Deep Undrained Bearing Capacity of Rectangular Foundations in Uniform Strength Clay
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 10
Abstract
The deep vertical bearing capacity of rectangular foundations of varying aspect ratios (0.2–10) are explored within a coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) finite element modeling framework. The CEL model is verified against existing numerical and theoretical solutions. For accurate shallow bearing capacity assessment, large deformation finite element (LDFE) solutions were found to be suitable if penetration resistance is extracted at normalized penetration depths of less than 5% of the foundation width. The deep bearing capacity factor for a circular foundation was predicted within for a smooth foundation and for a rough foundation. Soil weight and stiffness were found to have no impact on the penetration resistance at shallow depths but to influence the resistance at deeper depths. The relative foundation thickness has a profound influence on the deep bearing capacity factor (). Increasing the normalized foundation thickness from 0.1 to 0.5 increased the bearing factor by more than 20%. An alternate soil flow mechanism was discovered responsible for this increase. The deep bearing capacity factor for a rectangular foundation was found to nonlinearly increase with the footing aspect ratio. An exponential form of equation was shown to capture well the effects of varying aspect ratio and footing thickness. The effect of the common assumption of a rigid foundation on bearing capacity in geotechnical numerical analyses has been revisited.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The first author is supported by a Central Queensland University (CQU) New Staff Research Grant (NSRG). The work presented here was undertaken with support from CQU HPC (high-performance computing) facilities. These supports are gratefully acknowledged.
References
ABAQUS. 2017. Analysis user’s manual, version 2017. Providence, RI: Dassault Systemes Simulia.
Bagheri, F., and M. H. El Naggar. 2015. “Effects of installation disturbance on behavior of multi-helix piles in structured clays.” J. Deep Found. Inst. 9 (2): 80–91. https://doi.org/10.1179/1937525515Y.0000000008.
Benson, D. J., and S. Okazawa. 2004. “Contact in a multi-material Eulerian finite element formulation.” Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 193 (39): 4277–4298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cma.2003.12.061.
Bowles, J. E. 1997. Foundation analysis and design. 5th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.
Cox, A. D., G. Eason, and H. G. Hopkins. 1961. “Axially symmetric plastic deformation in soils.” Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 254: 1–45. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1961.0011.
Gavin, K., P. Doherty, and A. Tolooiyan. 2014. “Field investigation of the axial resistance of helical piles in dense sand.” Can. Geotech. Eng. J. 51 (11): 1343–1354. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2012-0463.
Gourvenec, S., M. F. Randolph, and O. Kingsnorth. 2006. “Undrained bearing capacity of square and rectangular footings.” Int. J. Geomech. 6 (3): 147–157. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1532-3641(2006)6:3(147).
Hossain, M. S., and M. F. Randolph. 2009. “New mechanism based design approach for spudcan foundations on single layer clay.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 135 (9): 1264–1274. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000054.
Hu, P., D. Wang, M. J. Cassidy, and S. A. Stanier. 2014. “Predicting the resistance profile of a spudcan penetrating sand overlying clay.” Can. Geotech. J. 51 (10): 1151–1164. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2013-0374.
Hu, Y., and M. F. Randolph. 1998. “A practical numerical approach for large deformation problems in soil.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 22 (5): 327–350. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-9853(199805)22:5%3C327::AID-NAG920%3E3.0.CO;2-X.
Kusakabe, O., H. Suzuki, and A. Nakase. 1986. “An upper bound calculation on bearing capacity of a circular footing on a non-homogeneous clay.” Soils Found. 26 (3): 143–148. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf1972.26.3_143.
Liu, J., M. Li, Y. Hu, and C. Han. 2017. “Bearing capacity of rectangular footings in uniform clay with deep embedment.” Comput. Geotech. 86 (Jun): 209–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2017.01.019.
Martin, C., and M. Randolph. 2001. “Applications of the lower and upper bound theorems of plasticity to collapse of circular foundations.” In Proc., 10th Int. Conf. on Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics. Delft, Netherlands: CRC Press/A.A. Balkema.
Merifield, R. S. 2011. “Ultimate uplift capacity of multiplate helical type anchors in clay.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 137 (7): 704–716. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000478.
Micahlowski, R. L., and E. M. Dawson. 2002. “Three-dimensional analysis of limit loads on Mohr–Coulomb soil.” Found. Civ. Environ. Eng. 1 (1): 137–147.
Michalowski, R. L. 2001. “Upper bound load estimates on square and rectangular footings.” Géotechnique 51 (9): 787–798. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2001.51.9.787.
Oñate, E., M. A. Celigueta, S. R. Idelsohn, F. Salazar, and B. Suárez. 2011. “Possibilities of the particle finite element method for fluid–soil–structure interaction problems.” Comput. Mech. 48 (3): 307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00466-011-0617-2.
Prandtl, L. 1921. “Über die eindringungsfestigkeit (härte) plastischer baustoffe und die festigkeit von schneiden.” Zeit. Angew. Math. Mech. 1 (1): 15–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/zamm.19210010102.
Qiu, G., S. Henke, and J. Grabe. 2011. “Application of a coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian approach on geomechanical problems involving large deformations.” Comput. Geotech. 38 (1): 30–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2010.09.002.
Salgado, R., A. V. Lyamin, S. W. Sloan, and H. S. Yu. 2004. “Two and three-dimensional bearing capacity of foundations in clay.” Géotechnique 54 (5): 297–306. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2004.54.5.297.
Shield, R. T., and D. C. Drucker. 1953. “The application of limit analysis to punch indentation problems.” J. Appl. Mech. 20: 453–460.
Skempton, A. W. 1951. “The bearing capacity of clays.” In Proc., Building Research Congress, 180–189. Ottawa: National Research Council of Canada.
Terzaghi, K. 1943. Theoretical soil mechanics. London: Chapman and Hall.
Ullah, S. N., and Y. Hu. 2017. “Peak punch-through capacity of spudcan in sand with interbedded clay: Numerical and analytical modelling.” Can. Geotech. J. 54 (8): 1071–1088. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2016-0597.
Ullah, S. N., Y. Hu, S. Stanier, and D. White. 2017a. “Lateral boundary effects in centrifuge foundation tests.” Int. J. Phys. Model. Geotech. 17 (3): 144–160. https://doi.org/10.1680/jphmg.15.00034.
Ullah, S. N., F. H. Lee, U. S. Satchithananthan, Z. Chen, and H. Gu. 2018. “A 3D RITSS approach for total stress and coupled-flow large deformation problems using ABAQUS.” Comput. Geotech. 99 (Jul): 203–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.01.018.
Ullah, S. N., S. Stanier, Y. Hu, and D. White. 2017b. “Foundation punch-through in clay with sand: Centrifuge modelling.” Géotechnique 67 (10): 870–889. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.16.P.100.
Wang, C. X., and J. P. Carter. 2002. “Deep penetration of strip and circular footings into layered clays.” Int. J. Geomech. 2 (2): 205–232. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1532-3641(2002)2:2(205).
Wang, D., B. Bienen, M. Nazem, Y. Tian, J. Zheng, T. Pucker, and M. F. Randolph. 2015. “Large deformation finite element analyses in geotechnical engineering.” Comput. Geotech. 65 (Apr): 104–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2014.12.005.
Yi, J. T., F. H. Lee, S. H. Goh, X. Y. Zhang, and J. F. Wu. 2012. “Eulerian finite element analysis of excess pore pressure generated by spudcan installation into soft clay.” Comput. Geotech. 42 (May): 157–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2012.01.006.
Yu, L., Y. Hu, J. Liu, M. F. Randolph, and X. Kong. 2012. “Numerical study of spudcan penetration in loose sand overlying clay.” Comput. Geotech. 46 (Nov): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2012.05.012.
Yu, L., J. Liu, X. Kong, and Y. Hu. 2011. “Three-dimensional large deformation FE analysis of square footings in two-layered clays.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 137 (1): 52–58. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000400.
Zhang, X., K. Krabbenhoft, D. M. Pedroso, A. V. Lyamin, D. Sheng, M. V. da Silva, and D. Wang. 2013. “Particle finite element analysis of large deformation and granular flow problems.” Comput. Geotech. 54 (Oct): 133–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2013.07.001.
Zhang, Y., B. Bienen, M. J. Cassidy, and S. Gourvenec. 2012. “Undrained bearing capacity of deeply buried flat circular footings under general loading.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 138 (3): 385–397. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000606.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 10 • October 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 8, 2019
Accepted: May 25, 2020
Published online: Jul 29, 2020
Published in print: Oct 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Dec 29, 2020
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.