Effective soil strength parameters and load capacity of shallow foundations according to various Polish design codes

Standard PN-EN-1997-1 (Eurocode 7 - introduced in 2010) requires the determination of bearing capacity of the subsoil on the basis of the effective values of geotechnical parameters. The total soil parameters can be used only to determine the bearing capacity in the so called "undrained conditions", in transitional situation (with a fast the increase of load and slow the outflow of water). The problem with correct qualification of effective parameter values is the obstacle to the widespread use of the new code. This especially concern a smaller structures, for which advanced researches of substrate is uneconomical. The paper presents the change in the approach to the design of shallow foundations and application for that purpose an effective values of the parameters in the Polish codes over time.

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