Contact Pressure: Elastic Properties of Footing

Contact Pressure
On the underside of the footing, the soil reaction produce a upward pressure
which is assumed uniform in deriving different relationship for soil-structure
interaction problem. This pressure is called contact pressure. But actually a
footing are not flexible as well as contact pressure is not uniform,
necessitating more investigation for actual contact pressure distribution.
Factor Influencing Contact Pressure
The actual distribution of contact pressure depends upon a number of factors

such as
1) Elastic properties of footing
2) Elastic properties of soil
3) Thickness of footing
Different characteristics of contact pressure distribution under flexible and

rigid footings are described below:
Contact Pressure On Saturated Clay
Flexible Footing
When a footing is flexible, it deforms into shape of bowel, with the maximum
deflection at the center. The contact pressure distribution is uniform.
Rigid Footing
When a footing is rigid, the settlement is uniform. The contact pressure

distribution is minimum at the center and the maximum at the edges. The
stresses at the edges in real soils can not be infinite as theoretically
determined for an elastic mass. In real soils, beyond a certain limiting value
of stress, the plastic flow occurs and the pressure becomes finite.
Fig: Qualitative contact pressure distribution under flexible and rigid footing resting on
saturated clay and subjected to a uniformly distributed load q.
Contact pressure on sand
Flexible footing
In this case, the edges of flexible footing undergo a large settlement than at
the centre. The soil at the centre is confined and, therefore, has a high
modulus of elasticity and deflects less for the same contact pressure. The
contact pressure is uniform.
Rigid footing
If the footing is rigid, the settlement is uniform. The contact pressure
increases from zero at the edges to a maximum at the centre. The soil,
being unconfined at edges, has low modulus of elasticity. However, if the
footing is embedded, there would be finite contact pressure at edges.
Fig: Qualitative contact pressure distribution under flexible and rigid footing
resting on sandy soil and subjected to a uniformly distributed load q.
Thus it is observed that the contact pressure distribution for flexible footing
is uniform for both clay and sand. The contact pressure for rigid footing is
maximum at the edges for footing on clay, but for rigid footings on sand, it
is minimum at the edges.
Consequence of assuming uniformity in pressure
For convenience, the contact pressure is assumed to be uniform fpr all types
of footings and all types of soils if load is symmetric.
The above assumption of uniform pressure distribution will result in a slightly

unsafe design for rigid footing on clays, as the maximum bending moment at
centre is underestimated. It will give a conservative design for rigid footings
on sandy (cohessionless) soils, as the maximum bending moment is
overestimated. However, at the ultimate stage just before failure, the soil
behaves as an elasto-plastic material ( and not an elastic material) and the
contact pressure is uniform and the assumption is justified at the ultimate
stage.
The shape of the deformation pattern varies depending on flexibility of

the foundation and type of soil. Figure 1 illustrates the relative
distribution of soil contact pressures and displacements on cohesion less
and cohesive soil. Linear contact pressure distributions from uniformly
applied pressure q are often assumed for settlement analysis, Figure 1-c
and 1-d. An applied load Q may cause an unequal linear soil contact
pressure distribution, Figure 1-e.
(1) Cohesionless soil
Cohesionless soil is often composed of granular or coarse-grained
materials with visually detectable particle sizes and with little cohesion or
adhesion between particles. These soils have little or no strength when
unconfined and little or no cohesion when submerged. Apparent adhesion
between particles in cohesionless soil may occur from capillary tension in
pore water. Settlement usually occurs rapidly with little long-term
consolidation and secondary compression or creep. Time rate effects may
become significant in proportion to the silt content such that the silt
content may dominate consolidation characteristics.
(a) Uniformly loaded rigid foundations (footings of limited size or footings

on cohesionless soil) may cause less soil contact pressure near the edge
than near the center, Figure 1-a, because this soil is pushed aside at the
edges due to the reduced confining pressure. This leads to lower strength
and lower modulus of elasticity in soil near the edge compared with soil
near the center. The parabolic soil contact pressure distribution may be
replaced with a saddle-shaped distribution, Figure 1-b, for rigid footings
or mats if the soil pressure does not approach the allowable bearing
capacity.
(b) The distortion of a uniformly loaded flexible footing, mat, or
embankment on cohesionless soil will be concave downward, Figure 1-c,

because the soil near the center is stressed under higher confining
pressure such that the modulus of elasticity of the soil is higher than near
the edge.
(c) The theory of elasticity is not applicable to cohesionless soil when the
stress or loading increment varies significantly throughout the soil such
that an equivalent elastic modulus cannot be assigned. Semi-empirical
and numerical techniques have been useful to determine equivalent
elastic parameters at points in the soil mass based on stress levels that
occur in the soil.
(2)Cohesive soil
Cohesive soil often contains fine-grained materials consisting of silts,
clays, and organic material. These soils have significant strength when
unconfined and air-dried. Most cohesive soil is relatively impermeable and
when loaded deforms similar to gelatine or rubber; i.e., the undrained
state. Cohesive soils may include granular materials with bonding agents
between particles such as soluble salts or clay aggregates. Wetting of
soluble agents bonding granular particles may cause settlement in loose
or high void ratio soil
(a) A uniform pressure applied to a rigid foundation on cohesive soil,

Figure 1. Relative distribution of soil contact pressures and displacements
of rigid and flexible mats or footings on cohesionless and cohesive soils
Figure 1-b, can cause the soil contact pressure to be maximum at the
edge and decrease toward the center because additional contact pressure
is generated to provide stress that shears the soil around the perimeter.
(b) A uniform pressure applied to a flexible foundation on cohesive soil,
Figure 1-d, causes greater settlement near the center than near the edge
because the cumulative stresses are greater near the center as a result of
the pressure bulb stress distribution indicated in Figure 2. Earth pressure
measurements from load cells beneath a stiffening beam supporting a
large, but flexible, ribbed mat also indicated large perimeter earth
pressures resembling a saddle-shaped pressure distribution similar to
Figure 1-b.
(c) Elastic theory has been found useful for evaluation of immediate
settlement when cohesive soil is subjected to moderate stress
increments. The modulus of elasticity is a function of the soil shear
strength and often in creases with increasing depth in proportion with the
increase in soil shear strength.
(d) Cohesive soil subject to stresses exceeding the maximum past

pressure
of the soil may settle substantially from primary consolidation and

secondary compression and creep.
Sources of Stress
Sources of stress in soil occur from soil weight, surface loads, and
environmental factors such as desiccation from drought, wetting from
rainfall, and changes in depth to groundwater.
(1) Soil weight

Soil strata with different unit weights alter the stress distribution. Any
change in total stress results in changes in effective stress and pore
pressure. In a saturated soil, any sudden increase in applied total stress
results in a corresponding pore pressure increase. This increase may
cause a flow of water out of the soil deposit, a decrease in pore pressure,
and an increase in effective stress. Changes in pore water pressure such
as the raising or lowering of water tables also lead to a reduction or
increase in effective stress.
(2) Surface loads

Loads applied to the surface of the soil mass increase the stress within
the mass. The pressure bulb concept, Figure 2, illustrates the change in
vertical stress within the soil mass. Placement of a uniform pressure over
a foundation with a minimum width much greater than the depth of the
soil layer will cause an increase of vertical stress in the soil approximately
equal to the applied pressure.
(3) Rules of thumb for static loads

Preliminary settlement analyses are sometimes performed before the
structural engineer and architect are able to furnish the design load
conditions.
(a) Some rules of thumb for line and column loads for buildings described
in Table 1 are based on a survey of some engineering firms. Tall

multistory structures may have column loads exceeding 1000 tons.
Column spacings are often 20 to 25 ft or more. The average pressure
applied per story of a building often varies from 0.1 to 0.2 tsf.
(b) Vertical pressures from embankments may be estimated from the

unit wet weight times height of the fill.
(c) Vertical pressures from locks, dams, and retaining walls may be
estimated by dividing the structure into vertical sections of constant
height and evaluating the unit weight times the height of each section.

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Contact Pressure

Factor Influencing Contact Pressure

The actual distribution of contact pressure depends upon a number of factors

1) Elastic properties of footing

2) Elastic properties of soil

Different characteristics of contact pressure distribution under flexible and

Contact Pressure On Saturated Clay

When a footing is rigid, the settlement is uniform. The contact pressure

Contact pressure on sand

Consequence of assuming uniformity in pressure

The above assumption of uniform pressure distribution will result in a slightly

The shape of the deformation pattern varies depending on flexibility of

(a) Uniformly loaded rigid foundations (footings of limited size or footings

embankment on cohesionless soil will be concave downward, Figure 1-c,

(a) A uniform pressure applied to a rigid foundation on cohesive soil,

(d) Cohesive soil subject to stresses exceeding the maximum past

of the soil may settle substantially from primary consolidation and

(1) Soil weight

(2) Surface loads

(3) Rules of thumb for static loads

in Table 1 are based on a survey of some engineering firms. Tall

(b) Vertical pressures from embankments may be estimated from the

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