Dilatancy Effects on Surface Foundations on Dry Sand
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23, Issue 3
Abstract
This paper presents the results of finite-element analyses of rigid-surface strip foundations on dry cohesionless soil subjected to displacement-controlled vertical loading. A two-surface constitutive model with a non-associated flow rule, representing the full range of pressure-dependent drained shear strength and volume change behavior of dry sand, is employed to model the soil. A range of foundation widths and sand initial relative densities is covered. The results show that, for narrow, rigid-strip foundations, the conventional bearing-capacity calculation provides a reasonable indication of the load-carrying capacity of the foundation. However, there is no peak in the load-carrying capacity for wide foundations, and the load–deformation curve exhibits stiffening behavior, even at large settlements; this is particularly apparent at larger values of the initial relative density. Based on the results, it is observed that with the increase in vertical foundation loading, the vertical stiffness of the foundation increases with each loading increment, due to the tendency of the dense sand to become more dilatant with the increase in confining pressure. At large settlements, the state of the sand beneath the foundation approaches the critical state. Settlement vectors beneath the foundations on dense sand reveal that the displacements approximate one-dimensional compression.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The work of the first-named author was funded by the University of Canterbury Quake Center (UCQC), the University of Auckland Department of Civil Engineering, and Andy O'Sullivan Geotechnical Engineering. All the analyses have been done through the Mahuika high-speed computing platform of New Zealand e-Science Infrastructure (NeSI). The helpful advice of Dr. Christopher McGann and Dr. Alborz Ghofrani, and intellectual inputs of my colleagues Dr. Yuri Wong and Dr. Romain Meite on aspects of the OpenSees software is much appreciated. Also, the corresponding author expresses his gratitude to his PhD examiners and reviewers, Prof. Richard Bathurst, Dr, Rolando Orense, and Prof. Majid Manzari, who helped raise the quality of this work by their comments.
References
Arulmoli, K., K. Muraleetharan, M. Hossain, and L. Fruth. 1992. Verification of liquefaction analysis by centrifuge studies laboratory testing program soil data. Technical Rep. Irvine, CA: Earth Technology Corporation.
Bolton, M. 1986. “Strength and dilatancy of sands.” Géotechnique 36 (1): 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1986.36.1.65.
BSI (British Standards Institution). 2004. Geotechnical design, general rules. BS EN 1997-1:2004: Eurocode 7. London: BSI.
Burland, J., and M. Burbidge. 1985. “Settlement of foundations on sand and gravel.” Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng. 78 (6): 1325–1381. https://doi.org/10.1680/iicep.1985.1058.
Chen, Y., W. Zhao, J. Han, and P. Jia. 2019. “A CEL study of bearing capacity and failure mechanism of strip footing resting on c-φ soils.” Comput. Geotech. 111: 26–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2019.03.015.
Coll, A., R. Ribo, M. Pasenau, E. Escolano, J. S. Perez, A. Melendo, A. Monros, and R. J. Ga. 2016. Gid v.13 user manual. [computer software].
Dafalias, Y. F., and M. T. Manzari. 2004. “Simple plasticity sand model accounting for fabric change effects.” J. Eng. Mech. 130 (6): 622–634. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9399(2004)130:6(622).
Etezad, M., A. M. Hanna, and M. Khalifa. 2018. “Bearing capacity of a group of stone columns in soft soil subjected to local or punching shear failures.” Int. J. Geomech. 18 (12): 04018169. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0001300.
Jeremić, B., Z. Cheng, M. Taiebat, and Y. Dafalias. 2008. “Numerical simulation of fully saturated porous materials.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 32 (13): 1635–1660. https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.687.
Lee, K. L., and H. B. Seed. 1967. “Drained strength characteristics of sands.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. 93: 171–141. https://doi.org/10.1061/JSFEAQ.0001048.
Loukidis, D., and R. Salgado. 2011a. “Active pressure on gravity walls supporting purely frictional soils.” Can. Geotech. J. 49 (1): 78–97. https://doi.org/10.1139/t11-087.
Loukidis, D., and R. Salgado. 2011b. “Effect of relative density and stress level on the bearing capacity of footings on sand.” Géotechnique 61 (2): 107–119. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.8.P.150.3771.
Manzari, M. T., and Y. F. Dafalias. 1997. “A critical state two-surface plasticity model for sands.” Géotechnique 47 (2): 255–272. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1997.47.2.255.
McGann, C. R., P. Arduino, and P. Mackenzie-Helnwein. 2012. “Stabilized single-point 4-node quadrilateral element for dynamic analysis of fluid saturated porous media.” Acta Geotech. 7 (4): 297–311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-012-0168-5.
McKenna, F., S. Mazzoni, and G. Fenves. 2019. Open system for earthquake engineering simulation (OpenSees) software version 3.1.0 [computer software]. Berkeley, CA: Univ. of California.
Muhs, H. 1965. “On the phenomenon of progressive rupture in connection with the failure load: Discussion.” In Vol. 3 of Proc., 6th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundations Engineering, 419–421. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Pender, M. J., and A. Kamalzadeh. 2019. “Insights from advanced numerical modeling into the pseudo-static design of gravity retaining walls. “In Proc., 7th Int. Conf. on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering for Protection and Development of Environment and Constructions, 535–549. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Perkins, S. W., and C. R. Madson. 2000. “Bearing capacity of shallow foundations on sand: A relative density approach.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 126 (6): 521–530. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2000)126:6(521).
Richart, F., R. Woods, and J. Hall Jr. 1970. Vibration of soils and foundations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Salgado, R., P. Bandini, and A. Karim. 2000. “Shear strength and stiffness of silty sand.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 126 (5): 451–462. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2000)126:5(451).
Shahir, H., A. Pak, M. Taiebat, and B. Jeremić. 2012. “Evaluation of variation of permeability in liquefiable soil under earthquake loading.” Comput. Geotech. 40: 74–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2011.10.003.
Terzaghi, K. 1943. Theoretical soil mechanics. New York: Wiley.
Terzaghi, K. 1956. “Discussion on paper by Skempton and MacDonald: The allowable settlements of buildings.” Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng. 5 (Part 3): 775.
Vesic, A. S. 1973. “Analysis of ultimate loads of shallow foundations.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. 99 (1): 45–73. https://doi.org/10.1061/JSFEAQ.0001846.
Yamaguchi, H., T. Kimura, and N. Fujii. 1976. “On the influence of progressive failure on the bearing capacity of shallow foundation in dense sand.” Soils Found. 16 (4): 11–22. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf1972.16.4_11.
Zahmatkesh, A., and A. J. Choobbasti. 2017. “Calibration of an advanced constitutive model for Babolsar sand accompanied by liquefaction analysis.” J. Earthq. Eng. 21 (4): 679-699. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632469.2016.1172378.
Zeevaert, L. 1973. Foundation engineering for difficult subsoil conditions. 2nd ed. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23 • Issue 3 • March 2023
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 18, 2022
Accepted: Sep 27, 2022
Published online: Dec 21, 2022
Published in print: Mar 1, 2023
Discussion open until: May 21, 2023
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.