scholarly journals Influence of Natural Cavities on the Design of Shallow Foundations

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1119
Author(s):  
Jesús Luis Benito Olmeda ◽  
Javier Moreno Robles ◽  
Eugenio Sanz Pérez ◽  
Claudio Olalla Marañón

When inner cavities of significant dimensions exist in natural rocks, problems arise when a shallow foundation for a building, bridge or other structure is builtonthem. Thus, taking one of the most representative cavity geometries in nature, the ellipsoidal horizontal shape, the main objective of this study is to obtain the ultimate bearing capacity of the foundation with cavities of different sizes and positions, on rock masses with different strengths and deformation characteristics. The study focuses on natural rocks of karst origin (in limestones, dolomites or gypsums) and of volcanic origin. The ultimate bearing capacity is determined relative to a situation without the existence of the cavity for different cavern positions and sizes, rock types (mi), strengths (UCS), and states (GSI) of the rock mass. The results showed that the most decisive parameter is the relative eccentricity. The influence of the rock type (Hoek’s parameter mi) is, for practical purposes, negligible (lower than 10%). The strength and condition of the rock mass (parameters UCS and GSI) have relatively little influence on the results obtained. This study aims to provide a simple design criteria for universal use, with different geometric configurations and qualities of rock masses that can be used directly without the need for sophisticated calculations by the designer.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 12068
Author(s):  
Ana Alencar ◽  
Rubén Galindo ◽  
Claudio Olalla Marañón

This paper aims to study the bearing capacity of a shallow foundation on rock mass, considering the most usual bridge footing width and adopting a Hoek–Brown material. The dimension of the foundation has been shown to be very significant in soils with linear failure criteria (Mohr–Coulomb envelope), and its study is necessary in the case of non-linear failure criteria, typical of rock masses. Analytical solutions do not allow incorporating this effect. A parametric study by a finite difference method was carried out, studying a wide variety of rock mass through sensitivity analysis of three geotechnical parameters: geological origin of the rock mass (mi), uniaxial compressive strength, and geological strength index. The results obtained by the numerical solution for the Hoek–Brown failure criterion were compared with the analytical results by adopting the classical hypotheses of plane strain conditions, associated flow rule, and weightless rock mass. The variation of the numerical bearing capacity due to the consideration of the self-weight of the rock mass was also analyzed since its influence is conditioned by the volume of ground mobilized and therefore by the width of the foundation. Considering the similarities observed between the numerical and analytical results, a correlation factor function of the self-weight is proposed. It can be used in conjunction with the analytical method, to estimate in a semi-analytical way the bearing capacity of a bridge foundation.


2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 450-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Y Zhu ◽  
C F Lee ◽  
K T Law

The Terzaghi superposition assumption has been widely used to determine the bearing capacity of shallow footings. Although this assumption always errs on the safe side, a rigorous procedure to calculate the bearing capacity is still of engineering value. This paper presents such a procedure that is free from errors as a result of the superposition assumption. It demonstrates that the ultimate bearing capacity can be precisely expressed by the Terzaghi equation, except that the bearing capacity factor Nγ is dependent upon the surcharge ratio. A recently developed numerical method, i.e., the critical slip field method, is used to calculate the modification coefficient for modifying Nγ. It is found that this modification coefficient increases with the surcharge ratio at small values of surcharge ratio and then remains constant for large values of surcharge ratio. However, the errors invoked by the superposition assumption do not exceed 10%. On the basis of numerical calculations, a simple closed-form expression of the modification coefficient is proposed that yields the theoretically rigorous ultimate bearing capacity. In the later part of the paper, errors in bearing capacity calculations owing to the use of conventional procedures are analyzed. It is concluded that the continued use of conventional procedures is justified, but the inherent errors should not be neglected in assessing the performance of shallow foundations.Key words: shallow foundation, strip footing, ultimate bearing capacity, critical slip field.


1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 545-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.T. Omar ◽  
B.M. Das ◽  
V.K. Puri ◽  
S.C. Yen

Laboratory model test results for the ultimate bearing capacity of strip and square foundations supported by sand reinforced with geogrid layers have been presented. Based on the model test results, the critical depth of reinforcement and the dimensions of the geogrid layers for mobilizing the maximum bearing-capacity ratio have been determined and compared. Key words : bearing capacity, geogrid, model test, reinforced sand, shallow foundation.


2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lai-Yun Wu ◽  
Yi-Feng Tsai

AbstractApplying the principle of virtual work, the slice element method, and the variational method proposed in this paper, one can derive the governing equation and transversality conditions for the rupture surface of a sliding mass of retaining wall and shallow foundation under several external conditions. The governing equation, transversality, and boundary conditions can be solved by the finite difference method (FDM) proposed in this paper, so that the rupture surface and its associated earth pressure acting on the retaining wall or the ultimate bearing capacity acting on the foundation can be determined effectively. By comparison of our results with those of some well known earth pressure and bearing capacity estimating methods, it can be concluded that determining the earth pressure on a retaining wall or the ultimate bearing capacity of a shallow foundation by using the variational method and FDM proposed in this paper, a logical and reasonable result can be obtained without the necessity of guessing the rupture surface.


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