SOIL BEARING CAPACITY REFERENCE FOR METRO MANILA, PHILIPPINES

Abstract

This study focuses on the analysis of the soil bearing capacities of the various cities and municipalities of Metro Manila, Philippines. The allowable soil bearing capacities to be used for foundation design were calculated through various theories and studies using geotechnical parameters, such as relative density and angle of internal friction. Standard Penetration Test (SPT) results were used to estimate these geotechnical parameters in order to obtain a good approximation of the soil‘s bearing capacity. Because of economic constraints, not all low-rise construction projects choose to perform soil exploration. Due to this, soil data are usually lacking and may cause problems when designing shallow foundations of these kinds of structures. In line with this kind of situation, the study can help engineers in designing shallow foundations by providing them a reference of the allowable soil bearing capacity of any area within Metro Manila. This will be able to give them a good idea of the soil‘s strength in supporting shallow foundations. The allowable bearing capacity of the soil shown in the reference is obtained from collected borehole data within Metro Manila and by using several geotechnical engineering theories. Contour maps of the bearing capacities are then made in order to provide an overview of the soil bearing capacity for shallow foundations. A Geographic Information System (GIS) software database was also made so as to store all the borehole location‘s data as well as serving another basis for estimation. This can be updated whenever new data is available.