LSN 12 - Bearing Capacity - Terzaghi and Vesic

A bearing capacity failure occurs when the soil beneath the footing fails in

• Compression
• Tension
• Shear

The three types of bearing capacity failure are:

• Pinking Shear
• General Shear
• Local Shear
• Punching shear

Most bearing capacity analyses for shallow foundations consider only the general shear case

• True
• False

Two widely-known formulas for determining nominal unit bearing capacity (qn) were developed by Terzaghi and Vesic. Vesic's formulas are more frequently used when

• Variables in the calculation have accents over their letters
• The designer dosen't know how to pronounce "Terzaghi"
• Greater precision is needed or special loading or geometry conditions must be considered
• Use whatever you want, this is America!

Draw a shallow foundation in "General Bearing Capacity Failure"