Investigation of the Bearing Capacity of Strip Footings on Sedimentary Jointed Rocks

Abstract

The allowable bearing capacity for strip footing on the jointed rock has been the subject of considerable geotechnical research over significant time. (Terzaghi, 1943) and many others with their well-known equations of ultimate bearing capacity had expected different modes of failure and adapted his formula with is modes to be easy to use. The value conducted from this analytical calculation always be conservative. In addition, the main parameters involving in these formulas estimated by empirical methods such as RMR, which give values for the rock mass as a whole, not the intact rock and the discontinuities individually. Another formations as (Goodman,1989) and (CFJ,2006), depend mainly on the reduced unconfined compressive strength of the intact unit with rangable percentage or calculated, depending on the discontinuities features. This research study investigates the allowable bearing capacity of jointed rock mass by numerical analysis and analytical analysis. In particular, the study focuses represent the mass by its main contents the intact rock units and the discontinuities, taking into consecration the orientation of these discontinuities and its own properties. A numerical model is developed to simulate a case study of a plate load tests carried in Iran (Agharazi et al., 2012), the site formation is folded limestone formation, the full model was established, i.e., loaded plate, and the surrounding rock, which is considered a dry jointed limestone formation. The finite element method is utilized in numerical analysis. The developed numerical model was verified by simulating the deformation results conducted from the PLT.