The Coefficient of Subgrade reaction and its influence on design of foundations

Since the mechanical behavior of soil media against the applied loads is utterly complex and erratic, for interpretation the behavior of soil, simplifying it and to determine the soil-foundation interaction, models that physically and mathematically represent the engineering characteristics and properties of soil media are required. The search in this context leads to two basic approaches which are Winkler approach and the elastic continuum approach. In this paper, the soil-foundation interaction of a numerical example is studied using both of the approaches and the main purpose is the comparison of settlement and contact pressure resulting from both models for difference. In this comparison, the relation between the modulus of elasticity and the coefficient of subgrade reaction and variation of them respect to effective stress level are considered.Also, the factors and approaches determining the coefficient of subgrade reaction are pointed out.

The Coefficient of Subgrade reaction and its influence on design of foundations Keywords:

Winkler model , the elastic continuum model , modulus of elasticity , the coefficient of subgrade reaction