Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the ultimate bearing capacity of the
rectangular footing resting over layered sand using finite element method.
Design/methodology/approach: Finite element analysis was used to investigate the
dimensionless ultimate bearing capacity of the rectangular footing resting on a limited
thickness of upper dense sand layer overlying limitless thickness of lower loose sand layer.
The friction angle of the upper dense sand layer was varied from 41° to 46° whereas for the
lower loose sand layer it was varied from 31° to 36°.
Findings: The results reveal that the dimensionless ultimate bearing capacity was found
to increase up to an H/W ratio of about 1.75 beyond which the increase was marginal. The
results further reveal that the dimensionless ultimate bearing capacity was the maximum for
the upper dense and lower loose sand friction angles of 46° and 36°, while it was the lowest
for the upper dense and lower loose sands corresponding to the friction angle of 41° and
31°. For H/W = 0.5 and 2, the dimensionless bearing capacity decreases with the increase
in the L/W ratio from 0.5 to 6 beyond which the dimensionless ultimate bearing capacity
remains constant for all combinations of parameters. The results were presented in nondimensional
manner and compared with the previous studies available in literature.
Research limitations/implications: The analysis is performed using a ABAQUS 2017
software. The limitation of this study is that only finite element analysis is performed without
conducting any experiments in the laboratory. Further the study is conducted only for the
vertical loading.
Practical implications: This proposed numerical study can be used to predict the
ultimate bearing capacity of the rectangular footing resting on layered sand.
Originality/value: The present study gives idea about the ultimate bearing capacity of
rectangular footing when placed on layered sand (dense sand over loose sand) as well as the
effect of thickness of top dense sand layer on the ultimate bearing capacity. The findings could
be used to calculate the ultimate bearing capacity of the rectangular footing on layered sand.
Study on the ultimate bearing capacity of a strip footing influenced by an irregular underlying cavity in karst areas
