View article

In this study, bearing capacities and settlement profiles of six irregularly shaped footings located on sand have been experimentally and analytically investigated under the effect of axial loading. The main variable considered in the study was the geometry of the footings. The axial loads were applied from the center of gravities of the test specimens. Consequently, the effect of footing shape on the variation of the bearing capacities and settlement profiles have been investigated in this paper. The three dimensional finite element analyses of the test specimens were conducted using the PLAXIS 3D software. The finite element model results are in acceptable agreement with the results obtained using experimental investigation. In addition, the usability of the finite element technique by design engineers to determine the bearing capacities and settlement profiles of irregularly shaped footings was investigated. From the …