Abstract
Stresses in the soil layer play a great role in geotechnical problems because it is the major parameter in all theoretical equations to calculate the deformation of soil and the stability of buildings. In this study, a set of tests is conducted to investigate the stress transfer from a square footing model (100*100) mm to the underlying soil of different properties (saturated and unsaturated with the same dry density). The soil stresses were measured using two soil transducers of 50 mm diameter and situated at different locations under the footing model. For both saturated and unsaturated soils, results showed that the soil stresses decreased when the distance below the footing was increased. The stresses measured at the center of the footing are also more than those measured at the corner of the footing for both soils tested. The trend of experimentally tested soil curves always gives a non-linear response, in comparison to linear trend curves obtained from theoretical calculations. Further, the percentage of stress transfer from the total stress on the footing during a specific period of time was larger in the saturated than in the unsaturated soil. Computed stresses in the soils were found to be lower than the measured ones. In addition, the results show that the applied stresses reach a significantly higher value for unsaturated soil, which yields a greater bearing capacity compared to that for saturated soil.