Foundation Eccentricities

There are cases encountered frequently where foundations are subjected to a moment as well as vertical loads. Because the distribution on the soil is no longer uniform, using Meyerhoff's effective area method can account for the differences in pressure beneath the foundation under consideration. The effective lengths can then be used with Meyerhoff's general bearing capacity equation and the ultimate load the foundation can sustain can be found using A', L' and B'.

Metric and Imperial Units

The above formulas may be used with both imperial and metric units. As with all calculations care must be taken to keep consistent units throughout with examples of units which should be adopted listed below:

Notation

• A' = effective area of foundation, ft² or m²
• B' = effective width of foundation, ft or m
• L' = effective length of foundation, ft or m
• e_b = eccentricity or effective eccentricity of load, ft or m