GATE CE 2026 Set 2 — Question 57
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Geotechnical Engineering → Shallow Foundations → Bearing Capacity Factors
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Question
The ultimate bearing capacity of a wide strip footing is , when it is embedded at depth in dry cohesionless soil. The soil has a unit weight of . The ultimate bearing capacity is when the depth of embedment becomes .Neglecting the effect of the depth factor, the bearing capacity factor is ______ (rounded off to one decimal place).
Correct answer
18.2 to 18.6
Solution
For a strip footing in cohesionless soil (), Terzaghi's ultimate bearing capacity equation is:Given and .
Case 1: ,
Case 2: ,
Subtracting equation (1) from equation (2):Thus, the bearing capacity factor is .
Case 1: ,
Case 2: ,
Subtracting equation (1) from equation (2):Thus, the bearing capacity factor is .
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