Modeling of Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundations resting on Jointed Rock Mass

Abstract

Ultimate bearing capacity of jointed rock mass specimens, studied by distinct element software UDEC which allows explicit modelling of blocks of rock, is presented in this paper. Since the other numerical methods like FEM considers the rock mass as continuum, their applicability to anisotropic blocky rock masses remains doubtful. A series of numerical tests has been conducted, by developing a programme using fish functions, on rock mass having two orthogonal joint set with the joint orientation from 0° to 90°. Simple models have been assigned to rock material and joints. An experimental study was conducted by Bindlish (Bearing capacity of strip footings on jointed rocks, 2007) wherein a rigid footing placed on the top surface of the jointed rock mass was loaded up to the failure. The effect of the joint orientation and interlocking of rock mass on the ultimate bearing capacity of the rock mass was studied. The numerical findings by distinct element software UDEC on the ultimate bearing capacity of the jointed rock mass have been found to be close to the experimental results obtained by the author.