Axial Compression of Footings in Cohesionless Soils. II: Bearing Capacity

An extensive database of full-scale field load tests was used to examine the bearing capacity for footings in cohesionless soils. Each load test curve was evaluated consistently to determine the interpreted failure load (i.e., bearing capacity ) using the L-1-L-2 method. This test value then was compared with the theoretical bearing capacity, computed primarily using the basic Vesic model. The comparisons show that, for footing widths B > 1 m, the field results agree very well with the Vesic predictions. However, for B < 1 m, the results indicated a relationship between B and the predicted-to-measured bearing capacity ratio. Accordingly, a simple modification was made to the bearing capacity equation, and the resulting predictions are very good.