Progressive failure analysis of shallow foundations on soils with strain-softening behaviour

This paper presents a finite element approach to analyse the response of shallow foundations on soils with strain-softening behaviour. In these soils, a progressive failure can occur owing to a reduction of strength with increasing the plastic strains induced by loading. The present approach allows this failure process to be properly simulated by using a non-local elasto-viscoplastic constitutive model in conjunction with a Mohr–Coulomb yield function in which the shear strength parameters are reduced with the accumulated deviatoric plastic strain. Another significant advantage of the method is that it requires few material parameters as input data, with most of these parameters that can be readily obtained from conventional geotechnical tests. To assess the reliability of the proposed approach, some comparisons with experimental results from physical model tests are shown. A fairly good agreement is found between simulated and observed results. Finally, the progressive failure process that occurs in a dense sand layer owing to loading is analysed in details, and the main aspects concerning the associated failure mechanism are highlighted.     

Reliability of shallow foundations designed against bearing failure using LRFD

Worldwide, there is growing interest in the development of a rational reliability-based geotechnical design code. The reasons for this interest are at least two-fold; first, geotechnical engineers face significantly more uncertainties than those faced in other fields of engineering, therefore there is a need to properly characterize and deal with these uncertainties. Second, for decades, structural engineers have used a reliability-based design code, and there is a need to develop the same for geotechnical engineers, in order that the two groups can ‘speak the same language’. This paper develops a theoretical model to predict the probability that a shallow foundation will exceed its supporting soil's bearing capacity. The footing is designed using characteristic soil properties (cohesion and friction angle) derived from a single sample, or ‘core’, taken in the vicinity of the footing, and used in a load and resistance factor design approach. The theory predicting failure probability is validated using a two-dimensional random finite element method analysis of a strip footing. Agreement between theory and simulation is found to be very good. Therefore, the theory can be used with confidence to perform risk assessments of foundation designs and develop resistance factors for use in code provisions.     

Experimental and numerical study of soil-reinforcement effects on the low-strain stiffness and bearing capacity of shallow foundations

This paper presents results of meticulous laboratory testing and numerical simulations on the effect of reinforcement on the low-strain stiffness and bearing capacity of shallow foundations on dry sand. The effect of the location and the number of reinforcement layers is studied in the laboratory, whereas numerical simulations are used to study the reinforcement-foundation interaction. Laboratory tests show an increase of 100, 200, and 275% not only in bearing capacity but also in low-strain stiffness (linear load–displacement behaviour) of a square foundation when one, two, and three layers of reinforcement are used, respectively. The specimen preparation technique is found to be crucial for the repeatability and reliability of the laboratory results (less than 5% variability). Numerical simulations demonstrate that if reinforcements are placed up to a depth of one footing width (B) below the foundation, better re-distribution of the load to deeper layers is achieved, thus reducing the stresses and strains underneath the foundation. Numerical simulations and experimental results clearly identify a critical zone between 0.3 and 0.5B, where maximum benefits not only on the bearing capacity but also on the low-strain stiffness of the foundation are obtained. Therefore, soil reinforcement can also be used to reduce low-strain vibrations of foundations.     

A macroelement formulation for shallow foundations on cohesive and frictional soils

The scope of this paper is to present a macroelement model for shallow foundations encompassing the majority of combinations of soil and foundation–soil interface conditions that are interesting for practical applications. The basic idea of the formulation is to raise the common assumption that the surface of ultimate loads of the foundation is identified as a yield surface in the space of force parameters which the footing is subjected to. Instead, each non‐linear mechanism participating in the global response of the system is modelled independently and the surface of ultimate loads is retrieved as the combined result of all active mechanisms. This allows formulating each mechanism by respecting its particular characteristics and offers the possibility of activating, modifying or deactivating each mechanism according to the context of application. The model comprises three non‐linear mechanisms: (a) the mechanism of sliding at the soil–footing interface, (b) the mechanism of soil yielding in the vicinity of the footing and (c) the mechanism of uplift as the footing may get detached from the soil. The first two are irreversible and dissipative and are combined within a multi‐mechanism plasticity formulation. The third mechanism is reversible and non‐dissipative. It is reproduced with a phenomenological non‐linear hyperelastic model. The model is validated with respect to the existing results for shallow foundations under quasi‐static loading tests. It is shown that although the ultimate surface of the foundation is not explicitly used in the formulation of the model, the obtained force states by the model are always contained within it. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative study of the compression and uplift of shallow foundations

This paper compares the compression and uplift capacity of a strip foundation from numerical coupled analyses using the Modified Cam Clay (MCC) soil model. The focus is on the failure mechanism and pore pressure development in the soil. Triaxial compression and tension tests were first modelled to develop a rigorous understanding of the pore pressure responses; then, the compression and uplift of a strip foundation were modelled. The results show that the balance of excess pore pressures due to the changes in mean total stress and deviatoric stress during the compression and uplift of a strip foundation are different, although the ultimate undrained capacities are identical. Furthermore, the resistance and excess pore pressure responses during uplift differ from those in compression under the K₀-consolidated condition because of the elastic unloading. Although the failure mechanisms have identical shape and size between undrained compression and uplift, the pore pressure distribution in the soil is different and affects the load–displacement behaviours under partially drained compression and uplift.     

Load‐displacement and bearing capacity of foundations on granular soils using a multi‐surface kinematic constitutive soil model

A finite element approach based on an advanced multi‐surface kinematic constitutive model is used to evaluate the bearing capacity of footings resting on granular soils. Unlike simple elastic‐perfectly plastic models, often applied to granular foundation problems, the present model realistically accounts for stress dependency of the friction angle, strain softening–hardening and non‐associativity. After the model and its implementation into a finite element code are briefly discussed, the numerical difficulty due to the singularity at the footing edge is addressed. The bearing capacity factor N_γ is then calculated for different granular materials. The effect of footing size, shape, relative density and roughness on the ultimate bearing capacity are studied and the computed results compare very favourably with the general experimental trends. In addition, it is shown that the finite element solution can clearly represent counteracting mechanisms of progressive failure which have an important effect on the bearing capacity of granular foundations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

矩形浅基础地基极限承载力的理论解

对于非条形浅基础的承载力的求解,目前国内外学者均采用分步单独考虑地基自重影响的求解方法。为求解矩形浅基础地基极限承载力的理论解,首先假定三维地基滑动面,同时考虑黏聚力、超载和土的自重的耦合影响作用,然后在均布荷载作用下根据极限平衡理论,由塑性体的静力平衡条件得到地基承载力计算公式,最后对影响结果的各参数进行了讨论,得出一些有益的结论;通过算例将文中计算公式与几个典型公式计算结果进行了对比分析。验证了文中公式的实用性。     

柔性和刚性浅基础的地基承载能力分析

为了研究刚性和柔性加载面下地基的破坏机制和极限承载力,着重对比分析了不考虑土体自重条件下柔性基础、基底完全光滑或完全粗糙的刚性基础的地基,采用关联流动的Mohr-Coulomb内切圆屈服准则,通过增量加载的有限元方法,全程模拟了地基由初始的线弹性状态逐渐过渡到塑性流动的极限破坏状态的过程。通过对这3种基础类型下地基的计算结果的对比分析,并结合国内外模型试验成果,得到如下结论：柔性和刚性浅基础地基在不考虑土体自重的条件下有相近的地基极限承载力,但基底水平面上竖向应力和位移的发展规律、临塑荷载及滑动面有着明显的区别。     

Support vector machine applied to settlement of shallow foundations on cohesionless soils

The determination of settlement of shallow foundations on cohesionless soil is an important task in geotechnical engineering. Available methods for the determination of settlement are not reliable. In this study, the support vector machine (SVM), a novel type of learning algorithm based on statistical theory, has been used to predict the settlement of shallow foundations on cohesionless soil. SVM uses a regression technique by introducing an ε – insensitive loss function. A thorough sensitive analysis has been made to ascertain which parameters are having maximum influence on settlement. The study shows that SVM has the potential to be a useful and practical tool for prediction of settlement of shallow foundation on cohesionless soil.     

Elasto-viscoplastic finite element study of the effect of degradation on bearing capacity of footing on clay ground

The bearing capacity of footing has been studied by both conventional and numerical methods by many researchers. However, degradation of the microstructure of material, that is, a change in the microstructure of the soil, has not been adequately taken into account. Degradation of microstructure causes strain softening of materials and it leads to strain localization such as shear bands and slip bands. From an engineering point of view the strain localization is crucial because it is a precursor of failure. In the present study, finite element analyses of the bearing capacity of a shallow foundation on homogeneous and inhomogeneous saturated clay strata have been conducted using an elasto-viscoplastic soil constitutive model of microstructure change. A series of analyses of footing on clay deposit with different microstructure parameters have been carried out. Numerical results show that strain localization can be predicted during the loading of rigid footing on highly structured soil and strain localization affects the footing–soil interaction. The effects of footing roughness on the failure mechanism are also discussed in the study.     

Upper-bound multi-rigid-block solutions for bearing capacity of two-layered soils

The limit analysis method has been widely used in the stability analysis of geotechnical problems including the bearing capacity of foundations. Two main approaches have been followed in the limit analysis to improve the calculation of the bearing capacity of foundations. One approach is to combine limit analysis with the finite element method and linear/nonlinear programming. The other is to use a multi-rigid-block mechanism to obtain an upper-bound solution. In this paper, the multi-rigid-block upper-bound method with a modified failure mechanism from that of Florkiewicz [Florkiewicz A. Upper bound to bearing capacity of layered soils. Can Geotech J 1989;26(4):730–6.] was employed to calculate the bearing capacity of foundations. Attention was paid particularly to the bearing capacity of strip footings over a two-layered soil. In order to verify the effectiveness of the modified mechanism, comparisons were made with other well-known solutions. The results showed improvements over the best available multi-rigid-block upper-bound solutions given by Michalowski and Shi [Michalowski RL, Shi L. Bearing capacity of footings over two-layer foundation soils. J Geotech Eng ASCE 1995;121(5):421–8.], and fair consistence with the results from the finite element limit analysis in Shiau et al. [Shiau JS, Lyamin AV, Sloan SW. Bearing capacity of a sand layer on clay by finite element limit analysis. Can Geotech J 2003;40(5):900–15.].     

Application of a non-coaxial soil model in shallow foundations

The influence of a non-coaxial model for granular soils on shallow foundation analyses is investigated. The non-coaxial plasticity theory proposed by Rudnicki and Rice (J. Mech. Phys. Solids 1975, 23, 371–394) is integrated into a Drucker–Prager model with both perfect plasticity and strain hardening. This non-coaxial model is numerically implemented into the finite-element program ABAQUS using a substepping scheme with automatic error control. The influence of the non-coaxial model on footing settlement and bearing capacity is investigated under various loading and boundary conditions. Compared with the predictions using conventional coaxial models, the non-coaxial prediction results indicate that the settlement of a footing increases significantly when the non-coaxial component of plastic strain rate is taken into consideration, although ultimate footing bearing capacities are not affected significantly. The non-coaxial model has a different effect on footing settlements under different loading and boundary conditions. In general, the discrepancies between coaxial and non-coaxial predictions increase with increasing rotation of principal stresses of the soil mass beneath a footing. It can be concluded that if the non-coaxial component of plastic strain rate is neglected in shallow foundation problems using the finite-element method, the results tend to be non-conservative when designs are dominated by settlement of footings.     

Ultimate bearing capacity of equally spaced multiple strip footings on cohesionless soils without surcharge

The ultimate bearing capacity of a group of equally spaced multiple rough strip footings was determined due to the contribution of soil unit weight. The analysis was performed by using an upper bound theorem of limit analysis in combination with finite elements and linear programming. Along the interfaces of all the triangular elements, velocity discontinuities were considered. The value of ξ_γ was found to increase continuously with a decrease in S/B, where (i) ξ_γ is the ratio of the failure load of an interfering strip footing of a given width (B) to that of a single isolated strip footing having the same width and (ii) S is the clear spacing between any two adjacent footings. The effect of the variation of spacing on ξ_γ was found to be very extensive for small values of S/B; ξ_γ approaches infinity at S/B=0. In all the cases, the velocity discontinuities were found to exist generally in a zone only around the footing edge. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of partial factors for the verification of the bearing capacity of shallow foundations under open channels

The limit state design method has been introduced into the design criteria for geotechnical structures. The current paper attempts to apply the reliability-based design method, at Level II, to the bearing capacity of the foundations of open channels from the viewpoint of the limit state design. To examine the applicability of the proposed procedure for practical structures, the reliability index is computed for evaluating the stability of the foundations of existing open channels designed by the conventional method. The conventional design procedure makes excessively safe side design. We applied the FORM to the existing open channels designed by the conventional design procedure, and consequently, large values of reliability index, 3 and 5 were obtained for clayey and sandy soils, respectively. Finally, the partial factors for the soil parameters have been determined, corresponding to the target reliability indices β _t =1, 3 and 4.     

浅基础竖向极限承载力的可靠度分析

结合各种地基土的原始载荷板试验资料,用太沙基理论公式、汉森理论公式和魏西克理论公式进行了浅基础极限承载力的计算,对计算模式的不确定性、土性固有的变异性及由其引起的极限承载力的不确定性等进行了研究;根据以上计算结果,计算了各类地基土承载力的可行度指标;结合上部结构的荷载标准及分项系数,计算了各类地基土承载力的分项系数。     

桶间距对四桶吸力式基础各单向承载力的影响及最优间距的确定

四桶吸力式基础由4个按正方形排列的吸力式桶形基础组成,并通过上部结构连成整体共同承受外部荷载,相比于单桶基础,四桶基础能承受更恶劣的海洋环境荷载,可作为海上风机和海洋平台等结构物的基础,具有广阔的应用前景。为探究饱和软土地基上四桶基础和单桶基础在承载力以及破坏模式方面的关系,优化四桶基础的设计,建立了大量的四桶和单桶基础的三维有限元模型,系统研究了不同基础埋深和土体剪切强度时桶间距对四桶基础各单向承载能力和对应的破坏模式的影响。结果表明,竖向承载力系数受桶间距影响较小,而水平承载力系数受其影响较大,力矩承载力系数受其影响尤为显著;在同一桶间距比时,四桶吸力式基础的各单向承载力系数随基础埋深比的增加逐渐增大,随土体剪切强度不均匀度指标的增大逐渐减小。通过分析四桶基础的各单向承载力、对应的破坏模式和群效应系数,定义了四桶基础的最优桶间距,可为四桶基础桶间距的优化设计提供依据。     

Impedances of rigid cylindrical foundations embedded in transversely isotropic soils

A complete formulation and implementation for assessment of the response to dynamic loads of cylindrical rigid structures embedded in transversely isotropic elastic half‐spaces is presented. The analysis is performed in the frequency domain and the steady‐state structure response is obtained. The method is based on a non‐singular version of the indirect boundary element method which uses influence functions, instead of Green's functions, as fundamental solutions. These influence functions are the response of an elastic half‐space to distributed, internally applied loads. The proposed method imposes full bonding contact between the foundation and the surrounding soil. Numerical results for displacement (vertical and horizontal) and rotation (twisting and rocking) impedances, showing the influence of the soil anisotropy, are presented. Results for the soil–structure interface tractions and for the displacement field throughout the half‐space are also shown. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultimate lateral bearing capacity of tetrapod jacket foundation in clay

The tetrapod jacket foundations that are always used to support offshore wind turbines have been investigated primarily in laboratory experiments. In this study, the ultimate lateral soil resistance on this type of foundation was investigated using the finite element method and the analytical upper bound plasticity method. The numerical results show good agreement with the theoretical upper bound solutions under the same pile spacings (S) and soil-pile adhesion factors (α). Three distinct failure mechanisms (mechanisms A, B and C) were established in terms of different pile spacings. The ultimate lateral pressure was subsequently determined using numerical analyses with consideration of the loading direction. The most critical loading direction angles (θ) vary with the soil-pile adhesion factors, and are θ = 0 for α = 1 and θ = π/4 for α = 0. Selected empirical equations were proposed to predict the ultimate lateral bearing capacity for engineering practice, considering the pile spacing, soil-pile adhesion and loading direction.     

Design of shallow foundations under tensile loading for transmission line towers: An overview

Tensioned foundations are common in civil engineering applications such as transmission towers, harbors, offshore structures, basement slabs under pressure, industrial equipment, etc. Procedures for the design of tensioned foundations are discussed in this paper, including specific recommendations for more common transmission tower foundations. Starting from a distinction between shallow and deep modes of failure, the paper presents the most common failure mechanisms for shallow failure in tension, including procedures for calculation of foundation tensile capacity under vertical and inclined loading. Emphasis is given to the influence of the strength of the compacted backfill compared to the strength of the natural soil, including presentation of results of full-scale loading tests.     

Undrained capacity of surface foundations with zero-tension interface under planar V-H-M loading

Undrained capacity of strip and circular surface foundations with a zero-tension interface on a deposit with varying degrees of strength heterogeneity is investigated by finite element analyses. The method for simulating the zero-tension interface numerically is validated. Failure envelopes for strip and circular surface foundations under undrained planar V-H-M loading are presented and compared with predictions from traditional bearing capacity theory. Similar capacity is predicted with both methods in V-H and V-M loading space while the traditional bearing capacity approach under-estimates the V-H-M capacity derived from the numerical analyses due to superposition of solutions for load inclination and eccentricity not adequately capturing the true soil response. An approximating expression is proposed to describe the shape of normalised V-H-M failure envelopes for strip and circular foundations with a zero-tension interface. The unifying expression enables implementation in an automated calculation tool resulting in essentially instantaneous generation of combined loading failure envelopes and optimisation of a foundation design as a function of foundation size or material factor. In contrast, the traditional bearing capacity theory approach or direct numerical analyses for a given scenario requires ad-hoc analyses covering a range of input variables in order to obtain the ‘best’ design.