COMPARATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT OF REINFORCED CONCRETE SHALLOW FOOTINGS

Abstract

Civil engineering structures are to be designed for loads due to environmental actions. These actions are exceptionally uncertain in their manifestations, and their occurrence and magnitude cannot be treated deterministically. Materials used in civil engineering constructions also display wide scatter in their mechanical properties. The comparative risk assessment in this study provides an insight into the concepts of structural reliability and risk assessment of reinforced concrete shallow footings. Probabilistic models based on the assumed failure modes are formulated to predict the reliability of shallow footings. A case study of a standard four flats single storey building of three bedrooms per flat built on soil with safe bearing capacity of 150KN/m2 was investigated comparing pad and strip footing options. The results show that pad type of shallow footing is more reliable, for all practical failure modes, while the strip footing becomes more prone to overall shear.