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Expert: - 10/12/2007


Question
what is shear failure as related to foundations.

Answer
Hi Fredrick,

Shear failure is  a very important consideration in foundation design. It works almost same as cantilever beam shear. For spread or isolated footing critical section is at a distance of d/2 from the edge of the column. For details you can refer to any standard foundation design book. Usually shear failure is taken care of by increased thickness instead of extra reinforcement.

There is two way shear and one way shear failure mechanism in footing and check both for foundation design. You will usually find two way shear almost everytime more critical.

if you have any more question please do no hesitate to ask.

Regards
veto

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Veto Varma

Expertise

I can answer questions related to design and analysis of structures. I have experience in design and detailing of concrete and steel structures. I can answer your queries related to practical difficulties in design and construction. I also have several years of experience in seismic design and retrofitting.

Experience

I have been working in the Area of structural design and seismic engineering. Presently I am a consulting structural engineer in Saskatchewan, Canada. You can ask questions related to Industrial and Building structures. Education: Masters in Structural Engineering Publications: More than 14 publications in reputed journals and conference proceedings related to structural engineering.

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