Comprehensive design charts for the footing on slope problem

Abstract

The problem of a rigid foundation resting near a slope or cut is a problem commonly experienced in engineering practice. Some of the major examples of this problem include mobile phone towers, bridge abutments and basement construction of high--rise buildings. This project illustrates the use of explicit finite difference software (FLAC) to analyse the behaviour exhibited by the slope due to loading. The purpose of this research was to create a comprehensive set of design charts for the footing on slope problem. These design charts use nondimensional axes in order to allow the practising engineer to better visualise trends that exist due to the various dimensions of the problem. The FLAC model used to obtain results for use in the design charts was validated against a number of available solutions. These included Upper Bound--Lower Bound, and physical model solutions. Extensive parametric studies were conducted into the effect of the H/B, D/B, Strength, Surcharge and Stability Number Ratios. A number of illustrated examples were prepared to enable easy use of the design charts created for this project. These allow the user to learn the skills necessary to obtain the bearing capacity of a given footing on slope using the design charts. These examples increase the value of the design charts to practicing engineers greatly.In addition to the studies conducted for the smooth foundation case, used for creating the design charts, analysis into the case of a rough soil--footing interface was conducted. The results from this analysis were that the smooth soil-foundation interface case is conservative and provides a lower bearing capacity than the rough soil-foundation interface case