HomeArticlesCorrelationbetweenSoilBearingCapacityandModulusofSubgradeReaction

CorrelationbetweenSoilBearing
CapacityandModulusofSubgrade
Reaction
Dec,2013ByApurbaTribediIn Articles,StructuralDesignComments10

Probablythemostwidelyusedvalueinasoilreportissoilbearingcapacity.The
obviousreasonisthatbasicexamplesgiveninmosttextbooksalmostalwaysuse
bearingcapacitytocalculatetheplandimensionofafooting.Becauseofsimplicity
andeaseofuse,thismethodisstillthefundamentalsoilparameterforfoundation
design.However,thatsimplicityassumesthefootingwillbehaveasarigidbody.
Thatparticularassumptionworkswellinpracticeforsmallandsinglecolumn
footings.Butforlargeandmulticolumnfoundations,mostengineerspreferflexible
analysis.Manualcomputationofflexibleanalysiscouldbechallengingand,in
almostallcases,softwareprogramssuchasSTAAD,SAFE,GTSTRUDLetc.are
used.However,thesecomputerprogramsoftenaskforaninputcalledmodulusof
subgradereaction.Manyengineersarenotfamiliarwiththistermandoftentryto
compareitwithbearingcapacity.Asmoreandmoreengineerswillusesoftwareto
designfoundations,itisessentialforengineerstohaveafundamentalunderstanding
ofthissoilparameter.Isthereanyrelationshipbetweenbearingcapacityand
modulusofsubgradereaction?

ModulusofSubgradeReaction(Ks)
Thistermismeasuredandexpressedasloadintensityperunitofdisplacement.For
theEnglishunitsystem,itisoftenexpressedinkip/in2/inintheSIsystemitis
expressedaskN/m2/m.Someexpressthisterminkip/in3(orkN/m3)whichcanbe
misleading.Numerically,kip/in3iscorrectbutdoesnotproperlyrepresentthe
physicalsignificanceofthemeasuredvalueandcouldbemistakenasadensityunit
oravolumetricmeasurement.
Mathematically,thecoefficientofsubgradereactionisexpressedas:
Ks=p/s(Eqn1)
wherep=contactpressureintensityands=soilsettlement

Figure1a:Deflectiondiagramandsoilpressure
contour.

Figure1b:Soilpressurecontour.
AsTerzaghimentioned,properestimationofcontactpressureforaflexible
foundationcouldbeverycumbersome,soitisassumedthatKsremainsconstantfor
theentirefooting.Inotherwords,theratiobetweenpressureandsettlementatall
locationsofafootingwillremainconstant.Sothedisplacementdiagramofa
footingwithaloadatcenterwillhaveadishingeffect.Apointatthecenterofthe
footingwillexperiencethehighestdisplacement.Displacementreducesasitmoves
awayfromthecenter.Figure1ashowsasimpleslabongradefoundation.Itwas
modeledandanalyzedinSTAADFoundationasMat,whichisaflexible
foundationthesoilwasdefinedusingcoefficientofsubgradereaction.Forthis
exercise,thesoftwaredefaultvalueforthemodulusofsubgradereactionwasused.
Thedisplacementdiagramshowsadishingeffectasdiscussedearlier.Figure1b
showsthesoilpressurecontour.Itisalsoobviousthatthepressureintensityatthe
centerismaximumandreducesastheelements(ornodecoordinates)moveaway
fromthecenter.So,itcouldbeassumedthattheratioofpressureintensityand
settlementisconstant.

Table1:Soilpressure,nodedisplacementandtheir
ratio.
Considersomeofthenumbersfromthesameexample.Soilpressure,corresponding

Considersomeofthenumbersfromthesameexample.Soilpressure,corresponding
displacementandtheratioarelistedinTable1.Thepointsarerepresentedona
diagonaltoillustratethevariationofpressureanddisplacementasthepointsmove
awayfromthecentertothemostdistantpointinthecorneroftherectangular
footing.Figure2showsthepointsonthematslab.

Figure2:Selectedpointstocomparebasepressure,
deflectionandratio.
Thisishardlyasurpriseas,bydefinition,themodulusofsubgradereaction(Ks)is
aconstantfortheentirefootingandtheprogramusedKsasitssoilproperty.Itis
alsoimportanttonotethatthesoftwaredefaultKsvalue(10858kN/m2/m)was
exactlythesameastheconstantratiocalculatedinTable1.
Basepressurewascalculatedfromthesupportreaction.Onemightthinkthatthe
ratioofsupportreactionandcorrespondingdisplacementwillalsobeaconstant.As
showninTable2,theratiosarenotconstantforallvalues.HowistheKsvalue
usedinsidetheprogramandhowisthebasepressurecalculated?

Table2:Supportreactionanddisplacement.

TributaryArea
Oftenanassumptionismadetocalculatehowmuchareaofaplatecanbeattributed
toanodeor,inotherwords,theinfluenceofeachnodeonthesurfaceareaofa
plate.Itdependsontheshapeoftheplate.Foraperfectsquareorrectangularplate,

plate.Itdependsontheshapeoftheplate.Foraperfectsquareorrectangularplate,
eachnodewillinfluenceexactlyoftheplatesurfacearea(Figure3a).Butfora
generalizedquadrilateral,thebestpracticewouldbetocalculatethecenterofthe
massoftheplateandthendrawlinesfromthatcenterpointtothemiddlepointsof
eachside.InFigure3b,theshadedarearepresentstheinfluencesurfaceareaofthe
correspondingnode.

Figure3:Nodetributaryarea.

SpringSupportConstant
Theabovedescribedtributaryareacalculationisthekeyprocedureusedinternally
bythecommercialsoftwaretocalculatethelinearspringconstant.Theprogram
firstcalculatesthetributaryareaforeachnodeofthefootingandthenmultipliesthe
modulusofsubgradereactionbythecorrespondingtributaryareaforeachnodeto
getthelinearspringconstantateachnode.
Kyi=KsxTai(Eqn2)
where
Kyiisthespringconstantatithnode
Taiistheinfluenceareaofithnode
Ksisthemodulusofsubgradereaction
Foraconcretefoundationanalysis,thosespringshavetobedefinedascompression
only,asconcreteisassumednottocarryanytensileforce.Thebasepressureis
calculatedateachsupportnodebydividingthesupportreactionwiththe
correspondingnodetributaryarea.Ifwelookattheaboveexample,Node1hasa
muchsmallertributaryareathantherestofthenodes.Itcanalsobenotedthatall
othernodeshavesametributaryarea.ThisexplainsTable2,asitshowstheratiofor
Node1isdifferentthanothernodes.Figure4showsthetributaryareafordifferent
nodes.Node1hasatributaryareawhichis25%ofNode81.Table3isan
extensionofTables1and2andshowshowconstantratioisachievedforallnodes.

Figure4:Tributaryareaofselectednodes.

Table3:Reaction,basepressure,displacement,Ks
constant.

AllowableSettlement
Bearingcapacityisthemeasurementofthesoilpressureasoilcansafelybear.In
otherwords,bearingcapacityisthepressurewhichsoilcanwithstandbeforeitfails.
Thetwomostimportantsoilfailurecriteriaare:
Shearfailure
Maximumallowablesettlement
Amongmanyfactors,foundationwidth(B)caninfluencefailurecriteria.Normally,
shearfailuregovernsforsmallerfoundationsandsettlementfailuregovernsbigger
foundations.Table4isatypicalexamplewhichshowstherelationshipamong
differentfoundationsizesandfailurecriteria.

Table4:Finalallowablebearingcapacityfor
allowablesettlement=25mmandagivenembedment
depth.

depth.
Toestimatesettlementfailure,anallowablesettlementvalueisassumed(normally
25mmor1inch).Whensoilsettlesmorethantheallowablevalue,thesoilfails.
So,evenforabearingcapacitycalculation,anallowablesoilsettlementisusedand
structuralengineersshouldbeawareofthatvaluewhiledesigningafooting.The
allowablesoilsettlementvalueistypicallyanintegralpartofanysoilreport.

WhyUsetheModulusofSubgradeReaction
Itwaspreviouslystatedthattodesignaflexiblematfoundation,themodulusof
subgradereactionisusedinsteadofbearingcapacityofsoil.Butwhy?Theanswer
liesintheunderlyingassumptionsofhowafoundationmightbehave.
Foundationscanberigidorflexible.Bearingcapacityisusedtodesignrigid
foundations,butsubgradereactionisusedforflexiblefoundations.Thevery
assumptionofarigidfoundationisthatthedistributionofthesubgradereactionp
overthebaseofthefoundationmustbeplanar,becausearigidfoundationremains
planewhenitsettles.Considerasimplysupportedbeamloadedatitscenter,as
shownintheFigure5a.Bystatics,wecanobtainR1=P/2andR2=P/2.Ifthe
samebeamisloadedeccentrically,thereactioncanbecalculatedasshowninFigure
5b.

Figure5:Reactionsforasimplysupportedbeam.
Thesameconceptisextendedforrigidfoundationdesign.Butinsteadoftheend
supports,thewholefoundationissupported.Itisalsoassumedthattherelative
stiffnessoftheconcreteslabismuchhigherthanthesoilstiffness.So,theslabis
assumedtoremainplanarevenaftertheapplicationofload.

Figure6:Subgradereactionsforanisolatedfooting.
Figure6ashowsafootingloadedatthecenter.Fromarigidwidebeamanalogy,P
=RxL.Similarly,foraneccentricallyloadedfooting,thereactionwillvary
linearlyfromoneendtotheotherasshowninFigure6c.Equations3and4canbe
solvedtofindendreactions.Butnoneoftheequationscontainmodulusofsubgrade
reaction(Ks).So,thedistributionofsubgradereactiononthebaseofarigid
footingisindependentofthedegreeofcompressibilityofthesubgradeitisresting
on.Asmanyauthorshaveconcluded,arigidfoundationcanbesafelydesigned
usingbearingcapacity,asinmostcasesthismethodyieldsmoreconservative
results.
P=1/2L(R1+R2)(Eqn3)
Pxa=1/6B2R1+1/3B2R2(Eqn4)
Butamatfoundationisoftendesignedasaflexiblefoundationasitcanbelargein
sizeandtheremaybemanyloadapplicationpointsandothercomplexities,
includingholesandgradebeams.WidespreadavailabilityofFEAsoftware
contributestothistrend.But,unlikerigidfoundations,aflexiblefoundationcannot
havelinearsubgradereaction.Rather,itdependsonthecompressibilityofthe
foundationaswellasthestructuralrigidity.Aflexiblefoundationissubjectedto
internalbendingandrelativedisplacementsbetweentwoslabpoints.Thegreaterthe
structuralrigidity,thelesstherelativedisplacement.Theauthortestedthecasewith
veryhighrigidityoftheslabelements,resultinginanearlyplanarsurfaceafterthe
applicationoftheload.Similarly,thegreaterthemodulusofsubgradereaction,the
lessthepressuredistribution.Inotherwords,ahigherKsvaluewillabsorbmore
pressureattheloadapplicationpoint.Hence,themodulusofsubgradereaction,
whichisthefunctionofsoilsettlementandtheexternalpressure,isusedforflexible
foundationdesign.

Correlations
Themostcommonandprobablythesafestanswertothequestionofcorrelation
betweenbearingcapacityandthemodulusofsubgradereactionisthatthereisno
correlation.Butthereshouldbeone,asbotharethemeasurementsofsoilcapacities
andanyofthesetwoparameterscanbeusedtodesignaregularfoundation.
Again,thedefinitionofKsisthepressureperunitsettlement.Inotherwords,soil
capacitytowithstandpressureforagivendisplacement.Fromearlierdiscussions,it

capacitytowithstandpressureforagivendisplacement.Fromearlierdiscussions,it
isalsoclearthatevenbearingcapacityhasanallowablesettlement.Itistherefore
temptingtoconcludethatthemodulusofsubgradereactionisthebearingcapacity
perunitsettlement.
ThisconclusionisverysimilartotheequationpresentedbyBowles.
SI:Ks=40(SF)qakN/m3(Eqn5)
FPS:Ks=12(SF)qak/ft3(Eqn6)
whereSF=Safetyfactorandqaistheallowablebearingcapacity.
InEquations5and6,theallowablebearingcapacityisfirstconvertedtoultimate
bearingcapacitybymultiplyingwithasafetyfactor.Theauthorassumedoneinch
or25mmsettlement.Thefinalequationisthenformulateddividingtheultimate
bearingcapacitybytheassumedsettlement.
Themoregenericformoftheequationcanbewrittenas:

Ks=

stress/displacement(Eqn7)

where
I=Safetyfactor
qaistheallowablebearingcapacity
istheallowablesoilsettlement
Theseequationsclearlyindicatethattheappropriatesafetyfactormustbeused,and
theKsvaluecanbebettercomparedwithultimatebearingcapacityratherthanthe
allowablebearingcapacity.Thesafetyfactorcanvarydependingonprojectsand
geotechnicalengineers.Theotherimportantfactoristheassumedallowable
settlementforthecalculatedbearingcapacity.
Similarly,itistobenotedthatthebasepressurevaluesreportedbyFEAanalysis
cannotbedirectlycomparedwiththebearingcapacity.Maximumbasepressure
shouldbemultipliedbythesafetyfactorandthencomparedwiththeallowable
bearingcapacityofthesoil.
Howevertheabovementionedequationshavelimitations.Theycanbeappliedto
footingswheresettlementfailuregoverns,butcannotberelatedtofootingswhere
shearfailureoccursbeforereachingtheallowablesettlementlimit.So,engineers
mustexercisecautionbeforeusingtheseequations.

Conclusion
Thecorrelationbetweenbearingcapacityandmodulusofsubgradereactionisat
bestanestimation.Itcanbeusedforestimation,butaKsvaluedeterminedbya
plateloadtestshouldalwaysbeusedifavailableorshouldberequestedwhenever
possible.However,theabovediscussiongivesinsightintothesevaluesandhelps
engineerstounderstandthephysicalsignificanceofmodulusofsubgradereaction.
And,asalways,structuralengineersshouldconsultageotechnicalengineer
professionalpriortofinalizingsoilstiffnessandbearingvalues.

References
SoilMechanicsinEngineeringPractice(ThirdEdition)Terzaghi,Peck,Mesri
FoundationAnalysisandDesign(FifthEdition)JosephE.Bowles