Undrained capacity of circular shallow foundations on two-layer clays under combined VHMT loading

Wind turbines are typically designed based on fatigue and serviceability limit states, but still require an accurate assessment of bearing capacity. Overconsolidated clay deposits in Canada often have a thin layer of crust with a relatively high undrained shear strength developed from weathering, desiccation, and geo-chemical processes. However, existing design methods only assess the bearing capacity using effective area and inclination factor without consideration of surficial crusts. This paper studies the undrained VHMT (vertical, horizontal, moment and torsional) failure envelope of circular foundations founded on a surficial crust underlain by a uniform soil with a zero-tension interface condition using finite element analysis. An analytical expression for the VHMT failure envelope is derived.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author