ENCE4610

FoundationAnalysisandDesign
Shallow Foundations:
Overview
Terzaghis Method of Bearing Capacity
Estimation

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TypesofShallow
Foundations

Shallow foundations are

usually placed within a depth
D beneath the ground
surface less than the minimum
width B of the foundation
Shallow foundations consist of:

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Spread and continuous footings

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Square, Rectangular or
Circular Footings
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Continuous footings
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Ring Foundations
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Strap Footings
Wall footings
Mats or Rafts

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Footings
A spread footing
distributes column or
other loads from the
structure to the soil,
where B < W < 10B
A continuous footing
is a spread footing
where W > 10B.
A wall footing is a
long load bearing
footing

DimensionandRubble
StoneFootings
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Before 1800, most

all footings were
unreinforced
masonry, as shown
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Dimension stone
footings
Rubble stone footings

Satisfactory for
lighter structures,
they were too
heavy for the larger
structures of the
19th century

SteelGrillageFootings
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Used first with the Montauk Block Building in Chicago

(1882). First foundation type specifically designed for flexure.

TypicalConcreteFooting
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MethodsofConstructionof
ConcreteFootings
Once form is made, before concrete
is poured either anchor bolts or
dowels are placed to enable
connection of the foundation with
the building.

Formed footing

MatFoundations
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A mat is continuous in two

directions capable of
supporting multiple columns,
wall or floor loads. It has
dimensions from 20 to 80 ft or
more for houses and hundreds
of feet for large structures
such as multi-story hospitals
and some warehouses
Ribbed mats, consisting of
stiffening beams placed
below a flat slab are useful in
unstable soils such as
expansive, collapsible or soft
materials where differential
movements can be significant
(exceeding 0.5 inch).

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ConditionsforMat
Foundations
Structural loads
require large area to
spread the load
Soil is erratic and
prone to differential
settlements
Structural loads are
erratic
Unevenly distributed
lateral loads
Uplift loads are larger
than spread footings
can accommodate;
weight of the mat is
a factor here
Mat foundations are
easier to waterproof

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Example:
Chase Tower,
Houston, TX
Mat
foundation is 3
metres thick
and bottomed
at 19.2 m
below street
level

DistributionofBearing
Pressure

Distribution of bearing pressure depends on

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Eccentricity, if any, of applied load

Magnitude of the applied moment, if any
Structural rigidity of the foundation
Stress-strain properties of the soil
Roughness of the bottom of the foundation

Spread footings are nearly rigid; effects of

foundation/soil flexibility usually ignored
Mat foundations are more flexible; flexibility an
important factor

BearingPressureDistribution
ConcentricLoads
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Flexible
foundation
on clay

Flexible
Foundation
on Sand

Rigid
foundation
on clay

Rigid
Foundation
on Sand

Simplified
Distribution

TermsUsedinShallow
Foundations
Total Overburden
Pressure
o Intensity of total overburden
pressure due to the weight of
both soil and water, at the
base level of the foundation

q0 = Dw1 + sat Dw
Effective Overburden
Pressure
o Effective overburden pressure
at the base of the foundation

q0 = Dw1 + sub Dw

Ultimate Bearing
Capacity
o Maximum bearing capacity of
the soil at which shear failure
takes place

Net Bearing Capacity

o Bearing capacity in excess of
the overburden pressure

qnu = qu qo
Gross and Net
Allowable Bearing
Pressure
qu

qa =

BearingCapacityFailure
General Shear Failure
o Most common type of shear
failure; occurs in strong soils
and rocks

Local Shear Failure

o Intermediate between
general and punching shear
failure

Punching Shear Failure

o Occurs in very loose sands and
weak clays

SoilConditionsandBearing
CapacityFailure
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(after Vesi (1973)

CommentsonShear
Failure
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Usually only necessary

to analyse general
shear failure
Local and punching
shear failure can
usually be anticipated
by settlement analysis
Failure in shallow
foundations is
generally settlement
failure; bearing
capacity failure must
be analysed, but in
practical terms is
usually secondary to
settlement analysis

DevelopmentofBearing
CapacityTheory
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Application of limit equilibrium methods first

done by Prandtl on the punching of thick
masses of metal
Prandtl's methods adapted by Terzaghi to
bearing capacity failure of shallow
foundations
Vesi and others (Meyerhof, Brinch Hansen,
etc.) improved on Terzaghi's original theory
and added other factors for a more complete
analysis

AssumptionsforBearing
CapacityMethods
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Foundation-Soil
Interface
Assumptions
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Foundation is very rigid

relative to the soil
No sliding occurs
between foundation and
soil (rough foundation)

Loading Assumptions
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Applied load is
compressive and
applied vertically to the
centroid of the
foundation*
No applied moments
present

Geometric assumption

Depth of foundation is less

than or equal to its width

Geotechnical
Assumptions
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Soil beneath foundation is

homogeneous semi-infinite
mass*
Mohr-Coulomb model for soil
General shear failure mode is
the governing mode (but not
the only mode)
No soil consolidation occurs
Soil above bottom of
foundation has no shear
strength; is only a surcharge
load against the overturning
load*

* We will discuss workarounds to these assumptions

LimitEquilibriumMethod
(CircularFailureSurface,CohesiveSoil)

B
B
= q ult Bb cBb B p 0 Bb = 0
2
2

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q ult = 2 c + p 0
N c = 2 6.28
q ult = N c c + p 0

Assume: No soil strength due to internal friction (cohesive soil,)

shear strength above foundation base neglected

Skempton BearingCapacity
(Undrained CohesiveSoils)
Uses circular and other
slip surface forms
Only for undrained,
uniform cohesive soils
(non-uniform with
modification)
Equation for unit gross
ultimate capacity:

q ult = N c c + p 0
Bearing capacity factor
for rectangular
foundations:

(N c )R

B ( N c )S
= 84 + 16
L 100

FailureGeometryforGeneral
BearingCapacityMethods
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TerzaghiEquationsand
Factors

TerzaghiBearingCapacity
Equation

Eccentricity will be explained later

TerzaghiBearing
CapacityFactors

TerzaghiBearing
CapacityFactorTable

ExampleofTerzaghis
Method
Given

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Square Foundation as
Shown
Grounwater table is 50'
below surface
Ignore slab-on-grade
flooring

Find
Use Terzaghi's Method

Ultimate bearing
capacity and column
load to produce same

ExampleofTerzaghis
Method
q ult = 1.3 c' N c + q o N q + 0.4 ' BN
Solve for qult

(Square )

Obtain Bearing Capacity Factors

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ExampleofTerzaghis
Method
q ult = (1.3 )(150

q ult = 1.3 c' N c + ' zD N q + 0.4 ' BN

)(37.16 )+ (121 )(2 )(22.46 )+ (0.4 )(121 )(3.25 )(19.7 )

q ult = 7246 + 5435 + 3099
q ult = 15,780 psf

Compute ultimate capacity

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Pult = qult * A
Pult = (15,780)(3.252)
Pult = 166.7 kips

Keep in mind that the design load supported by

the foundation includes the weight of the footing,
which is part of the dead load

NotesonTerzaghis
Method

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Since soil cohesion can be difficult to quantify,

conservative values of c (cohesion) should be
used
Frictional strength is more reliable and does
not need to be as conservative as cohesion
Terzaghi's method is simple and familiar to
many geotechnical engineers; however, it
does not take into account many factors, nor
does it consider cases such as rectangular
foundations
It is primarily presented for historical reasons

OtherVariationsofTerzaghis
MethodPresentedinTextbook
Formulation for
Rectangular
Foundations
o Rectangular foundations not
part of original Terzaghi theory
of bearing capacity
o Equations given in the book an
extrapolation
o Rectangular foundations (all
shallow foundations, really)
better analyzed using
methods such as Vesi,
Meyerhof, Brinch-Hansen, etc.)

Bearing Capacity for

Local Shear Failure
o Equations for local shear
failure have different
coefficients but same bearing
capacity factors
o Unless otherwise stated,
assume general shear failure
(but see Vesi chart presented
earlier)
o Make sure you dont use these
for general shear failure and
vice versa

Equations for special

cases of c = 0 or = 0

Questions?