ABSTRACT
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The design of footings on clay has been the concern of engineers since the beginning of soil engineering. The classical theory of ultimate bearing capacity developed by Terzaghi more than 60 years ago is still the basic theory used by engineers. In referring to footings on clay, the correct description should be footings on finegrained soils. These include lean clay, fat clay, and plastic silt; the analysis can sometimes be extended to clayey sands (SC) and sandy silt (ML). The basic requirements of designing footings on clay are that the design should be safe against shear failure and the amount of settlement should be tolerable. The shear consideration is theoretically important; it seldom takes place in actual construction. When such failure does occur, it receives attention from the public. The silo tilting in Canada certainly is a good example.
