Seismic Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundations Placed on an Anisotropic and Nonhomogeneous Inclined Ground

In the present study, the limit equilibrium method combined with the pseudo-static seismic loading approach and applying the simplified Coulomb failure mechanism were employed for calculating the bearing capacity of nonhomogeneous and anisotropic soils on slopes. It was assumed that the cohesion coefficient was nonhomogeneous and anisotropic and anisotropy effect was ignored for the friction angle. For estimating optimal bearing capacity values, the particle swarm optimization algorithm was used. Comparing the results of previous researchers with those of the present study for isotropic and homogeneous soils indicated that the present solution provided acceptable values for the bearing capacity of shallow foundations. The effect of anisotropy ratio and the nonhomogeneous coefficient on the seismic bearing capacity was evaluated and found that decreasing the anisotropy ratio and increasing the nonhomogeneous coefficient cause an increase in the seismic bearing capacity. Furthermore, the results showed that the depth of the failure zone decreases with increasing the nonhomogeneous coefficient, the anisotropy ratio, and the seismic acceleration coefficient, while the depth of the failure zone increases with an increase in the slope inclination.