KAEA 3233 - SOIL MECHANICS II

Stress Distribution in
Soil Mass Part 1
Dr. Tan Chee Ghuan
Department of Civil Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
University of Malaya

What is Stress Distribution ?

When a structure is erected on a soil, it transmits
its weight as a load to the foundation.
The foundation, in turn, imposes loads on the
soil.
These loads induce stresses inside the soil. The
distribution of these stresses is referred to as
stress distribution.

Why is it important?
The stability of the foundation and the safety of
the structure depend on the stress distribution.

Where is it important?

It is important for all structures, especially in

case of the large structure in todays context.

What factors affect their distribution?

The stresses developed depend on:
the nature of loads
the geometry of the foundation
the nature of soil
the theory/method used to compute them

What are the methods available for

its determination?
It would be ideal to determine the stresses in
the field. But, it is costly and time consuming.
It is important to have methods to compute
them in advance for a suitable foundation
design.
Theory of Elasticity (Boussinesq
Newmark Influence chart)
Approximation method
Numerical Modelling

method,

Stresses in Soil

z
y

In this chapter, we
will only concern on
normal
stress
in
vertical direction, z

Stresses in soil
Stresses in soil are caused due to:
1. Self weight of soil, geostatic stresses
2. Structural loads, applied at or below the surface

The estimation of vertical stresses at any point

in a soil mass due to external loading is essential
to the prediction of settlements of buildings,
bridges and pressure.
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Stress Strain characteristics of Soil

Extremely complex and it depend upon a large

number of factors.
For example: drainage conditions, water content,
void ratio, rate of loading, the load level, and the
stress path.
Simplifying assumptions are generally made in the
analysis of soil behaviour to obtain stresses.

Boussinesqs Theory
Boussinesq (1885) has given the solution for the stresses
caused by the application of the point load at the surface
of a elastic medium with the aid of the mathematical
theory of elasticity.
Assumptions:
1. The soil medium is an elastic continuum having a constant
value of modulus of elasticity (E). i.e. Hookes law
2. The soil is homogeneous, i.e. it has identical elastic
properties at all points in identical directions.
3. The soil is isotropic, i.e. it has identical elastic properties in
all direction at a point.
4. The soil is weightless, compared to the applied loads
5. The load is a point load acting on the surface

Vertical Stress Caused by a Point Load

where:

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Vertical Stress Caused by a Point Load

Table 1: Variation of I1 for Various Values of r/z

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Vertical Stress Caused by a Point Load

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Vertical Stress Caused by a Point Load

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Vertical Stress Caused by a Point Load

PP

0.4775 P/z2
z
Vertical pressure distribution on horizontal plane
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Example 1

Consider a point load P = 1000 lb, plot the variation of vertical

stress, z :
a) in z-direction for x = 3 ft and y = 4 ft
b) in x-direction for z = 6 ft and y = 4 ft
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