WEEK 5

Bearing Capacity of
Shallow Foundation
(TERZAGHI METHOD)

Dr Muhammad Irfan bin Shahrin

Introduction
Foundation :
• Integral (lowest) part of the structure which _________________of
transferthe load
the
superstructure to the soil underneath.

• It ‘s a member that provide support for the structure and it’s load.

• The foundation must be safe against __________________or

failure
shear
______________
bearing capacity

failure in the soil that support it.

Introduction
Foundation :

• So far in our study, we have established the properties of soils and their
respond to the loadings.

• An important task of a geotechnical engineer is to use the knowledge of

the soil properties and their response to the loadings to design
foundations.

• As engineer, you will have to decide on the types of foundation to be used,

their geometries, and method of construction.
Type of
Foundation

• Shallow foundation is a type of foundation that transfers the load of

the structure to the underground, very near to the ground surface.

• Shallow foundation normally used when the soil conditions

immediately below the structure are sufficiently strong (firm) and
capable of supporting the required load.
Type of
Foundation

• Usually, the more economical option

• As a general rule, consider deep foundations only when shallow

foundations do not give satisfactory design

• Types of Shallow foundations

• _______footings (square, circular, rectangular)

• _______ Footings
• _______ Footings
• _____ or _______ Foundations
Type of shallow
foundation

PAD FOOTING

STRIP FOOTING
7
Combined/Strap Footing

8
Construction Methods
convertial method
.

•Excavation; Backhoe followed by handwork

o Neat footing-no formwork used
o Formed footing
confirm that the
the shape is not same
·

can

9
Computation of Bearing Pressure

• Bearing Pressure
__________Pressure (q)
__________Pressure(q´)

• Bearing Capacity
________ Bearing Capacity (qult)
________ Bearing Capacity (qall)
 What is Bearing Capacity ??

• Bearing capacity : It is the ______________ of the

soil.
• Basic definitions Ultimate bearing capacity or Gross
bearing capacity (qu):
– It is the least gross pressure which will cause shear failure
of the supporting soil immediately below the footing.

The problems of soil mechanics can be divided into two

principal groups - _______________and ________________

- Karl Terzaghi, 1943

 Shallow Foundations
Bearing Capacity

• Net ultimate bearing capacity (qnett )

– It is the net pressure that can be applied to the footing by external
loads that will just initiate failure in the underlying soil.
– It is equal to ultimate bearing capacity minus the stress due to
the weight of the footing and any soil or surcharge directly above
it.
– Assuming the density of the footing (concrete) and soil (g ) are
close enough to be considered equal, then
q -q
!!"## = !$ − $%% Q( net ) all = u .A
FS

q = __________
Bearing Capacity Failure
• where, Df is the depth of the footing.

sketch

• Safe bearing capacity:

• It is the bearing capacity after applying the factor of safety (FS). These are
of two types:
• Safe net bearing capacity (qns ) :
• It is the net soil pressure which can be safety applied to the soil
considering only shear failure. It is given by:-

"!#$$
"!" =
$%

• Safe gross bearing capacity (qs ):

• It is the maximum gross pressure which the soil can carry safely
without shear failure. It is given by:

""%&# = "!" + '(&

• Allowable Bearing Pressure:

• It is the maximum soil pressure without any shear failure or
settlement failure.
Bearing Capacity Failures

Types/Modes of Failure
• _______ shear failure
• _______ shear failure
• _______ shear failure
General Shear Failure
sketch

• Happen mainly in relatively _____ soils (dense sand)

• Occurs when a continuous failure surface developed between the ______
of the footing and ground surface. (bulging on ground surface adjacent to
the foundation)
• Exhibit distinct failure plane. (sudden or catastrophic failure)
Local Shear Failure
sketch

• Common for soils with ______________and clay with medium compaction.

• Small amount of bulging might be observed. (shear failure surface end
somewhere inside the soil.)
• Failure plane ____________defined
Punching Shear Failure
sketch

• Common for soils with __________ and ____________.

• Failure surface does not extend to the ground surface. (Foundation sinks
into soil like a __________)
• Slip surfaces may be confined to the surfaces of rigid wedge.
• Failure is characterized by ______________
Model Tests by
Vesic (1973)
 General Guidelines

• Footings in clays - general shear

• Footings in Dense sands
(Dr> 67%) - general shear
• Footings in Loose to Medium dense
(30%< Dr< 67%) - Local Shear
• Footings in Very Loose Sand
(D<r 30%) - punching shear
TERZAGHI FAILURE ZONE
TERZAGHI FAILURE ZONE
Terzaghi Bearing Capacity
Formulas
 Assumptions in Terzaghi’s Bearing
Capacity Theory

• Consider ____________
• Depth of foundation is less than or equal to its width [__ ≤ __]
• Base of the footing is ______.
• Soil above bottom of foundation has no shear strength; it is only
a surcharge load against the overturning load
• footing is very rigid compared to soil
• Surcharge up to the base of footing is considered. Equivalent
surcharge, (q = _____ )
• Load applied is _______ and _________.
• The soil is _________ and _________.
• L/B ratio is infinite

* Depth of embedment (Df) :

25
depth below the ground surface
where of foundation rests
Terzaghi Bearing Capacity Formulas
For Continuous/Strip footing: *(q = !" f )
qult = c¢N c + qN q + 0.5g ¢BN g
For Square footing :
qult = 1.3c¢N c + qN q + 0.4g ¢BN g

For Circular footing :

qult = 1.3c¢N c + qN q + 0.3g ¢BN g
For Rectangular footing :
æ Bö æ Bö
qult = c¢N c ç1 + 0.3 ÷ + qN q + 0.5g ¢BN g ç1 - 0.2 ÷
è Lø è Lø 26
 THE BEARING CAPACITY TERMS

• c term ~ cNc : referred to soil _________ below the

base of footing.

• q term ~ qNq : referred to overburden due to the soil

above footing/ _____________

• g term ~ gBNg: referred to the ____________of the

soil below base of footing
 Terzaghi Bearing Capacity Factors
2
aq
Nq =
2 cos (45 + f ¢ / 2)
2

aq = exp[p (0.75 - f ¢ / 360) tan f ¢]

Nc = 5.7 when f ¢ = 0
Nq -1
Nc = when f ¢ > 0
tan f ¢
tan f ¢ æ K pg ö
Ng = çç - 1÷÷
2 è cos f ¢ ø
2
28
Bearing Capacity Factors
Terzaghi’s Bearing Capacity theory
For foundation that exhibit local shear failure mode in soils, Terzaghi suggested
modifications to the equation of ultimate bearing capacity (qu) by replacing the cohesion (c)
with (c’) = 2/3c and angle of internal friction Φ become Φ’ where tan φ’ = 2/3 tan Φ .

Hence,
1) For continuous/ strip footing:
qu = 2/3cNc + qNq + 1/2γ’BNγ

2) For square footing:

qu = 0.867cNc + qNq + 0.4γ’BNγ

3) For circular footing:

qu = 0.867cNc + qNq + 0.3γ’BNγ
Bearing Capacity Formulas for Pure clay

qult = N c su + s zD
 Tutorial 1

1) A square footing (2.25 x 2.25)m is placed at depth

of 1.5 m in sand with shear strength parameters c’ =
0 and Ø’ = 38º. The unit weight of the sand is 18
kN/#). Determine the allowable bearing capacity
using terzhagi’s bearing capacity. (Use factor of
safety, FOS = 3)
 Tutorial 2

2) A square footing (1.5m x 1.5m) m in plan is

placed at depth of embedment is 1m with friction
angle Ø = 20º and cohesion, c = 15.2 kpa. The unit
weight of the soil γ = 17.8 kN/m3. Determine the
net allowable bearing capacity for a factor of safety
FOS=3. Assume local shear failure occurs in the
soil. (Hint : need to modified qu)