Ring Footing Bearing Capacity Constructed on Medium Dense Sandy Soil Treated by Kerosene

Abstract

This research discusses the behavior of footings with inner diameter to outer diameter ratios of (D_inner/D_outer= 0, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4) constructed on sandy soil taken from Tikrit. The sandy soil with a relative density of 50% was treated with kerosene according to footing depths with footing diameter to outer diameter ratios of (D_footing/D_outer= 0.5D_outer, 1D_outer, and 1.5D_outer) for time durations (2, 5.3, and 10.28) minutes. The times were determined according to a preliminary test to determine the penetration depth of kerosene in soil per minute. The tests were conducted on dry sandy soil (D_footing/D_outer= 0) as a reference for comparison with the kerosene-treated sandy soil (D_footing/D_outer= 0.5D_outer, 1D_outer, and 1.5D_outer). Sixteen tests were conducted using a steel test setup of dimensions 900×900×600 mm. The results showed that the bearing capacity of the ring footings was better than that of the circular footings. In the sandy soil kerosene-treated conditions, there were better results compared to the dry sandy soils. For both dry and kerosene-treated soil conditions, the footing with (D_inner/D_outer= 0.4) achieved the ultimate bearing capacity. Due to the influence of kerosene on increasing the cohesion of the soil particles, the best depth for all the footings was (D_footing/D_outer= 1D_outer).