A limit equilibrium solution for bearing capacity of strip foundations on sand

A limit equilibrium analysis is used in this paper to obtain the bearing capacity of a strip foundation on sand. Bearing capacity factors N-q and N-gamma are determined for a practical range of friction angles, using a minimization procedure. The dilatancy angle psi of the sand coupled with the apparent friction angle phi allows the use of a modified friction angle phi*, which is in turn employed in the analysis. Comparisons with previous published data indicate that the proposed analysis gives adequate results. It is also shown that consideration of a dilatancy angle psi < phi leads to a bearing capacity value that is lower than that obtained for the case with psi = phi.