Influence of bedrock inclination on elastic settlements of flexible shallow strip foundations

Theoretical solutions are available for calculating settlements of shallow foundations over soil underlain by a horizontal incompressible layer. In practice, however, the incompressible layer such as bedrock or a firm soil layer is often inclined with a dip and a strike. The influence of the bedrock inclination on settlements of shallow foundations is not well understood. In this study, a finite difference method, incorporated in the Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua 2D software, is employed to investigate this influence in terms of two key variables: the depth–width ratio (the depth of the compressible soil to the bedrock/the width of the foundation) and the bedrock inclination (assuming the dip perpendicular to the direction of the strip foundation). Based on the numerical results, the influence is addressed in the form of settlement influence factors and differential settlement influence factors, respectively. Design charts are developed for engineers to easily incorporate the influence of the bedrock inclination into the calculation of settlements of flexible shallow strip foundations. A design example is presented at the end of this paper to illustrate the use of the design charts.