Optimal surface for corner combined footings assuming that the ground contact area works partially in compression considering that the maximum pressure is located at the corner of the footing: Part 1

This paper presents the optimal surface for corner combined footings assuming that the contact area with the soil works partially in compression (one part of the contact surface of the footing is subjected to compression and the other part is not subjected to compression or tension). The methodology is developed by integration to obtain the resultant force and resultant moments on the X and Y axes acting on the footing due to soil pressure. The three types that can occur depending on the location of the maximum pressure are: 1) Corner of the footing; 2) At one end and on the outer side of the footing; 3) At one end and on the inner side of the footing. In this work, the simplified equations are shown when the maximum pressure is located in corner of the footing. Some engineers obtain the contact area of the footing by the trial and error method. Other authors present the minimum area for a corner combined footing taking into account that the contact area with the soil works completely in compression. Numerical examples are shown to obtain the minimum area of the footings and the results are compared with the current model. The new model shows a smaller soil contact area in some cases than the current model.