Immediate Settlement of Ring Footings Resting on Inhomogeneous Finite Stratum

Abstract

This paper describes the immediate settlement of uniformly loaded rough ring footings with any stiffness on an inhomogeneous finite layer overlying a rough rigid base, which is not yet covered in the literature. Numerical solutions for a wide range of geometric and material combinations are obtained by finite element method. The effects of dimensionless parameters related to footing internal opening, compressibility, footing stiffness, finite layer thickness and soil inhomogeneity are examined. Based on the results, design charts are presented in the form of settlement influence factors that can be used to calculate the immediate settlements at the inner and outer points of ring footings.

Keywords

• ring footing
• settlement
• finite element method
• elasticity
• inhomogeneity