Interference of proposed footing with an existing footing resting on non-linearly elastic dense and loose cohesionless soil bed

Abstract

The study was performed using finite element analysis to find interference effect of a footing, which is proposed to be constructed in close proximity of an existing footing resting on a semi-infinite non-linearly elastic dense and loose cohesionless soil bed obeying the widely used hyperbolic constitutive model. The interfering footings are of identical size (B). Varying the clear spacing (S) between footings, its effect on the performance of proposed footing in terms of pressure-settlement behaviour, bearing pressure/capacity and settlement aspect at permissible limit has been studied and compared with an isolated/existing footing and with interfering footings loaded simultaneously. Further, the effect of proposed footing on the performance of existing footing has been explored. The results highlight the interference has a significant effect on the bearing pressure/capacity and settlement aspect of the proposed footing and the behaviour is asymmetrical in comparison with the footings loaded simultaneously. The bearing pressure/capacity and settlement at the permissible limit are at their peak at a certain S/B ratio. For footings on dense sand, the interference effect is significant on bearing pressure/capacity aspect, whereas on settlement aspect for footings on loose sand. The overall effect is significant for S/B ≤ 6.0 for footings on dense cohesionless soil bed. © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.