Civil Engineering and Architecture Vol. 9(2), pp. 375 - 385
DOI: 10.13189/cea.2021.090210
Reprint (PDF) (2099Kb)

Comprehension of Conventional Methods for Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundation by PLT and SPT in Southern Bhutan

Karma Tempa ^1,2,*, Nimesh Chettri ^1,2
1 Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, College of Science and Technology, Royal University of Bhutan, Phuentsholing 21101, Bhutan
² Center for Disaster Risk Reduction and Community Development Studies, Royal University of Bhutan, Phuentsholing 21101, Bhutan

ABSTRACT

Shallow foundations are very distinctive in Bhutan since construction of buildings are regulated to 7-8 story and the superstructure loads are not very high compared to high-rise buildings elsewhere. However, the safety of the buildings depends primarily on the stability of the subsoil. This can be evaluated by estimating Ultimate Bearing Capacity (UBC) and it is the measure of the subsoil strength. In the current study, field test such as Plate Load Test (PLT) and Standard Penetration Test (SPT) are conducted in the study area which are most common conventional methods adopted in Bhutan given the typology of infrastructures. Detail analysis is performed for PLT and SPT data collected from southern parts of Bhutan to assess the shear stability characteristics of the subsoil. The field exploration was carried out at embedment depth of 1.5 m in both the tests. PLT directly provides UBC through load and settlement plot. With SPT N-values, UBC are estimated for square footing using empirical correlations proposed by Terzaghi 1943 and Meyerhof 1963. The results are compared to comprehend the design parameters. Both in-situ test resulted close estimation of UBC. In SPT, analysis results indicate Meyerhof's correlation more conservative suggesting safe and economical foundation design. The parametric analysis was performed to deduce and validate correlations among the parameters used. The subsoil lithology was reviewed to validate the subsoil characteristics for the southern belt of Bhutan to which resistivity profiles of the underlying strata of the subsoil in the region have been reported similar to the investigation conducted in this study.

KEYWORDS
Plate Load Test, Standard Penetration Test, Ultimate Bearing Capacity, Shallow Foundation, Subsoil, Stability, Buildings, Bhutan

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Karma Tempa , Nimesh Chettri , "Comprehension of Conventional Methods for Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundation by PLT and SPT in Southern Bhutan," Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 375 - 385, 2021. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2021.090210.

(b). APA Format:
Karma Tempa , Nimesh Chettri (2021). Comprehension of Conventional Methods for Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundation by PLT and SPT in Southern Bhutan. Civil Engineering and Architecture, 9(2), 375 - 385. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2021.090210.