Bearing Capacity of Strip Footings in Cohesionless Soil Subject to Eccentric and Inclined Loads

AbstractLower-bound calculations based on the FEM are used to determine the bearing capacity of a strip foundation subjected to an inclined, eccentric load on cohesionless soil with varying surcharges and with friction angles of 25, 30, and 35°. The soil is assumed to be perfectly plastic following the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. The results are reported as graphs showing the bearing capacity as a function of the friction angle, eccentricity, inclination, and surcharge. These results have been compared, and for smaller eccentricities, except in the case of no surcharge, the lower-bound values are the greater, the discrepancy increasing with growing surcharge. Positive load inclinations have a negative effect for smaller eccentricities but may have a beneficial effect on the bearing capacity for greater eccentricities. Negative load inclinations have the opposite effect, and especially for small friction angles and great surcharges, other values are considerably greater than the lower-bound values.