Experimental Study on Tee Shaped footing under Eccentric Vertical loading.

For designing foundations subjected to earthquake forces, adopting values of horizontal and vertical seismic coefficients, equivalent seismic forces can be conveniently evaluated. These forces in combination with static forces make the foundations subjected to eccentric vertical and inclined loads. In addition to vertical axial loads, the footings of structures are often subjected to eccentric loads caused by the force of earth pressure, earthquakes, water, wind etc. Due to eccentric loading, the two edges settle by different amounts, causing the footing to tilt. The Tee shaped is proposed as a footing shape for improving the bearing capacity of shallow footings against the action of eccentric loads. The vertical insertion of the rigid Tee shaped footing, into the bearing soil, provides considerable resistance, against both of sliding and overturning, enough to regain the reduction in bearing capacity and increase in settlement. In the study, a series of experimental results by loading footing eccentrically along and perpendicular axes in horizontal plane for reporting ultimate loads and settlement of Tee shaped footing has been considered out. Total 144 models tests were conducted for investigating the effects of different parameters, such as problem geometry .The problem geometry was represented by two parameters, the load eccentricity (e) and the projection depth (D) of Tee shaped footing into dense sand soil. The experimental results proved that the ultimate bearing capacity of a footing under loads could be improved by projection.