Bearing Capacity Analysis of Shallow Foundations Supported on an Artificial Fill(Substation at Kashari,Tirana)

摘要

The paper presents conclusions related to the design of shallow foundations,at the site where the Substation at Kashari,in Tirana is foreseen to be constructed.The project includes buildings with small to medium structures with 1-3 stories.The geological survey works include 6 boreholes of a depth 20.0 m,90 SPT(Standard Penetration Tests)tests,and laboratory works include 13 direct shear tests,27 unconfined and compressive strength tests,7 CU(consolidated undrained)tests and 9 UU(unconsolidated undrained)tests,etc.The foundation design must fulfill both,bearing and settlement criteria,but in this case the settlements of foundations are not possible to be calculated,since the laboratory works do not include any consolidation test.So,the local bearing capacity is expected to control the design in terms of bearing capacity and settlements.The local bearing capacity of shallow square foundations is evaluated by using Terzaghi’s formula,based on reduced shear strength parameters of soils below the bottom of foundations.The results are compared with the bearing capacity values calculated by using Burland and Burbdige(1984)method,based on the data of SPT tests.This method is used for checking the settlement(serviceability)criterion in the foundation design,when the direct settlement calculation is missing.The paper presents some conclusions related to local bearing capacity foundation-based design.