It is often very difficult to predict the amount of earthquake-induced settlement for foundations
bearing on cohesive and organic soils. One approach is to ensure that the foundation has an adequate
factor of safety in terms of a bearing capacity failure. In order to perform a bearing capacity analysis, a total stress analysis can be performed by assuming that c=s
u
. Neglecting the third term in Eq. 6.1
and assuming relatively constant undrained shear strength versus depth below the footing, the ultimate bearing capacity is as follows:
For strip footings: