Bearing Capacity of Gravity Bases on Layered Soil

Abstract

A new numerical method for evaluating the bearing capacity of shallow foundations on layered soil which may contain any combination of cohesive and cohesionless layers is presented. Several potential failure surfaces are analyzed and the minimum material factor for which the foundation is stable is determined. Comparisons between the results obtained with the new method, a number of semi‐empirical solutions for uniform and two‐layer systems, experiments and other numerical methods including finite elements, provide a valuable assessment of the performance of the various methods currently used and demonstrate the validity of the new method.