Relations between load and settlement of circular foundations on or in a dense sand expressed by a function of diameter and depth

When load acts on a circular foundation on or in a dense sand, average contact pressure on the lower surface of the foundation is q and settlement of the foundation is s. Diameter and depth of the foundation are B and D_f. When the sand, B and D_f are given, we can know the relation between q and s/B by, e.g. a loading test, i.e. the relation is determined by B and D_f for the sand. Using the results of numerical analyses, we express a relation between q and s/B up to s=0.1B by functions of a single variable which is a linear combination of B and D_f. Consequently when two foundations have different B's and different D_f's but have the same value of the variable, the relations are the same. Then we examine whether the functions can express the results of eleven tests of model foundations of wide range of B and/or D_f. In all the tests, the relations are expressed with sufficient accuracy. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.