ABSTRACT
Bearing capacity of footings, the most important design aspect for structures, is calculated most commonly considering the soil as homogenous and semi-infinite. Naturally deposited clay exhibits a complex variation of undrained shear strength with depth, depending upon the stress history, climatic and environmental exposure, etc. Many studies assume the soil as rigid plastic but in practice soft soil shows non-linear response. In the present study, footings resting on a two-layered soil consisting of dense granular fill over desiccated normally consolidated deposit (DNC) are analyzed considering the non-homogeneity and compressibility of the soils. The analysis is performed for circular footing using PLAXIS software. Bearing pressure – settlement responses are obtained for different thicknesses of sand bed. Effect of depth of footing on the bearing pressure – settlement response of granular bed overlying DNC is also studied.
