Summary
A simple technique is proposed to predict the variation of the bearing capacity of an unsaturated soil with respect to matric suction. This technique is based on extending conventional bearing capacity theory proposed by Terzaghi. The proposed equation in this paper is presented as a functional relationship such that the variation of the bearing capacity of an unsaturated soil with respect to matric suction can be predicted. This technique is developed extending the concepts for predicting the shear strength of unsaturated soils proposed by Vanapalli et al. (1996). Using the approach presented in this paper, the bearing capacity of an unsaturated soil can be predicted using the saturated shear strength parameters, c’ and π’ and the soil-water retention curve (SWRC).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bolton MD (1986) The Strength and Dilatancy of Sands, Geotechnique 36(1):65–78
Broms BB (1963) The Effect of Degree of Saturation on the Bearing Capacity of Flexible Pavements, Highway Research Record 71:1–14
Chen FH (1999) Soil Engineering, Testing, Design and Remediation. CRC Press LLC, N.W., Boca Raton, Florida, USA
Costa YD, Cintra JC, Zornberg JG (2003) Influence of Matric Suction on the Results of Plate Load Tests Performed on a Lateritic Soil Deposit. Geotechnical Testing Journal, 26(2):219–226
Fredlund DG, Rahardjo H (1993) Soil Mechanics for Unsaturated Soils, 1st Ed. Wiley, New York
Garven E, Vanapalli SK (2006) Evaluation of Empirical Procedures for Predicting the Shear Strength of Unsaturated Soils. Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Carefree, Arizona, American Society of Civil Engineers Geotechnical Special Publication 147(2):2570–2581
Kumbhokjar AS (1993) Numerical Evaluation of Terzaghi’s N γ. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers 1999(3):598–607
Meyerhof GG (1951) The Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Foundations, Geotechnique 2:301–332
Miller GA, Muraleetharan KK (1998) In Situ Testing in Unsaturated Soil. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Beijing, China, Vol.1:416–421
Mohamed FMO, Vanapalli SK (2006) Laboratory Investigations for the Measurement of the Bearing Capacity of an Unsaturated Coarse-Grained Soil. 59th Canadian Geotechnical Conference, BC, Vancouver (in print)
Oloo SY (1994) A Bearing Capacity Approach to the Design of Low Volume Traffic Roads. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Oloo SY, Fredlund DG, Gan JK-M (1997) Bearing Capacity of Unpaved Roads. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 34:398–407
Poulos HD, Davis EH (1974) Elastic Solutions for Soil and Rock Mechanics, John Wiley and Sons, New York
Prandtl L (1921) Eindringunsfestigkeit und Festigkeit von Schneiden. Z. Angew. Math. Mech. 1(4):15–20
Schnaid F, Consoli NC, Cudmani RO, Militistsky J (1995) Load-settlement response of shallow foundations in structured unsaturated soils. Proceedings of the First International Conference of Unsaturated Soils, Paris, France 999–1004
Steensen-Bach JO, Foged N, Steenfelt JS (1987) Capillary Induced Stresses – Fact or Fiction? Nineth ECSMFE, Groundwater Effects in Geotechnical Engineering, Dublin 83–89
Terzaghi K (1943) Theoretical Soil Mechanics. John Wiley and Sons, New York
Vanapalli SK, Fredlund DG, Pufahal DE, Clifton AW (1996) Model for the Prediction of Shear Strength with respect to Soil Suction. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 33:379–392
Vanapalli SK, Fredlund DG (2000) Comparison of Empirical Procedures to Predict the Shear Strength of Unsaturated Soils Using the Soil-Water Characteristic Curve, Geo-Denver 2000. American Society of Civil Engineers, Geotechnical Special Publication 99:195–209
Vanapalli SK, Catana MC (2005) Estimation of the Soil–Water Characteristic Curve of Coarse-Grained Soils Using One Point Measurement and Simple Properties. Proceedings of an International Symposium on Advanced Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics 401–410
Vesić AS (1973) Analysis of Ultimate Loads of Shallow Foundations. Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundation Division, ASCE 99(SM1):45–73
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer-Verlag
About this paper
Cite this paper
Vanapalli, S.K., Mohamed, F.M. (2007). Bearing Capacity of Model Footings in Unsaturated Soils. In: Schanz, T. (eds) Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics. Springer Proceedings in Physics, vol 112. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-69873-6_48
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-69873-6_48
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-69872-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-69873-9
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)