Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
(OP)
Hi gang:
Does anyone have a reference that provides estimated bearing capacities of various soil types for use in preliminary floor-on-grade or pavement design? For example, what is the estimated bearing capacity in tsf for a silty clay or silty till.
Note that the floor on grade design will be finalized based on proper soil testing. I just wanna give my contractor a reasonable estimate of the slab thickness and base plate size for columns.
Does anyone have a reference that provides estimated bearing capacities of various soil types for use in preliminary floor-on-grade or pavement design? For example, what is the estimated bearing capacity in tsf for a silty clay or silty till.
Note that the floor on grade design will be finalized based on proper soil testing. I just wanna give my contractor a reasonable estimate of the slab thickness and base plate size for columns.





RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
Hope you have the 97 UBC, Volume 2. Look on page 2-49, Table 18-IA, Allowable Foundation and Lateral Pressure. I believe this is what you are looking for.
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
p.s. I AM NOT saying to design with such persumptive values - but, they have, in many localities, been proven acceptable under many/most circumstances.
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
soft silt clay - 0.5 tsf
firm to stiff silty clay - 1.5 tsf
soft silty till - 2 tsf
very stiff to hard silty till - 7 tsf
hope this helps to put you in ball park for prelim design.
regards
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
Keithe J. Merl
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
Agreed. I use the PCA and WRI methods, that use CBR or Westergaard's k for subbase/subgrade support for final design, but this project is subject to a requirement by the municipality to use a minimum 500 lb/sf soil bearing capacity. I don't normally use a bearing capacity for design, and I was looking for a correlation to CBR or k values, for estimation purposes.
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
Keithe J. Merl
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
Please see FAQ731-376 for great suggestions on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
Keithe J. Merl
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
Keithe J. Merl
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
Please see FAQ731-376 for great suggestions on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
Keithe J. Merl
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
Thanks!
Please see FAQ731-376 for great suggestions on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Estimation of bearing capacity of soil type
Thanks to all for the help.