Numerical Investigation of the Behavior of Strip Footings under Large Eccentric Loads

Abstract

In this paper, numerical computations using the FLAC code are carried out to investigate of the behavior the bearing capacity of strip footings embedded in sandy soil and under large eccentric vertical load conditions. The study focuses on an evaluation of the non-dimensional reduction factor (RF), which is the ratio between the average bearing capacity of an eccentric footing and its bearing capacity when subjected to a central load. The results indicate a significant decrease in RF when the eccentricity increases and the curve of the decrease is parabolic, even in large eccentricity cases. Based on the numerical results obtained, a new formula of the RF is proposed, and the reasons for the discrepancy between the RF proposed by several authors are identified. The values provided by the proposed formula are in close agreement with some experimental results available in the literature.

Keywords

• bearingcapacity
• reduction factor
• numerical modelling
• large eccentricity