Investigation of Foundations Behavior by Implementation of a Developed Constitutive Soil Model in the ZEL Method

Foundations behavior is affected by soil behavior which can vary from dilative to contractive depending on the stress level, particularly in dense frictional soils. A relatively simple work hardening/softening constitutive soil model is developed to represent dense frictional soils behaviors under different stress levels. This model is then implemented into the Zero Extension Lines (ZEL) method to theoretically investigate the ultimate bearing capacity and load-displacement curve of foundations over dense frictional soils. Utilization of this model enables the ZEL method to capture different foundations behavior depending on the foundation size. A numerical study on foundations behavior was performed showing the ability of the presented approach in capturing both general and local shear failure mechanisms which results in different load-displacement curves.