Bearing Capacity

Abstract

In this chapter the case of a strip footing on cohesive material, considered in Chaps. 39 and 40, is extended to a general type of shallow foundation, on a soil characterized by its cohesion c, friction angle $\phi$ and volumetric weight $\gamma$. The soil is assumed to be completely homogeneous. Although the formulas were originally intended to be applied to foundation strips of buildings, at a shallow depth below the soil surface, they are also applied to large caisson foundations used in offshore engineering for the foundation of huge oil production platforms. Although many scientists have contributed to the analysis, the usual reference is to the Danish geotechnical engineer Brinch Hansen, (A revised and extended formula for bearing capacity, Danish Geotechnical Institute, Copenhagen, 1970).