Abstract: The Terzaghi basic bearing capacity formula with superposition method is used by the German Standard DIN4017 and Chinese Standard GB 50007-2011 to estimate the bearing capacity of a shallow strip foundation on homogeneous soil; the bearing capacity coefficients in DIN4017 are obtained with the conventional failure modes by Prandtl (N_q and N_c) and from the experimental results (N_r), in addition, the characteristic value of the bearing capacity could be estimated with the additional safety factor. The settlement-control of the foundation is considered by Chinese Standard; hence the characteristic bearing capacity is obtained using the semi-empirical value of the coefficients; the comparison between the results of case study shows that the bearing capacity estimated by DN4017 and GB 50007-2011 are comparable and both methods are proved to be conservative. 

Key words: bearing capacity, superposition, failure modes