Numerical Analysis of Skirted Foundation on Sand for Load–Displacement Behaviour

A skirted foundation is a new solution that has been developed to improve the shallow foundation’s bearing capacity and settlement. A skirt foundation comprises plates or skirts that wrap one or more sides of the soil mass beneath the footing to keep the loaded soil contained. Confinement works with the overlain foundation to practically transfer the superstructure load to the ground at the skirt tip, resulting in increased bearing capacity and reduced structure settlement. The current research adopted numerical analysis to examine the axially loaded shallow foundation resting on sand with and without a skirt. The behaviour of a skirted foundation has been studied in terms of skirt depth, vertical and inclined skirts, variations in skirt inclination, and one-sided, both-sided skirts. The effects of foundation size on bearing capacity and settlement of skirted foundations are also investigated. The findings show that when the skirt depth increases, the bearing capacity increases and settlement reduces. Further, it is found that the inclined skirt is quite promising as compared to the vertical skirt for inclination up to 12 degrees away from the foundation (positive skirt). However, the inclination of the skirt towards the foundation (negative skirt) has an adverse effect on the bearing capacity and settlement.