STUDY ON BEARING CAPACITY OF FOUNDATIONS OF SATURATED GRAVELLY SOIL IN THE RESERVOIR ZONE OF THE CHANGJIANG GORGES

The surface layer of the stratum in the Reservoir Zone of the Changjiang Gorges( RZCG) is loose deposits, The gravel content of gravelly soils in this region ranges from 30% to 70% .Storage of water in the RZCG is not taken into consideration when roads are being built.The gravelly soil foundation under inundation will be saturated, which will lead to the loss of its bearing capacity.Unfortunately, the standard currently in effect Specifications for Design of Ground Base and Foundation of Highway Bridges and Culverts ( JTJ 024- 85) , doesn't offer the values of the bearing capacity for saturated gravelly soil, which will bring inconvenience to the recheck and evaluation of the bearing capacity of saturated gravelly soil foundations.To solve the problem, experimental study is carried out firstly.Shear strength indexes of gravelly soil were tested under natural and saturated conditions, and the Laws of the development of cohesion and internal friction of gravelly soil are obtained.Based on testing results, the bearing capacity of the foundation of saturated gravelly soil are offered through a traditional formula for bearing capacity of gravelly soil, namley Bell solution of ultimate bearing capacity.The achievement provides reliable confidence to the recheck and evaluation of bearing capacity of gravelly soil foundations when water storage is done.