Chap 4

Soil Mechanics-II
Bearing Capacity of
Soil
By Eden S.
MSc. In Geotechnical Eng.
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INTRODUCTION 13
 A foundation, often constructed from concrete, steel or

wood, is a structure designed to transfer loads from a
superstructure to the soil underneath the superstructure.
 The foundation should be designed such that
The soil below does not fail in shear &
Settlement is within the safe limits.
 In general, foundations are categorized into two groups,
namely, shallow and deep foundations.
 Shallow foundations are comprised of footings, while
deep foundations include piles that are used when the soil
near the ground surface has no enough strength to stand
the applied loading.
INTRODUCTION
14
Shallow foundations can be

Isolated/spread footing
Combined footing
Strap/Cantilever footing
Mat foundation
Deep foundations can be
Pile foundation
Pier foundation
Caisson foundation
Coffer dam foundation
Terminology’s 15
 Total overburden pressure,

q0 It is 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 It is the
effective overburden pressure
at the base level of the
foundation
Cont.… 16
 Ultimate bearing capacity of soil, qu It is the maximum

bearing capacity of soil at which the soil fails by shear
 Net ultimate bearing capacity, qnu It is the bearing
capacity in excess of the effective overburden pressure
expressed as
– 3 d t soi C
2.5 ire ng t B
.0 o b l is
in
ge equ orti ins
 Gross allowable bearing pressure, qa
e
ran ly r upp aga
the rmal of s afety
no lure of S
 Net allowable bearing pressure, qna
fai ctor
Fa

Principal Modes of Shear Failure 17
 There are three modes of shear failures i.e. general shear failure,
local shear failure and punching shear failure
General shear failure
 A general shear failure involves total rupture of the underlying soil.
 There is a continuous shear failure of the soil from below the footing
to the ground surface.
 It is common on low compressibility (dense or stiff) soils
 Plastic equilibrium throughout support and adjacent soil masses
 Final slip (movement of soil) on one side only causing structure to
tilt
 Well defined failure surface
Principal Modes of Shear Failure 18
Local shear failure

 Local shear failure involves rupture of the soil only immediately
below the footing
 A local shear failure occurs for soils that are in a medium or firm
state
 Only partial development of plastic equilibrium
 Significant compression of soil under footing but no tilting
 Failure surface first developed right below the foundation and
slowly extends outwards with load increments
Cont.… 19
Punching shear failure

 Deformation of the footing involves compression of soil directly below
 Shear failure occurs for soils that are in a loose or soft state
 Failure surface does not extend beyond the zone right beneath the
foundation
Cont.… 20
Ultimate Bearing Capacity
Equations
Terzaghi’s Bearing Capacity Equation
 Terzaghi’s Bearing Capacity assumes strip footing of
infinite length and width B and a uniform surcharge, q0
on surface of isotropic, homogeneous soil
• The failure mechanism in a C, Ǿ soil for Terzaghi's
bearing capacity solution is shown below.
Cont.… 22
Assumptions for Terzaghi's Method

Depth of foundation is less than or equal to its width.
No sliding occurs between foundation and soil (rough
foundation).
Soil beneath foundation is homogeneous semi infinite mass.
Soil strength is governed by Mohr-Coulomb model.
General shear failure mode is the governing mode.
No soil consolidation occurs.
Foundation is very rigid relative to the soil.
Applied load is compressive and applied vertically to the
centroid of
the foundation.
No applied moments present.
Cont.… 23
 Considering this all assumptions Terzaghi bearing

capacity is given by.
Cont.… 24
Figure : Terzaghi's bearing capacity coefficients.

25
Meyerhof’s Bearing Capacity Equation
 Meyerhof (1951) developed a bearing capacity equation by
extending Terzaghi's failure mechanism and taking into
account the effects of footing shape, load inclination and
footing depth by adding the corresponding factors of s, d,
and i. For a rectangular footing of L by B (L > B) and
inclined load:
Cont.… 26
Figure : Meyerhof’s bearing capacity coefficients.

Cont.… 27
Cont.… 28
29
Hansen’s Bearing Capacity Equation

 Hansen (1961) extended Meyerhof’s solutions by
considering the effects of sloping ground surface and tilted
base as well as modification of Nr and other factors.
 For a rectangular footing of L by B (L > B) and inclined
ground surface, base and load:
 The above equation is sometimes referred to as the general

bearing capacity equation. In the special case of a
horizontal ground surface.
Cont.… 30
Figure : Identification of items in Hansen’s bearing capacity equation.

Cont.… 31
Figure : Hansen’s bearing capacity coefficients.

32
A Comparative Summary of BC Equations

 Terzaghi’s equations were and are still widely used,
perhaps because they are somewhat simpler than
Meyerhof’s and Hansen’s.
 However, Terzaghi’s equations have the following major
drawbacks:
Shape, depth and inclination factors are not considered.
Terzaghi’s equations are suitable for a concentrically
loaded horizontal footing but are not suitable for
eccentrically (for example, columns with moment or
titled forces) loaded footings that are very common in
practice.
The equations are generally conservative than
Meyerhof’s and Hansen’s.
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Effects of Groundwater Table on Bearing Capacity

 For all the bearing capacity equations, you will have to
make some adjustments for the groundwater condition.
 The term γD the vertical stress of the soil above the base
of the footing and the last term γB the vertical stress of a
soil mass of thickness B, below the base of the footing
needs some adjustments.
Cont.… 34
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Allowable bearing capacity and factor of safety

 The allowable bearing capacity, qa is calculated by dividing the
ultimate bearing capacity by a factor, called the factor of safety,
FS.
 The FS is intended to compensate for assumptions made in
developing the bearing capacity equations, soil variability,
inaccurate soil data, and uncertainties of loads.
 The magnitude of FS applied to the ultimate bearing capacity may
be between 2 and 3.
 The allowable bearing capacity is:
Cont.… 36
Example 1
A strip footing of width 3 m is to be placed at a depth of 0.5m below
the ground surface on a sandy silt having a bulk and saturated unit
weight of 18.6 kN/m3 and 20 kN/m3 respectively .The shear
strength parameters of the soil are c’= 8 kPa and ϕ’=22o. Determine
the net ultimate and allowable capacity, when the
a) GWT is 3 m below the ground surface.
b) b) GWT is at ground surface. Take FS=3 (use Terzaghi’s eqn)
Cont.… 37
Cont.… 38
Example 2 Cont.… 39
A square footing of width 3 m is to be placed at a depth of 1 m below

the ground surface on a sandy silt having a bulk and saturated unit
weight of 18.6 kN/m3 and 20 kN/m3 respectively. The footing carries
a load P inclined 15 degree to the vertical at its center. The shear
strength parameters of the soil are c’= 8 kPa and ϕ’=22o. Determine
the net ultimate and allowable capacity, when the
a) GWT is 3 m below the ground surface.
b) GWT is at ground surface. Take FS=3 (use Meyerhof's Eqn)
Cont.… 40
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Eccentric Loads
 Meyerhof (1963) proposed an approximate method for loads that
are located off-centered (or eccentric loads).
 The maximum and minimum

vertical stresses along the x axis
are
 The maximum and minimum
vertical stresses along the y axis
Cont.… 42
Cont.… 43
Cont.… 44
Cont.… 45
46
Field Tests
 Bearing capacity of soil can also determined from filed tests by
using different correlations.
1. Plate Loading Test
 The plate loading test is carried out to estimate the bearing
capacity of single footings. A circular plate of 300 mm is
commonly used for the test.
 To conduct a plate load test, a hole is excavated with a minimum
diameter 4BP (BP =diameter of the test plate) to a depth of D (D =
depth of the proposed foundation).
 The plate is placed at the center of the hole. Load is applied to the
plate in increments of 10% to 20% of the estimated ultimate
load.
 The final settlement at the end of each loading increment is
recorded. The test should be conducted until the soil fails, or at
least until the plate has gone through 25 mm of settlement.
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 For tests in clay,

qu(F) = qu(P) Where qu(F) & qu(P) are ultimate bearing
capacity of foundation and plate, respectively. Implies that the
bearing capacity in clays is independent of plate size.
 For tests in sandy soil,
Where, BF and BP stand for width of foundation and plate,

respectively.
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Standard Penetration Test (SPT)

 The Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is used to determine the
allowable bearing capacity of cohesion less coarse-grained soils
such as sands as we discussed in chapter 2.
 Meyerhof (1956, 1974) proposed the following equations to
determine the allowable bearing capacity qa from SPT values.
Where Se is the elastic settlement of the layer in mm

and kd = 1 + 0.33D/B <1.33.
49
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Soil Mechanics-II

 A foundation, often constructed from concrete, steel or

Shallow foundations can be

 Total overburden pressure,

 Ultimate bearing capacity of soil, qu It is the maximum

Local shear failure

Punching shear failure

Assumptions for Terzaghi's Method

 Considering this all assumptions Terzaghi bearing

Figure : Terzaghi's bearing capacity coefficients.

Figure : Meyerhof’s bearing capacity coefficients.

Hansen’s Bearing Capacity Equation

 The above equation is sometimes referred to as the general

Figure : Identification of items in Hansen’s bearing capacity equation.

Figure : Hansen’s bearing capacity coefficients.

A Comparative Summary of BC Equations

Effects of Groundwater Table on Bearing Capacity

Allowable bearing capacity and factor of safety

A square footing of width 3 m is to be placed at a depth of 1 m below

 The maximum and minimum

 For tests in clay,

Where, BF and BP stand for width of foundation and plate,

Standard Penetration Test (SPT)

Where Se is the elastic settlement of the layer in mm

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