270 18/ Foundations on Clay and Plastic Silt correlation between strength and .-values from the standard penetration test (Table 5.3). However, the standard penetration test is at best a rather unreliable indicator of the compressive strength of elays, and tests on tube samples are preferable. In-situ vvane tests are often an economicel and tech- nically superior alternative to the use of tube samplers. Ifthe clay contains secondary structural defects, it may be necessary to Fesort to load tests (Art. 18.2). The settlement depends primarily on the compressibility of the clay, which is intie mately related (0 its history of loading, The compressibility can be evaluated most reliably by means of consolidation tests on representative undisturbed samples of 4 10 G-in. diameter, but the cost of obtaining such samples sometimes precludes their use. Smaller samples, if taken by the best tech- niques, may prove satisfactory. In some in- stances, the compressibility of soft clays ean be estimated with sufficient accuracy from the Atterberg limits and natural water content, or from consolidation tests on com- pletely remolded samples (Art. 3.3), Es ‘mates based on such procedures are, hov- ever, inapplicable to preloaded or extra- sensitive clays (Arts, 3.9 and 3.6). In the articles that follow, the bearing ‘capacity and the determination of safe loads are discussed for each of the various types ‘of foundations, Then the general procedures for making settlement forecasts are de- scribed. Finally, attention is given to ex- cavation and stability of slopes in clay and to the lateral movement of structures founded on clay. 18.2, Footings on Clay Ultimate Bearing Capacity. Figure 18.1@ repre- sents a cross section through a long footing with width B, resting at depth Dy below the ‘ground surface. The quantity Dy is known as the depth of foundation or surcharge dept. Its meaning for a footing with different depths fon the tWo sides is shown in Fig. 18.16. The soil beneath the base of the footing consists of intact clay without structural defects such as slickensides or cracks, and the degree of saturation is practically unity. If the footing illustrated in Fig. 18.12 fails, a wedge of soil Océde, as shown on the left side of the figure, must be displaced up- ward and to the left. The weight of the ‘wedge and the shearing strength of the soil along Ockd tend to resist failure. No com- pletely rigorous theory exists for calculating the ultimate bearing capacity under these circumstances, but satisfactory approximate vo me gAe P Shearing force € ae Can efarce Fiours 18.1. (a) Cros section through long footing on clay, showing basis for te beat computation of ul 18 capacity. (8) Section showing D, for footing with surcharge of different depth on each side,Feotings on Clay aL solutions are available. Ix is assumed, as il- the influence ofthe soll above the bate level ‘of the footing can be replaced by a uniform surcharge 7D), Theory and experiment then indicate that the surface of sling consists of a circular section Oc’ and a straight sec- tion 8’, which rises at 45° to the horizontal, All the forces acting on the sliding mass ¢'8'e! are shown in the figure. The condi- tion that these forees must be in equilibrium ‘can be used to evaluate the ultimate bearing. capacity g/. The normal forces across the surface of sliding can produce no frictional shearing resistance on account of the postu- lated condition that ¢ = 0. Qn the other hand, a shearing resistance ¢ (Fig. #.9) per unit of area acts along the surface to oppose the sliding. The results of the evaluation lead to the expression ad = Ne + Dy 181 ‘The net ultimate bearing capacity qu is defined as the pressure that can be supported at the base of the footing in excess of that at the same level due to the surrounding sur- charge; hence gem gd — Dy and a=, 182 ‘To emphasize the distinction between ¢4 and qd the latter is known as the gross ulti mate bearing capacity. In eq. 18.2, Nis a dimensionless bering-apacty factor having, {or a long continuous footing on the surface of the clay deposit, the value 5.14. ‘The value of Nor a footing varies some- what with the ratio of the width B to the Tengeh Z, and with the depth of surcharge D,, as indicated in Fig. 18.2 (Skempton, 1951). For any given value of Dy/B, Fig 18.2 shows that the bearing capacity factor for circular and square footings is approxi- mately 1.2 times the corresponding value for 2 long continuous footing. A straight- line interpolation may be used for rectangu- lar footings having intermediate values of BIL. 20, Bearing capacity factor, Me of Ratie of aeptn of surcharge, Of, fo wath of toting, @ Fount 182 Bearing capacity factors for founda- tiors on clay under ¢ = 0 conditions (after Skempton, 1951) Safe Soil Pressure. Under dead load plus the ‘maximum live loads that can normally be expected, the factor of safety against a bearing-capacity failure should be on the order of 3. The allowable soil pressure ¢. {Art 10.4) may, therefore, be taken as one third the net ultimate soil pressure (ea. 182) 183, 184 Equation 18.4 and values of NV. from Fig 18.2 provide the basis for the curves shown in Fig. 18.3. For given values of sol strength and D;/B, the net allowable soil pressure gu for continuous footings may be obtained direetly from the chart. For rectangular footings the chart values are multiplied by (1 + 0.2B/L); hence, for square or eireular footings the inerease is 20 per cent. Appro- priate adjustments may be made to the values for factors of safety other than 3,ne 18/ Foundations on Clay and Plastic Silt 8 gy & g 3 Ay 3 ot tin ses Ficunt 18,3, Net allowable soil pressure for footings on clay and plastic alt, determined for a factor of safety of 3 against bearing capacity failure (@ = 0 conditions). Chart values are for continuous footings (B/L = 0); for rectangular footings, multiply values by 1 + 0.2 B/L; for square and circular footings, multiply values by 12, The ratio of depth of surcharge to width ‘of footing for mast footings is commonly less than 1, Figure 18.3 reveals that, under these conditions, the net allowable pressure is roughly equal to the unconfined compres sive strength of the clay. Because of the variations that normally occur even in relatively uniform clay de- posits, the value of qu in eq, 18.4 or Fig, 18.3 Should represent the average for a depth B below the base of the footing, The uncon- fined compressive strength should be deter- mined at 6-in, intervals in the vertical diree- tion, The strength of some of the samples may be estimated if the technician is experi- ‘enced, but at least one out of every five samples should be tested, If, on the other hand, the clay is not fairly uniform but instead a soft layer is located within a depth B below the base of the footing, the strength of the soft layer is likely to determine the factor of safety of the footings. This condi- tion is shown in Fig. 21.2, and its significant effects on footing design are discussed in Art, 21.3. TE the strength of the soil decreases with depth, the safety of a large footing may be much less than that of a small one. More- ‘over, under these conditions eq, 18.4 and the curves of Fig. 18.3 can be used for se- lecting the safe load on a single footing ‘only if that footing is so far from its neigh- bors that the stresses in the subsoil beneath it are not significantly influenced by the surrounding footings. If one or more soft layers are located in the subsoil at a depth ‘even greater than B below the base of the footing, a computation should be made to ascertain whether the pressure at the top of any of the soft layers exceeds the safe value for that layer. If it does, the design should be revised ‘The pressure at the top of a deep layer of clay can be estimated by means of the influ- cence chart described in Art. 18.6. However, it is often more expedient and sufficiently accurate (0 assume that the pressure at the base of the footing spreads out uniformly within the confines of a truncated pris with sides sloping outward from the edges ‘of the footing at 2 vertical to | horizontal. We the clay contains a nework of eracks or slickensides, the procedure based on the uundrained shear strength as determined from unconfined compression or field vane tests should not be used because the strength of the clay depends on the spacing and nature of the defects instead of the shearing resistance ofthe intact fragments themselves Under these circumstances it may be neces- sary to resort to load tests, ‘The details of the loadstest arrangement ‘depend on the spacing of the cracks, the 8 ‘of the footing, and the degree of uniformity of the clay. To make sure that a representa tive number of cracks is included, the test plate (Fig. 18.4) should be at least 2 feet square. The effect of surcharge around the plate should be eliminated. Hence, the test should be conducted in a pit with a width at least three times that of the plate. The Joad should be applied in increments, and after each increment the deformation should