• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.51-60
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• 2018

The foundations are classified into shallow and deep, which have important differences: in terms of geometry, the behavior of the soil, its structural functionality, and its constructive systems. The shallow foundations may be of various types according to their function; isolated footings, combined footings, strip footings, and slabs foundation. The isolated footings are of the type rectangular, square and circular. The combined footing may be rectangular, trapezoidal or T-shaped in plan. This paper presents a new model for T-shaped combined footings to obtain the most economical contact surface on the soil (optimal dimensioning) to support an axial load and moment in two directions to each column. The new model considers the soil real pressure, i.e., the pressure varies linearly. The classical model uses the technique of test and error, i.e., a dimension is proposed, and subsequently, the equation of the biaxial bending is used to obtain the stresses acting on each vertex of the T-shaped combined footing, which must meet the conditions following: The minimum stress should be equal or greater than zero, and maximum stress must be equal or less than the allowable capacity that can withstand the soil. To illustrate the validity of the new model, numerical examples are presented to obtain the minimum area of the contact surface on the soil for T-shaped combined footings subjected to an axial load and moments in two directions applied to each column.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.379-394
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• 2022

Shallow footings usually belonged to the category of thick plate structures. For accurate analysis of thick plates, the contribution of out-of-plane components of the stress tensor should be considered in the formulation. Most of the available shallow footing models are based on the classical plate theories, which usually neglect the effects of the out-of-plane stresses. In this study, a mixed-field plate finite element model (FEM) is developed for the analysis of shallow footings rested on soil foundations. In addition to displacement field variables, the out-of-plane components of the stress tensor are also assumed as a priori unknown variables. For modeling the interaction effect of the soil under and outside of the shallow footings, the modified Vlasov theory is used. The tensionless nature of the supporting soil foundation is taken into account by adopting an incremental, iterative procedure. The equality requirement of displacements at the interface between the shallow footing and soil is fulfilled using the penalty approach. For validation of the present mixed FEM, the obtained results are compared with the results of 3D FEM and previous results published in the literature. The comparisons show the present mixed FEM is an efficient and accurate tool for solving the problems of shallow footings rested on subsoil.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.153-167
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• 2011

Traditional design methods of bearing capacity of shallow foundations are deterministic in the sense that they do not explicitly consider the inherent uncertainty associated with the factors affecting bearing capacity. To account for such uncertainty, available deterministic methods rather employ a fixed global factor of safety that may lead to inappropriate bearing capacity predictions. An alternative stochastic approach is essential to provide a more rational estimation of bearing capacity. In this paper, the likely distribution of predicted bearing capacity of strip footings subjected to vertical loads is obtained using a stochastic approach based on the Monte Carlo simulation. The approach accounts for the uncertainty associated with the soil shear strength parameters: cohesion, c, and friction angle, ${\phi}$, and the cross correlation between c and ${\phi}$. A set of stochastic design charts that assure target reliability levels of 90% and 95%, are developed for routine use by practitioners. The charts negate the need for a factor of safety and provide a more reliable indication of what the actual bearing capacity might be.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.223-235
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• 2022

Bearing capacity of shallow foundations is often determined for either dry or saturated soils. In some occasions, foundations may be subjected to external loading which is inclined and/or eccentric. In this study, the ultimate bearing capacity of shallow foundations resting on partially saturated coarse-grained cohesionless and fine-grained cohesive soils subjected to a wide range of combined vertical (V) - horizontal (H) - moment (M) loadings is rigorously evaluated using the well-established limit equilibrium method. The unified effective stress approach as well as the suction stress concept is effectively adopted so as to simulate the behaviour of the underlying unsaturated soil medium. In order to obtain the bearing capacity, four equilibrium equations are solved by adopting Coulomb failure mechanism and Bishop effective stress concept and also considering a linear variation of the induced matric suction beneath the foundation. The general failure loci of the shallow foundations resting on unsaturated soils at different hydraulic conditions are presented in V - H - M spaces. The results indicate that the matric suction has a marked influence on the bearing capacity of shallow foundations. In addition, the effect of induced suction on the ultimate bearing capacity of obliquely-loaded foundations is more pronounced than that of the eccentrically-loaded footings.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.653-671
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• 2023

In practice, the interference influence caused by adjacent footings of structures on geo-reinforced loose soil has a considerable impact on their behavior. Thus, the goal of this study is to evaluate the behavior of two strip footings in close proximity on both geocell and geogrid reinforced soil with different reinforcement layers. Geocell was made from geogrid material used to compare the performance of cellular and planar reinforcement on the bearing pressure of twin footings. Extensive experimental tests have been performed to attain the optimum embedment depth and vertical distance between reinforcement layers. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) analysis has been conducted to monitor the deformation, tilting and movement of soil particles beneath and between twin footings. Results of tests and PIV technique were verified using finite element modeling (FEM) and the results of both PIV and FEM were used to utilize failure mechanisms and influenced shear strain around the loading region. The results show that the performance of twin footings on geocell-reinforced sand at allowable and ultimate settlement ranges are almost 4% and 25% greater than the same twin footings on the same geogrid-reinforced sand, respectively. By increasing the distance between twin footings, soil particle displacements become smaller than the settlement of the foundations.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.193-207
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• 2023

In general, the numerous classical approaches available in the literature can anticipate the settlement of shallow foundations. As long as the footings are not in close proximity to other subsurface buildings, the findings achieved using these methods are legitimate and acceptable. However, due to increased urbanisation and land scarcity, footings are frequently built close together. As a result, these footings' settlement behaviour differs from those of isolated footings. A simpler approach for assessing the settlement behaviour of two square or rectangular footings placed in close proximity is presented in this work. A Parametric study has been carried out to examine the interference effect on the settlement of these footings placed in close vicinity on the surface of a homogeneous, isotropic and elastic soil medium. The interaction factors are examined by varying the different aspect ratios (L/B), clear spacing ratio (S/B) and intensity of loading on the right footing with respect to the left footing. Further, variation of the settlement ratio (δ/B) with respect to embedment depth ratio D_f/B is examined. For square and rectangular footings, the interference settlement profile is also investigated by varying the clear spacing ratio (S/B) and the degree of loading. The results were compared to 3D finite element analysis and experimental data that were available.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.300-307
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• 2006

Integral pile shaft-column foundations are increasingly popular thanks to not only the comparative advantage of economy in constructing large cast-in-drilled-hole(CIDH) piles compared with driven piles with pile cap footings but also being free from problems associated with the critical column-footing connection. In this paper, the structural characteristics of integral pile shaft-column foundations as well as seismic analysis methodology and reinforcement details for seismic design are introduced.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2018

The first part shows the optimal contact surface for T-shaped combined footings to obtain the most economical dimensioning on the soil (optimal area). This paper presents the second part of a new model for T-shaped combined footings, this part shows a the mathematical model for design of such foundations subject to axial load and moments in two directions to each column considering the soil real pressure acting on the contact surface of the footing with one or two property lines restricted, the pressure is presented in terms of an axial load, moment around the axis "X" and moment around the axis "Y" to each column, and the methodology is developed using the principle that the derived of the moment is the shear force. The classic model considers an axial load and a moment around the axis "X" (transverse axis) applied to each column, i.e., the resultant force from the applied loads is located on the axis "Y" (longitudinal axis), and its position must match with the geometric center of the footing, and when the axial load and moments in two directions are presented, the maximum pressure and uniform applied throughout the contact surface of the footing is considered the same. To illustrate the validity of the new model, a numerical example is presented to obtain the design for T-shaped combined footings subjected to an axial load and moments in two directions applied to each column. The mathematical approach suggested in this paper produces results that have a tangible accuracy for all problems.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.127-148
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• 1996

Recently, foundations of heavy structures such as bridge abutments have been built on slopes or near the crest of slopes at an increasing rate. Because the bearing capacity of such foundations is considerably lower than the bearing capacity of the same soil on a level ground, deep footings such as piles and caissons are often used. However, the costs of such methods are generally very high. One of the new techniques to overcome the problem is to place reinforcing members such as geosynthetics or metal strips horizontally at some depths beneath the footings. Rational methods of analysis to predict the bearing capacity of footings in reinforced slopes are therefore needed. This paper proposes an analytical method for estimating the increase in bearing capacity gained from the included horizontal strips or ties of tensile reinforcing in the foundation soil below the footing built near the crest of a slope. A failure mechanism, including the concept of'wide slab effect', adopted in the present study for analyzing the bearing capacity of foundations in reinforced slopes, is established through the observed model test behaviors described by Binquet SE Lee and Huang et al, and the Boussinesq solutions. The analytical results are then compared with the experimental data described in the paper by Huang et al. Also in order to properly evaluate the soil reinforcement interaction, typical pullout test values of the apparent friction coefficient, which usually vary with depths owing to both the increase of the shearing volume and the increase in local stress caused by soil dilatancy, are analyzed and related functionally. Furthermore, analytical parametric studies are carried out to investigate the effect and significance of various pertinent parameters associated with design of reinforced slope foundations. Keywords : Bearing capacity, Reinforced slope, Slab effect, Friction coefficient.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.507-523
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• 2014

Shell foundations have been employed as an alternative for the conventional flat shallow foundations and have proven to provide economical advantage. They have shown considerably improved performance in terms of ultimate capacity and settlement characteristics. However, despite conical shell foundations are frequently used in industry, the theoretical solutions for bearing capacity of these footings are available for only triangular shell strip foundations. The benefits in design aspects can be achieved through theoretical solutions considering shell geometry. The engineering behavior of a conical shell foundation on mixed soils was investigated experimentally and theoretically in this study. The failure mechanism was obtained by conducting laboratory model tests. Based on that, the theoretical solution of bearing capacity was developed and validated with experimental results, in terms of the internal angle of the cone. In comparison to the circular flat foundation, the results show 15% increase of ultimate load and 51% decrease of settlement at an angle of intersection of $120^{\circ}$. Based on the results, the design chart of modified bearing capacity coefficients for conical shell foundation is proposed.