Prediction of the bearing capacity and load-displacement behavior of shallow foundations by the stress-level-based ZEL method

The theory of Zero Extension Lines (ZEL), based on the solution of soil plasticity equations along ZEL directions, has wide applications in determination of the bearing capacity and load-displacement behavior of foundations and retaining walls. It is known that soil behavior and shear strength parameters are stress level dependent. In fact, a dense soil presenting a dilative behavior under low stress levels may show a contractive behavior under higher levels of stress. On the other hand, foundation size has a significant effect on the level of imposed stress on subsoil elements. In this work, the ZEL method is employed to consider the stress level dependency of soil strength in the bearing capacity computation and load-displacement behavior of foundations. A computer code is developed to solve ZEL equations in MATLAB. The results obtained by this numerical model have been then compared with experimental tests and those obtained by other methods.

[1]  Load-displacement characteristics of retaining walls Les caract6ristiques de charge et deplacement des murs de soutenement , 2005 .

[2]  Rodrigo Salgado,et al.  SHEAR STRENGTH AND STIFFNESS OF SILTY SAND , 2000 .

[3]  S A Anvar,et al.  EQUILIBRIUM EQUATIONS, ON ZERO EXTENSION LINES AND THEIR APPLICATION TO SOIL ENGINEERING , 1997 .

[4]  O. Kusakabe,et al.  GEOTECHNICAL MODEL TESTS OF BEARING CAPACITY PROBLEMS IN A CENTRIFUGE , 1985 .

[5]  J. Atkinson,et al.  The Mechanics of Soils and Foundations , 2007 .

[6]  Jyant Kumar,et al.  Bearing capacity factor Nγ for ring footings using the method of characteristics , 2005 .

[7]  George Geoffrey Meyerhof,et al.  Some recent research on the bearing capacity of foundations , 1963 .

[8]  Jyant Kumar,et al.  Effect of Footing Width on Bearing Capacity Factor Nγ for Smooth Strip Footings , 2008 .

[9]  Hisham T. Eid,et al.  Bearing Capacity and Settlement of Skirted Shallow Foundations on Sand , 2013 .

[10]  Scott W. Sloan,et al.  Numerical limit analysis solutions for the bearing capacity factor Nγ , 2005 .

[11]  K. Terzaghi.  Theoretical Soil Mechanics , 1943 .

[12]  De Beer,et al.  THE SCALE EFFECT ON THE PHENOMENON OF PROGRESSIVE RUPTURE IN COHESIONLESS SOILS , 1965 .

[13]  Bengt H. Fellenius,et al.  Stress and Settlement of Footings in Sand , 1994 .

[14]  Aleksandar S. Vesic,et al.  Analysis of Ultimate Loads of Shallow Foundations , 1973 .

[15]  Joseph E. Bowles,et al.  Foundation analysis and design , 1968 .

[16]  M. Budhu.  Soil Mechanics and Foundations , 2000 .

[17]  M. Bolton.  THE STRENGTH AND DILATANCY OF SANDS , 1986 .

[18]  J. Brinch Hansen.  AKADEMIET FOR DE TEKNISKE VIDENSKABER , 2008 .

[19]  Eslami Abou Alfazl,et al.  ANALYTICAL MODEL FOR THE ULTIMATE BEARING CAPACITY OF FOUNDATIONS FROM CONE RESISTANCE , 2006 .

[20]  Vasily Vasilevic Sokolovski,et al.  Statics of soil media , 1960 .

[21]  Bolton,et al.  Scale effects in the bearing capacity of granular soils , 1989 .

[22]  Samuel P. Clemence,et al.  Zero-extension line theory of dynamic passive pressure : J Geotech Engng Div ASCE, V106, NGT6, June 1980, P631–644 , 1980 .

[23]  Alan J. Lutenegger,et al.  Scale effects of shallow foundation bearing capacity on granular material , 2007 .

[24]  Malcolm D. Bolton,et al.  Vertical bearing capacity factors for circular and strip footings on Mohr–Coulomb soil , 1993 .

[25]  Jack I. Clark.  The settlement and bearing capacity of very large foundations on strong soils: 1996 R.M. Hardy keynote address , 1998 .

[26]  Jyant Kumar,et al.  Nγ for rough strip footing using the method of characteristics , 2003 .

[27]  M. Jahanandish,et al.  Effect of stress level on the bearing capacity factor, Nγ, by the ZEL method , 2010 .

[28]  S W Perkins,et al.  BEARING CAPACITY OF SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS ON SAND: A RELATIVE DENSITY APPROACH , 2000 .

[29]  M. Jahanandish.  DEVELOPMENT OF A ZERO EXTENSION LINE METHOD FOR AXIALLY SYMMETRIC PROBLEMS IN SOIL MECHANICS , 2003 .

[30]  Amy B. Cerato,et al.  Bearing Capacity of Square and Circular Footings on a Finite Layer of Granular Soil Underlain by a Rigid Base , 2006 .

[31]  K. Roscoe.  THE INFLUENCE OF STRAINS IN SOIL MECHANICS , 1970 .

[32]  Jyant Kumar,et al.  Effect of footing width on Nγ , 2008 .

[33]  P. L. Bransby,et al.  A Velocity Field for Some Passive Earth Pressure Problems , 1971 .

[34]  P. L. Bransby,et al.  THE MECHANICS OF SOILS, AN INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL STATE SOIL MECHANICS , 1987 .

[35]  M. Jahanandish,et al.  ANALYSIS OF BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS IN SOIL PLASTICITY ASSUMING NON-COAXIALITY , 2004 .

[36]  Itai Einav,et al.  Numerical Study of the Effect of Foundation Size for a Wide Range of Sands , 2009 .

[37]  Radoslaw L. Michalowski,et al.  AN ESTIMATE OF THE INFLUENCE OF SOIL WEIGHT ON BEARING CAPACITY USING LIMIT ANALYSIS , 1997 .

[38]  Arsalan Ghahramani,et al.  Zero Extension Line Theory of Earth Pressure , 1979 .