Foundation Bearing Capacity Lab

Every building's weight ends up resting on soil, and soil has a limit to how much pressure it can carry before it shears and gives way. This simulator models a shallow strip footing using Terzaghi's classic general shear-failure equation, which adds up three separate soil strengths — cohesion, surcharge and self-weight — into one ultimate bearing capacity. Tune the footing's width, the soil's friction angle and cohesion, and the load pushing down on it, and watch the factor of safety update live: stay under the allowable pressure and the footing sits stable, push past the ultimate capacity and a shear wedge forms beneath it and the footing punches into the ground.