Soil Bearing pressure standards..

[Mike_NC]

Is there a standard allowable bearing capacity rule of thumb for each type of soil?

I was working on a problem where only the soil type was given, I could not find a table in the CERM that gives you this?

OSHA has some ranges, but I was not sure exactly what to use..

 

[humner]

Here is a site that I found, hope it helps. If you don't see something listed in here, Google or Bing it. I actually used your words in Bing to find this page. Good luck. http://geotechnicalinfo.com/bearing_capaci...llowfoundations

 

[EnvEngineer]

My experience with the exam is they will give you every thing you need to complete the problem, no assumptions. If there is a factor you will need and they dont provide they will site the reference you are to use, for example ACI 318. So no need to worry about assumptions like many of the practice problems.

 

[dastuff]

The IBC provides soil bearing capacities in Chapter 18 (table 1804.2) based on class of materials of the soil. It's not an equation by any means but can give you some allowable guidelines.

The numbers can then be altered dependent on the depth of the foundation.

 

[EnvEngineer]

Maybe you can clear up something that has bothered me, not being a geologist I cannot figure out why making a footing deeper will increase the bearing capacity. Is it because they assume the soil is compacted by all the weight of soil above it?