CONCEPT OF BEARING CAPACITY

1.Bearing capacity of soils: bearing capacity or bearing power or bearing value of the soil is The compressive strength and it is governed by excessive settlement. It is defined as the maximum load that a soil can bear per unit area without settlement, cracks, displacement or rupture. it is measured in kN/m2. It is used in design of foundation to avoid failure. 2.Failure: The deformation or settlement of foundation increases with the load. At certain load, there is failure of the foundation due to crushing or shearing of the soil mass. The failure may be due to excessive deformation for settlement of soil strata 3.ultimate bearing capacity: The maximum load per unit area (maximum intensity of load) of soil just at the time of failure, mainly due to large settlement, is known as ultimate bearing capacity of the soil. It is expressed in kN/m2. 4.Safe bearing capacity: It is defined as the safe intensity of loading(safe load per unit area) that the soil can safely carry without any risk of failure irrespective of any settlement.It is considered for the purpose of design.It is expressed in kN/m2.It is also called working or permissible strength, 5.Factor of safety: a.The difference between the ultimate & safe bearing capacities is the reserve strength .It ensures the safety of the structure. It is necessary to take care of unforeseen causes which may seriously affect the system when it is put into service b.Definition:Factor of safety is defined as ratio of ultimate bearing capacity to the safe bearing capacity . factor of safety=ultimate bearing capacity/safe bearing capacity. c.Usual value of this factor is between 2 to 6.Large factor of safety provides more safety but at the cost of economy. Small factor of safety provides economy but at the cost of safety. d.Factor of safety is used to calculate safe bearing capacity for design purpose if ultimate bearing capacity is known 6.Factors affecting bearing capacity of soils: a. Type and nature of soil: Coarse grained soil with less cohesion has better bearing capacity than that of fine grained cohesion soil. b. Physical Properties : some physical properties such as density, shear strength etc. affect bearing capacity. c. Vicinity of water table:The nearness of water table to the soil affects the bearing capacity. d. Environmental conditions: Drainage and accumulation of water affect bearing capacity. e..Differntial settlement:Bearing capacity depends on differential settlements,that the structure has to withstand. f. Moisture contentof soil. g. Degree of soil compaction

h.Types of foundation i. Depth of foundation j. Flexibility of foundation DETERMINATION OF BEARING CAPACITY There are following methods: 1.Local experience: The bearing capacity used in construction of previous similar buildings nearby can be adopted for design purpose.It is a very rough method. 2. Site and soil examination: Engineer can examine the site and classify the soil there. It will enable him to choose proper value of safe bearing capacity. 3.Laboratory test :Laboratory tests are carried out to determine values of cohesive strength, angle of internal friction, density, void ratio etc .These other information can be used to decide the the bearing capacity of soils. Similarly laboratory tests regarding settlement consideration can be used to determine bearing capacity. 4.Standard penetration Test: Standard penetration test and similar other testsare carried out On the soil strata in case of sandy soil(non cohesive soil) to obtain bearing capacity of soil. 5.Theoretical Consideration:Prandts analysisor Terzaghis theory or similar theoretical considerations can be used to arrive at the bearing capacity of soil. 6.Plate bearing test: this test is conducted on actual site by actual loading. It gives fairly correct idea about the bearing capacity of soil. PLATE BEARING TEST

At first, pit excavated of dimensions which should be as shown in fig. and levelled upto depth at which test is to be carried out. A thin layer of sand or plaster of paris is spread over it .A thick square plate of size 30 to 75 cm placed at the centre below the bottom of test pit.Hydraulic jack is placed over these plates and proving ring is placed underneath steel truss and hydraulic jacks. By applying pressure two hydraulic jack , effort is made to lift the load on main steel girder .This causes compression of proving ring. Compression of proving ring is proportional to the load applied. It is noted by dial gauges. Thus, indirectly the dial gauge will indicate the load applied. To know the settlement /sinking of plate, dial gauges are placed over the steel plates. The dial gauges themselves are supported by datum bar, which is far away from the plates. The steel truss thus offers the reaction. A heavy steel proving ring is placed below deep and strong steel beams and over these beams heavy loads in front of steel joists or cement bags are placed. By trying to lift the load on beam, pressure is exerted over steel plates. The load settlement graph as showing in fig. is plotted,wherefrom ultimate bearing capacity and hence safe bearing capacity can be determined. LIMITATIONS OF PLATE BEARING TEST 1. With rise in water level , bearing capacity reduces .This aspect needs consideration while finalising bearing capacity , especially of non cohesive soils. 2. It is difficult to carry out test at great depths. 3. The results of tests carried on small square plates cannot be used for continuous footing. 4. Settlement in respect of cohesive soils take a lot of time , as such, ultimate settlement of cohesive soils cannot be determined in short period. METHODS OF IMPROVING BEARING CAPACITY OF SOILS If firm strata is not available at a shallow depth , possibillty of adopting other type of foundation or improving bearing capacity of soil strata is required to be explored. Usually by taking foundation to a greater depth may meet with hard strata. Otherwise following measures can be adopted to improve bearing capacity of soil: 1. Lowering depth of water table: Depth of water table below foundation should be lower than the width of foundation. As water table rises , bearing capacity reduces . Water table is lowered by providing suitable permeable soil and drains at slopes around structure. 2. Increasing density of soil by compaction or vibrations : Bearing capacity increases with increase in density of soil. Top loose soil is removed and replaced by thick mixture of sand or gravel with little quantity of clay. Then the mixture is well

compacted manually or mechanically. This reduces the voids between the particles and increases nsity of soil mass. 3. Using sand piles:

In case of very soft clay , hollow pipes are driven at close intervels , inside clay is removed and replaced by sand. Hollow pipe is lifted in stages and sand is compacted.At top, thick layer of sand is provided and loaded.The sand piles help in consolidating clay by removing water quickly and hastening rate of settlement. 4. Vibro floatation :It consist of a long tube with a heavy vibrator and an arrangement to force water under pressure through jets. By forcing water under pressure ,soil around is loosened and vibro float sinks easily,Due to horizontal vibratins soil is densified . The hole is then backfilled with sand and vibro float is withdrawn in stages and process is continued.This method is used where strata consists of thick layer of loose sand. 5. Confining and using driven piles: If strata is very loose , the area around the proposed structure is enclosed by driving wooden or steel sheet piles; thereby restricting the movement of soil outside. The density of soil within the enclosed area is increased by either by methods described earlier or by driving precast piles. Volume occupied by precast piles and vibrations caused during pile driving increases density and thereby bearing capacity. 6. Grouting by use of clay. Bitumen, Cement etc : When strata is highly permeable, suspension or solution of clay, Bitumen or cement is injected under pressure to seal voids, to provide waterproof barrier or to increase strength of strata by cementing it with grouting material.

FOUNDATION: It is part of structure, which receives load of superstructure and transmits it to lower and firmer strata safely without causing excessive settlement or stresses or any damage to superstructure. TYPES OF FOUNDATION There are two main types of foundations as 1. Shallow foundations 2. Deep foundations SHALLOW FOUNDATION: shallow foundations are those which extend up to a reasonable depth from the ground surface. They are useful for general purposes, ordinary buildings having light and moderate loads.They are adopted where sufficient bearing strength is available at shallow depth. If D=depth,W=width Shallow foundation={(D/W)<1}D<5m Types of shallow foundations are: 1.Wall Footings(strips): a.Sprread b.Stepped 2.Column Footings: a.Isolated b.Combined c.Continuous d.Cantilever 3.Other a.Raft or Mat b.Grillage c.Inverted Arches

DEEP FOUNDATION: If soil is not sufficiently strong even upto the reasonable depth,the deep foundation should be used.They are suitable where other foundations such as raft or grillage are not suitable.They are used for heavy structure and multistoried buildings in cities. Types of deep foundations are : 1. Piles 2.Wells 3.Piers