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Chapter 7. Well Foundations: CE-471: Foundation Engineering
Chapter 7. Well Foundations: CE-471: Foundation Engineering
Chapter 7. Well Foundations: CE-471: Foundation Engineering
Well Foundations
Introduction
Well foundations are being used in India
from very early days. Taj Mahal was
built on such foundations. Wells are
classified as deep foundations. The
main difference between a well and a
pile foundation is that, while a pile is
flexible like a beam under horizontal
loads, the well undergoes rigid body
movement under such loads.
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
Types of Wells
Wells have different shapes and
accordingly they are named
as
1.
Circular Wells
2.
Dumb bell
3.
Double-D Wells
4.
5.
Single
and
Rectangular Wells
6.
Multiple
Wells
Dredged
Double
Holed
Cutting Edge
Well Curb
Bottom Plug
Steining
Top Plug
Well Cap
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
Design of Wells
Design of wells basically involves finding
Depth of Scour
Well foundations are constructed in river beds, they
should be taken to a safe depth well below the
anticipated scour level. Scour around piers depends on
several factors like flood discharge, the angle of attack
of the flow, flow obstruction etc. The scour depth is
calculated as follows.
q 13
Ds 0.473
sf
where
Ds Scour depth (m)
q Design discharge(m3 /s)
sf Silt factor 1.76 Dm
Dm Mean diameter of soil particle in river bed (mm)
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
Type of material
Values of
Silt Factor
sf
Coarse silt
0.04
0.35
Fine sand
0.08
0.5
Fine sand
0.15
0.68
Medium sand
0.3
0.96
Medium sand
0.5
1.24
Coarse sand
0.7
1.47
Coarse sand
1.76
Coarse sand
2.49
1
D .D s
3
D Grip length of well
Size of Wells
The size of dredge hole of a well varies.
In small and shallow wells, the
minimum diameter of the dredge hole
should be 1.8 m. In larger wells, the
minimum size of the dredge hole
should be 3 m. The final size is
decided after satisfying the lateral
stability condition of the wells.
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
Steining
This
is
subjected
to
different
types
of
stresses.
At
the
sinking it is subjected
to water and earth
pressure. At dredging
stage, inside surface is
subjected to water
pressure while outside
surface to the earth
pressure.
IRC
recommends
some
rules of thumb for
fixing the thickness of
steining
which
are
given below.
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
Cement concretesteining
1. For circular and dumbbell - shaped w ells
T k (0.01DH 0.1De )
w here
k 1.1 for sandy,silty and soft clay
1.25 for hard strata including
hard clay, boulders, kankar, shale etc.
DH Height of w ell
De External diameter of the w ell
2. For rectangular and double - D w ells
T k (0.01DH 0.12)
w here
k 1.0 for sandy strata
1.1 for soft clay
1.15 for clay
1.20 for boulders, kankar, shale etc.
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
Brick Steining
De DH
T k
8
40
where
k 1.0 for sand
1.1 for soft clay
1.25 for hard clay
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
Curb
The curb of a well transfers all the superimposed loads to the soil through the
cutting edge while sinking. The material used for curbs may be timber or
RCC. The forces acting on well curb are shown in Fig(b). The total horizontal
force on the well curb on both sides is
Wcot
De Di
2
where
Di Internaldiameter of well
W Weight of well and curb
per unit length along the centreline of steining
Cutting Edge
The cutting edge is provided at the bottom of the well below the curb to cut
through the soil during sinking. It is generally made of steel and welded to an
angle iron to fit the outer dimensions of the well steining. The height of the
cutting edge is given by
qu .t
fc.tan
where
qu Crushing strength of rock
t Thicknessof cutting edge
he
Bottom Plug
After final grounding of the
well
to
the
required
foundation
level,
a
concrete plug is provided.
The bottom plug transfer
the entire load to the
ground. The bottom plug
functions as an inverted
dome supported along the
periphery of the steining.
As it is not feasible to
provide reinforcement at
the bottom, it is generally
made thick and a rich
concrete mix (M20) is
used.
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
Sand Filling
The bottom plug concrete is cured and
after curing, the well is filled with
sand in saturated condition. Sand
filling provides
1. Stability to the bottom of the well.
2. Eliminate the tensile forces at the
base
3. Cancels hoop stresses induced in
steining
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
Top Plug
The top plug is provided
after
the
filling
is
completed.
Top
plug
helps in transferring the
load of the pier and
superstructure to the
steining. The thickness
of the top plug is
generally kept greater
than 50 % of the smaller
dimension of the dredge
hole. If sand filling is
used, the top plug is
simply constructed using
PCC of 1:2:4 otherwise
it is reinforced with steel
bars and lean concrete
of 1:3:6 is used.
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
Well Cap
As the shape of the well pier and cap
are different, the well cap forms an
interim layer to accommodate the
pier. The well cap is so designed that
the base of the pier is provided with
a minimum all round offset. The
centre of the well cap is made to
coincide with that of the pier and not
with that of the well. Such positioning
nullifies the effect of the minor shifts
which might have occurred during
well sinking.
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
2. Live loads
3. Water currents and buoyancy
4. Temperature, wind and earth quake
p z ( Kp Ka ) zK '
z DP D DK '
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
1
D3
( PB ) m ax ' ( KP Ka )
6
H D
Normally around the well, scouring takes place.
Beyond the well surroundings, the uncovered
soil acts as a surcharge.The surchargedepth D2
is very difficult to assessand may be assumed to
be equal to half the normal depth of scour.The
pressuredistribution is shownin Fig(b).The
equivlant maximum resistanceforceis then given as
1
D 2 ( D D 2)
( PB ) m ax ' K '
6
H D
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
' K' y 2d
2F
or
2FPa
y
' K' d
CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
Rectification of Tilt
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Eccentric grabbing
Eccentric loading
Water jetting
Arresting the cutting edge
Pulling the well
Strutting the well
Pushing the well by jacks