Seismic Bearing Capacity of a Circular Footing on a Heterogeneous Cohesive Soil

ABSTRACT This study concerns the determination of the seismic bearing capacity of a circular footing resting on a purely cohesive heterogeneous soil layer. The problem is treated using the kinematic approach of the Yield Design theory. The soil strength is modelled by the Tresca criterion with C0 the cohesion at the soil surface and G the vertical cohesion gradient. The loading process of the system is described by four loading parameters: an inclined force (N: vertical component, V: horizontal component), a moment (M) acting at the center of the footing and horizontal uniform inertial forces (Fh) acting in the soil volume during the seismic excitation. Two cases are considered for the soil: a soil with an infinite tensile strength and a soil with zero tensile strength. The soil-footing interface is considered purely cohesive with zero tensile strength. The study presents optimal upper bounds for the ultimate combinations of the dimensionless loading parameters (N, V, M, Fh) by the examination of a series of three-dimensional virtual kinematic mechanisms of failure. The results are presented in the form of surfaces in the space of the parameters (N, V, M) for a range of values of Fh.

[1]  Roberto Paolucci,et al.  SEISMIC BEARING CAPACITY OF SHALLOW STRIP FOUNDATIONS ON DRY SOILS , 1997 .

[2]  Alexander M. Puzrin,et al.  Generalized Framework for Three-Dimensional Upper Bound Limit Analysis in a Tresca Material , 2003 .

[3]  G. Auvinet,et al.  The Mexico Earthquake of September 19, 1985—Behavior of Building Foundations in Mexico City , 1988 .

[4]  Jean Salençon,et al.  Introduction to the yield design theory and its applications to soil mechanics , 1990 .

[5]  Jean Salençon,et al.  CAPACITE PORTANTE DES FONDATIONS SUPERFICIELLES CIRCULAIRES , 1982 .

[6]  A. Pecker,et al.  Ultimate bearing capacity of shallow foundations under inclined and eccentric loads. II: Purely cohesive soil without tensile strength , 1995 .

[7]  Xiangwu Zeng,et al.  Bearing capacity failure of shallow foundations in earthquakes , 1998 .

[8]  Arnoult Cuvillier.  Aspects mécaniques du creusement d'un tunnel en milieu poreux saturé , 2001 .

[9]  George Eason,et al.  The plastic indentation of a semi-infinite solid by a perfectly rough circular punch , 1960 .

[10]  Ursula Hebinck,et al.  Challenges of Offshore Geotechnical Engineering , 2008 .

[11]  Thomas F. Coleman,et al.  An Interior Trust Region Approach for Nonlinear Minimization Subject to Bounds , 1993, SIAM J. Optim..

[12]  Mark Randolph,et al.  Combined loading of skirted foundations , 1998 .

[13]  Alain Pecker,et al.  SEISMIC BEARING CAPACITY OF FOUNDATION ON COHESIONLESS SOIL. DISCUSSION , 1995 .

[14]  S. K. Sarma,et al.  SEISMIC BEARING CAPACITY FACTORS OF SHALLOW STRIP FOOTINGS , 1990 .

[15]  Roberto Paolucci,et al.  Soil inertia effects on the bearing capacity of rectangular foundations on cohesive soils , 1997 .

[16]  Susan Gourvenec,et al.  Effect of strength non-homogeneity on the shape of failure envelopes for combined loading of strip and circular foundations on clay , 2003 .

[17]  A. Pecker,et al.  Ultimate bearing capacity of shallow foundations under inclined and eccentric loads. I: Purely cohesive soil , 1995 .

[18]  D. G. Elms,et al.  Seismic bearing capacity and settlements of foundations , 1993 .

[19]  K. L. Fishman,et al.  Inclination Factors for Seismic Bearing Capacity , 2003 .

[20]  Jonathan Knappett,et al.  Mechanisms of failure for shallow foundations under earthquake loading , 2006 .

[21]  Alexander M. Puzrin,et al.  Upper bound limit analysis of circular foundations on clay under general loading , 2003 .

[22]  Jyant Kumar,et al.  Seismic bearing capacity factors for spread foundations , 2002 .

[23]  Alexander M. Puzrin,et al.  New planar velocity fields for upper bound limit analysis , 2003 .

[24]  Didier Subrin,et al.  Stabilité du front d'un tunnel en milieu frottant : un nouveau mécanisme de rupture 3D , 2002 .

[25]  A. P. Green.  The plastic yielding of metal junctions due to combined shear and pressure , 1954 .