Effect of spatial correlation length on the bearing capacity of an eccentrically loaded strip footing

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of spatial correlation length on the behavior of an eccentrically loaded strip footing (or a footing subjected to combined vertical and moment (<i>VM</i>) loading) resting on spatially variable soil, using a combination of adaptive finite element limit analysis and random field theory. The results of Monte-Carlo simulations are presented in terms of failure envelopes defined in <i>VM</i> load space for different spatial correlation lengths. The area of the soil mass affected during failure is quantified as the consequence and employed to assess the risk associated with footing failure. This study provides new insight into the behavior of an eccentrically loaded strip footing on random soil.