WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS IN CONTRIBUTING THE BEARING CAPACITY OF SHALLOW FOUNDATION?

Bearing Capacity of Soil
Bearing Capacity of Soil

Based on Terzaghi’s bearing capacity equation, there are three components in contribution to the bearing capacity:

(i) Surcharge pressure

Foundations are normally not placed directly on the ground level. Instead, they are installed at a depth below the existing ground level. The soil pressure arising from the depth of soils serves as a surcharge imposing a uniform pressure at foundation level. This is represented by ϒDfNq.

Where

ϒ = density of soils,

Df = Depth of foundation,

Nq = Bearing capacity factor

(ii) Self-weight of soils

The self-weight of soils contribute to the bearing capacity and is represented by 0.5ϒBNϒ

Where

ϒ = density of soils,

B = Width of foundation,

Nϒ = Bearing capacity factor

(iii) Shear strength

The shear strength of soils contributes to the bearing capacity and is represented by cNc.

Where

c = Shear strength or cohesion of soil,

Nc = Bearing capacity factor

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