It is possible that you have clay soils at least in the central part of the house. The water leak and cohesive soils would explain the damages. Could you take samples at the edges and also in the center and then compare the ratio of water content over liquid limit?
I had a typo earlier, the trapezoidal pressure should read, -0.25H, 0.50H, 0.25H.
Find similar problem to yours solved on page 469 of Foundation Engineering, 2nd ed, 1974 by Peck, Hanson & Thornburn.
I would not use cohesion. Keep phi angle low (30 Deg)unless you have a direct shear test results. For your case, it is appropriate to use 0.5, 0.5, 0.25 trapezoid. The 0.5 section could be loaded with active earth pressure of (0.65xKaxGamma) ; where gamma is not the dry or maximum dry density...
Look at the track record of the founder(s.) If they are in the habit of starting a company every few years, then you may find yourself with "non traditional" experience.
Also look to see if the firm is diversifying into other fields or that their "future" product has more than one...
Peat is a problem. As a general guide, peat settles 10 to 20% of its thickness. So the 3 m thick could possible settle as much as 0.6m. It has little to do with the induced load. Peat decomposes and is constantly consolidating.
We have two choices-You could remove all 3 m and replace with...
drile007
The general bearing capacity equation can be simplified into nine equations. Three each for granular soils(phi soils), cohesive soils(C soils) and mixed soils (C-Phi soils).
The three equations in each soil type depend on the shapes-continuous, square/rectangular, or circular. For...
I just looked at my reference "Structural Concrete" 2nd edition, by Hassoun. If the eccentricity is less than B/6, then only one formula applies. So, for e=0 to e=B/6 or 8" qmax is the same 2.53 ksf per my previous post. I learned something!:)
Once you have "e" = B/6 or 8" exact we jump into...
You are correct-Ko applies instead of Ka. Only exception would be if you backfill before the floor beams are installed. In which case the wall has already rotated and Ka is fine.
The formula I used assumes the axial load is in the center and not 7" off. Let me digest that. I don't know if it...
AdamU
See attached file for my approach. My 1.93 ksf was wrong. Must check to see if Qmax is less than allowable bearing capacity.http://files.engineering.com/getfile.aspx?folder=c3675818-6bfa-4589-bf70-b4ee936c70e5&file=qmax0001.PDF
AdamU
Diagrams always help a lot. In your formula, how do you account for earth pressure thrust?
It is not a uniform pressure due to two reasons. First, you have 7" eccentricity & the center of the stem does not coincide with the center of the footing. Second, you have earth pressure...
Great idea, it is a niche and would be in demand. My suggestion is not to limit it to pavement evaluation.
Add other services, maybe performing asphalt mix designs for plants, performing R-vale tests in your Garage for geotechnical firms and may be travel geographically, say 200 mile radius to...
Agree with all that Rankine neglects wall friction. Rankine method is also applicable to inclined slopes as long as it is not a broken slope.
Coulomb method does consider wall friction. Depending on the reference, friction between soil and concrete for granular soils is often 0.5 to 0.75 of...
You may consider purchasing "Basics of Retaining Wall Design" by Hugh Brooks. It is very thorough, illustrates with hand calculations and is all you need. It is available at RetainPro.com website.
Well, first you need to choose type of foundation. You mentioned pad footing, but you may also consider pier foundation, considering the pole structure. After that determine your vertical load, lateral load and moment. Then determine soil bearing capacity. Now just open a reinforced concrete...
Pin Piles are also known as Micropiles. FHWA website under the geotechnical publications, there is a Micropile manual for download. You will still need a slope satbility software program for computing your safety factors.
Liquid limit of 66% and no plasticity? Is this a unique formation? Usually such a high liquid limit will yield substantial moisture content,plasticity and a PL value.
Anyway, unless you have a unique geological formation, I would classify the material as plastic silt.
You mentioned...
Minimum practical depth is about 20 ft. As a rule of thumb, 1 ft diameter, 20 ft deep in medium dense sand or very stiff clay gives 20 to 25 ton capacity(no groundwater).