Determination of Soil Bearing Capacity for Column Footing Design
DOMAINGeotechnical Engineering, Foundation Engineering
TOOLS & TECHNIQUESDirect Shear Test Apparatus, Terzaghi Bearing Equations, Mohr-Coulomb Analysis
Conducted for Geotechnical and Foundation Engineering, this laboratory investigation evaluated the allowable bearing capacity of subgrade soil to support a structural column footing.
Key Engineering Scope
- Direct Shear Laboratory Testing: Performed consolidated drained direct shear tests on soil samples under normal stresses of 50, 100, and 150 kPa per ASTM D3080.
- Shear Strength Parameters: Plotted Mohr-Coulomb failure envelopes to extract apparent cohesion (c) and angle of internal friction (Φ).
- Terzaghi Bearing Calculations: Computed ultimate bearing capacity (qu) using Terzaghi’s square footing equation and empirical bearing capacity factors.
- Foundation Sizing: Applied a safety factor (FS = 3.0) to establish allowable soil bearing capacity (qa), recommending required column footing dimensions.