Monday, November 25, 2019

Bearing Capacity of Different Types of Soil

Bearing capacity values of various soil types like clay, sand, gravel, rocks, etc.
Bearing capacity can be defined as ;

"The maximum load per unit area which the soil will resist safely without displacement."

Types of Soil	Bearing Capacity (Kg/m2)	Bearing Capacity (kN/m2)
Soft, wet clay or muddy clay	5000	50
Soft clay	10000	100
Fine, loose and dry sand	10000	100
Black cotton soil	15000	150
Moist clay and sand-clay Mixture	15000	150
Loose gravel	25000	250
Medium clay	25000	250
Medium, compact and dry sand	25000	250
Compact clay	45000	450
Compact sand	45000	450
Compact gravel	45000	450
Soft rocks	45000	450
Laminated rock such as sandstone & Limestone	165000	1650
Hard rocks such as granite, diorite, trap	330000	3300

Also Read What Is Soil? Formation And Types Of Soil?

The maximum load per unit area is the soil bearing strength. This is the total soil bearing capacity shown in the table. By dividing the ultimate soil bearing capacity by a safety factor, we obtain the maximum safe soil bearing capacity for foundation design