Bearing Capacity

4.1 Introduction
Many engineers use the bearing capacity equations developed by Terzaghi, Hansen, Meyerhoff, and Vesic to find the bearing capacity of foundations. On the other hand, there are rule of thumb methods that have been used for many years by engineers. In this chapter some of the rule of thumb methods to compute bearing capacity will be presented.

4.2 Bearing Capacity in Medium to Coarse Sands

As mentioned in Chapter 1, the strength of sandy soils is dependent upon the friction angle. The bearing capacity in coarse to medium sands can be obtained using the average SPT (N ) value. This can be known in standard units or SI units. For standard or fps (foot pound second) units, (where ksf refers to 1,000 pounds per square foot): Bearing capacity of coarse to medium sands (allowable) = 0.2 Naverage (ksf) (not to exceed 12 ksf ). And for SI units: Bearing capacity of coarse to medium sands (allowable) = 9.6 Naverage (kPa) (not to exceed 575 kPa). STEP 1: Find the average SPT (N ) value below the bottom of footing to a depth equal to width of the footing. STEP 2: If the soil within this range is medium to coarse sand, the above rule of thumb can be used. If the average SPT (N) value is less than 10, the soil should be compacted.

Design Example 4.1

A shallow foundation is placed on coarse to medium sand. The SPT (N ) values below the footing are as shown in Fig. 4.1. The footing is 2 m 2 m. The bottom of the footing is 1.5 m below the ground surface. Find the allowable load bearing capacity of the footing. Solution

STEP 1: Find the average SPT(N) value below the footing to a depth that is equal to the width of the footing. average SPT(N) = (10 + 12 + 15 + 9 + 11 + 10)/6 average SPT(N) = 11 STEP 2: Calculate the allowable bearing capacity. 9.6SPT(N)kPa = 9.611kPa = 105 kPa total allowable load on the footing = allowable bearing capacity area of the footing = 105 (2 2) kN = 420 kN (94 kip) where kip = 1,000 lb