d

2n International Conference on New Developments in Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering,

28-30 May 2009, Near East University, Nicosia, North Cyprus

Foundation size effect on modulus of subgrade reaction rested on

clayey soil

Masoud Janbaz
M.S. Candidate of Geotechnical engineering, Imam Khomeini International University,
P.O. Box 34149-16818, Qazvin,Iran

Reza Ziaie Moayed

Assistant Professor, Head of Department of Civil Engineering, Imam Khomeini International University,
P.O. Box 34149-16818, Qazvin,Iran

KEYWORDS: Winkler model, Modulus of subgrade reaction, Terzaghi's equation, Foundation, Plate
load test
ABSTRACT: In the practical design procedure, use of Terzaghi's equation to determine the modulus
of subgrade reaction for exact foundation is common, but there are some uncertainties in utilizing
such equation. In this paper the effect of size of foundation on clayey subgrade with use of finite
element software (Plaxis 3D) is proposed to investigate the validation of Terzaghi's formulation on
determination of subgrade reaction modulus. Also the comparison between Vesic's proposed
equation, Terzaghi's one and obtained results are presented.
1 INTRODUCTION
Soil medium has very complex and erratic mechanical behavior, because of the nonlinear, stressdependant, anisotropic and heterogeneous nature of it. Hence, instead of modeling the subsoil in its
three-dimensional nature, subgrade is replaced by a much simpler system called a subgrade model
that dates back to the nineteenth century. The search in this context leads to two basic approaches
which are Winkler approach and the elastic continuum model are of widespread use, both in theory
and engineering practice.
Winkler (1867) was assumed the soil medium as a system of identical but mutually
independent, closely spaced, discrete and linearly elastic springs and ratio between contact pressure,
P, at any given point and settlement, y, produced by load application at that point, is given by the
coefficient of subgrade reaction, Ks :
(1)
In fact, in this model subsoil is replaced by fictitious springs whose stiffness equal to Ks.
However, the simplifying assumptions which this approach is based on cause some approximations.
One of the basic limitations of it lies in the fact that this model cannot transmit the shear stresses
which are derived from the lack of spring coupling. Also, linear stress-strain behavior is assumed.
The coefficient of subgrade reaction, Ks, identifies the characteristics of foundation supporting and
has a dimension of force per length cubed.
Many researches like Biot (1937), Terzaghi (1955), Vesic (1961) and most recently Vallabhan
(2000)... have investigated about the effective factors and determination approaches of Ks. Geometry
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2n International Conference on New Developments in Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering,

28-30 May 2009, Near East University, Nicosia, North Cyprus

and dimensions of the foundation and soil layering are assigned to be the most important effective
parameters on Ks. In generally, the value of subgrade modulus can be obtained in the following
alternative approaches:
1- Plate load test, 2- Consolidation test, 3- Triaxial test, 4- CBR test
Many researchers have worked to develop a technique to evaluate the modulus of subgrade
reaction, Ks. Terzaghi (1955) made some recommendations where he suggested values of K for 1*1
ft rigid slab placed on a soil medium; however, the implementation or procedure to compute a value
of K for use in a larger slab was not specific. Biot (1937) solved the problem for an infinite beam
with a concentrated load resting on a 3D elastic soil continuum. He found a correlation of the
continuum elastic theory and Winkler model where the maximum moments in the beam are equated.
Vesic (1961) tried o develop a value for K, except, instead of matching bending moments. He
matched the maximum displacement of the beam in both models. He obtained the equation for K for
use in the Winkler model. Another works by Filonenko-Borodich (1940), Heteneyi (1946), and
Pasternak (1954)... attempt to make the Winkler model more realistic bye assuming some form of
interaction among the spring elements that represent the soil continuum.
2 ESTIMATION OF KS FOR FULL SIZED FOOTINGS
The modulus of subgrade reaction is preferable method among others because of its greater ease
of use and to the substantial savings in computation time. A major problem is to estimate the
numerical value of Ks. Terzaghi in 1955 proposed that Ks for full sized footing in clayey subgrade
can be obtained from:
(2)
where:
B1 =side dimension of square base used in the plate load test to produce Ks
B= side dimension of full-size foundation
Kp= the value of Ks for 0.3*0.3 bearing plate or other size load plate
Ks= desired value of modulus of subgrade reaction for the full-size foundation
According to Terzaghi (1955), this equation deteriorates when B/B1 3 ,another uncertainty is
according to Bowles(1997), this equation is not correct in any case, as Ks using a 3 m footing would
not be 0.1 the value obtained from a B1= 0.3 m plate. Another equation, which can be used for
estimating the modulus of subgrade reaction, is Vesic ones which is based on elastic parameters of
soil medium like elasticity modulus of soil, E, and Poisson ratio, .
(3)
where:
Ks= modulus of subgrade reaction
E= elasticity modulus of soil
B= width of foundation
= Poisson ratio
In present paper, according to these uncertainties, with use of finite element software (plaxis 3D),
the effect of the width of foundation on modulus of subgrade reaction, Ks, are investigated and the
obtained results are compared with Terzaghi's and Vesic's equations.
3 CALIBRATION AND ANALYSIS METHOD

161

Foundation size effect on modulus of sub grade reaction rested on clayey soil
Ziaie Moayed., Janbaz

The calibration of three dimensional modeling is based on the results of plate load tests on clayey
soil by Consoli et al (1998). The soil parameters that used in Mohr-Coulomb soil behavior model are
obtained from this article as shown in Table 1.
Table 1- Soil parameters
Parameter
Value
Modulus of elasticity (E)
10 (MPa)
Friction angle ()
26
Cohesion (C)
17 (kPa)
Poisson ratio ()
0.25(assumed)
Soil unit weight ()
17.7(KN/m)

The element used in analysis of three dimensional model is based on program and is the 15-node
wedge element that is composed of 6-node triangles in x-y-direction and 8-node quadrilaterals in z
direction and in addition to this the 8-node element is used to simulate the plates(foundation)
behavior. This type of volume element for soil behavior gives a second order interpolation for
displacements and the integration involves 6 stress points.
The sides of 3D modeling with side dimension of plate or foundation in X and Z directions are
5B where B is the plate or foundation dimension, and 4B according to the bulb of stress in square
footings in Y direction as shown in Figure 1. For higher dimensions of footing, the ratio between
thicknesses of footing to side dimension of footing is 1/12 and is constant in all of models. The
comparison between obtained result from 3D analysis and the result by Consoli et al. is shown in
Figure 2.

Figure 1. Side dimensions of model

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2n International Conference on New Developments in Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering,

28-30 May 2009, Near East University, Nicosia, North Cyprus

Figure 2.Comparison of calibration results

4 RESULTS
45 vertical plate load tests analysis are performed on plaxis 3D software. The vertical settlement (y)
for each analysis were obtained according to the constant contact pressure (P) that is about
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Foundation size effect on modulus of sub grade reaction rested on clayey soil
Ziaie Moayed., Janbaz

500(KN/m) and plotted and Then the secant modulus of each graph (Ks) is determined. Full result is
shown in Table 2.
Based on obtained results, the modulus of subgrade reaction (Ks) is decreased as the side
dimension of plate increased, but the final value of both method(Terzaghi's equation and finite
element analysis) showed that the Terzaghi's one is about 0.33 lower than 3D results. The results of
statistical analysis on relationship between side dimensions of foundation (B) and (Ks) results
showed that the following power function provides the best fit for correlation between plate load test
data (Ks) and side dimension of foundation B (Figure 3).

Figure 3.Obtained results and statistical equation

Ks = 5004

(B)-0.73

(4)

Figure 4.Comparison between obtained results and Terzaghi's and Vesic's Equations

As it can be seen from Figure 4, the differences between obtained Ks and two famous approaches
in estimating the modulus of subgrade reaction are proposed. As it is shown, the Vesic's approach,
which is based on elastic parameters of soil medium, is very conservative while the obtained Ks are
between these two methods. It can be seen from Figure 5 that the ratio between Ks (obtained) and Ks
(Terzaghi) increased with increasing the side dimension of footing.

164

2n International Conference on New Developments in Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering,

28-30 May 2009, Near East University, Nicosia, North Cyprus

Figure 5.The ratio between obtained Ks and Terzaghi's one

Figure 6.The ratio between obtained Ks and Terzaghi's one in first drop

The first drop down of Figure 5 is exaggerated in Figure 6. As can be seen from this figure, The
first drop of Ks in this Figure shows this fact that the Terzaghi's equation as Bowles shows
deteriorates when foundation dimension is 3 time of plate dimension. The value of Ks for 3D finite
element analysis is higher than Terzaghi's one as it is shown in Figure 5. If we format the obtained
equation according to the Terzaghi's equation we have:
Ks = 1.33 Kp

(5)

Where all terms were previously defined.

5 CONCULUSION
In this article a 3D finite element analysis of plate load test is obtained for clayey soil. According to
the obtained results:
The statistical correlation between modulus of subgrade reaction (Ks) and side dimension of footing
(B) is obtained.
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Foundation size effect on modulus of sub grade reaction rested on clayey soil
Ziaie Moayed., Janbaz

The comparison between Terzaghi's famous equation for clayey subgrade and the statistical
equation for 3D finite element analysis obtained.
As side dimension of footing (B) increased the modulus of subgrade reaction (Ks) decreased. The
modulus of subgrade reaction that obtained from Terzaghi's equation for prototype footing has lower
value than from 3D finite element obtained. The ratio between obtained Ks to Terzaghi's Ks increased
with side dimension of footing increased, and it shows that the Terzaghi's equation in high side
dimensions is not in safe side.
Table 2- Full results
B
Footing Size(m)
0.30
0.45
0.70
1.00
1.25
1.50
1.75
2.00
2.25
2.50
2.75
3.00
3.25
3.50
3.75
4.00
4.25
4.50
4.75
5.00
5.25
5.50
5.75
6.00
6.50
7.00
7.50
8.00
8.50
9.00
9.50
10.00
10.50
11.00
11.50
12.00
12.50
13.00
13.50
14.00
14.50
15.00
16.00
17.00
18.00

P (KN/m)
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00
500.00

S (m)

[in
mid point]
0.04
0.07
0.08
0.10
0.11
0.13
0.14
0.16
0.18
0.19
0.20
0.22
0.23
0.24
0.26
0.27
0.28
0.30
0.31
0.33
0.34
0.36
0.38
0.39
0.41
0.43
0.44
0.46
0.50
0.54
0.55
0.56
0.57
0.58
0.59
0.60
0.62
0.64
0.66
0.68
0.70
0.72
0.75
0.81
0.86

Obtained

Ks(KN/m)

Terzaghi
Approach

Ks Obt/Ks
Terzaghi

12820.51
7462.69
6250.00
5050.51
4587.16
4000.00
3472.22
3125.00
2857.14
2659.57
2475.25
2314.81
2173.91
2057.61
1930.50
1845.02
1766.78
1689.19
1607.72
1529.05
1453.49
1377.41
1329.79
1285.35
1225.49
1165.50
1133.79
1086.96
1006.04
929.37
910.75
896.06
878.73
866.55
847.46
833.33
807.75
782.47
755.29
734.21
714.29
694.44
667.56
617.28
584.80

12530.00
8353.33
5370.00
3759.00
3007.20
2506.00
2148.00
1879.50
1670.67
1503.60
1366.91
1253.00
1156.62
1074.00
1002.40
939.75
884.47
835.33
791.37
751.80
716.00
683.45
653.74
626.50
578.31
537.00
501.20
469.88
442.24
417.67
395.68
375.90
358.00
341.73
326.87
313.25
300.72
289.15
278.44
268.50
259.24
250.60
234.94
221.12
208.83

1.02
0.89
1.16
1.34
1.53
1.60
1.62
1.66
1.71
1.77
1.81
1.85
1.88
1.92
1.93
1.96
2.00
2.02
2.03
2.03
2.03
2.02
2.03
2.05
2.12
2.17
2.26
2.31
2.27
2.23
2.30
2.38
2.45
2.54
2.59
2.66
2.69
2.71
2.71
2.73
2.76
2.77
2.84
2.79
2.80

REFERENCES
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Transactions. ASME, 59, A1-A7.
Bowles, J. E. (1997). Foundation Analysis and Design. (fifth edition). The Mc Graw-Hill.
Consoli, C.N. Schnaid, F. Milititsky, J. (1998). Interpretation of plate load tests on residual soil site. Journal of
Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering. ASCE. September 1998. pp 857-867.
Filonenko-Borodich, M. M. (1940). Some approximate theories of the elastic foundation. Uchenyie Zapiski
Moskovskogo Gosudarstvennoho Universiteta Mekhanica, 46, 3-18 (in Russian).
Hetenyi, M. (1946). Beams on elastic foundations. The university of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Pasternak, P. L. (1954). On a new method of analysis of an elastic foundation by means of two foundation
constants. Gosudarstvennoe izdatelstro liberaturi po stroitelsvui arkhitekture, Moscow (in Russian).

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2n International Conference on New Developments in Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering,

28-30 May 2009, Near East University, Nicosia, North Cyprus

Terzaghi, K.V., (1955). Evaluation of coefficient of subgrade reaction. Geotechnique, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp 297326.
Vallabhan, C. V. and Daloglu, T.A., (2000). Values of K for slab on Winkler foundation. Journal of
Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, pp 463-471.
Vesic, A. S. (1961) .Beams on elastic subgrade and the Winkler's hypothesis. 5th ICSMFE. vol. 1, pp 845-850.
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