Soil-structure interaction of surface footings

Limit-state analysis of soil-structure interacting systems is a classical problem in theoretical and applied soil mechanics. Usually, the capacities of both components are evaluated separately. However, it is well known that soil-structure interaction plays a major role in the actual behaviour at failure of such systems. Despite the complexity of a rigorous mathematical treatment of the problem, the limit theorems of the theory of plasticity and appropriate consideration of the failure modes of the structural element allow to address soil-structure interaction in a simplified manner. This study shows how the existing solutions for the bearing pressure and footing structural resistance can be coupled to evaluate the impact of the soil-structure interaction. Further, lower and upper bound solutions are developed for foundations that have a slender cross-section.