Numerical Analysis for the Response of Skirt Circular Shallow Footing Resting on Sandy Soil under vertical loads

Abstract

     In this paper, the Static response of a circular skirt foundation resting on a sandy soil subjected to pure vertical load was analyzed numerically using finite element software, PLAXIS 3D 2020. Linear elastic model was adopted to describe the behavior of the shallow concrete circular foundation with (1m) diameter and (0.2 m) thick, as well as the soil underneath, with and without skirt . Different skirt's length to diameter ratios (L/D) (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0), in addition to different skirt thicknesses (0.1 m, 0.15 m, 0.2m) were anticipated. The results shown that, in dry sand, existence of skirts improves the foundation performance effectively by increasing its load carrying capacity particularly when the skirt (L/D) ratio become larger. However, the increase in the thickness of the skirt has marginal influence and it can be neglected for design purposes.