This paper presents the findings of an experimental study concerning a method of reducing the settlement of shallow circular foundations on sand. It involves the use of structural skirts fixed to the edges of foundations. The experiments were performed in a large tank setting and the footing was instrumented in order to measure normal stresses and settlement. A series of tests were conducted to study the settlements of a circular footing with and without structural skirts. Test results indicate that this type of reinforcement reduces the settlement of subgrade and modifies the stress-displacement behaviour of the footing. A settlement Reduction Factor (SRF) was proposed, which takes into account the influence of various parameters that affect settlements. Results show that the use of structural skirts can produce enhanced settlement reduction in the range of 0.1 to 1.0 depending on stress applied and skirt depth. Given these levels of settlements reduction, it is concluded that the use of structural skirts to reduce the settlement of shallow foundations on dense sand is of practical significance. Further testing is recommended for different foundation shapes with structural skirts resting on different soil types.

This paper presents the findings of an experimental study concerning a method of reducing the settlement of shallow circular foundations on sand. It involves the use of structural skirts fixed to the edges of foundations. The experiments were performed in a large tank setting and the footing was ins...