Settlement analysis of shallow strip footing under combined static and cyclic loadings

Shallow foundations in the vicinity of industrial zones are often subjected to machine induced cyclic loads. One of the key problems associated with these kinds of foundation is the determination of amount of settlement under cyclic load. A close observation of the existing studies reveals lack of studies explaining the influence of depth of embedment and frequency of loading on the cyclic load induced settlement of the foundation. An attempt has been made to fill these voids in this study. In the present study, the soil structure interface is modeled using nonlinear elasto-plastic springs and settlement is observed by varying different parameters like the relative density of soil, embedment ratio, factor of safety, intensity and frequency of cyclic loading. It is found that the settlement becomes negligible after certain number of load cycles, i.e. the critical number of load cycles. An empirical expression is developed to estimate the non-dimensional settlement of the foundation using nonlinear regression. It is found that the static load on the foundation is the most important factor influencing the combined static and cyclic settlement response of the foundation. Also, the ultimate settlement is attained earlier for higher values of frequency of loading.