Variation in Bearing Capacity of Soil Due to Changes in Water Table Depth in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

The bearing capacity of the soil is a significant topic in geotechnical engineering, especially in foundation engineering, as the stability of any foundation depends on it. A structure with a very sound design may collapse standing on poor soil with low bearing capacity. As the depth of the water table increases, the ultimate bearing capacity of soil increases. The effect of an increase in depth on safe bearing capacity is predominant due to an increase in surcharge weight. The higher the water table, the lesser is as far as possible and strength of the soil. In this research, soil test reports of different locations of Dhaka city were collected, and the bearing capacity of the soil was calculated by Terzaghi's method based on a fixed foundation depth with a variation of water table depth. Bearing capacity was compared with the depth of the water table in graphical format and it was seen that bearing capacity of soil increases with the increase of water table depth.

Global Research Trends in Soft Soil Management for Infrastructure Development: Opportunities and Challenges

“…According to their research, deeper foundations have a greater ultimate bearing capability of soil, and this is mostly owing to the increased surcharge weight. The relationship between water table depth and soil carrying capacity was also studied by Tahmid et al [103], who discovered that when the water table depth increased, the soil bearing capacity also increased.…”

Evaluation on the SPT Based Design Approach for Shallow Foundations

“…A considerable amount of research has been performed during the last two decades to evaluate the SPT-based design methods and analytical approaches. A comparative study on analytical and empirical approaches has been reported by Tahmid [11] in the study achieved on soil at various locations in Dhaka city. They found that the analytical approach gives bearing capacity more than that obtained by the SPT empirical equations.…”

“…Empirical equation for soil bearing capacity analysis. N= numbers of blows, kd= depth factor, where kd = (l + 0.33 Df/B) < 1.33(11), B= width of the foundation, kw= water table correction factor, where kd= 2-(Dw\2B)…”