Mechanisms beneath rectangular shallow foundations on sands: vertical loading

Abstract

This paper details analysis of deformation behaviour of silica and carbonate sands under a rectangular foundation subject to uniaxial vertical load based on results from a series of centrifuge model tests. A multiscale particle image velocimetry/digital image correlation (PIV/DIC) technique was used to record and analyse the foundation tests with high resolution and measurement precision. Cone penetrometer and pressuremeter tests provide in situ soil characterisation of the tested sand sample in the centrifuge environment. The soil behaviour is analysed through foundation load–settlement response and the observed soil deformation measurements. Different soil deformation mechanisms and strain behaviours were observed in the different sands tested, and the particle shape effect is considered, with data from scanning electron microscopy, to explain the differences. The results and analyses contribute towards better understanding of different soil behaviours under shallow foundations in different sands.