Seismic Bearing Capacity of Strip Footings on Pile-Stabilized Slopes

This paper develops an analytical method to calculate seismic bearing capacity of a strip footing, which is located on a slope reinforced with rows of pile. The resistance of passive pile is determined based on normal and shear stress of the soil around the pile, which is then compared to other analytical methods. This comparison indicates an acceptable agreement. The variants of the study include location of pile rows, location of footing with respect to the slope crest, foundation depth, and horizontal seismic coefficient. The footing seismic bearing capacity is calculated based on seismic slope stability with limit analysis method (yield acceleration coefficient of reinforced slope with pile row) as well as soil stability beneath the footing by means of virtual retaining wall method. The main objective is to determine and establish the relation between various parameters and seismic bearing capacities of the footing, and to find the best location of the pile row that gives the best improvement in the footing seismic bearing capacity. Results indicate that stabilizing the earth slope with rows of piles has a significant effect on the improvement of seismic bearing capacity of the footing. In addition, the results of the present method are compared with those, reported by others, to demonstrate a reasonable agreement.