Bearing Capacity of Foundations: Exercises

1. A strip foundation has to carry a load of 58 kN/m. The foundation has to

be installed at a depth of 500 mm in soil with the following properties:
c = 30 kPa; = 180; = 18.7 kN/m3. The water table is at a depth of 300
mm below the ground surface. Use a factor of safety of 2.5 and
determine the required width of the foundation

2. A light industrial factory is being constructed at the edge of an estuary on

an extensive area of deposits comprising gravely sand. A site
investigation has determined that the effective angle of friction for the
granular deposits is 20 0 , the soil unit weight to be 18 kNm -3 above the
water table and 20 kNm -3 below the water table and c 0 . The water
table is predicted to rise to within 1 m depth below the ground surface.

a) Calculate the required dimensions for a square footing founded 1 m

below ground surface to support a load of 240 kN/running metre
from an external column for the factory. Use a factor of safety of
2.5

3. A square footing 2m by 2m is to be constructed 1.22 m below the ground

surface as shown in Fig Q3. The centric column load on the footing is
225 kN. The unit weight of the soil is 18.84 kN/m 3, unit weight of
concrete is 24 kN/m3. The soil is cohesive with unconfined compressive
strength of 144 kN/m2. Assume that the contact pressure can be
Q M x y M yx
computed by using the flexural formula q . The value of
A I xx I yy
NC = 5.157 in the Terzaghi equation if = 0. Determine the following:

a) Soil contact pressure

b) Safe bearing capacity for a factor of safety of 3

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Fig Q3

4. A square footing is to be constructed as shown in Fig Q4. For a factor of

safety of 3, determine the safe load (in kN) that the footing can carry.

Fig Q4

5. A concrete pile of a square cross-section with side length of 0.36 m is

driven 10.5 m in to a clayey soil. The clay is of the following
characteristics: = 18.1 kNm-3; C = 60 kNm-2. Neglecting the self weight
of the pile, calculate the design capacity of the pile if the factor of safety
is 2

6. A circular concrete pile 300 mm in diameter is driven 4.6 m into a sandy

soil with = 280. The water table is at a depth of 1.4 m below the ground
surface. The sand above the water table is saturated (due to capillary
fringe) and has a density of 1830 kg/m 3. For a factor of safety of 2,
determine the safe bearing capacity of the pile

7. A cylindrical ribbed steel pile, 400 mm in diameter is driven 10 m into a

350 mm diameter hole. The soil is composed of two layers whose
properties are a given in Table Q7. The water table is at a depth of 3.6 m
below the surface. Calculate the maximum safe bearing capacity of the
pile if the factor of safety is taken as 2.5

Table Q7
Type of soil Thickness (m) (kN/m3) (0) C (kN/m2)
Sand 0 3.6 18 35
Sand 3.6 7.0 19 (sat) 35
Clay 7.0 10 100

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8. A 12 m long 350 mm diameter circular smooth steel pile has been driven
into a layered deposit as shown in Fig Q8. The water table is at a depth of
2 m below the ground surface. For a factor of safety of 2.5, determine the
ultimate and safe axial load capacity of the pile.

Fig Q8

9. A wooden pile 20 m long with a cross section 381 mm x 381 mm is driven

into a hole 375 mm x 375 mm in a sandy soil for which sat 18.9kN / m
3

and 38 0 . The water table is at a depth of 2 m from the surface. For a

FOS of 2.5 determine the safe bearing capacity of the pile

10. A pile group consists of nine friction-concrete piles in clay soil. The
diameter of each pile is 300 mm and the centre-to-centre spacing is
0.75 m. The embedded length is 10 m. The soil conditions are as
shown in Fig Q10. Take Nc = 5.14 for = 0 for clay and determine the
following:
a) The block capacity of the pile group using a factor of safety of 3;
b) The allowable group capacity based on individual pile failure using a
factor of safety of 2 along with the Converse-Labarre equation for pile-
group efficiency; and
c) The design capacity of the pile group

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Fig Q10

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