Semianalytical Solution for Evaluating Bearing Capacity of a Footing Adjacent to a Slope

Abstract

The study of the influence of foundations, placed adjacent to slopes, on the bearing capacity is of great importance in geotechnical engineering. The available analytical and empirical methods have some limitations in considering the soil properties and the location of the footings on the top surface of the slope. To overcome these limitations, finite element analysis (FEA) is usually performed. However, FEA requires significant computational effort and, therefore, the need for an analytical solution that can consider all the effective parameters on bearing capacity of the foundation still exists. Hence, a new analysis is proposed. In this regard, the stress distribution within a slope, due to the placement of a footing on the upper surface of the slope, is evaluated in this study. Following that, the minimum value of the vertical footing load required to destabilize the slope is computed. The strength properties and unit weight of the soil, the width and location of the footing, and the slope geometry are all taken into account in the analysis. The results show good agreement with the literature, including numerical, analytical, and empirical approaches. Thus, the proposed method that is more comprehensive compared with previous solutions can help both researchers and engineers to verify the FEM model or conducting a parametric study of the ultimate bearing capacity of the footing near the slope.