Geomechanics and Engineering A
Volume 1, Number 2, 2009, pages 113-120
DOI: 10.12989/gae.2009.1.2.113
Shape factor s? for shallow footings
Viktor Puzakov, Andrew Drescher and Radoslaw L. Michalowski
Abstract
The results of FLAC3D-based numerical evaluation of the bearing capacity shape factor s? are presented for square and rectangular footings on granular soils. The results confirm a peculiar effect found earlier by Zhu and Michalowski (2005), where for large values of internal friction angle, s? exhibits a peak at some aspect ratio of the footing, and then decreases towards unity at large aspect
ratio of the footing, and then decreases towards unity at large aspect ratios. The Zhu and Michalowski�
Key Words
footings; bearing capacity; shape factors; finite element method; three-dimensional analysis; numerical methods.
Address
Viktor Puzakov: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, U.S.A.
Andrew Drescher: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, 500 Pillsbury, Minneapolis, MN 55455, U.S.A.
Radoslaw L. Michalowski: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, MI 48109, U.S.A.