Seismic Bearing Capacity of Strip Footings on Ground Reinforced by Stone Columns Using Upper-Bound Solutions

Abstract

In this technical note, the seismic bearing capacity coefficients of shallow foundations placed on soft ground reinforced by stone columns are evaluated based on the upper-bound theorem of limit analysis. A kinematically admissible failure mechanism is developed that permits the evaluation of the bearing capacity under various values of the horizontal seismic coefficients. A series of design charts covering a wide range of parameters are presented to provide guidelines for the preliminary design of groups of stone columns in seismically active zones. The results from previous studies and an upper-bound limit-state plasticity failure discretization scheme [employing discontinuity layout optimization (DLO)] are used to validate the accuracy of the developed formula.