B is the width and L is the length of
footing
The soil between the ground surface and a depth D has no shear strength i.e. it serves only as
a surcharge load
 METHODS OF DETERMINING BEARING CAPACITY CONT…

TERZAGHI´S BEARING CAPACITY FORMULA CONT..

Terzaghi proposed a three-term expression for ultimate bearing capacity of a long strip footing
of breadth B as;

= + +

Equation above is known as Terzaghi’s bearing capacity equation.

The bearing capacity factors , and are dimensionless number depending upon the
angle of shearing resistance ϕ (Available on table and chart)
 METHODS OF DETERMINING BEARING CAPACITY CONT…

TERZAGHI´S BEARING CAPACITY FORMULA CONT..

Where:
= Ultimate bearing capacity

= Cohesion of soil beneath the foundation

= =Overburden pressure at the foundation level
= Breadth of the foundation
= Unit weight of the soil beneath the foundation
ϕ ϕ,
= tan2(45+ ) =( - 1)cot ϕ , = 1.8 ( – 1) tan ϕ
 METHODS OF DETERMINING BEARING CAPACITY CONT…
BEARING CAPACITY FACTORS IN CHART
 METHODS OF DETERMINING BEARING CAPACITY CONT…
BEARING CAPACITY OF SHALLOW FOUNDATION (SQUARE, CIRCULAR &
RECTANGULAR)
The equation derived above would help to work out the ultimate baring capacity of strip or
continuous shallow foundation of infinite length.
The following equations given by Terzaghi for ultimate bearing capacity for square, circular
and rectangular footings.
Square Footing
(s) = ,
(s)= 1.2 ,
= 1.2 + + 0.4
(s) = 0.8
 METHODS OF DETERMINING BEARING CAPACITY CONT…
BEARING CAPACITY OF SHALLOW FOUNDATION (SQUARE, CIRCULAR &
RECTANGULAR) CONT…
Circular Footing
(c) = ,
(c)= 1.2 , = 1.2 + + 0.3
(c) = 0.6

Rectangular Footing
(r) = ,
(r)= (1 - 0.2 ) ,
=(1 + 0.2 ) C c + + (1 - 0.2 )
(r) = (1 - 0.2 )
 METHODS OF DETERMINING BEARING CAPACITY CONT…
BEARING CAPACITY

In Terzaghi's bearing
capacity equation, the
second and third terms
are dependent on the
unit weight of the soil.
When the soil is fully
submerged, the
submerged density ɣsub
should be used in place
of ɣ.

But if the water is at the

base of the footing only
third term is affected
 METHODS OF DETERMINING BEARING CAPACITY CONT…
BEARING CAPACITY EFFECT OF LOCAL SHEAR
For ∅< 28o, in loose sand or Cu < 50 KN/m2 in soft clays, the bearing capacity is less in local
shear failure than in general shear failure

C for local shear failure

% = &
%

∅ for local shear failure

∅ = ( ( ∅)
&
THANK YOU..!!