Introduction

The bearing capacity of soil is given by the equation Qa  = Qu/FS in which Qa is

the allowable bearing capacity (in kN/m2 or lb/ft2), Qu is the ultimate bearing
capacity (in kN/m2 or lb/ft2) and FS is the safety factor. The ultimate bearing
capacity Qu is the theoretical limit of the bearing capacity.

Much like how the Leaning Tower of Pisa leans due to the deformation of soil,
engineers use these calculations when determining the weight of buildings and
houses. As engineers and researchers lay down foundation, they need to make
sure their projects are ideal for the ground that supports it. Bearing capacity is
one method of measuring this strength. Researchers can calculate the bearing
capacity of soil by determining the limit of contact pressure between the soil and
the material placed on it.

These calculations and measurements are performed on projects involving bridge

foundations, retaining walls, dams and pipelines that run underground. They rely
on the physics of soil by studying the nature of the differences caused by pore
water pressure of the material underlying the foundation and the inter-granular
effective stress between the soil particles themselves. They also depend upon
fluid mechanics of the spaces between soil particles. This accounts for cracking,
seepage and the shear strength of the soil itself.
Formula for Bearing Capacity of Soil

Shallow foundations include strip footings, square footings and circular footings.
The depth is usually 3 meters and allow for cheaper, more feasible and more
easily transferable results.

Terzaghi Ultimate Bearing Capacity Theory dictates that you can calculate the
ultimate bearing capacity for shallow continuous foundations Qu with Qu = c
Nc  + g D Nq  + 0.5 g B Ng in which c is the cohesion of soil (in kN/m2 or
lb/ft2), g is the effective unit weight of soil (in kN/m3 or lb/ft3), D is the depth of
footing (in m or ft) and B is the width of the footing (in m or ft).

For shallow square foundations, the equation is Qu with Qu = 1.3c Nc + g D Nq +
0.4 g B Ng and, for shallow circular foundations, the equation is Qu  = 1.3c Nc + g
D Nq  + 0.3 g B Ng.. In some variations, the g is replaced with γ.

The other variables depend upon other calculations. Nq is e2π(.75-ф' /360)tanф' /

2cos2(45+ф'/2), Nc is 5.14 for ф'=0 and Nq-1/tanф' for all other values of
ф', Ng is tanф' (Kpg/cos2ф' - 1)/2.
Kpg is obtained from graphing the quantities and determining which value
of Kpg accounts for the trends observed. Some use Ng  =
2(Nq+1)tanф'/(1+.4sin4ф')_ as an approximation without needing to calculate
_Kpg.

There can be situations in which the soil shows signs of local shear failure. This
means the soil strength cannot show enough strength for the foundation because
the resistance between the particles in the material isn't great enough. In these
situations, the square foundation's ultimate bearing capacity is Qu = .867c Nc + g
D Nq  + 0.4 g B Ng  , the continuous foundation's i_s_ Qu = 2/3c Nc + g D Nq +
0.5 g B Ng and the circular foundation's is Qu = .867c Nc + g D Nq + 0.3 g B
N__g.

Methods of Determining Bearing Capacity of Soil

Deep foundations include pier foundations and caissons. The equation for
calculating ultimate bearing capacity of this type of soil is is Qu  = Qp  + Qf  _in
which _Qu is the ultimate bearing capacity (in kN/m2 or lb/ft2), Qp is the
theoretical bearing capacity for the tip of the foundation (in kN/m 2 or lb/ft2)
and Qf is the theoretical bearing capacity due to shaft friction between the shaft
and soil. This gives you another formula for bearing capacity of soil
You can calculate the theoretical end bearing (tip) capacity
foundation Qp as Qp  = Apqp in which Qp is the theoretical bearing capacity for the
end bearing (in kN/m2 or lb/ft2) and Ap is the effective area of the tip (in m2 or ft2).

The theoretical unit tip-bearing capacity of cohesion-less silt soils qp is qDNq and,

for cohesive soils, 9c, (both in kN/m2 or lb/ft2). Dc is the critical depth for piles in
loose silts or sands (in m or ft). This should be 10B for loose silts and
sands, 15B for moderate density silts and sands and 20B for very dense silts and
sands.

For the skin (shaft) friction capacity of pile foundation, the theoretical bearing
capacity Qf is Afqf for a single homogeneous soil layer and pSqfL for more than
one layer of soil. In these equations, Af  _is the effective surface area of the pile
shaft, _qf is kstan(d), the theoretical unit friction capacity for cohesion-less soils
(in kN/m2 or lb/ft) in which k is the lateral earth pressure, s is the effective
overburden pressure and d is the external friction angle (in degrees). S is the
summation of differing soil layers (i.e. a1 + a2 + .... + an).

For silts, this theoretical capacity is cA + kstan(d) in which cA is the adhesion. It is

equal to c, the cohesion of soil for rough concrete, rusty steel and corrugated
metal. For smooth concrete, the value is .8c to c, and, for clean steel, it
is .5c to .9c. p is the perimeter of the pile cross section (in m or ft). L is the
effective length of the pile (in m or ft).

For cohesive soils, qf = aSu in which a is the adhesion factor, measured

as 1-.1(Suc)2 for Suc less than 48 kN/m2 where Suc  = 2c is the unconfined
compression strength (in kN/m2 or lb/ft2). For Suc greater than this value, a = [0.9
+ 0.3(Suc  - 1)]/Suc.

What is the Factor of Safety?

The safety factor ranges from 1 to 5 for various uses. This factor can account for
magnitude of damages, relative change in the chances a project may fail, the soil
data itself, tolerance construction and accuracy of design methods of analysis.
For instances of shear failure, the safety factor varies from 1.2 to 2.5. For dams
and fills, the safety factor ranges from 1.2 to 1.6. For retaining walls, it's 1.5 to
2.0, for shear sheet piling, it's 1.2 to 1.6, for braced excavations, it's 1.2 to 1.5, for
shear spread footings, the factor is 2 to 3, for mat footings it is 1.7 to 2.5. By
contrast, instances of seepage failure, as materials seep through small holes in
pipes or other materials, the safety factor ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 for uplift and 3 to
5 for piping.

Engineers also use rules of thumb for the safety factor as 1.5 for retaining walls
that are overturned with granular backfill, 2.0 for cohesive backfill, 1.5 for walls
with active earth pressure and 2.0 for those with passive earth pressures. These
safety factors help engineers avoid shear and seepage failures as well as the soil
may move as a result of the load bearings on it.

Practical Calculations of Bearing Capacity

Armed with the test results, engineers calculate how much load the soil can safely
bear. Beginning with the weight required to shear the soil, they add a safety factor
so the structure never applies enough weight to deform the soil. They can adjust
the footprint and depth of a foundation to stay within that value. Alternatively,
they can compress the soil to increase its strength, by, for instance, using a roller
to compact loose fill material for a roadbed.

Methods of determining bearing capacity of soil involve the maximum pressure

that the foundation can exert onto the soil such that the acceptable safety factor
against shear failure is below the foundation and the acceptable total and
differential settlement are met.

The ultimate bearing capacity is the minimum pressure that would cause the shear
failure of the supporting soil immediately below and adjacent to the foundation.
They take into account the shear strength, density, permeability, internal friction
and other factors when building structures on soil.

Engineers use their best judgement with these methods of determining bearing
capacity of soil when performing many of these measurements and calculations.
The effective length requires the engineer making a choice about where to start
and stop measuring. As one method, the engineer may choose to use the pile
depth and subtract any disturbed surface soils or mixtures of soils. The engineer
may also choose to measure it as the length of a pile segment in a single soil layer
of soil that consists of many layers.

What Causes Soils to Become Stressed?

Engineers need to account for soils as mixtures of individuals particles that move
around with respect to one another. These units of soils can be studied to
understand the physics behind these movements when determining the weight,
force and other quantities with respect to the buildings and projects engineers
build upon them.

Shear failure can result from the stresses applied to soil that cause the particles to
resist one another and disperse in ways that are detrimental to building. For this
reason, engineers must be careful in choosing designs and soils with appropriate
shear strengths.

The Mohr Circle can visualize the shear stresses on the planes relevant to

building projects. The Mohr Circle of Stresses is used in geological research of
soil testing. It involves using cylinder-shaped samples of soils such that the radial
and axial stresses act on the layers of soils, calculated using planes. Researchers
then use these calculations to determine the bearing capacity of soils in
foundations.
Classifying Soils by Composition

Researchers in physics and engineering can classify soils, sands and gravels by
their size and chemical constituents. Engineers measure the specific surface area
of these constituents as the ratio of the surface area of particles to the mass of the
particles as one method of classifying them.

Quartz is the most common component of silt and sand and mica and feldspar are
other common components. Clay minerals like montmorillonite, illite and
kaolinite make up sheets or structures that are plate-like with large surface areas.
These minerals have specific surface ares from 10 to 1,000 square meters per
gram of solid.

This large surface area allows for chemical, electromagnetic and van der Waals
interactions. These minerals can be very sensitive to the amount of fluid that may
pass through their pores. Engineers and geophysicists can determine the types of
clays present in various projects to calculate the effects of these forces to account
for them in their equations.

Soils with high-activity clays can be very unstable because they are very sensitive
to fluid. They swell in the presence of water and shrink in its absence. These
forces can cause cracks in the physical foundation of buildings. On the other
hand, materials that are low-activity clays that are formed under more stable
activity can be much more easy to work with.

PRESUMPTIVE BEARING CAPACITY

The table given below shows the presumptive bearing capacity values for different
types of soils. This table will guide you to reach at any conclusion after conducting
the test.

Safe / Allowable Bearing Capacity

Type of Soil / Rock
(kg/cm2)
Rock 32.40
Soft rock 4.40
Coarse sand 4.40
 Medium sand 2.45
Fine sand 4.40
Soft shell / Stiff clay 1.00
Soft clay 1.00
Very soft clay 0.50

NOTES TO REMEMBER

1. For non-cohesive soils the values should be reduced by 50% if the water
table is above or near base of footing.
2. These values should be used only for preliminary design. The actual bearing
capacity of soil should be calculated as per the standard codes.