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

• B = width of strip foundation, ft or m
• c' = effective cohesion of soil, lb/ft² or kN/m²
• D_f = depth of ground foundation measured from ground surface, ft or m
• N_cq, N_γq = bearing capacity factors
• q_u = ultimate bearing capacity, lb/ft² or kN/m² (kPa)
• γ = unit weight of soil, lb/ft³ or kN/m³
• β = angle of slope, degrees
• ϕ' = effective angle of internal friction, degrees