8 /C /9 -

Settlement calculation for footings on sand

Calcul de tassement des semelles sur sable

H. DENVER, M.Sc., Ph.D., Danish Geotechnical Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark

SYNOPSIS It is a d v a n t a g e o u s in m a n y c a s e s to s o l v e s e t t l e m e n t p r o b l e m s by m e a n s of in situ
m e t h o d s in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the t h e o r y of e l a s t i c i t y . A f t e r a b r i e f d i s c u s s i o n of l a b o r a t o r y v e r s u s
in situ m e t h o d s a s i m p l e a l g o r i t h m to s e t t l e m e n t c a l c u l a t i o n b a s e d m a i n l y on the t h e o r y of e l a s t i c i ­
ty is p r e s e n t e d . T h e m e t h o d is c o n t r o l l e d in t h r e e c a s e s w h e r e e x a c t s e t t l e m e n t r e c o r d s and
r esults f r o m SPT and C P T tests w e r e a v a i l a b l e , a n d an e x c e l l e n t c o r r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n o b s e r v e d and
c a l c u l a t e d s e t t l e m e n t s is o b ta i n e d .

INTRODUCTION o f in s i t u t e s t i n g m e t h o d s is in m o s t cases an
economical provision.
T h e p r o b l e m of s e t t l e m e n t c a l c u l a t i o n b y m e a n s
of s t r a i n i n f l u e n c e c u r v e s a n d in s i t u m e t h o d s In t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y o r d i n a r y l a b o r a t o r y t e s t s
have been treated by several investigators. The s u c h as r o u t i n e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n t e s t s , o e d o m e t e r
most commonly used strain i n fluence c u r v e s a re tests, t r i a x i a l t e s t s a nd p l a n e s t r a i n t e s t s
in t h e a u t h o r ' s o p i n i o n d e t e r m i n e d b y a w r o n g w e r e p e r f o r m e d on s a m p l e s f r o m t h e s i t e s and
p h i l o s o p h y and the p r o c e d u r e s s u f f e r f r o m i n ­ d e s c r i b e d in t he o r i g i n a l r e p o r t ( D e n v e r ,
s u f f i c i e n t a t t e n t i o n t o all i m p o r t a n t p a r a m e ­ 1 9 8 0 ) , b u t t h e in s i t u t e s t s d e s c r i b e d in t h i s
ters. p a p e r y i e l d e d b y far t h e m o s t a c c u r a t e s e t t l e ­
ment calculations.
T h e r e a s o n f o r t h i s is t h e i n c r e a s i n g c o m p l e x ­
i ty of t h e m e t h o d s c o r r e s p o n d i n g to c o r r e c t
s o l u t i o n s a n d t h e p r o g r e s s of r e f i n e d n u m e r i c SETTLEMENT CALCULATION
t e c h n i q u e to b e u s e d in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h l a r g e
computers. T h i s s e c t i o n d e s c r i b e s a m e t h o d of s e t t l e m e n t
calculation. The method, a l t h o u g h empi r i c a l ,
On t h e o t h e r h a n d r e a l l y q u i c k d e s i g n p r o ­ is m a i n l y b a s e d on t h e t h e o r y o f e l a s t i c i t y .
c e d u r e s are a l w a y s v a l u a b l e , and an a p p r o x i m a t e
m e t h o d b a s e d on the t h e o r y o f e l a s t i c i t y w i l l The basic equation reads
t h e r e f o r e b e p r e s e n t e d , t a k i n g m o s t of t h e a p ­
p ropriate factors into account. } A s0 (1 )
st = s"
w h e r e the total initial settlement (st > for the
IN S I T U VS. LABORATORY TESTING
p a r t i c u l a r f o o t i n g is e q u a l to t h e s u m of t h e
Deform a t i o n p r o p e r t i e s of a s a n d l a y e r c a n be s e t t l e m e n t c a u s e d by its o w n l o a d , a n d t he
d e t e r m i n e d b o t h in s i t u a n d in t h e l a b o r a t o r y . i n f l u e n c e from the adjacent footings loaded
T h e d i f f e r e n t p r o c e d u r e s u s e d in t h e t w o c a s e s simultaneously (^ A s 0 ). Frequently procedures
have different advantages. In s i t u t e s t i n g i n ­
v o l v e s no s a m p l i n g p r o b l e m s or d i f f i c u l t i e s r e ­
l a t e d t o t h e c o r r e c t d e t e r m i n a t i o n of d e n s i t y ,
d e g r e e of s a t u r a t i o n , in s i t u s t r e s s , a n d
stress history. On the other hand, a m o r e c o r ­ rig id o r f le x i b le
rect t e s t i n g p r o c e d u r e c a n b e a p p l i e d w h e n a (sm ooth base)
s a m p l e is i n v e s t i g a t e d in t h e l a b o r a t o r y .

M o s t in s i t u t e s t s w i l l y i e l d r e s u l t s w h i c h a r e
n o t d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d to t h e d e f o r m a t i o n p a r a m e ­
t e r s of t h e s o i l . However, several i n v e s t i g a ­
tors have d e v e l o p e d expedient empirical rela­
t i o n s to d e r i v e t h e e l a s t i c p r o p e r t i e s f r o m t h e
m o s t c o m m o n l y u s e d in s i t u t e s t i n g m e t h o d s a n d
furthermore proved that these methods will have ■
■■■
■-^2‘ y 2: ■■
s u f f i c i e n t a c c u r a c y for all p r a c t i c a l p u r p o s e s .

A d d i t i o n a l l y , r e s u l t s f r o m in s i t u t e s t i n g m a y
p r o v e m o s t v a l u a b l e in t h e g e n e r a l s o i l d e ­
scription, and a c a r e f u l l y p l a n n e d field in v e s ­ N
tigation programme including a substantial part Fig.l The multi layer problem

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0.02 0.05 0.1 0.2 0.5 1 2 0.02 0.05 0.1 0.2 0.5 1
Fig.2 Integrated strain influence factor Fig.3 Integrated strain influence factor
v e r s u s r e l a t i v e d e p t h for a rigid v e r s u s r e l a t i v e d e p t h for a c i r c u l a r
circular footing l o a d e d a r e a (to c a l c u l a t e t h e a v e r a g e
settlement)

of s e t t l e m e n t c a l c u l a t i o n are p r o p o s e d w i t h o u t
a d e s c r i p t i o n of h o w t o t a k e i n t o a c c o u n t t h e
e f f e c t of n e a r b y f o o t i n g s . For this reason a
s u b s t a n t i a l e r r o r is o f t e n i n c u r r e d i n t h e r e ­
sult, and a remedial and generally applicable
a l g o r i t h m is t h e r e f o r e i n c l u d e d in t h e p r e s e n t
procedure.
The following e x p r e s s i o n for s 0 is p r o p o s e d :
s‘ f l ■
w h e r e S is t h e i n t e g r a t e d s t r a i n i n f l u e n c e
c u r v e , z t h e d e p t h a nd r 0 t h e r a d i u s of the
footing. F i g s . 2 and 3 s h o w S p l o t t e d a g a i n s t
the r e l a t i v e d e p t h for a rigid c i r c u l a r f o o t i n g
and a uniform circular load respectively.

c r d s (2 ) T h e c o n t r i b u t i o n to t h e s e t t l e m e n t of a p a r ­
e e
t i c u l a r l a y e r f r o m zn to z n + 1 is s i m p l y
w h e r e s is t h e c a l c u l a t e d s e t t l e m e n t f o r a n
e q u i v a l e n t c i r c u l a r f o o t i n g r e s t i n g on the «jr., z z .T
s u r f a c e of t h e s o i l , d g is a f a c t o r w h i c h (3)
v = -Ë- - s<--rr>J
a c c o u n t s for t h e d e p t h of t h e b a s e b e n e a t h t h e
soil surface, r g a c c o u n t s f o r t h e s h a p e if t h e w h e r e q is t h e l o a d o n t h e f o o t i n g ( a v e r a g e
f o o t i n g is r e c t a n g u l a r , a n d c is an e m p i r i c a l l y l o a d for a rigid footing). T h e s e t t l e m e n t for
d e t e r m i n e d c o r r e c t i o n f a c t o r to a c c o u n t f o r t h e all N l a y e r s is t h e n
po s s i b l e error introduced by deriv i n g the other
f a c t o r s b y m e a n s of t h e t h e o r y of e l a s t i c i t y . (4)
• qc- • s' ; : i , ] /E »
Circular f o o t i n g on e l a s t i c m e d i u m w h e r e s is t h e a v e r a g e s e t t l e m e n t in case of a
c i r c u l a r load.
T h e p r o b l e m i n v e s t i g a t e d in t h i s s e c t i o n ( s e e
F i g . l ) is a s e t t l e m e n t c a l c u l a t i o n of a f o o t i n g E f f e c t of s h a p e
on a s e m i - i n f i n i t e e l a s t i c m a t e r i a l w i t h a
k n o w n d i s t r i b u t i o n o f Y o u n g ' s m o d u l u s (E) a n d T h e e f f e c t of t h e s h a p e f o r a r e c t a n g u l a r f o o t ­
Poisson's ration (v). i n g is s m a l l for m o d e r a t e r a t i o s o f t h e l e n g t h
(L) o v e r t h e b r e a d t h (B) a n d t h e f a c t o r is p r o ­
T h e f o o t i n g is c i r c u l a r w i t h a s m o o t h b a s e , a n d p o s e d to b e a p p r o x i m a t e l y c a l c u l a t e d b y m e a n s
it c o n s i s t s o f e i t h e r a u n i f o r m v e r t i c a l l o a d o f t h e t h e o r y of e l a s t i c i t y u s i n g a h o m o g e n e o u s
o r a r i g i d f o o t i n g s u b j e c t e d to a v e r t i c a l ha l f s p a c e a n d a s s u m i n g no i n f l u e n c e of t h e
force. T h e p r o b l e m is s y m m e t r i c a l a b o u t t h e depth.
v e r t i c a l l i n e t h r o u g h t h e c e n t r e of the f o o t ­
ing. T h e m e t h o d , w h i c h is d e s c r i b e d in a p r e ­ T i m o shenko & Goodier (1970) a nd W h i t m a n & Ri-
v i o u s p a p e r in d e t a i l ( D e n v e r , 1 9 8 1 ) , is o n l y c h a r t (1967) h a v e c a l c u l a t e d the settlements
b r i e f l y o u t l i n e d in t h i s p a p e r . fo r t h e c a s e of a r e c t a n g u l a r l o a d a n d a r i g i d
r e c t a n g u l a r f o o t i n g r e s p e c t i v e l y , and the re­
T h e m e t h o d is b a s e d o n t h e u s e o f s t r a i n i n ­ s u l t s a r e p l o t t e d r e l a t i v e to t h e s e t t l e m e n t of
f l u e n c e c u r v e s (I) c a l c u l a t e d b y t a k i n g t h e e n ­ the e q u i v a l e n t c i rcular footing w i t h the
t i r e s t r a i n e n e r g y of a p a r t i c u l a r layer into s a m e a r e a , as t h e r a t i o o f s e t t l e m e n t r that
a c c o u n t - a n d not, as u s u a l , o n l y b a s e d o n t h e e
s t r a i n s a l o n g t h e v e r t i c a l l i n e of s y m m e t r y . is v a l i d for d i f f e r e n t v a l u e s of L / B , in F i g . 4.

To f a c i l i t a t e the a p p l i c a t i o n s , the r e sults are E f f e c t of d e p t h

r e c a l c u l a t e d a n d p r e s e n t e d in an i n t e g r a t e d
form The i n f l u e n c e o f t h e d e p t h f r o m t h e s u r f a c e to

2184

Fig.4 Ratio r g b e t w e e n s e t t l e m e n t of a r e c t
a n g u l a r f o o t i n g a n d t h e s e t t l e m e n t of
the e q u i v a l e n t c i r c u l a r f o o t i n g for
d i f f e r e n t v a l u e s of L / B (average
s e t t l e m e n t s for u n i f o r m d i s t r i b u t e d
loads)
th e b a s e (D) is s i m i l a r l y p r o p o s e d to b e c a l c u ­
l a t e d a s f o r a c i r c u l a r f o o t i n g on h o m o g e n e o u s
soil. B u r l a n d (1970) h a s c a l c u l a t e d t h e i n f l u ­
e n c e o f a n u n l i n e d s h a f t on t h e d e p t h c o r r e c ­
tion f a c t o r for a u n i f o r m c i r c u l a r l o a d (Fig.
5) .
A l t h o u g h t h i s f a c t o r is c a l c u l a t e d f o r a h o m o ­
g e n e o u s e l a s t i c h a l f s p a c e a n d o n l y for c i r c u ­
lar f o o t i n g s , i t is p r o p o s e d t o b e u s e d b o t h
for r i g i d a n d f l e x i b l e f o o t i n g s .
Adjacent footings
A s i m p l e a p p r o x i m a t e p r o c e d u r e to a c c o u n t for
the a d d i t i o n a l s e t t l e m e n t c a u s e d by a d j a c e n t
f o o t i n g s is p r o p o s e d b y u s i n g t h e d e f l e c t i o n of
the s u r f a c e of the s o i l n e g l e c t i n g t h e i n f l u ­
ence of d e p t h and shape. T h e r a t i o of
d e f l e c t i o n , b, o f s o i l s u r f a c e (u z ) o v e r
s e t t l e m e n t o f a f o o t i n g ( s 0 ), o r o v e r t h e a v e r ­
a g e s e t t l e m e n t for a c i r c u l a r l o a d , i s p l o t t e d
in F i g . 6 a g a i n s t t h e r e l a t i v e d i s t a n c e (a) f r o m
the centre.
R e s u l t s f r o m b o t h r i g i d and f l e x i b l e f o ot i ng s
are sh o wn and are b o t h c a l c u l a t e d using the a s ­
s u m p t i o n of a h o m o g e n e o u s h a l f s p a c e .
T h e s e t t l e m e n t f o r a l l n e a r b y f o o t i n g s (M)
s h o u l d b e c a l c u l a t e d as if n o o t h e r f o o t i n g s
were present (s0 m ) , t h e a d d i t i o n a l s e t t l e m e n t
(^ A s 0 i n eq.(l)) is then derived by summing
the co n t r i b u t i o n s f r o m all a d j a c e n t footings:
1 A s ° = ¡j b s “m (5)
T h e r a t i o o f d e f l e c t i o n s , b, is f o u n d in F i g . 6
w h e r e a is t h e d i s t a n c e f r o m t h e c e n t r e o f t h e
a d j a c e n t f o o t i n g to t h e c e n t r e o f t h e a c t u a l
footing. I f t h e a d j a c e n t f o o t i n g is r e c t a n g u ­
l a r , r„ i s t h e r a d i u s f o r a c i r c l e w i t h t h e
same area.
Correction factor
As p o i n t e d out by several investigators a di­
8 /C /9
Fig.5 R a t i o d g b e t w e e n s e t t l e m e n t of a c i r c u ­
l a r l o a d o n t h e b o t t o m o f an u n l i n e d
s h a f t a n d s e t t l e m e n t of t h e s a m e c i r c u ­
lar l o a d on t h e surface, p l o t t e d
a g a i n s t the r e l a t i v e d e p t h (D/r„), f r o m
B u r l a n d (1970)
rect a p p l i c a t i o n of t h e t h e o r y of e l a s t i c i t y
may cause erroneous settlement calculations.
As s h o w n b e l o w , a n e m p i r i c a l l y d e t e r m i n e d a n d
u n i q u e c o r r e c t i o n f a c t o r (c) w h i c h is a f u n c ­
t i o n o f t h e d i m e n s i o n s o f t h e f o o t i n g s s e e m s to
y i e l d an e x c e l l e n t c o r r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e c a l ­
c u l a t e d and the o b s e r v e d settlements.
DEFORMATION PROPERTIES DERIVED FROM IN SITU
TESTS
T h i s s e c t i o n d e a l s w i t h t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n of
the Y o u n g ' s m o d u l u s b a s e d on s t a n d a r d p e n e t r a ­
t i o n t e s t s (S P T ) a n d c o n e p e n e t r a t i o n t e s t s
(CPT) . T h i s s u b j e c t h a s e a r l i e r b e e n t r e a t e d
in d e t a i l ( D e n v e r , 1 9 8 2 ) and o n l y a b r i e f d e ­
s c r i p t i o n w i l l b e g i v e n h ere.
A t e s t p r o g r a m m e h a s b e e n c a r r i e d o u t on l o c a ­
t i o n s w h e r e t h e s o i l p r o f i l e m a i n l y c o n s i s t s of
h o mogeneous sand layers.
T h e m o d u l i o f e l a s t i c i t y for t h e s a n d p r o f i l e s
a r e d e t e r m i n e d by p r e s s u r e m e t e r tests and
screw-plate tests and are then c o m p a r e d w i t h
the results from SPT tests and C P T tests.
Standard p enetration tests
Y o u n g ' s m o d u l u s (E) c a n b e e s t i m a t e d b y m e a n s
o f t h e N v a l u e f r o m an S P T t e s t b y m e a n s of
E = C-/n" (6)
w h e r e C = 7 MPa. This equation yields a better
c o r r e l a t i o n to t h e " t r u e " E, d e t e r m i n e d as t h e
a v e r a g e of t h e v a l u e s f r o m s c r e w - p l a t e a n d
pr e s s u r e m e t e r tests, than any linear relation.
Dutch cone penetration tests
T h e m o d u l u s of e l a s t i c i t y c a n b e c a l c u l a t e d by
t h e c o n e r e s i s t a n c e (qc ) f r o m a D u t c h c o n e p e n ­
e t r a t i o n test:
E = F - / q c/ q „ (7)
w h e r e F = 8 M P a and q 0 = 1 MPa. Again a better
2185
8 /C /9

Legend
d 73 a SPT
? CPTIDutch mantle cone)
*6 3 x CPT (Standard penetrometer)
¿66 ° 65
o Pressuremeter test
□ Screw-plate test
VbL

o
N
A a
/ \
V69
b
I I
1/ ^68
X 'c
\ \ \
J »

. 10 m \
V 72
X \ A 70

Fig.8 In s i t u t e s t a r r a n g e m e n t - S i t e B

Fig.6 R a t i o of d e f l e c t i o n o f t h e s u r f a c e e x ­
t e r i o r to a c i r c u l a r f o o t i n g a n d
s e t t l e m e n t of t h e f o o t i n g (aver a g e
s e t t l e m e n t for a f l e x i b l e footing)
plotted against a/r0

Legend
A SPT
? CPTIDutch mantle cone)
» CPT (Standard penetrometer)'
o Pressuremeter test
o Screw-plate test
. 10 m
Legend
4 SPT
V CPTIDutch mantle conel
° Pressuremeter te s t
a S cre w -p late test

Fig.9 In situ t e s t a r r a n g e m e n t - S i t e C

E X A M P L E S OF S E T T L E M E N T C A L C U L A T I O N

T h i s s e c t i o n d e a l s w i t h p r a c t i c a l e x a m p l e s of
Fig.7 In situ t e s t a r r a n g e m e n t - S i t e A s e t t l e m e n t calc u l a t i o n . F u r t h e r m o r e , an e x ­
p r e s s i o n for t he a b o v e - m e n t i o n e d c o r r e c t i o n
f a c t o r is p r o p o s e d .

Test sites
c o r r e l a t i o n is o b t a i n e d b y eq. (7) than if lin­
ear r e l a t i o n s a r e a p p l i e d . Three diff e r e n t test sites, w h e r e the soil p r o ­
f i l e m a i n l y c o n s i s t s of f i n e (silty) s a n d to a
Standard cone penetration tests d e p t h of 15 m e t r e s , h a v e b e e n s e l e c t e d in o r d e r
to p e r f o r m a l a b o r a t o r y a n d in s i t u t e s t i n g
V e r y few s t a n d a r d c o n e pen e t r a t i o n tests were programme.
c a r r i e d o u t in t h i s p r o j e c t . T h e r e s u l t s s h o w
t h a t t h e c o n e r e s i s t a n c e (q ) from a standard T h e t h r e e l o c a t i o n s , at B i r k e r o d , S a l l e r o d , a n d
cs L y n g b y , a r e s i t u a t e d in t h e N o r t h e r n v i c i n i t y
e l e c t r i c c o n e c a n b e c o r r e l a t e d to t h e c o n e o f C o p e n h a g e n a n d a r e , f r o m n o w on, r e f e r r e d to
r e s i s t a n c e (qc ) of a D u t c h c o n e p e n e t r a t i o n as A, B, a n d C.
test by the equation:
T h e d e n s i t y o f t h e s a n d p r o f i l e s is c h a r a c t e ­
r i z e d as m e d i u m to d e n s e f o r a l l t h r e e s i t e s .
( 8) N o g r o u n d w a t e r t a b l e is o b s e r v e d at t h e d e p t h s
W ^ c = 1 -4
w h e r e t h e in s i t u t e s t s a r e p e r f o r m e d .

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F i g . 11 E-profiles - Site B

A p a r t f r o m the first metre, the entire profile f r o m p r e s s u r e m e t e r tests and s c r e w - p l a t e tests

c o n s i s t s of s a n d o f d i l u v i a l or g l a c i a l n a t u r e w e r e d e s c r i b e d earlier (Denver, 1982).
to t h e o p e r a t i n g d e p t h s . T h e o n l y e x c e p t i o n is
s i t e C, w h e r e t h e u p p e r 3 m c o n s i s t o f g l a c i a l Calculated settlements
clay (boulder c l a y ) .
The s e ttlements are f i r s t c a l c u l a t e d by e q u a ­
A w a t e r t o w e r is c o n s t r u c t e d o n e a c h l o c a t i o n t i o n ( 1 ) , b u t w i t h n o c o r r e c t i o n (c = 1). T h e
(see F i g s . 7-9) and the s e t t l e m e n t s are moni­ results are denoted s g a nd s c for S PT and C P T
tored during the building period. T h e d a t a for
tests respectively. The r a t i o s s s/ s r an(3 s c / s r
t h e f o u n d a t i o n s a r e s h o w n in T a b l e I.
are shown in T a b l e II w h e r e s r is t h e observed
Additionally, the loads c a u s e d by the in i t i a l s e t t l e m e n t for the i n i t i a l f i l l i n g of the
f i l l i n g o f t h e t o w e r s a r e s h o w n in t h e T a b l e .
tower. The calculated settlements are actually
the mean values from 2 or 3 t e s t s (see F i g s . 10-
In s i t u t e s t p r o g r a m m e
12) - a r a t h e r s m a l l s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n (s -
T h e t o t a l n u m b e r o f i n s i t u t e s t s is 26. The 3mm) is o b s e r v e d .
a r r a n g e m e n t s a r e s h o w n in F i g s . 7 - 9 a n d t h e c a l ­
In T a b l e II a c e r t a i n c o r r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e
c u l a t e d v a l u e s of Y o u n g ' s m o d u l u s E are shown
a b o v e - m e n t i o n e d r a t i o s a n d r 0 is o b s e r v e d .
in F i g s . 1 0 - 1 2 . The p r o c e d u r e s for d e r i v i n g E

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TABLE I
[m ]A LEVEL SITE C
D a t a for the f o o t i n g s
SURFACE Legend
& SPT Site F o o t i n g N u m b e r of D i m e n s ion Depth Load
type footings D q
E = ( 7 \ f N ) MPa m m kPa

<7 C P U Dutch mantle conel

Central 1 5.300 2.90 302
E = (8 /q 7 7 q 'o ) M P a
q o= 1 MPa
Column 12 1.95x1.95 1.78 292
o Pressu rem ete r t e s t
E = Ep Central 1 1 0.00 3.90 169

Column 16 3.6x4.4 2.14 90

a S c re w -p la te te s t
E = 0.90 r o d p s / d ô
C Central 1 1 3.00 3.55 151
r0 = 67 mm

T A B L E II

O b s e r v e d and c a l c u l a t e d s e t t l e m e n t s

Site Footing Obs. SPT CPT

type s / s s. /s
sr s s/ s r s ts/ s r c r tc r
mm

Central 36 1.80 0.96 1.71 0.91

A
Column 36 1.29 1.11 1.25 1.07

Central 14 3.23 1.07 3.21 1.06

B
Column 10 3.02 1.80 3.17 1.89

C Central 11 3.34 0.89 3. 49 0.93

28
0 20 40 60 80 100 [MPa] s m a l l e r t h a n w h a t is o b t a i n e d b y e q u a t i o n (9)
is a p p r o p r i a t e . If t h e c o n s t a n t r* is c h a n g e d
F i g . 12 E-profiles - Site C
to r t = 0.5 m an e x c e l l e n t c o r r e l a t i o n a p p e a r s
f r o m T a b l e II w h e r e s fcs a n d s tc a r e the recal­
culated values.
T e r z a g h i & P e c k (1967) h a v e p r o p o s e d a w i d e l y
u s e d r e d u c t i o n f a c t o r for l a r g e r f o o t i n g s w h i c h
m a y b e w r i t t e n as:
T h e e n t i r e c a l c u l a t i o n p r o c e d u r e is s u m m a r i z e d
i n F i g . 13 f o r t h e c a s e o f r i g i d f o o t i n g s on
s a n d w i t h P o i s s o n ' s ratio v = 0.33.

where rx = 0.15 m. Equation (9) is actually

CONCLUSIONS
d e r i v e d t o b e u s e d in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h s e t t l e ­
m e n t e s t i m a t i o n b y m e a n s of p l a t e l o a d i n g A s i m p l e p r o c e d u r e for settlement calculation
t e s t s , a n d t h e r e a s o n f o r i t s a p p l i c a t i o n is is p r e s e n t e d m a i n l y b a s e d on t h e t h e o r y of
that a p l a t e l o a d i n g t e s t w i l l n o t be i n f l u ­ elasticity.
e n c e d c o r r e c t l y b y t he i n c r e a s e of stiffness
w i t h d e p t h , as c o m p a r e d w i t h l a r g e r d i m e n s i o n s . T h e m e t h o d is u s e d i n s o m e c a s e s w h e r e e x a c t
r e c o r d s of s e t t l e m e n t s a n d c o r r e s p o n d i n g e x t r a
H o w e v e r , i n t h e p r e s e n t c a s e t h e s t i f f n e s s is loads w e r e available. D e t e r m i n a t i o n of an e m ­
d e t e r m i n e d for all s o i l e l e m e n t s t h a t a r e a n ­ p i r i c a l c o r r e c t i o n f a c t o r is o f f e r e d , y i e l d i n g
t i c i p a t e d to c o n t r i b u t e to t h e t o t a l s e t t l e ­ e x c e l l e n t c o r r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n c a l c u l a t e d and
ment. Nevertheless, a reduction factor although observed settlements.

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SETTLEMENT CALCULATION PROCEDURE

INPUT

For all the single footings:

L e n g t h ( L ) , b r e a d t h (B) , o r r a d i u s (r ), d e p t h
(D), load (q).

P r o f i l e s of S P T or C P T t e s t s for t h e site.
D i s t a n c e s (a) t o a d j a c e n t f o o t i n g s .

CALCULATION PROCEDURE

a. C a l c u l a t e Y o u n g ' s m o d u l u s E by:

(7 -/N) M P a for SPT

<8 ;q 0 = 1 MP3 for Dutch cone
(7 y q ”s / q 0 )MPa ;q Q = 1 M P a for Standard
cone

b. D r a w p r o f i l e o f E a n d d e t e r m i n e N l a y e r s w i t h
a p p r o x i m a t e l y c o n s t a n t Y o u n g ' s m o d u l u s (En ) .

c . D e t e r m i n e d e p t h s to t h e l a y e r s z b e n e a t h
footing base.
LB
C a l c u l a t e r Q = "y— for rectan g u l a r footings.

Calculate
z zn+^
s = qr I [S (-^ ) - S i — -----) ] / E
N 0 0
(find S f r o m graph)

Ca l c u l a t e for each footing

s = c r d s
0 e e
where
4 r i ro
<r i + V 2
and r g , d g are estimated from the graphs.

Calculate influence from M adjacent footings

(loaded simultaneously) by

HAs,
Om
w h e r e b is f o u n d f r o m g r a p h a n d s is t h e
settlement calculated by a - f for the m'th
footing.

h. C a l c u l a t e t h e t o t a l s e t t l e m e n t f r o m

st = s0 + E A sq

q-
vZZZZ. • Z,

■v ,: e , ; v , .
- z,

•"••'•I-
F i g . 13 P r o c e d u r e f o r s e t t l e m e n t c a l c u l a t i o n f o r r i g i d f o o t i n g s in s a n d (v=0.33)
- u s e g r a p h s in t e x t for f l e x i b l e f o o t i n g s o r o t h e r v a l u e s o f P o i s s o n ' s r a t i o

2189
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A s i m p l e d e sign chart covering the most common

cases is included.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s a r e m a d e to t h e N a t i o n a l
A g e n c y of Technology and the National Research
Administration, from whom I have received
grants for this study.

The author would also like to thank the D a n i s h

G e o t e c h n i c a l Institute for sponsoring the pre­
paration of this paper.

REFERENCES
Burland, J.B. (1979). Disc., Session A.Proc.
Conf.on In Situ Investigations in Soils
and Rocks, B r i t . G e o t e c h n . S o c . , London.

Denver, H. (1980). Calculation of settlements

of footings on sand. Ph.D.Thesis, Tech­
nical University of Denmark (in Danish
with English su m m a r y ) .
Denver, H. (1981). A method of settlement cal­
culation. Proc.lOth Int.Conf.on Soil
Mech.and Found.Eng., V o l . 2, Stockholm.
Denver, H. (1982). Modulus of elasticity for
sand determined by SPT and CPT. Proc.of
the 2nd European Symp.on Penetration Test­
ing, ESOPT II, V o l . l , Amsterdam.
Terzaghi, K., R.B.Peck (1948, 1967). Soil
mechanics in engineering practice. John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.
Timoshenko, S.P., J.N.Goodier (1970). Theory
of elasticity. McGraw-Hill Book Company,
Inc.
Whitman, R . V . , F.E.Richart (1967). Design pro­
cedures for dynamically loaded founda­
tions. Proc.ASCE, V o l . 93, NO.SM6, Nov.
1967.

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