Bearing capacity and failure mechanism of shallow footings on unreinforced slopes: a state-of-the-art review

The analyses of load carrying capacity of shallow footings, located on semi-infinite horizontal surface, have been dealt at large by various researchers. With the growth in urbanization in the hilly regions, the recent years have recorded a boom in the infrastructure development on the hill-slopes. The presence of the slope face largely affects the load carrying capacity of the shallow footings for such infrastructures, and presents a failure mechanism that is specifically different to that developed for footings located on horizontal grounds. This study presents a state-of-the-art review of the responses of shallow foundation placed on or near the face of sloping surface. The discussions have been categorized based on experimental, theoretical and numerical approaches. Finally, the critical appraisal of the state-of-the-art practice is provided and the scopes of further studies have been elucidated.