ABSTRACT
Exact solutions for the undrained vertical bearing capacity of strip and circular footings on idealized plastic material are well established. Expressed in terms of bearing capacity factor Nc qu/su, where qu is the limiting vertical stress and su the representative undrained shear strength, Nc
strip 5.14 (Prandtl 1921) and Nc
circle 6.05 (for a rough soil/footing interface) (Cox et al. 1961). Very little work has addressed vertical bearing capacity of square footing and no exact solution has been identified.
