CEGB 333

GEOTECHNICAL
ENGINEERING
CHAPTER 3: STRESS AND DISPLACEMENT

FIGURE 3.1: Surface stress (load) cause settlement (Pisa Tower, Italy)

FIGURE 3.2: Changes in stress caused distress to pavement and drainage (signs of settlement)

STRESS & DISPLACEMENT

INTRODUCTION
All structures are constructed on soil or rock.
These structures apply load on the soil. When soil has to carry additional load, the
soil particles have to adjust themselves and regroup themselves in closer packing to
withstand that load.
P

This adjustment and rearranging soil settlement

settlement

Therefore, theres necessity to estimate or predict settlement to ensure the functionality of the
structure is not affected.

STRESSES
SOURCES OF STRESS IN THE GROUND
GEOSTATIC STRESSES (BODY STRESSES)
are those that occur due to the weight of the soil above the point being
evaluated. Geostatic stresses are naturally present in the ground. Human
activities such as filling and excavation can cause them to change.
Are caused by gravity acting on the soil or rock vertical normal stress sig.
impact on eng behavior of soil and indirectly produces horizontal normal
stresses and shear stresses.
INDUCED STRESSES
External load (structural foundation, vehicles, tanks, stockpile etc)
These stresses can be the source of excessive settlement, shear failure and
other problems.

TYPE OF LOADING
Shape of external load:
1 . Point load on concentrated load applied from
column, wheel of machine, load called point load,
because it is effect in point.

2 .Line load which the load is effect on line as the

load on Rail way and Dimension kN/m'.

3 .Uniform load which the load effect on area,

whereas the load uniform and dimension kN/m2

4 .Triangular load which applied from embankment,

so from the dam, the load dimension is kN/m

VERTICAL STRESS INCREASE DUE TO LOADING

1. STRESS CAUSED BY POINT LOAD
2. VERTICAL STRESS CAUSED BY LINE LOAD
3. VERTICAL STRESS DUE TO STRIP LOAD
4. VERTICAL STRESS BELOW A UNIFORMLY LOADED CIRCULAR AREA

5. VERTICAL STRESS CAUSED BY A RECTANGULARLY LOADED AREA

STRESS CAUSED BY POINT LOAD

Assumptions made based in Boussinesq Theory (1883) are:
Soil is homogeneous
Soil is considered as elastic material
Stress produced is isotropic
The area of applied load is an infinite large half space

POINT LOAD
Vertical

Horizontal

FIGURE 3.3: stresses due to point load

POINT LOAD

FIGURE 3.4: Stress in elastic medium caused by a point load

POINT LOAD
According to Figure 3.4,
Boussinesqs solution
for normal stresses at a
point A caused by the
point load P is given by:

(3.1)

(3.2)

(3.3)

POINT LOAD
Note that Eqs 3.1 and 3.2 which are the expressions for horizontal normal
stresses, are dependent on Poissons ratio of the medium. However, the
relationship for the vertical normal stress, z, as given by Eq (3.3), is
independent of Poissons ratio. The relationship for z can be written in
the following form:
(3.4)

(3.5)

POINT LOAD
The variation of Il for
various value of r/z is
given in Table 3.1:

TABLE 3.1: Variation of Il

TABLE 3.2: Representative values of Poissons ratio

Example 3.1 (question 8.10)

Point loads of 9, 18, 27 kN act at A, B and C, respectively
(Figure 3.5). Determine the increase in vertical stress at a
depth of 3m below point D. Use Boussinesqs equation.
3m

3m

1.5m
C

D
FIGURE 3.5

VERTICAL STRESS CAUSED BY A LINE LOAD

FIGURE 3.6

TABLE 3.3

EXAMPLE 3.2 (QUESTION 8.13)

Refer to Figure 8.20 in DAS 4th Edition. Determine the vertical stress increase,

VERTICAL STRESS CAUSED BY STRIP LOAD

FIGURE 3.7

TABLE 3.4

VERTICAL STRESS BELOW UNIFORMLY LOADED

CIRCULAR AREA

FIGURE 3.8

TABLE 3.5

VERTICAL STRESS BELOW UNIFORMLY

LOADED RECTANGULAR AREA

FIGURE 3.9

VERTICAL STRESS BELOW

UNIFORMLY LOADED
RECTANGULAR AREA

FIGURE 3.10: Variation of I2 with m and n

SUPERPOSITION THEORY

FIGURE 3.11

Superposition Theory :To estimate the stress under foundation in the soil.
H

X
A

Stress at X= XECH-XEDGXFAH+XFBG

(a)

H
B

F
H

F
D

Stress at X=
XHAG+XFBG+XECH+XEDF

(b)

Stress at X= XGCE+XHDEXFAG-XHBF

(c)

*** to use superposition, all shape MUST share the point in question under
one of their corners.

FIGURE 3.12

EXERCISE 1
C

100kN/m2

E
Figure E1

The plan of a uniformly loaded rectangular area is

shown in Figure E1. Determine the vertical stress
increase, below point A at a depth z = 5m.

EXERCISE 2
C

150kN/m2
H

E
Figure E2

The plan of a uniformly loaded rectangular area is

shown in Figure E2. Determine the vertical stress
increase, below point A at a depth z = 5m.

EXERCISE 3
C

100kN/m2
H

E
Figure E3

The plan of a uniformly loaded rectangular area is

shown in Figure E3. Determine the vertical stress
increase, below point A at a depth z = 10m.

Newmarks Chart
Based on Boussinesqs Theory

Vertical stress can be determined at any point below an area of any shape carrying a uniform
pressure, q.
Using tracing paper.

Loaded area drawn to scale.

Z depth = AB scale

Figure 3.13

Figure 3.14: Settlement of soil

Settlement from elastic theory

Is called elastic settlement or immediate settlement.
Settlement that occurs immediately after load is being placed.
Elastic settlement is caused by the elastic deformation of dry soil and of moist
and saturated soils without any change in the moisture content.
The vertical displacement (s) under an area carrying a uniform pressure, q on
the surface of a semi infinite, homogeneous, isotropic mass, with a linear stressstrain relationship, can be expressed as

qB
s
(1 v 2 ) Is
E

Where E is the Youngs Modulus of the soil and Is is a influence factor

depending on the shape of the loaded area. In the case a rectangular
area, B is lesser dimension (the greater dimension being L); in the
case of a circular area, B is the diameter.

Value of influence factors are given in Table 3.6 as follows for

displacement under the centre and a corner (the edge in the case of
circle) of a flexible loaded area (i.e. having negligible bending
stiffness) and also for the average displacement under the area as a
whole.

Table 3.6

Shape

Flexible*

Circle
Rectangle

1.0

1.5

Rigid^

Centre

Corner

Average

1.00

0.64

0.85

0.79

1.122

0.561

0.946

0.82

1.358

0.679

1.148

1.06

2.0

1.532

0.766

1.300

1.20

3.0

1.783

0.892

1.527

1.42

4.0

1.964

0.982

1.694

1.58

5.0

2.105

1.052

1.826

1.70

10.0

2.540

1.270

2.246

2.10

100.0

4.010

2.005

3.693

3.47

* After Giroud (1968)

^ after Skempton (19510

In the case of an extensive, homogeneous deposit of saturated clay,

it is a reasonable approximation to assume that E is constant
throughout the deposit and the distribution of Figure 3.15 (a)
applies.

In the case of sand, the value of E varies with confining pressure and
therefore will vary across width of the loaded area, being greater
under the centre of the area than the edges as in Figure 3.15 (b); the
contact pressure will again be uniform if the area is flexible.

(a) clay

(b) sand
Figure 3.15: settlement behaviour of flexible foundation

If loaded area is rigid (infinitely stiff in bending), the vertical

displacement will be uniform across the width of the area and its
magnitude will be only slightly less than the average displacement
under a corresponding flexible area. Influence factor for rigid
foundation are also given in Table 3.6.
Under a rigid area, the contact pressure distribution is not uniform.
For a circular area the forms of the distributions of contact pressure
on clay and sand respectively are shown in Figure 3.16 (a) and
3.16(b).

(a) clay

(b) sand
Figure 3.16: settlement behaviour of rigid foundation

In most cases, in practice the soil deposit will be of limited thickness

and will be underlain by hard stratum (e.g. bedrock).
For this case, the average displacement under a flexible area carrying
a uniform pressure q is given by

01
Se =

Where 0 depends on the depth of embedment and 1 depends n

the layer thickness and the shape of loaded area.

ELASTIC SETTLEMENT
In predicting settlement, these factors must be taken
into account:
The magnitude of stresses applied,
The geometry of the plan area which is stressed,
The depth at which the stress is applied in relation to the
magnitude of the width of the stresses area as well as the
thickness of the compressible soil stratum,
The compressibility of the soil stratum, and
The rigidity of foundation element.

Exercise Chapter 3
Sem 1 2011/2012 T2 : Question 2
Sem 1 2011/2012 FE : Question 3
Sem 2 2012/2013 T1: Question 3
Sem 2 2011/2012 FE : Question 2