Abstract
This article refers to the design of shallow foundations and highlights the normative requirements following the introduction of EC7-1. The calculation model used is in Appendix D of prEN 1997-1 2003 recognized as: the determination of the load limit of a foundation resting on cohesive soil as a short-term analysis. We chose a simple analysis case for the application of the factorization method of the geotechnical parameters introduced with the publication of EC7-1. The results show that the chosen design approach is fundamental in the dimensioning of the geotechnical works and can lead to significant increases in costs. The choice of the approach depends on the choices that each Member State makes regarding the national safety level.
Computation results used in this article were obtained using LoadCap software.
The article was published in Revista Românã de Geotehnicã si Fundatii nr. 1/2013 Read full article
Author: filippo catanzariti
http://www.geostru.eu Filippo Catanzariti (b. 4 June 1969, Calabria, Italy) is a civil engineer, software developer and entrepreneur.
He graduated in Civil Engineering, geotechnical track, at the University of Calabria in 1996, with a thesis entitled "Programma di calcolo per l'analisi della stabilita dei pendii con metodi numerici avanzati" (A calculation program for slope stability analysis using advanced numerical methods) - the work that became his first commercial product. He has been registered with the Order of Engineers of Reggio Calabria (no. 1839) since 1996.
From 1996 to 1999 he worked as an analyst and software developer specialising in numerical algorithms, in Pascal, Visual Basic, Fortran and Visual C++, and in full-stack web development. He works with advanced 2D and 3D mathematical models and with graphics programming in OpenGL and DirectX.
In 1999 he founded GeoStru, an international geotechnical software house whose catalogue he largely authored: slope stability and rockfall analysis, foundations and retaining structures, finite element analysis, geophysics and site investigation, hydrology and hydrogeology, and reinforced concrete design. Since 2016 he has run SC Engsoft S.r.l. in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and he is technical and scientific consultant to GoMeeting. His most recent work is GeoStru.ai, a platform delivering geotechnical and civil calculation through natural-language conversation while keeping the analysis itself on deterministic, auditable algorithms.
Between 2005 and 2013 he co-supervised degree theses at the University of Calabria and the Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria. He teaches accredited professional-development courses for geologists and engineers under accreditation from the Italian Consiglio Nazionale dei Geologi.
His peer-reviewed work includes papers in Green World Journal (2021), Marine and Petroleum Geology (2022), Journal of Mediterranean Earth Sciences (2022), Geosciences (2024) and Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment (2026), together with memorie at the XXVII and XXVIII Italian National Geotechnical Conferences. He co-authored "Terre rinforzate" (EPC Editore, 2023) and "Terrae Motus".
He has been a member of AGI, ISRM, ISSMGE and AGI-IGS since 2014, and holds a certificate from AGS (Association of Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Specialists).
ORCID: 0009-0001-2495-6395 - Scopus Author ID: 57936189800 - Google Scholar: ZiY1VZUAAAAJ
