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3.5: Stresses in the soil due to a circular pressure

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    123399
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    Stresses transferred to the soil from a circular footing such as e.g., the foundation of a tank or a silo, can be modelled as a circular pressure acting on the surface of a homogeneous elastic half-space (Figure 3.8). Considering a uniform vertical pressure, where both loading and geometry are axisymmetric, stress increments due to the application of the pressure qext below the axis of the applied pressure can be calculated as:

    Diagram showing vertical Δσ_z, radial Δσ_r and tangential Δσ_θ stresses developing in a half-space underneath the centre of a circular pressure acting on the surface.
    Figure 3.8. Stresses under the centre of circular pressure acting on the surface of a homogeneous elastic half-space.

    \[\Delta \sigma_z=q_{e x t}\left[1-\left(\dfrac{1}{1+\left(\dfrac{r_o}{z}\right)^2}\right)^{\tfrac{3}{2}}\right] \label{3.13}\]

    \[\Delta \sigma_r=\Delta \sigma_\theta=\dfrac{q_{e x t}}{2}\left[\left(1+2 \nu_s\right)-\dfrac{4(1+\nu}){\left[1+\left(\dfrac{r_o}{z}\right)^2\right]^{\tfrac{1}{2}}}+\dfrac{1}{\left[1+\left(\dfrac{r_o}{z}\right)^2\right]^{\tfrac{3}{2}}}\right] \label{3.14}\]

    In Equations \ref{3.13} and \ref{3.14} vs is the soil’s Poisson ratio, ro is the radius of the area where pressure is applied, while the corresponding stress increment components Δσz, Δσr and Δσθ are defined in Figure 3.8.


    This page titled 3.5: Stresses in the soil due to a circular pressure was last modified on Sun, 03 Aug 2025 16:56:24 GMT and is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by George Kouretzis (Council of Australian University Librarians Initiative) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.