Course Pack EGCE 418

California State University, Fullerton
Civil & Environmental Engineering Department
Course Documents
Foundation Design
Binod Tiwari, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
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Table of Contents
Page No.
1. Typical Syllabus 1
2. Geotechnical Properties of Soil 6
3. Shear Strength of Soil 35
4. Sub-soil Exploration 55
5. Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundation 82
6. Eccentrically Loaded Foundation 94
7. Elastic Settlement of Shallow Foundation 113
8. Consolidation Settlement 141
9. Combined Footing and Mat Foundation 186
10. Pile Foundation 207
11. Lateral Earth Pressure 237
12. Design of Retaining Wall 268
13. Design of Sheet Pile Wall 309
14. Design of Anchor Bulkhead 347
15. Design of Braced Excavation System 357
Foundation Design Binod Tiwari, PhD

2
California State University, Fullerton
College of Engineering and Computer Science
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department
EGCE 418 Foundation Design

SCH 11496 (Disc) 16017 (Lab)
Fall Semester 2010
Instructors: Binod Tiwari, Ph.D.

Pinaki Chakrabarti, Ph.D., S.E.
Office: E-419/ E-314 Class Meeting: MW 16:00 16:50
Phone: (657) 278- 3968/3729 Lab Meeting: MW 17:00 18:15
Fax: (657) 278- 3916 Class Room: UH 305
Email: btiwari@fullerton.edu Units: 3
Pchakrabarti@fullerton.edu
Prerequisite EGCE 324, EGCE 408

Students registered for this course should have completed the prerequisite courses. During the
semester, the department will verify the prerequisite requirements. If any student has completed
the prerequisite courses at another school, please submit appropriate documents to the
department secretary. Otherwise, their name will be deleted from the class list at any time during
the semester.
Text Book
Principles of Foundation Engineering by Braja M. Das, 7th Edition, 2011, CENGAGE L
Publishers, ISBN 9780495668107.
Reference Materials
Handouts, website URLs, visuals, and other materials will be provided during class or
posted on Blackboard.
Foundation Analysis and Design by Bowles, 5E, McGraw Hill (1996).
Foundation Design Principles and Practices by Coduto, 2E, Prentice Hall (2001).
Engineering Manual for Retaining Walls and Abutments by Kim et al., Virginia Tech
(1991).
Engineering Manual for Shallow Foundations by Tan et al., Virginia Tech (1991).
Engineering Manual for Driven Piles by Ooi et al., Virginia Tech (1991).
Office Hours
Monday 12:00 15:00 Wednesday 12:00 13:00
As long as the office door is open, please feel free to walk in and consult. However, phone and
email appointments are encouraged.
Course Description
Design of footings and retaining walls, Mat and pile foundation for structures, Design project to
standards of professional practice using latest codes and standards, Consideration for safety,
reliability, and cost.
Course Learning Objectives

This course will provide the students with theory and experience-based knowledge necessary to
analyze and design civil engineering structures such as retaining walls, excavation bracing
systems, and shallow and deep foundations. Upon completion of this course the students will be
able to:
Investigate and evaluate subsurface soil conditions using techniques of geotechnical
engineering, structural engineering, and construction engineering.

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Estimate soil properties from sources of information such as boring logs, visual
descriptions, and index test results, in combination with textbooks and engineering
manuals.
Evaluate bearing capacity and settlement failure condition for shallow and deep
foundations.
Select the most suitable type of foundation for given site condition and design.
Estimate total and effective horizontal earth pressures.
Design retaining walls, sheet piles, and braced excavation supports.
Topics Covered in Lecture

Review of Physical Properties of Soil Design of Retaining Walls
Review of Shear Strength of Soil Design of Sheet Piles
Sub-soil Exploration Design of Braced Excavation Supports
Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundation Design of Anchor Bulkhead
Settlement of Shallow Foundation Analysis and Design of Pile Foundations
Mat Foundation Design of Drilled Shafts
Estimation of Lateral Earth Pressure
Topics Covered in Lab

Development of a Geotechical Report Design of a Retaining Wall
Design of a Shallow Foundation Design of a Braced Excavation Support
Design of a Deep Foundation Design of a Sheet pile
Program Educational Objectives

The educational objectives of the program are as follows:
A) Technical Growth: Graduates will be successful in modern engineering practice,

integrate into the local and global work force, and contribute to the economy of
California and nation.
B) Professional Skills: Graduates will continue to demonstrate the professional skills
necessary to be competent employees, assume leadership roles and have career
success and satisfaction.
Assessment of Students Learning

The effect of this course on students learning ability will be assessed according to the
following criteria:
An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering.

An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs.
An ability to engage in life long learning.
Homework and Quizzes

There will be several homework assignments during the course of the semester.
Homework is due at the beginning of the class, on due date. There will be no credit for
the late homework submissions, unless accompanied with a university approved excuse.
Homework will be posted on the blackboard every week. Students should check the
blackboard at least once a day. There will also be a number of quizzes of 5 minutes
duration each. These quizzes will be based on the contents covered in the class.
Homework should be submitted neatly in a clean paper, one side of which should be left
blank. New problem should be started on the fresh page. Homework submission format
and guidelines should be strictly followed.
Class Project

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Students will be provided with a compilation of field geotechnical investigation reports.
Each student is responsible to use those reports to make a complete geotechnical report
and design foundation or retaining wall or sheet pile for the assigned loading condition.
Scheduled Exams
There will be two mid-term exams. No make up exams will be conducted. However, if one
misses a midterm exam for any university approved reasons, weight of the other midterm
exam will be increased. However, students should inform the instructor in written well on
time to get approval for such reasons. Missing of exams for non-approved reasons
counts as zero score. The final exam will be comprehensive and will cover the contents
covered in the entire class.
Grading Policy
The final letter grade will be computed using the following criteria:
Homework/Quizzes 20%
Midterm Exam I (September 15, 2010) 20%
Midterm Exam II (November 1, 2010) 20%
Final Exam (December 15, 2010, 17:00 18:50) 30%
Project 10%
Letter Grades
A (> 97%)
+ -
A (93 96.9%) A (90 92.9 %)
B (87 89.9%)
+ -
B (83 86.9%) B (80 82.9 %)
C (77 79.9%)
+ -
C (73 76.9%) C (70 72.9 %)
D (67 69.9%)
+ -
D (63 66.9%) D (60 62.9%)
F (< 60%)
Honor Code
California State University, Fullerton's Honor Code explained in UPS 300.021 applies to
all works performed in this class including homework, quizzes, and examinations.
Students should strictly follow those codes.
This is a professional course. A learning environment will be created in each class for
motivated students; therefore professional conduct is expected of all participants.
Professional conduct extends to use of cell phones, personal computers, iPods and
PDAs during lecture. Students violating such professional conducts are subject to
expulsion from the class.
Drop Policy
The Fall 2010 Schedule contains the University Regulations and Deadlines for dropping
this course. Students should note that the department stamp and/or department chairs
signature is also required in addition to instructors signature to drop the course.
Students With Special Needs

Students who need adaptations or accommodations because of a disability (e.g. learning,
attention deficit disorder, psychological, physical, etc.), or have emergency medical
information to share with the instructor, or need special arrangements in case the building
must be evacuated, are requested to make an appointment to discuss their needs with
the instructor during the first week of classes.

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Detailed Class Schedule
Week Day Topic/s Section Textbook Due Homework*

1 August 23 Course Overview Handout
25 Review of Soil Mechanics 1
2 30 Review of Shear Strength of Soil 1 Home Work # 1
September 1 Subsoil Exploration 2
3 6 Labor Day No Class
8 Subsoil Exploration (Joint with Geol) 2 Home Work # 2
4 13 Bearing Capacity of Shallow Found. 3
September 15 Mid-term Exam 1
#
5 20 Design of Shallow Foundn. for B.C. 5 Home Work # 3
22 Settlement of Foundation on Sand 5
6 27 Settlement of Foundation on Clay 5 Home Work # 4
#
29 Overall Design of Shallow Foundn 5
7 October 4 Design of Combined Footing 6 Home Work # 5
6 Design of Mat Foundation 6
8 11 Structural Design of Mat Foundation 6 Home Work # 6
13 Pile Foundation 11
9 18 Design of Pile Foundation on Sand 11 Home Work # 7
20 Design of Pile Foundation on Clay 11
10 25 Design of Drilled Shaft 12 Home Work # 8
11 27 Mid-term 2 Exam Review
November 1 Mid-term Exam 2
12 3 Lateral Earth Pressure Theory 7
8 Lateral Earth Pressure Calculation 7
13 10 Design of Retaining Wall 8 Home Work # 9
#
15 Design of Retaining Wall 8
14 17 Design of Sheet Pile 9 Home Work # 10
22-28 Fall Recess
15 29 Design of Sheet Pile 9
December 1 Design of Excavation Bracing Sys. 10 Home Work # 11
16 6 Design of Excavation Bracing Sys. 10
8 Review for Final Exam
Dec. 15 (17:00 18:50) Final Exam

#
* Homework due date. For example Homework # 1 is due on August 30. Lead instructor Dr. Chakrabarti

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Emergency Procedures Notice to Students
The safety of all students attending California State University Fullerton is of

paramount importance. During an emergency it is necessary for students to have a
basic understanding of their personnel responsibilities and the Universitys
emergency response procedures. In the event of an emergency please adhere to the
following guidelines
Before an emergency occurs-
1. Know the safe evacuation routes for your specific building and floor.
2. Know the evacuation assembly areas for your building.
When an emergency occurs-

1. Keep calm and do not run or panic. Your best chance of emerging from an
emergency is with a clear head.
2. Evacuation is not always the safest course of action. If directed to evacuate,
take all of your belongings and proceed safely to the nearest evacuation route.
3. Do not leave the area, remember that faculty and other staff members need
to be able to account for your whereabouts.
4. Do not re-enter building until informed it is safe by a building marshal or
other campus authority.
5. If directed to evacuate the campus please follow the evacuation routes
established by either parking or police officers.
After an emergency occurs-

1. If an emergency disrupts normal campus operations or causes the University
to close for a prolonged period of time (more than three days), students are
expected to complete the course assignments listed on the syllabus as soon
as it is reasonably possible to do so.
2. Students can determine the University's operational status by checking the

University's web site at http://www.fullerton.edu, calling the University's
hotline number at 657-278-0911, or tuning into area radio and television
stations. Students should assume that classes will be held unless they hear
or read an official closure announcement.
EMERGENCY CALLS
DIAL 9-1-1
All campus phones and cell phones on campus reach the University Police
Department
Non-emergency line: (657) 278-2515

24-hour recorded emergency information line: (657) 278-0911
(657) 278-4444

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Geotechnical Properties of Soil

Foundation design requires,
Load from superstructure
Building code requirement
Behavior of soil supporting the foundation
Geological condition underneath
Third and fourth factors are very important to a foundation engineer.
Soil behavior includes compressibility, permeability, and shear strength.

Those parameters can be measured in the lab, field, and can be estimated with
established correlations.
Grain size distribution is very important to estimate those parameters.
Following are a few important geotechnical properties of the foundation material.
Index Properties of Soil
Index properties are the characteristics of the soil that indicate its type and composition,
and provide indicators of probable engineering behavior. Most importantly, index property
tests are used to classify soil according to various soil classification systems, one of which
is the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). The USCS provides a basis for common
technical communication between designers when referring to soils/geomaterials. Particle
size analysis and Atterberg Limits are two very important index properties of the soil.
Particle Size Analysis
Particle size analyses are used to determine the relative proportions of soil particles of
various sizes, in terms of percentage of the total dry weight. These tests are conducted by
mechanical sieving and/or sedimentation i.e. hydrometer analysis.
Grain Sizes
Soil grain sizes are divided into two broad classes: coarse and fine. The definitions of each
type are given below.
Coarse Grained Soils

Boulders particles of rock/soil that will not pass a 12 square opening.
Cobbles particles of rock/soil passing a 12 square opening and retained on a 3 sieve.
Gravel particles of rock/soil passing a 3 sieve and retained on a No. 4 sieve.
coarse passing a 3 sieve and retained on a sieve.
fine passing a sieve and retained on a No. 4 sieve.
Sand particles of rock/soil passing a No.4 sieve and retained on a No. 200 sieve.
coarse passing a No. 4 sieve and retained on a No. 10 sieve.

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medium passing a No. 10 sieve and retained on a No. 40 sieve.
fine passing a No. 40 sieve and retained on a No. 200 sieve.
Fine Grained Soils

Silt soil passing the No. 200 sieve that does not or only slightly exhibits plasticity.
Clay soil passing the No. 200 sieve that exhibits plasticity.
Shown in table 1 are the openings for different US sieve sizes.
Table 1 Dimension of opening for each US sieve #
Right) Opening of various sieves.

Sieve analysis
Sieve analysis is done to measure particle size distribution.
Hydrometer Analysis
Hydrometer analysis is done to measure the actual proportion of particles smaller than
0.075 mm. Following equation is used for the analysis.
18. L
D .
w (G s 1) t
Where,
w = Density water = Viscosity of water
D = Diameter of soil particle L = Distance traveled at time t
If the unit of,
g g.sec
w = , = , L = cm, t = min, and D = mm
cm 3 cm 2
30. L
D .
w (G s 1) t

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L
D K. , where
t
30.
Where, K
w (G s 1)
Gs is more or less fixed for a soil type, and varies with the temperature of water. We can
calculate K using the data shown in the table 2. Therefore, we can calculate D if we measure
L and t for the specific temperature.
Table 2 Value of K from the above equation
Sieve Analysis Data Interpretation
Data is interpreted in a plot of percent finer versus logarithm of sieve size opening that is
referred to as the Grain Size Distribution Curve. Figure 1 shows a typical grain size
distribution curve for a coarse-grained soil. From this plot D10, D30, and D60 are determined
and then the Coefficient of Uniformity (Cu) and Coefficient of Gradation (Cc) are computed.
Coefficient of Uniformity
The Coefficient of Uniformity (Cu) is a parameter that is used to determine if a soil is

uniform or well-graded. Cu is defined as:
D60
Cu
D10
Cu basically describes the slope of the grain size curve. Large values of C u indicate that the
soil is well-graded and small values indicate the soil is poorly-graded (i.e., it has a uniform
gradation). For gravel, Cu > 4 indicates the soil is well-graded. For sands, Cu > 6 indicates
the soil is a well-graded.

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Figure 1 Typical grain size distribution curve
Coefficient of Curvature (also called the Coefficient of Gradation)
Coefficient of curvature (Cc) is a parameter that describes the curvature of the grain size
curve. It is defined as:
2
D30
Cc
D10 D60
Cc 1 indicates that the soil grains between D60 and D10 are very similar in size.
Types of grain size distribution curves
Soils are natural materials therefore there are an infinite number of possible grain size
curves. Figure 2 shows a few examples of the grain size curve shapes that are often
encountered.
Figure 2 Typical grain size distribution curves found in nature

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Weight Volume Relationship
Soils are occurred in nature in a 3- phase- system: soil solid, water, and air. It is necessary
to understand the relationship between these phases to evaluate the behavior of soil.
To know the relationship, we need to separate 3 phase system as shown in figure 3.
Figure 3 Phase diagram for a soil mass
Volume Relationship
Ws (1 w)
Vv =
Void ratio (e) = , V
Vs = d (1 w)
G (1 w)
Vv s w
Porosity (n) = 1 e
V G
d s w
Vw 1 e
Degree of saturation (S) = Gs w Se
Vv
(G e) w
sat s
n 1 e
e=
1 n d Gs w (1 n)
Gs w (1 n)(1 w)
e
n= sat Gs w (1 n) n w
1 e
n
w
Gs (1 n)

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Table 3 Summaries on Mass (Weight) Volume relationship
Definitions Formulas Units Comments
Void ratio VV none

e
VS
Porosity VV %
n 100
V
Degree of saturation VW % Range: 0 to 100%
S 100
VV
M W
Water content w W W 100 %
(moisture content) MS WS
Unit weight (definition) weight F Recall: F = M A

g
volume L3 and density = mass/volume
Unit weight of water; WW M F M : 9.81 kN/m3 or 62.4 pcf.

W ; W ;
Density of water.
VW VW L3 L3 : 1000 kg/m3 or 1 g/cm3
Unit weight of solids; WS M F M also, S GS W

S ; S ;
Density of solids VS VS L3 L3
also called moist and if soil is
W F
Total Unit weight t
V saturated t = SAT .
L3
Dry unit weight WS F

d
V 1 w L3
Relative Density emax e % Used for relatively clean
Dr 100% sands only. See note below.
emax emin
d d ,min d ,max
Dr 100%
d ,max d ,min d
Useful Hints:
Gs may be assumed when needed (Typically sand = 2.65 and clay = 2.7).
The expression: S e Gs w can be used as a check or shortcut for many problems.
V or Vs may be assumed to be equal to one (1) if no specific sample information is given.
Always draw a phase diagram as if it were a free body diagram of the soil (ie, show all
knowns and unknowns).
emax and emin represent the soil in its loosest and densest states, respectively, and are
determined using ASTM standard tests in the laboratory.

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Table 4 Various forms of density relationships
Relative Density
Relative Density (Dr) is used to indicate in-situ denseness of granular materials such as sand
and gravel.
emax e
Dr 100 %
emax emin
Where,
emax = Void ratio of the soil in loosest state emin = Void ratio of the soil in densest state
e = in-situ void ratio
Theoretically Dr varies from 0% to 100%. But Dr ranges from 20% to 85% in practice.
Table 5 Qualitative description of granular soil deposit
Dr can also be expressed in terms of n and .

(1 nmin )( nmax n) ( d d min ) d max
Dr 100 % Dr . 100 %
(nmax nmin )(1 n) ( d max d min ) d

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Plasticity of Soil
Fine grained soils that have clay minerals can be remolded without crumble at the presence
of water. State of fine grained soil (known as consistency) varies with the amount of water
in it. Attergerg was the first person to describe such consistency of soil. Depending on the
moisture content, the behavior of soil can be divided into four major states solid, semi
solid, plastic, and liquid. Shown in figure 4 are the consistency stages of the soil specimen.
Physical State
Slurry
Liquid Liquid Limit Water content at the boundary
between a liquid and a plastic. Also the lower
limit of viscous soil flow.
Plastic
Increasing Plastic Limit Water content at the boundary

Moisture between semisolid and plastic. Also the lower
Content limit of the plastic state.
Semisolid
Shrinkage Limit Water content at the boundary

between semisolid and solid states. The lower
Solid limit of volume change upon drying.
Dry Soil
Figure 4 Consistency states of the soil specimen
The limits of those states are called consistency limits. There are three consistency limits,
which are explained below:
1. Liquid Limit (LL)

2. Plastic Limit (PL), and
3. Shrinkage Limit (SL)
These limits are called Atterberg limits. In other words, Atterberg limits are the limits of
consistency of a soil as defined by water contents that are the boundaries between soil
physical states. It is specified by ASTM D 4318.
Uses of Atterberg Limits:
Calculation of Plasticity Index (LL - PL).

USCS and AASHTO classification.
Estimation of the Compression Index (Cc).
Approximate idea of clay mineralogy and activity.

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Liquid Limit
The water content at which a groove cut in a soil sample closes for a length of inch in 25
cranks when tested in a liquid limit device is the liquid limit. This occurs at a shear strength
of approximately 2.5 KPa (shear strength decreases as water content increases) as shown in
figure 5.
Figure 5 Chart showing the decrease in shear strength with water content
Plastic Limit
The water content at which a soil begins to crumble when rolled by hand into a 1/8 (3.18
mm) diameter threads is the plastic limit.
Figure 6 Change in the volume of soil with water content
Shrinkage Limit
The moisture content at which the volume of the soil mass ceases to change is defined as
shrinkage limit.
Plasticity Index (PI)

The PI is an indication of how much water can bind to the soil particles and is the
difference between the liquid limit and plastic limit.
PI LL PL

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Clayey soils tend to have a higher PI than silty soils. Soil consistency can be estimated with
PI as shown in the figure 6.
Table 6 Classification of soil with plasticity index
Plasticity of the clay is defined by the value of PI. Plasticity index depends on the clay sized
fraction and type of clay mineral.
Liquidity Index (LI)

wn PL
LI
PI
Where
wn is the natural in-situ water content.
Usual Range: 0 LI 1.
The Liquidity Index is an indication of the consistency of a soil in its natural state (at the
natural water content, wn).
LI < 0 soil is non-plastic

0 LI 1 soil is in plastic range
LI > 1 soil is a viscous liquid
Some sensitive clays may have LI > 1 (wn > LL)

Some overconsolidated clays may have LI < 0 (wn < PL)
Table 7 Range of Atterberg Limit values for some common clay minerals
(after Mitchell 2005)
Mineral Liquid Limit (%) Plastic Limit Shrinkage

(%) Limit
Montmorillonite 100-900 50-100 8.5-15
Illite 60-120 35-60 15-17
Kaolinite 30-110 25-40 25-29
Chlorite 44-47 36-40
When wn PL, the soil is near the optimum moisture content for compaction.
The LL correlates to compressibility through the following correlations

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Cc = 0.009 (LL - 10)
Where
Cc - the compression index, (about 30 % reliability).
Note
These correlations are only for natural soil, not the compacted soil
PI correlates to strength of fine-grained soil.
Atterberg Limits are fundamental to the USCS soil classification system. Remember
that the USCS is a functional classification system, meaning that the group symbols and
group names have specific meaning in terms of engineering behavior.
Activity
Activity of a soil is an index of the type of clay mineral and has been correlated to
engineering behavior such as the shrink-swell behavior. Activity, A, is defined as follows:
PI (%)
A
% clay fraction (< 2 m)
The percent of clay fraction is determined by hydrometer analysis. Activity of the clay is an
indicator of its activeness (Table 8).
Table 8 Classification of clays with Activity

Activity Classification
<0.75 Inactive clays
0.75 1.25 Normal clays
>1.25 Active clays

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Classification of Soil
A classification scheme provides a method of identifying soils in a particular group that
would likely exhibit similar characteristics. Soil classification is used to specify a certain
soil type that is best suitable for a given application. There are several classification
schemes available. Each was devised for a specific use. For example American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) developed one scheme that
classifies the soil according to their usefulness in roads and highways. However, Unified Soil
Classification System (USCS) was originally developed for use in airfield construction, but
was later modified for general purpose.
USCS System
The USCS uses symbols for the particular size group:
G Gravel particles retained on #4 sieve (4.75 mm)
S- Sand particles passing #4 sieve, but retained on # 200 sieve (0.075 mm)
M- Silt particles passing # 200 sieve
C- Clay particles passing # 200 sieve
These are combined with other symbols with expression on gradation characteristics
W- Well graded
P- Poorly graded
And, plasticity characteristics
H High plasticity L- Low plasticity O- Organic matter
Shown in figure 7 is the classification system for plasticity condition.
Figure 7 Classification of soil based on plasticity characteristics
Table 8 shows the general criteria for USCS classification.

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Table 8 USCS classification system
AASHTO Soil Classification System

AASHTO System
The AASHTO soil classification is used to determine the suitability of soils for earthworks,
embankments, and road bed materials (sub base and sub grade). According to AASHTO
classification,
Gravel 75 mm 2 mm (#10 sieve)
Sand 2 mm 0.075 mm (#200 sieve)
Silt and Clay <0.075 mm
Silty: PI <10%
Clayey: PI >11
AASHTO classification classifies soil into 7 major groups: A-1 through A-7.
A-1 A-3 : Granular or coarse grained soil
A-4 A-7 : Silty clay or fine grained soil

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Shown in table 9 is the general AASHTO classification system guideline.
Table 9 General guideline for the AASHTO classification System
Silty and clayey soils can be located in a plasticity chart as shown in the figure 8.

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Figure 8 AASHTO classification system for silty and clayey soil
A group index value (GI) is appended in parentheses to the main group to provide a measure
of quality of a soil as highway sub grade material. The group index is given as:
Group Index : GI ( F 35)0.2 0.005( LL 40) 0.01( F 15)( PI 10)

Where,
F = % finer than #200 sieve size.
GI is expressed in a nearest whole number. If GI is less than 0, it is considered as 0. If the

first or last terms in the above equation are less than 0, GI is 0. For them partial group
index is used, for the non-zero term. The higher the group index, the lower the quality of
soil as sub grade material. GI should not exceed 20 for any of the soil classified in group A-
4 through A-7.

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Permeability
Permeability is a measure of the ease in which water can flow through a soil volume. It is
one of the most important geotechnical parameters. However, it is probably the most
difficult parameter to determine. In large part, it controls the strength and deformation
behavior of soils. It directly affects, for example, the quantity of water that will flow
toward an excavation, the design of cutoffs beneath dams on permeable foundations or the
design of the clay layer of a landfill liner.
Application
Estimation of the quantity of underground seepage water under various hydraulic
conditions
Quantification of water during pumping for underground construction
Stability analysis of slopes, earth dams, and earth retaining structures.
Velocity of flow, k i
Seepage Discharge, Qki A
Where,
k = Coefficient of Permeability or Hydraulic Conductivity of soil
A = Cross-sectional area of the flow channel
Intrinsic permeability
The parameter k is a special case for flow of water through soil at a fairly constant
temperature. However, permeability can vary if the fluid is not water, such as in petroleum
recovery, or the temperature other than 200C. The intrinsic permeability, k, is defined as:
k
k'

where,
= dynamic viscosity and is the unit weight of the fluid.
Factors Affecting Permeability

Viscosity of fluid Soil void ratio
Size and continuity of pore spaces Soil fabric
or joints Presence of discontinuities
Size, surface roughness, and Degree of saturation.
shape of soil particles
The smallest particles in a soil mixture control the permeability of the soil mass. The fine
contents of a soil have a greater influence on permeability than does density. In rocks, the
presence of fractures controls permeability.
Permeability is also dependent on the scale of the problem at hand. Direct measurements
must account for presence of contrasting permeability inclusions within a soil mass. An

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example is an openwork gravel seam lying between two relatively impervious clay layers.
Measuring the permeability of the clay will give misleading value of formation permeability
if the scale of the problem will include the gravel layer. In rock masses, the permeability of
an unfractured, massive rock will be low. However, if the rock mass is fractured, the
permeability of the entire mass is controlled by the scale of the fracture spacing.
Some typical values of permeability for soils are shown in table 10.
Table 10 Typical values of permeability coefficients

Typical Permeability, k
Soil Type (cm/sec)
Gravels and Coarse Sands > 10-1
Fine Sands 10-1 to 10-3
Silty Sands 10-3 to 10-5
Silts 10-5 to 10-7
Clays < 10-7
Indirect methods to estimate permeability
a) Hazens equation
This equation is appropriate for clean, saturated, poorly graded sands (SP) with C u < 5, and
0.1 mm < D10 < 0.3.
k = C D102 [cm/s]
where,
C = 100, and
D10 = effective grain size [cm]
or
C = 1, and
D10 = effective grain size [mm]
This equation does not account for void ratio or grain shape. This equation is empirical,
which means it was derived from experimental data. The standard error in the correlation
is unknown which means we have no way of knowing the reliability of this relationship for
computing permeability. This means we need to use Hazen's equation with caution.
b) Kozeny-Carman equation
The Kozney-Carmen equation accounts for each of the fundamental factors that influence
permeability of soils: void ratio, grain size and shape (through specific surface), amount of
fines (through specific surface), degree of saturation, flow channel conditions and fluid
properties. This equation has a theoretical basis but does contain empirical elements. It
works well for sands and gravels where laminar flow exists. It is not appropriate for clays

24
since it assumes there are no electrochemical forces but may be used on non-plastic silty
soils.
3
k 1 e
K T 2S 2 1 e
o s
where,
= unit weight of fluid
K0 = pore shape factor (2.5)
T = Tortousity factor (typically 1.41)
Ss = specific surface area (surface area of solids per unit volume)
= kinematic viscosity
e = void ratio

For water at 20o C, 9.93X10 4 [1/cm s]

KoT2 assumed to be 4.8 0.3 for uniform spheres (5 for sand and silt) .
Making these substitutions,
1 e3
k 1.99 X10 2
4
, cm/s, at 20o C
Ss 1 e
Specific surface, Ss, can be computed using a simplified method which assumes the soil
is composed of spherical grains.
In this case, Ss = 6/D50,

Where,
D50 = median grain diameter of the soil as obtained from a grain size distribution curve.
Ss can also be computed from the grain size distribution using:

Ss A f x1s1 x 2s2 ... x n sn
where,
Af = grain angularity factor from table 11,
xi = percent (decimal) of the total soil sample between adjacent sieves from a sieve
analysis,
si = specific surface of spheres uniformly distributed in size between adjacent
6
sieves of size dx and dy (in cm) is given by: si , or from table 12.
dx dy
Table 11 Angularity Factors (from EM 1110-2-1901, USCOE)
Material Description Angularity Factor, Af
Glass sphere Round 1.0
Sands Rounded 1.1
Subrounded 1.2
Subangular 1.3
Angular 1.4
Crushed stone Quartzite 1.5
Crushed stone Basalt 1.6
Crushed glass Pyrex 1.8

25
Table 12 Ss of spherical particles lying between given U.S. Standard sieve

sizes
(from EM 1110-2-1901, USCOE)
U.S. Standard sieve number Ss (cm2/cm3) (1)
4 to 6 15.0
6 to 8 21.2
8 to 10 27.5
10 to 16 38.9
16 to 20 60.0
20 to 30 85.2
30 to 40 120.5
40 to 50 169.0
50 to 70 239.0
70 to 100 339.2
100 to 140 479.7
140 to 200 680.7
Chapuiss Equation
0.7825
2 e3
k (cm / s ) 2.4622 D10
1 e
D10 should be in mm.

26
Seepage
Darcys law is applicable when flow of water is in one direction. In real world problems,
seepage occurs in all three dimensions. Solution for 3D problems is complicated and needs
advanced mathematical calculations. In many cases, 3D problems are simplified to 2D and
seepage flow is calculated accordingly.
Equation of 2D Steady Flow
2h 2h
0
x 2 y 2
This equation is called Laplace Equation.
Graphical Solution for Laplace equation:

Laplace equation requires 2 families of curves that meet at right angle. One is called flow
line and the other is called equipotential line. The network of these lines is called Flow
Net (figure 9).
Properties of flow net
Same flow quantity (q) through each flow channel.
Same head drop (h) between each adjacent pair of equipotential lines
(except for partial drop).
Figure 9 Example of flow net beneath a dam structure
In figure 9,
q H
q h
nf nd
Seepage Calculation Using Flow Net
If our flow nets are going to have the properties of the lines mentioned above, we need
to draw them in a certain way.

27
Figure 10 Distribution of the equi-potential lines in a flow channel
From figure 10,
b nf
q k .H .$. where, $
l nd
For a square flow net grid,
q k .H .$ and Q = q. L
where, L is the length of dam in a perpendicular direction
For k x k y ,
ky
we make horizontal scale = x vertical Scale
kx
and plot the structure. Then we follow the same procedure. This gives,
H .n f
q k x .k y .
nd

28
In Situ Stress
In a given volume of soil mass, void space is distributed randomly. Those spaces are filled
with either water or air. To analyze major problems in soil mechanics, we need to know the
distribution of stress in the soil profile. Lets consider the case with no seepage first.
Stress Condition without seepage
' u
Effective Stress of a Soil Column (Figure 11)
Figure 11 Soil layer in a tank without any seepage pressure.
Stresses in Saturated Soil with Upward Seepage

If water is seeping upwards, effective stress will be decreased by the amount equal to
seepage pressure (figure 12).

29
Figure 12 Soil layer in a tank having upward seepage pressure.
When seepage pressure is so high that effective stress is zero, sand boiling or quick sand
occurs. This can be checked at site easily.
At sand boiling,
z ' ic z w
Where,
ic = critical hydraulic gradient for sand boiling to occur
Therefore,
'
ic
w

30
Stress in Saturated Soil with Downward Seepage
If water is seeping downwards as shown in figure 13, effective stress will be increased by
the amount equal to seepage pressure.
Figure 13 Soil layer in a tank having downward seepage pressure.

31
Example Problems on Geotechnical Properties of Soil

1. The particle size distribution for soil A is shown on the attached figure. The soil has the
following Atterberg limits values: LL = 47 and PL = 25. What are possible group names and group
symbols for this soil?

32

33
2. The particle size distribution for soil B is shown on the attached figure. Atterberg limits
conducted on the -#40 sieve fraction of the soil plotted under the A-line. Using the ASTM
classification procedure, what are the symbol and name for this soil?

34
3. A Shelby tube sample of a clay sand was taken. The tube was extruded, and a
cylindrical specimen for the tube was trimmed for property determination. The specimen had the
following parameters:
Diameter = 2.80 inches Height = 6.00 inches Weight (moist) = 2.694 lbs
Weight (dry) = 2.405 lbs
Assuming that Gs = 2.67, calculate the following parameters:
Moist unit weight (pcf) Dry unit weight (pcf)

Saturated unit weight (pcf) Water content (%)
Void ratio Degree of saturation (%)

35
4. A bag sample was obtained in the field during a Standard Penetration Test. Atterberg limits
were determined for the soil sample. The liquid limit was measured to be 16% and the plastic limit
was measured to be 10%. Grain size analysis provided the following values:
D10 = 0.075 mm
D50 = 0.10 mm
D85 = 0.20 mm
What is the group name and group symbol for this soil?

36
Shear Strength of Soil

Shear strength of soil is the internal resistance of soil to shearing forces.
Determination of the shear strength of soil is one of the most important aspects of
geotechnical engineering. Ultimate shear strength and the deformation behavior of
soil under an applied load are critical for design of foundations, earth structures,
retaining structures, and many others. Shear strength is fundamentally due to the
combination of friction between particles and the work required to cause the sample
to change in volume, i.e.
1) Inter-granular friction, , and
2) Dilation, or volume change, .
Naturally, any factor which influences friction or volume change will influence the
strength of a specimen. The most influential factors (state parameters) that
affect volume change include void ratio and confining stress (3). Grain shape and
roughness are two factors that influence friction.
Shear strength at failure is normally defined by Mohr-Coulomb Failure criteria.
Mohr-Coulomb Failure criteria
Figure 1 Mohr-Coulomb Failure Envelope

In most of the soil mechanics problems, failure envelope is considered as a straight line,
given by the following equation,
failure c n tan
Where,
c is the cohesion
is the angle of friction.
n is the normal stress on the failure plane.
This equation is called Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criteria.
In saturated soil, = + u and

37
failure c' n ' tan '
Where,
c is the effective stress value of cohesion (very small)

is the effective stress (or drained) angle of friction.
n is the normal stress on the failure plane at failure.
Typical values of for different types of soils are shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Typical value of drained friction angles for sand and silt (Das, 2006)
For sand and gravel, c = 0 (they are called cohesion less soil)
For normally consolidated and remolded clays, c = 0
For over consolidated clays, c = f (OCR)
Below the shear envelope - failure does not occur

At and above shear envelope - failure occurs
Inclination of Plane of Failure
Figure 2 Inclination of failure plane in soil (Das, 2006)

38
In figure 2, 1 = Major principal stress
3 = Minor principal stress
We can draw Mohr circle for the stress condition shown above as shown in figure 3.
Figure 3 Mohr circle for the case shown in figure 2 (Das, 2006)
' '
1 ' 3 ' tan 2 (45 0 ) 2c' tan( 45 0 )
2 2
Here, c and are the effective shear strength parameters.
For earth structures and soil-structure interaction (foundations) the Factor of

Safety against failure is given by:
Strength of soil
FS
Shear stress to soil
Figure 4 Design considerations with respect to shear strength (Budhu, 2006)

39
Determination of Shear Strength
Shear strength of soil can be measured in laboratory or in-situ.
Laboratory Measurement
There are different methods to measure shear strength of soil in laboratory.
a. Direct Shear Test

This test is generally conducted for drained condition (figure 4). It is simplest test and is
common for shear strength measurement of clays.
Figure 5 Setting of Direct Shear Device

40
Figure 6 Data retrieved from a direct shear test (Budhu, 2006)
Calculations
1. Calculate dry unit weight of the specimen.
Wd
Dry unit weight =
V
2. Calculate void ratio.
Gd w
e= 1
d
3. Calculate normal stress ()
Normal Load
'
Area
4. Calculate shear stress.
Shear Force

Area

41
5. Plot versus shear strain (shear displacement/original height of specimen) as
shown in figure 6.
6. Plot vertical strain (displacement/initial height) vs shear strain.
7. Plot normal stress (in x-axis) versus shear stress to make shear envelope.
8. The equation of the line will give you c and .
For clays, rate of strain should be very slow. Rate of strain is determined from
consolidation data.
For dry sand and NC clays, c is negligible. Therefore,

f
' tan 1 ( )
'
When we conduct direct shear test to measure the friction angle due to interaction
between foundation material and soil, is replaced by , and c is replaced by ca
(adhesion).
b. Triaxial Shear Test

42
Figure 7 A triaxial compression device (Budhu, 2006)
Triaxial test (figure 7) is more reliable because we can measure both

drained and undrained shear strength.
Generally 1.4 diameter (3 tall) or 2 diameter (4 tall) specimen is used.
Specimen is encased by a thin rubber membrane and set into a plastic
cylindrical chamber.
Cell pressure is applied in the chamber (which represent 3) by pressurizing
the cell fluid (generally water).
Vertical stress is increased by loading the specimen (by raising the platen in
strain controlled test and by adding loads directly in stress controlled test,
but strain controlled test is more common) until shear failure occurs. Total
vertical stress, which is 1 is equal to the sum of 3 and deviator stress (d).
Measurement of d, axial deformation, pore pressure, and sample volume
change are recorded.
Depending on the nature of loading drainage condition, triaxial tests are
conducted in three different ways.

43
1. Consolidated Drained Triaxial Test (CD Triaxial test)
This test is referred as slow test (S-test).
Figure 8 Initial and final principal stresses at triaxial specimen (Budhu, 2006)
Calculations
L
Axial strain = a
L
V
Volumetric strain = v
V
Ac (1 v )
New area after deformation = A
(1 a )
Ac = Area after consolidation

44
Figure 9 Graphs plotted with the CD triaxial tests (Budhu, 2006)
1 ' 3 ' d
Plot d vs. a for at least 3 tests (figure 9).
Plot v vs. a for at least 3 tests.
Plot Mohr circle based on 1 and 3 at failure.
Plot Mohr circle for failure for all 3 confining stresses.
Make a straight line, which is tangent to all Mohrs circles.
This is failure envelope. Get c and from the line (figure 10).
Figure 10 Effective stress failure envelope for NC clay (Das, 2006)

45
Shear envelope for NC clay is different than that of OC clay as shown in
Figure 11 Effective stress failure envelope for OC clay (Das, 2006)
2. Consolidated Undrained Triaxial Test (CU-Triaxial Test)

This is most common type of triaxial test.
Prepare the sample and follow the same procedure until consolidation.
Close the drainage valve and shear the specimen at undrained condition. Strain rate
is about 8 times faster than the drained one.
Record L, d, and u.
Conduct the test until the principal stress ratio shows ultimate value or 20% axial
strain.
Calculations
u d
Skemptons pore pressure coefficient, A = For NC clay, A = 0.5 1
d
For OC clay, A = -0.5 0
Plot d vs a for at least 3 tests (figure 13).

Plot u vs a for at least 3 tests.
Plot 1/3 vs a, and p vs q . p = (1 + 3)/2 and q = (1 - 3)/2
Plot Mohr circle based on 1 and 3 at failure and 1 and 3 at failure (figure 13).
Plot Mohr circle for failure for all 3 confining stresses.
Make a straight line, which is tangent to all Mohrs circles. This is failure envelope.
Get c and from the line.

46
Figure 12 data derived from a CU triaxial test (Budhu, 2006)

47
Figure 13 Mohr circle plotted from a CU triaxial test data (Budhu, 2006)
Nature of change of pore water pressure for OC clay is different than that in NC clays as
shown in figure 14.

48
Figure 14 Failure envelope

for a CU test specimen (Das,
2006)
3. Unconsolidated Undrained Triaxial Test (UU Triaxial Test)
Figure 15 Concept of a UU triaxial test (Budhu, 2006)
As drainage is not permitted and consolidation is not necessary, this test is very
quick, and also referred as Q-test.

49
As drainage is not permitted, u increases right after the application of 3 and
further increases after the application of d.
As Uc = B. 3 and Ud = A . d
Total u = B. 3 + A . d
u = B. 3 + A . (1 - 3)
This test is common in clayey soils.
Steps for sample preparation and saturation are same as in the other tests. But the
sample is not consolidated in this test.
After the sample is saturated, it is sheared at higher strain rate.
L, d, and u are recorded.
The test is continued until the principal stress ratio shows ultimate value or 20%
axial strain.
Calculations
Plot d vs a for at least 3 tests.
Plot u vs a for at least 3 tests.
Plot 1/3 vs a, and p vs q . p = (1 + 3)/2 and q = (1 - 3)/2
Plot Mohr circle based on 1 and 3 at failure and 1 and 3 at failure. They should
give the same d value.
Plot Mohr circle for failure for all 3 confining stresses. All tests should give same d,
as 3 is same for all tests although 3 is different.
Make a straight line, which is tangent to all Mohrs circles. This gives c u with a
horizontal line, i.e. u = 0. Therefore this test is called = 0 test (figure 15).
cu = d/2
c. Unconfined Compression Test
This is a special type of UU test used for saturated clays, where 3 = 0.
The specimen is not enclosed into a rubber membrane, but is kept uncovered.
Axial load is applied rapidly to cause failure.
The procedure is as follows:
Get three trimmed soil specimens.
Measure dimensions of the specimens.
Measure weights of the specimens.
Load the samples into the unconfined compression device. They should be placed
in between two platens.
Lower the upper platen slowly, just to make contact with the top of the soil
specimen.
Set vertical displacement dial gauge and loading proving ring dial gauge to zero.
Lower the upper platen at the speed of about 0.5%/min.
Record the load and displacement dial gauge readings. Usually the readings are
taken at every 0.01 inch of displacement.

50
The compression load goes on increasing, peaks, and then decreases.
After it starts to decrease, stop the test.
Reverse the platen movement, and remove the specimen.
Draw free hand sketch of the specimens after failure.
Determine moisture contents of the specimen.
Calculate void ratio prior to the test
Repeat this procedure for two more specimens.
Note L, and d.
Figure 16 Concept of an unconfined compression test (Budhu, 2006)

Calculations
L
Calculate axial strain. =
L
L = Vertical deformation of the specimen.
Calculate vertical load on the specimen.
Vertical load = proving ring reading x calibration factor

A0
Calculate corrected area of the specimen (Ac) Ac
1
A0 = Initial cross-sectional area i.e. x D2/4
Calculate the stress on the specimen.

51
Load

Ac
Plot versus axial strain. Peak is unconfined compression strength (qu)
(figure 16). Then calculate cu.
Undrained cohesion (cu ) = qu/2 (figure 16)
Table 2 Relationship between consistency limit and

unconfined compression strength (Das, 2006)
Shown in table 2 are the typical values of q u for different consistencies.

d. Simple Shear Test
Figure 17 Arrangement of a simple shear device (Budhu, 2006)

e. Ring shear test
Figure 18 Ring shear device

52
Example Problems on Shear Strength

1. Given the following data from triaxial compression tests on clay, find the effective stress
friction angle, ', and the effective stress cohesion intercept, c.
2. (a) The effective stress strength parameters for a saturated clay soil are c' = 180 psf and
' = 25. The value of the major principal effective stress at failure is 2130 psf. What is
the value of the minor principal effective stress at failure?

53
b) If the failure described in part (a) took place during an unconfined compression test,
what was the value of the pore water pressure at failure?
2
c) The cross-sectional area of the sample at failure was 6.4 in . What was the externally
applied axial load (pounds) on the specimen at failure?
d) What is the value of the undrained shear strength?
e) What is the value of the unconfined compressive strength?

54
3. A rectangular foundation 4 m x 5 m transmits a load of 5 MN to a deep uniform deposit of
3
stiff over-consolidated clay with OCR = 4 and saturated unit weight is 18 kN/m . Ground
water level is at 1 m below the ground surface. A CU test was conducted on a soil
sample taken at a depth of 5 m below the center of the foundation. The results obtained
are: Su = 40 kPa, p = 27 , cs = 24 . Will the soil reach the failure state at a) short-term
0 0
and b) long-term condition? Assume the soil above the ground water level is saturated.
Consider z = 71.1 kPa and x = 5.1 kPa
0.5
Ko = (1 sincs) (OCR)

55

56
Sub-soil Exploration
In nature, soil below the ground is heterogeneous and stratified.
To design the foundation safely, it is necessary to know the type of soil strata
with depth.
For this purpose, subsoil exploration is done. The main objectives of the subsoil
exploration can be summarized as,
To determine the nature of soil and depth-wise stratification.
To obtain the disturbed or undisturbed specimens for geotechnical
analysis
To know the depth of bedrock.
To conduct in-situ tests for the measurement of shear strength and
permeability.
To determine the position of ground water table.
Proper planning of subsoil exploration program is essential to have efficient
investigation.
Planning of Soil Exploration Program

Compilation of the existing information about the proposed structure
Compilation of the existing subsoil exploration information of the nearby
area
Reconnaissance survey at the site
Detailed site investigation
Generally, explorations should be made as much as possible. However, table 1
gives us an idea for the initial planning.
Table 1 General guideline for the spacing of boring (Das, 2006)
Following guideline is used for the depth of boring (Zb),

For light steel and narrow concrete building, Z b 3 s
0.7
m
For heavy steel and wide concrete building, Z b 6 s
0.7
m

57
s = no. of story
However, ASCE recommendation is as follows:
Estimate z due to construction.
Determine depth (D1) at which z is 10% of v
Plot v0 vs depth, and the graph for z vs depth
Find depth (D2) where zv0
Minimum depth of boring is smaller of the two (D1 and D2)
For embankment
Depth of boring = (0.5 2) times height of embankment
Methods of Boring
1. Auger Boring (Figure 1)

Can be used up to the depth of 3 5 m.
Used for highways and small structures
An auger is driven below the ground and the soil trapped inside the rig is
collected.
This gives disturbed sample only
Can be hand driven or power driven (continuous flight augers) augers
depending on the depth.
Can be solid stem or hollow stem
SPT and sampling can be done by hollow stem auger.

58
Figure 1 Schematic diagram and picture of a

hollow-stem auger with removable plug

59
2. Rotary Drilling
A drill bit is attached at the bottom of the drill rod (figure 2).
Drilling is done by rotating and pushing the drill rod downwards.
Water or drilling mud is forced inside while drilling.
Drilling mud (slurry of bentonite and water) helps to support the sides
temporarily.
Water jet at high pressure brings the drilled sample out.
Figure 2 A Rotary drilling and drill bits

60
3. Wash Boring
Difference between rotary drilling and wash boring is that wash boring is
done by drilling the casing down. Casing has metal or diamond bit attached at
the bottom.
Force of water brings the soil chops out from the hole (figure 3).
A number of segments of casings can be connected to increase the drilling
depth.
Figure 3 Schematic diagram of wash boring (Das, 2006)
4. Percussion Drilling
This method is used in drilling hard rock.
A heavy drill bit is raised and lowered to chop the rock.
Chopped soil is brought up by the force of circulating water.
Soil Sampling Methods

1. Sampling by Split Spoon (figure 4)
It consists of a driving shoe and split spoon tube.
It has coupling at the top to connect with the drill rod.

61
Drilling rod is removed from the desired depth where sample is to be
taken (generally every 5 ft) and split spoon sample is attached to the
drilling rod and lowered to the bottom of the bore hole (figure 5).
The sampler is driven into the ground by hammering on the top of the
drill rod by dropping a 140 lb hammer from the height of 30 inch.
Number of blows required to drive each 6 inch of the sampler is
recorded. Sum of the number of blows required to drive last two 6
inches (1 ft in total) is standard penetration number (N).
After complete drilling, the sampler is withdrawn and removed from the
rod.
Soil sample is sealed and transferred to the lab.
Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the split spoon sampler (Das, 2006)

62
Figure 5 A drilling rod with split spoon sampler is being lowered down (Das, 2006)
This N value should be corrected for actually energy applied to the hammer as opposed
to the theoretically calculated energy. The N value is corrected with various influencing
factors to get N60 (standard penetration number corrected for field condition) value,
as shown by the following equation.
N H B S R
N 60
60
Where H = Hammer efficiency (%)
B = Bore hole diameter correction
S = Sampler correction
R = Rod length correction
Shown in table 2 are those factors for various situations.

63
Table 2 variation of correction factors with different parameters (Das, 2006)
2. Sampling by Thin-wall Tube

This is used to get undisturbed soil specimen as the split spoon always gives
disturbed specimen.
They are seamless thin tubes and are also called Shelby tubes (figure 6).

64
Sampler is attached to the drilling rod and lowered to the bottom of the
hole.
Then the sampler is pushed hydraulically into the soil.
The tube is then rotated to shear the end of the soil before removing.
The sample is sealed with wax and brought to the laboratory.
Figure 6 A schematic diagram and photograph of a thin-wall sampler (Das, 2006)

65
3. Sampling by Piston Sampler
It consists of thin wall tube with piston (figure 7).
Sampler is lowered into the bottom of the borehole by keeping piston at the
bottom.
Then the tube is pushed down hydraulically past the piston.
Then the pressure is released through the hole on top of the piston rod, and
the sample is removed.
Figure 7 Schematic diagram of a piston sampler : a) sampler lowered to bottom of bore

hole, and b) pressure released through hole in piston rod (Das, 2006)

66
In-situ Soil Tests
1. Standard Penetration Test
Undrained shear strength of soil is estimated by measuring the number of
blow (N) to get certain amount of penetration of a standard tube into the
soil, and correlating it with the empirical relations.
Those N values are corrected as explained above to get N 60 values.
Density of soil, relative density, and values are correlated with this value
as shown below.
Undrained shear strength cu 29 N 60

0.72
(kPa)
Table 3 Approximate correlation of N and consistency values (Das, 2006)
Likewise,
' 27.1 0.3 N1,60 0.00054 N1,60 2
1
Where, N1,60 C N N 60 and C N 9.78 (0 in kN/m2)
0'
0.689
N
OCR 0.193 '60
v0
Table 4 Approximate relationship between N1,60 and relative density (Das, 2006)

67
2. Vane Shear Test
There are different methods to conduct in-situ test for the measurement of shear
strength.
Figure 8 Photograph of a laboratory Vane Shear device (Das, 2006)
Figure 9 Schematic diagram of a

vane shear device (Das, 2006)
Vane shear tests are done to measure cu of soft to medium cohesive clays.
Shear vanes consist of 4 thin, equally spaced steel plates welded to a steel torque
rod.
Equipment is pushed into the soil and torque is applied at top.
Soil is rotated at constant speed.
T = Ms + Me + Me
Where,

68
T = Applied torque.
Ms = Resisting moment of shear force by surface of soil cylinder.
Me = Resisting moment of the shear force by top and bottom.
Figure 10 Derivation of equatuion for : a) resisting moment of shear force, and b) variations in shear strength mobilization (Das, 2006)
d
M s ( .d .h).cu .
2
Assuming uniform mobility of undrained shear strength at the top and bottom of the device,
1 .d 2 1 .d 3
Me ( .d ).cu = ( ).cu
2 4 2 4
1 .d 3 .d 2 .h 1 d
Now, T ( ).cu .cu = .d 2 cu (h )
2 4 2 2 4
2.T
Therefore, cu
d
.d 2 (h )
4
Table 5 Recommended dimensions of field vane (Das, 2006)

69
Figure 11 Geometry of a field vane (Das, 2006)
Vane shear test always gives a higher shear strength than the triaxial test results.
Therefore, the results should be factored for safe design.
According to Bjerrum, cu design = . cu vane shear, where depends on PI, LL and e.
1.7 0.54 log( PI %)

3. Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
This test doesnt need borehole.
A 600 apex cone with base area of 10 cm2 (mechanical or electrical) is
inserted into the ground at 20 mm/sec.
Resistance to penetration is measured. Two resistance components are
measured.
Cone resistance (qc) Vertical force/plan area of cone
Frictional resistance (fc) Resistance by the sleeve Vertical
force/surface area of sleeve
Pore water pressure can also be measured by piezocone.

70
Figure 12 A typical cone penetration test device (Budhu, 2006)
Other types of In-situ Tests
Pressuremeter Test
Figure 13 A schematic diagram of pressure meter device (Budhu, 2006)

71
Dilatometer Test
Figure 14 A schematic diagram of dilatometer test device (Budhu, 2006)

72

73
Figure 15 Some typical bore logs

74
Example Problems on Sub-soil Exploration
#1
Shown on the attached figure is the boring log (ABH-0809) for a site in Papua (Irian Jaya),
Indonesia. At the location of the boring, an excavation will be made to a final grade elevation of
24 m. There will be a drainage system installed so that the final water table will not exceed the
final grade elevation. The saturated unit weights of the SM and SP soils were measured to be
3 3
approximately 18.8 kN/m and the moist unit weights were 18.5 kN/m . The saturated unit weights
3
of the CH and ML soils were measured to be about 18.2 kN/m and the moist unit weights were
3
measured to be 18.0 kN/m .
(a) Plot the total stress, pore water pressure, and effective stress for +24 m MSL to -20 m MSL
prior to excavation.
(b) Plot the total stress, pore water pressure, and effective stress for +24 m MSL to -20 m MSL
after excavation.

75

76

77

78

79

80
#2
Attached is a boring log (NSA-003) from the same site. This boring was drilled offshore at the
proposed location of a jetty. In addition to the unit weights given above, the CL soils had
3
saturated unit weights of 18.5 kN/m .
(a) Plot the total stress, pore water pressure, and effective stress from the mud line (ocean floor)
to the depth where the boring was terminated. You should take into account that the unit weight
of salt water is greater than the unit weight of fresh water (generally specific gravity of sea water
is 1.03).

81

82

83
Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Shallow

Foundation
Lowest part of the structure is foundation.
Function of the foundation is to transfer the load of the structure safely to the
soil,
Without excessive settlement, and
Without shear failure
Bearing capacity of the soil is evaluated to examine whether the design load can
be transferred safely or not.
Types of foundation
Mat Foundation
Figure 1 Different type of shallow foundations
Shallow Foundation (Df < Bf , sometimes up to 4 Bf) (figure 1)

Spread footing individual footing
Strip footing length > 5 x width
Combined footing two footings combined
Mat Foundation Many footings combined by a slab

84
Figure 2 Type of compensated foundation
Figure 3 A photograph of mat foundation
Geotech Engineers Specify

Bearing pressures
Depth of footing
Footing dimensions
Anticipated settlement magnitude and rate
Site preparation and construction considerations
Figure 4 Typical size of foundation

85
Ultimate bearing capacity of the shallow foundation
Figure 5 Various modes of foundation failure
Lets consider a dense sand layer.

After the application of the load, soil settles.
Settlement increases with the increase in load (Q).
At a particular value of Q, settlement increases rapidly without any increase in
Q.
This shows the bearing capacity failure.
Value of stress (Q/area) at that situation is bearing capacity of soil.
At failure, clear failure surfaces are formed and soil bulges at both sides.
This type of failure (occurred in a stiff soil) is called general shear failure.
When a load is applied, a triangular wedge shaped zone is pushed down. This
presses the adjacent soil upwards and sideways.
At the load of Qu, Factor of safety is 1.
However, in the case of loose sand, load settlement curve becomes steep beyond
certain value of Q, but shear failure does not extend to ground. Only about 67%

86
of the shear strength is mobilized. This type of failure is called a local shear
failure.
Figure 6 shows the relationship between relative depth of foundation, relative
density and mode of failure.
Figure 6 Various modes of foundation failure for different relative depths and densities
Terzaghis ultimate bearing capacity equation
If unit weight of soil =

q = . Df
Df </= B
Df
Figure 7 Example of a shallow strip footing
Weight of the soil above the footing = q = . Df

Terzaghi first derived the equation for the strip footing.

87
Figure 8 Analysis to derive Terzaghis bearing capacity equation
In figure 8,
Zone I (ABJ) is an elastic zone. Angles BAJ = ABJ =
Zone II (AJE and BJD) are radial shear zones, made with spiral curved surface.
Zone III (AEG and BDF) are Rankines passive zones.
Angles AGE = GAE = FBD = BFD = 450 /2
Lets imagine AJ and BJ are two walls.

When a uniform pressure of q is applied to those walls, AJ pushes AJEG and BJ
pushes BJDF. Pp is the total passive force acting at angle from the normal
surface.
But of soil is .
Therefore, from the geometry of the wedge, Pp should be vertical.
Cohesion provided by the soil along the failure plane = c . AJ or c . BJ,
but AJ = BJ = b/cos
For ABJ to be in equilibrium,
qu .(2.b).1 W 2.C. sin ' 2.Pp
1
But, W . .2.b.b. tan ' or W . b 2 . tan ' and
2
c '.b
C
cos '
Now, 2 b qu 2 Pp 2 b c' tan ' b 2 tan '
Pp b
Therefore, qu c' tan ' tan ' (1)
b 2
Pp can be calculated using passive earth pressure theory. Total Pp is occurred due
to three force components, , c and qu.
Lets calculate those values separately in figure 9 and and superimpose.
1. Pp due to

88
1 1
Pp H H K or Pp H 2 K
2 2
As = , This force is acting vertical.
a b c
Figure 9 Pressure distribution on the wedge face BJ shown in the figure 8

a) contribution of weight b) Contribution of cohesion, c and c) contribution of surcharge q
2. Pp due to c
Pp c' H K c
This force is also acting vertical
3. Pp due to q
Pp q H K q
This force is also acting vertical
Combining all forces,
1
Pp H 2 K c' H K c q H K q
2
1
or Pp (b tan ' ) K c' (b tan ' ) K c q (b tan ' ) K q
2
2
Substituting it to equation (1)
1 b
qu b tan 2 K c' tan ' K c q tan K q c' tan ' tan '
2 2
1 b
Or qu b tan 2 K tan 'c' tan ' K c c' tan ' q tan ' K q
2 2
1 1
Or qu b ( tan 2 K tan ' ) c' tan ' ( K c 1) q tan ' K q
2 2
Therefore, qu b N c' N c q N q

89
1
Or qu B N c' N c q N q
2
Where,
1
N tan ' ( K tan '1)
2
N c tan ' ( K c 1)
N q K q tan '
For square Footing,
qu 0.4 B N 1.3 c' N c q N q
For circular footing,
qu 0.3 B N 1.3 c' N c q N q
N, Nc, and Nq depend on the value of , which is shown in the table.
If local shear failure occurs ( in loose to medium dense sand),
2 2
c ' c' tan ' tan '
3 3
1
qu ' B N 'c ' N c ' q N q '
2
For square Footing, qu ' 0.4 B N '1.3 c ' N c ' q N q '
For Circular Footing, qu ' 0.3 B N '1.3 c ' N c ' q N q '

Effect of Ground Water Table
Ground water table reduces the effective stress (q)

90
Figure 10 Effect of the location of ground water table on the bearing capacity of shallow foundation
Case 1 Ground water table above the base of the footing
q ( D f D) ' D and = for N term
Case 2 Ground water table at the base of the footing
= for N term
Case 3 Ground water table below the base of the footing DB
1
= average for N term average ( D ' ( B D))
B
D B ignore the ground water effect
Factor of Safety
qu qu
FS Therefore, q allowable
qallowable FS

91
Figure 11 Calculation of allowable vertical stress
W( D L ) W F W S
Generally, qu
A
Where, W(D+L) = Dead and live load
Wf = Weight of footing
Ws = Weight of soil above footing
A = Area of the base of the footing
Many cases, soil is considered same as concrete and as the foundation already has the
weight of soil and footing, net ultimate load is calculated as,
W( D L ) qu ( net )
qu ( net ) qu q and q allowable( net )
A FS

92
Modified General Bearing Capacity Equation
Figure 12 Bearing capacity calculation for general shear failure
Terzaghis bearing capacity equation assumes the angle of wedge failure as .

However, it was found later that it is (450+ /2).
The bearing capacity factors were modified accordingly as recommended by
Meyerhof. Major difference comes for N factor.
1
qu B N c' N c q N q
2
Where,
N c ( N q 1) cot '
tan ' '
Nq e tan (45
2
)
2
N ( N q 1) tan(1.4 ' )
Modified bearing capacity factors are given in the following table.

93
Table 1 Modified bearing capacity factors Nc and Nq
These equations are ok for practical purposes although Terzaghis bearing

capacity theory is more accurate.
However, the above equations are also modified to incorporate depth factor (to
account for shearing resistance of soil above base), shape factor (to determine
the bearing capacity for other than strip shape), and load inclination factor (to
account for inclined load). The modified equation is:
1
qu Fs Fd Fi B N c' Fcs Fcd Fci N c qFqs Fqd Fqi N q
2
Where,
Fs Fcs Fqs Shape factors
Fd Fcd Fqd Depth factors
Fi Fci Fqi Inclination factors
The values of those factors are given in the following table.

94
Table 3 Meyerhofs shape, depth, and inclination factor
Replace with F
Replace with F
Replace with F
Other commonly used relations are:
Vesics equation
N 2( N q 1) tan '
Hansens equation
N 1.5( N q 1) tan '

95
Eccentrically Loaded Foundations

In many cases foundations are subjected to moments along with the vertical
loads. eg. Cantilever retaining wall.
In such cases, the pressure distribution is not uniform.
Figure 13 An example of eccentrically loaded footing
Q 6M
q m ax Q = Vertical load and M = Moment on foundation
BL B 2 L
Q 6M
q m in
BL B 2 L
Resolving the force system, we can get
M
e
Q
Q 6e
Therefore, q max (1 )
BL B
Q 6e
qmin (1 )
BL B

96
When eccentricity is B/6, qmin is 0.
For eccentricity more than that, qmin becomes negative and bring soil in tension.
This tension develops crack and tension cant last long.
Therefore, the portion of foundation beyond this zone cant be effective.
At that time effective width will be as shown in the figure above and below.
Figure 14 reduced area for eccentrically loaded footing
4Q
q max
3L ( B 2e)
Qult
Qall
FS

97
Meyerhofs Theory for the Calculation of Ultimate Bearing Capacity
of Eccentric Loading
1. Determine the effective dimension (B and L) of foundation.

B = B 2 e and L = L 2 e
2. Use the following equation to evaluate the bearing capacity of foundation.
1
qu Fs Fd Fi B N c' Fcs Fcd Fci N c qFqs Fqd Fqi N q
2
For depth factor, use B, for other factors use B and L.
3. Ultimate load will be equal to

Qult qu B ' L'
4. Factor of safety against bearing capacity failure,
Qult
FS
Q
5. Factor of safety against qmax is,
qu
FS
qmax
Foundation with two-way eccentricity
Figure 15 Foundation with two way eccentricity

98
Let, Mx is moment about x-axis and My be the moment about y-axis.
And x = eB and y = eL
My Mx
eB and eL
Qult Qult
Qult = qu A
For calculation follow the same method as explained for one way eccentricity.
There are five possible cases, which are explained below:
Case 1
1 1
eB B and eL L
6 6
The effective area is shown in the figure
1 3eB 3eL
A' B1 L1 where, B1 B(1.5 ) and L1 L(1.5 )
2 B L
A'
Effective length is larger of B1 and L1 and Effective width is equals to B '
'
L
Case 2

99
1 1
0 eB B and eL L
6 2
The effective area is shown in the figure.
1
A' B( L1 L2 ) L1 and L2 can be determined from the following figure.
2

100
A'
B '
, whichever is larger.
L1orL2
Effective length (L) is larger of L1 and L2 .
Case 3
1 1
0 eB B and eL L
2 6
1
A' L( B1 B2 ) B1 and B2 can be determined from the following figure.
2

101
A'
B
'
Effective length (L) is L .
L
Case 4
1 1
eB B and eL L
6 6
B2 and L2 can be determined by using EL/L curve sloping upward and downwards
respectively.

102
1
A' L2 B ( L L2 )( B1 B2 )
2
A'
B
'
Effective length (L) is L .
L
Case 5
Circular Foundation
Eccentricity is one way and is shown in figure.
A and B are calculated from the table shown below.
eR/R A/R2 B/R

0.1 2.8 1.85
0.2 2.4 1.32
0.3 2.0 1.2
0.4 1.61 0.80
0.5 1.23 0.67
0.6 0.93 0.50
0.7 0.62 0.37
0.8 0.35 0.23
0.9 0.12 0.12
1.0 0.00 0.00
A'
B
'

103
Example Problems on Bearing Capacity of Soil

1. You have to design a foundation based on consideration of bearing capacity only for a
continuous wall footing shown below. Please calculate the width of wall. Use a minimum factor of
safety of 2.5. Unit weight of soil is 120 pcf.

104
2. SPT result per depth below the ground is presented below for a foundation construction site.
Load of superstructure above the foundation is shown in the figure. Based on consideration of
of soil is 120 pcf.

105
3. Please calculate the allowable gross vertical load bearing capacity of foundation for the
following parameters.

106

107

108
0
4. A column footing of 3 m x 2 m size in plan is shown in the figure. D f = 2 m, = 25 , and c = 50
kPa. Using FS = 4, determine the net allowable load the foundation could carry.

109
5. Determine the size of footing for a 3 m deep square foundation. Vertical gross allowable load is
0
150 kips. Consider unit weight of soil as 115 pcf, = 40 , c = 0, FS = 3.

110
6. Shown in figure is an eccentrically loaded foundation. Determine the ultimate load that the
foundation can carry.

111
7. A square footing is shown in the figure. If FS = 4, determine the size of footing.
8. A shallow foundation shown in the figure below is 4 ft. x 6 ft. in plan and is subjected to a
centric load and a moment. If eB = 0.4 ft, eL = 1.2 ft, and Df = 3 ft, determine the allowable load

112
that the foundation can carry. Use a factor of safety of 4. Laboratory test result shows the
0
following soil properties: Unit weight = 115 pcf, = 35 , c = 0.

113

114
Settlement of Shallow Foundation

In many cases, size of the foundation is controlled by settlement, not the
bearing capacity. The allowable settlement is controlled by the building
codes. Typical value is shown in table 1.
Table 1 Typical values for the allowable differential settlements in building
Here, L = Length of building, = differential settlement, H = Height of building
Settlement of foundation can be divided into two types elastic or

immediate settlement and consolidation settlement.
Immediate settlement takes place during and right after the construction.
Consolidation settlement takes time.
Total settlement is the sum of elastic settlement and consolidation
settlement.
We need to calculate vertical stress increase in the soil mass due to the
increased loading to estimate the settlement.
Vertical Stress Increase in a Soil Mass Due to Foundation Loading
Figure 1 Stress caused by a point

Load (Das, 2006)

115

P 3 1

z 2
z 2 r 2
(( ) 1) 5 / 2
z
P
z I1
z2
Where,
3 1
I1
2 (( r / z ) 1) 5 / 2
2
I1 can be calculated for various values of r/z as shown in table 2.
Table 2 Variation of I1 for various values of r/z
Vertical Stress Increase Due to Circularly Loaded Area
1. Right below the center
1
z q.1

(
R / z ) 2
1
3 /
2

z
We can calculate for different values of R/z (R and z are known for one point, but as
q
R is known, we can even evaluate z for different z). As q is known, we can come up with
the value for one R/z value using the table.

116
Figure 2 Increase in vertical stress below the center of

uniformly loaded circular area (Das, 2006)
Table 3 Variation of z/q with z/R
2. At any point
The loading condition is shown in the figure below.
Vertical stress at any point can be calculated using the following equation (Ahlvin and
Ulery,1962)
z q( A' B ' )
Where, A and B are functions of z/R and r/R respectively. They can be calculated from
tables shown below.

117
Figure 3 Increase in vertical stress at any point below the uniformly loaded circular area
(Das, 2006)
Table 4 Variation of A with z/R and r/R

118
Table 4 continued
Table 5 Variation of B with z/R and r/R

119
Table 5 continued
Vertical stress caused by rectangularly loaded area
Figure 4 Increase in vertical stress at a

point below the edge of rectangularly
loaded area (Das, 2006)
The force system is shown in figure.
To calculate the vertical load at point A, which is right below a corner of the loaded
rectangular area, we can extend Boussinesqs solution.

120
z q.I 4 (17)
Where,
I4 is a function of m and n. m = B/z n = L/z
We can get values of I4 from the table and figure for different m and n values.
Figure 5 Variation of I4 with m and n (Das, 2006)

121
Table 6 Variation of I4 with m and n
Table 6 continued..

122
Vertical stress at any point caused by rectangularly loaded area
To calculate the stress at any point under a rectangularly loaded area, we divide the
area into 4 rectangles, all of which touch that point (as shown in figure). Then we
calculate the stress for each rectangle and sum it up to get the total stress.
z q.( I 4(1) I 4( 2) I 4(3) I 4( 4) )
Use the same chart as in the earlier case to get values for I4.
Figure 6 Increase in vertical stress at any point

below a rectangularly loaded area (Das, 2006)
In most cases, the stress right below the center of the rectangular load is required.
This can be obtained by further simplification of the parameters.
z q.I 5
Where, I5 is a function of m1 and n1.
m1 = L/B and n1 = z/b
where, b = B/2
I5 can be obtained from table for different values of m1 and n1.
Figure 7 Increase in vertical stress below the center of a rectangularly loaded area
(Das, 2006)

123
Table 7 Variation of I5 with m1 and n1

124
Other Useful Charts

125
Approximate Method To Determine the Increase in Stress
This method is called 2:1 method, as shown in the figure. i.e. stress from the
foundation spreads out along lines with V:H slope of 2:1.
Figure 8 Approximate method to determine

increase in vertical stress below the center
of a loaded area (Das, 2006)
Increase in stress at depth z is,

q0 BL

( B z )( L z )
Average Vertical Stress increase Due to Rectangularly Loaded Area
In many cases we need to calculate the average stress increase.
av q0 I a
Where,
B L
I a f (m2 , n2 ) m2 n2
H H
Figure 8 Average vertical stress increase due to rectangularly loaded flexible area

126
Figure 9 Griffiths Influence Factor Ia

127
Elastic Settlement of Foundation
For flexible foundation,
Figure 10 Elastic settlement of flexible

and rigid foundation
1 s
2
S e q0 (B' ) IsI f
Es
Where,
q0 = Net applied pressure in the foundation
s = Poissons ratio of the soil
Es = Average modulus of elasticity of soil below foundation from z=0 to z=4B
B = B/2 for center of foundation and B for the corner of foundation
= Factor that depends on the location where settlement is calculated
1 2 s
Is = Shape factor = F1 F2
1 s
F1 & F2 = f (m, n)
L H
For center of foundation, m' n' 4
B B
2
L H
For corner of foundation, m' n' 1
B B

128
Table 8 Variation of F1 with m and n

129

130
Table 9 Variation of F2 with m and n

131

132
Figure 11 Value of If for different Df/B, L/B and

133
For rigid foundation, S e ( rigid ) 0.93 S e ( Flexible,center )
In most of the cases soil deposit is non homogenous and Es may vary with depth.
In such cases,
Es
E s (i ) z
z
Where, Es(i) = Soil modulus of elasticity within a depth z
z = H or 5B, whichever is smaller
Elastic Settlement of Foundation on Saturated Clay
For saturated clay, Poissons ratio is 0.5.

q0 B
S e( flexible) A1 A2 A1 = f (H/B and L/B) & A2 = f (Df/B)
Es
Figure 12 Value of A1 and A2 for elastic settlement Calculation

134
Example Problems on Elastic Settlement
1. A flexible circular area is subjected to a uniformly distributed stress of 3 ksf. The diameter
of loaded area is 9.5 ft. Determine the stress increase in the soil mass at a point located
7.5 ft below the center of the loaded area.
2. Figure shown below is a flexible rectangular area. Following parameters are knows:
B1 = 1.2 m B2 = 3m
L1 = 3m L2 = 6m
The area is subjected to a uniform stress of 110 kPa. Please determine the stress
increase from 0 to 5 m. below the center of the area.

135
3. Figure shown below is a flexible rectangular area. Following parameters are knows:
B1 = 5 ft B2 = 10 ft
L1 = 7 ft L2 = 12 ft
The area is subjected to a uniform stress of 2.5 ksf. Please determine the stress increase
from 0 to 20 ft. below the center of the area.

136
4. A foundation system is shown in the following figure. Determine the average stress
increase in clay layer below the center of foundation due to the net foundation load of 50
ton.

137

138
5. A planned flexible load area is shown in the figure. Size of the foundation is 3 m x 4.6 m
and carries a uniformly distributed load of 180 kPa. Estimate the elastic settlement below
the center of the loaded area. Depth of foundation is 2 m and H is infinity.

139
6.

140

141
7. Shown in the following figure is a foundation measuring 1.5 m x 3.0 m and supported by
a saturated clay. Depth of foundation is 1.2 m and H is 3 m. Es of clay is 600 kPa,
foundation pressure is 150 kPa. Determine the elastic settlement of foundation.

142
Consolidation Settlement
All soils settle under load, causing settlement of the structures founded on or within them.
Settlement problems are actually two problems in one both the magnitude and time rate of
settlement should be calculated. If the settlement is not kept to a tolerable limit, the
desired use of structure may be impaired or design life of the structure may be reduced.
Settlements can be uniform or differential, the later is crucial in design.
There are three parts of total settlement:

Elastic settlement or immediate settlement
Caused by elastic deformation of soil without any change in moisture content.
They are calculated based on equation derived from theory of elasticity.
Primary consolidation settlement
It is the change in volume of a fine grained soil caused by the expulsion of
water from the voids and transfer of load from the excess pore water
pressure to the soil particles.
It is very important in fine grained soil.
Secondary consolidation settlement
Is the change in volume of fine grained soil caused by the adjustment of the
soil fabric (internal structure) after primary consolidation has been
completed. It is also called creep.
Effective stress is constant at this consolidation stage.
Total settlement, ST = S c + Ss + Se
Where,
Sc = Primary consolidation settlement
Ss = Secondary consolidation settlement
Se = Elastic (immediate) settlement
For foundations bearing on coarse grained soil, most of the total settlement appears
right after the application of load.
Primary consolidation in coarse grained soil also appears rapidly due to high
permeability.
In case of fine grained soil, primary consolidation, which extends over a long time, is
the main cause of settlement although small amount of elastic settlement
(immediate settlement) is also occurred. In such soils, secondary settlement also
occurs but the magnitude is far less than the primary settlement.
Secondary settlement in organic soil is more than that in the inorganic soil.

143
Consolidation Settlement
Increase in vertical stress causes immediate increase in pore water pressure.
Time taken for the drainage of water with the increase in stress depends on the
value of coefficient of permeability.
Drainage causes reduction in volume of void which causes settlement of soil.
In sandy soil, elastic settlement and consolidation occurs simultaneously.
When saturated compressible clay layer is subjected to a stress increase, elastic
settlement occurs immediately, but consolidation settlement takes time. Therefore,
associated volume change takes longer time period.
In clays, Sc >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Se
Figure 1 Variation of total stress, pore pressure, and effective stress in a doubly drained clay layer (Das, 2006)

144
In figure 1, = + u
At t = 0, = 0 and at t = , u = 0
Laboratory Test for 1-D Consolidation
Figure 2 time-deformation plot during 1D

consolidation (Das, 2006)
The laboratory consolidation curve will give you three patterns of settlement
Stage I = initial compression, which is caused by preloading.
Primary consolidation
Secondary consolidation
Calculation of Void ratio
Figure 3 Change of height of specimen in 1D consolidation test (Das, 2006)
Calculate height of soil solid (Figure 3).

145
Ws
Hs
A.Gs . w
Where,
Ws = weight of soil solid (figure 3)
A = Area of specimen
Gs = specific gravity of soil solid
w = unit weight of water
Initial height of void = H v = H - Hs Hs = Initial height of specimen
Vv Hv A Hv
e0 = =
Vs Hs A Hs
For 1st incremental loading (1)
H 1
e1
Hs
H v H 1 H v H 1
new void ratio e1 e0 e1
Hs Hs Hs
H v H 2
Likewise, e2
Hs
Plot e-log curve based on the available data as shown in figure 4.
Figure 4 Typical e-log plot (Das, 2006)

146
Effect of Over-consolidation
Soil is over-consolidated if it was subjected to a higher stresses in the past, than
the present stress it is subjected to.
Over-consolidation effect in the soil comes with erosion, deglaciation, landslides etc.
b
c
Figure 5 Loading unloading reloading cycle for e-log curve (Das, 2006)
Load the soil specimen from a to c.

Release the load gradually to b and check e values. Void ratio ed is not equal to
eb. The soil does not return to b.
Increase the load again to the pressure equal to c, the consolidation curve does
not follow the swelling curve.
Eventually with the increase in load, the curve follows the pre-consolidation
curve pattern. Curve for bcg is the curve for normally consolidated soil. The
curve dc is the curve for over consolidated soil. dc is recompression curve.
Over consolidation ratio at d = OCR = c/d.
Pre-consolidation stress is denoted by p.

147
Determination of pre-consolidation pressure (p)
Figure 6 Method to calculate pre-consolidation pressure
Choose by eye the point of minimum radius of curvature on the e-log curve (point A
in figure 6).
Draw a horizontal line through point A.
Draw a line tangent to the curve at point A.
Bisect the angle made by steps 2 and 3.
Extend the straight line portion of the virgin compression curve until it intersects
the bisecting line from step 4.
The intersection point gives the best estimate of pre-consolidation pressure.
Calculation of settlement with 1-D consolidation
Let, H = Thickness of clay layer

A = Cross sectional area of clay layer
0 = Effective over-burden pressure
= Increase in stress
Sc = Primary settlement
Change in volume (V) = V0 V1 = H A (H Sc) A = Sc A

Let, V0 and V1 be initial and final volumes, respectively.
(V) = Sc A = Vv0 Vv1 = Vv
Vv V0 A.H
But, e and Vs
Vs 1 e0 1 e0
AH
Then, Vv = Sc . A = e . Vs = e.
1 e0

148
e
Sc H
1 e0
For normally consolidated clays (Figure 7),
Figure 7 e-log curve for a general case
For over-consolidated clays there are two stages (figure 8):

Stage I

149
Figure 8 Case of Over-consolidated soil

Stage II
Figure 9 Case when final stress is more than pre-consolidation pressure
Method to calculate Compression Index (Cc) (figure 10)
Figure 10 Method of calculating Cc.
Find p.
Measure eo.
Make a horizontal line from e0 and a vertical line from p. They intersect at g.

150
Calculate (0.4 x e0) and plot at e, and make a horizontal line from e. That intersects
the curve at f.
Join g and f by a straight line.
Slope of gf is Cc.
Empirical equation:
n0
Cc = 0.009 (LL 10) Cc =
371 .747 4.275 n0
Swell Index (Cs)
1 1
C s ( )C c
5 10
Empirical equation:
LL
C s 0.0463 ( )Gs
100

151
Time rate of settlement
Figure 11 Concept of time rate of settlement (Das, 2006).
From Terzaghis equation for time rate of pore pressure dissipation (figure 11) with
consolidation,
cv t
Time factor T 2
H dr
k
Where, cv = coefficient of consolidation =
a
w( v )
1 e0
where, av = coefficient of compressibility

152
u0 u z
Average degree of consolidation i.e. uz = is a function of T (Figure 12).
u0
Figure 12 Variation of average degree of consolidation with Tv
T can be calculated for different degree of consolidation using the table 1.
Table 1 Variation of Tv with U

153
Calculation of coefficient of consolidation (cv)
There are four different methods, but earlier two methods are commonly used. Two most
common ones are described here.
1. Casagrandes Log of time method (figure 13)
Figure 13 Casagrandes Log-time method to calculate cv (Budhu, 2006)

Make h vs log t plot.
Find t100 by extending the tangents for primary and secondary consolidation
lines. The point of intersection (A) gives the time for 100% primary
consolidation.
Find d100 corresponding to t100.
At the initial parabolic curve select at point for time t1 (point B)
Mark the point in the curve that corresponds to time t 2, which is equal to (4
x t1) (Point C).
Let vertical difference between point B and C be x. Then make a line parallel
to x axis, which is located at x height from point B.
That line intersects y axis at a point, which is a point for settlement at time
= 0 i.e. (d0).
Based on d0 and d100, fine d50.
d 0 d100
Settlement for 50% consolidation = d 50
2
Using the table for 50% consolidation, T50 = 0.197, using Terzaghis equation,
cv t 50
T50 2
H dr

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2
0.197 .H dr
Therefore, cv , Hdr = average longest drainage path.
t 50
2. Taylors square root of time method (Figure 14)
Figure 14 Taylors square root of time method to calculate cv (Budhu, 2006).

Draw d vs. t curve.
Draw a line AB through early portion of the curve. That line intersects x-
axis at B.
Measure OB.
Make a point in x-axis i.e. C in such a way that, OC = 1.15 (OB).
Connect A and C with a straight line. This line intersects the consolidation
curve at a point whose t value corresponds to 90% consolidation.
Using Terzaghi,s equation,

cv t 90
T90 2
H dr
Using the chart, T90 = 0.848
2
0.848 .H dr
Therefore, cv
t 90

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Example Problems on Consolidation Settlement

1. A foundation for an oil tank is proposed for a site with a soil profile as shown in figure 1. A
specimen of the fine-grained soil, 75 mm in diameter and 20 mm thick, was tested in an
oedometer in a laboratory. The initial water content was 62% and G s was 2.7. The
vertical stresses were applied incrementally each increment remaining on the specimen
until the pore water pressure change was negligible. The cumulative settlement values at
the end of each loading steps are shown in table 1. The time settlement data when the
vertical stress was 240 kPa are shown in table 2. The tank, when full, will impose vertical
stresses of 90 kPa and 75 kPa at the top and bottom of the fine grained soil layer,
respectively. Assuming that the vertical stress is linearly distributed in this layer,
a) Determine the primary consolidation settlement of the fine grained soil layer when the
tank is full
b) Calculate and plot the settlement-time curve.
zzzz
Figure 1
Table 1
Vertical stress (kPa) 15 30 60 120 240 480

Settlement (mm) 0.10 0.11 0.21 1.13 2.17 3.15
Table 2

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2. The foundations supporting two columns of a building are shown in figure 2. An extensive
soil investigation was not carried out and it was assumed in the design of the footing that
the clay layer has an uniform thickness of 1.2 m. Two years after construction, the
building settled with the differential settlement of 10 mm. Walls of the building began
cracking. The doors have not jammed but by measuring the out of vertical distance of
the doors, it is estimated that they would become jammed if the differential settlement
exceeded 24 mm. A subsequent soil investigation showed that the thickness of the clay
layer was not uniform but varies as shown in the figure 1. The owners would like to get an
estimate of the expected total differential settlement and how long it would take before
the doors become jammed. Could you perform those calculations?
Figure 2

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3. A bore hole at a site for a proposed building reveals the soil profile as shown in table 3. A
building is to be constructed on this site with its foundation at 2 m below ground level. The
building load is 30 MN and the foundation is rectangular with a width of 10 m and length of 15 m.
A sample of the clay was tested in an oedometer and the results obtained are shown in table 4.
Table 3
Table 4
Calculate the primary consolidation settlement. Assuming that the primary consolidation took 5
years to achieve in the field, calculate the secondary consolidation for the period of 10 years
beyond primary consolidation. Consider cs = one sixth of cc.

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Spread Footing: Design Examples

1. An office building is to be located at a site with a representative soil strata as shown in the
figure. The loads from two columns of preliminary size 0.3 m x 0.3 m are shown in the figure.
Determine the suitable size of shallow foundation to safely transmit the loads. The total
settlement should not exceed 25 mm and the differential settlement should not exceed 10 mm.
The finished elevation is 0+00 m. Consider the following soil parameters:
Sand Clay
Poissons ratio 0.3 0.5
Youngs Modulus of Elasticity 10 MPa 1 MPa
Effective friction angle 330 -
Dry unit weight 18 kN/m3 -
Saturated unit weight 19 kN/m3 17.5 kN/m3

Undrained shear strength - 55 kPa
Coefficient of Consolidation - 0.24
Water content - 20%
Specific gravity 2.65 2.7

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2. Shown in the figure is cross section of a building frame. The frost level is at 0.7 m below the
ground level. Therefore, it is recommended to locate the depth of the foundation at 1 m depth
below the ground. The total settlement should not exceed 25 mm and the differential settlement
should not exceed 10 mm. Geotechnical investigation revealed the following soil parameters.
Design the appropriate size of footing for the factor of safety of 4.
Geotechnical Parameter SP Material CH material

Youngs Modulus of Elasticity 8 MPa 500 kPa
0
Effective friction angle 30 -
Undrained shear strength - 100 kPa
3 3
Dry unit weight 17 kN/m 15 kN/m
3 3
Saturated unit weight 20 kN/m 18 kN/m
Cc - 0.24
Cr 0.04
Specific Gravity 2.70
Moisture Content 40%

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Spread Footing: Design Exercises

1. Shown in the figure is a plan and cross section of a building frame. The frost level is at 3
ft below the ground level. Therefore, it is recommended to locate the depth of the
foundation at 4 ft. below the ground. Geotechnical investigation revealed the following
soil properties:
For sand: = 100 pcf sat = 122 pcf Es = 3200 psi
= 30
0
Poissons ratio = 0.3 c = 0
For Clay: sat = 118 pcf Es = 1200 psi Poissons ratio = 0.5
= 25
0
c = 400 psf e0 = 0.7
Cc = 0.25 Cr or Cs = 0.06 Preconsolidation = 1 ksf
Design the appropriate size of footing for the factor of safety of 6. Consider the bearing
capacity failure criteria only. There is a bed rock right below the clay layer.
2. A residual building is to be located at a site with a representative soil strata as shown in the
figure. The loads from all columns are same and size and spacing of the columns are shown
in the figure. Please check whether the size of the mat foundation safely transmits the loads
without excessive settlement or not. Consider the following soil parameters:
sat Poissons ratio 0.5
3
19 kN/m
d
3
18 kN/m
Cu 70 kPa E 1 MPa

182
Cc 0.3 Cr 0.05
settlement should not exceed 25 mm and the differential settlement should not exceed 10 mm.
The finished elevation is 0+00 m. Consider the following soil parameters:
Sand Clay
Poissons ratio = 0.3 Poissons ratio = 0.5
Youngs Modulus of Elasticity = 10 MPa Youngs Modulus of Elasticity = 1 MPa
0
Effective friction angle = 33 Undrained shear strength = 55 kPa
3 3
Dry unit weight = 18 kN/m Saturated unit weight = 17.5 kN/m
3
Saturated unit weight = 19 kN/m Coefficient of Consolidation = 0.24

183
4. Shown in the figure is a plan and cross section of a building frame. The frost level is at 3 ft
below the ground level. Therefore, it is recommended to locate the depth of the foundation at
4 ft. below the ground. Geotechnical investigation revealed the following soil properties:
For sand: = 100 pcf sat = 122 pcf Es = 3200 psi
= 30
0
Poissons ratio = 0.3 c = 0
For Clay: sat = 118 pcf Es = 1200 psi Poissons ratio = 0.5
= 25
0
c = 400 psf e0 = 0.7
Cc = 0.25 Cr or Cs = 0.06 Preconsolidation = 1 ksf
Design the appropriate size of footing for the factor of safety of 6. Consider the bearing
capacity failure criteria only. There is a bed rock right below the clay layer.

184
For the footing you designed, calculate the total elastic settlement i.e. settlement at the sand
layer and settlement at the clay layer.
Also , calculate the total consolidation settlement.
settlement should not exceed 25 mm and the differential settlement should not exceed 10
mm. The finished elevation is 0+00 m. Consider the following soil parameters:
Sand Clay
Youngs Modulus of Elasticity 10 MPa 1 MPa
0 -
Effective friction angle 33
3 -
Dry unit weight 18 kN/m
3
Saturated unit weight 19 kN/m 17.5
3
kN/m
Undrained shear strength - 150
kPa
Coefficient of Consolidation - 0.24
Water content - 20%
Specific gravity 2.65 2.7
6. You have to design an appropriate foundation for a 4 story residential building. Plan of the
building is shown in Figure 1. An exploratory boring revealed underground information, which
is presented in Figure 2. The column loads that was calculated based on the prevailing
practice are shown in Table 1. Because of the property line issue, you are required to design

185
a combined footing for columns A1 and B1. Please, determine the suitable size of shallow
foundation for that combined footing to safely transmits the load of A1 and B1 to the ground.
The total settlement should not exceed 25 mm and the differential settlement should not
exceed 10 mm. There is no frost depth. Therefore assume the depth of footing as 3 ft.
Figure 1: Plan of the residual building

186
Figure 2: Underground soil profile and soil properties
Table 1: Column Loads from superstructures
Column Dead Load (kips) Live Load (kips)
A1 200 80
B1 300 180
C1 300 180
D1 200 80
A2 200 80
B2 300 180
C2 300 180
D2 200 80
A3 200 80
B3 300 180
C3 300 180
D3 200 80

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Combined Footing and Mat Foundation
Combined Footing
Under normal condition, the spread and strip footings are economical.
In many cases low bearing capacity of soil warrants larger footing size, but
property line limits the dimension of the footing.
In such situation, we make combined footing for two or more columns and
such types of footings are called combined footings.
Size of the combined footing is determined based on the bearing capacity.
Depending on the shape, combined footings are rectangular, trapezoidal, and
strap.
Procedure to get the size of combined footing
Rectangular Combined Footing (Figure 1)
Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a rectangular combined footing
1. Determine net allowable bearing capacity of soil based on the method you
studied in the spread footing.
2. Determine the area of foundation as,
Q1 Q2
A (1)
q net,allowable
Where, Q1, and Q2 = Column loads
qnet,allowable = Net allowable bearing capacity of soil

188
3. Determine the location of the resultant (R) of the column load. For that, take
moment at the center of left column,
R . X Q2 .L3 where, R = Q1 + Q2
Q2 .L3
X (2)
Q1 Q2
4. If the resultant passes through the Center of footing, soil pressure will be
uniform. Lets make that situation for our designed foundation. Let L be the
length of foundation and L2 be the maximum projection we can make from the
center of the footing.
L
( X L2 )
2
L 2( L2 X ) (3)
5. Now calculate the required projection in the other side of the column (L1) as,
L1 L L2 L3 (4)
6. Calculate the width of the foundation.
A
B (5)
L
Trapezoidal Combined Footing (Figure 2)
Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a trapezoidal combined footing

189
Trapezoidal footings are designed when there are large column loads for an
isolated footing and there is a limited space.
Ultimate goal is to distribute the column loads uniformly.
Following steps are taken while designing the size of footings.
1. Determine the area of footing as we did for the rectangular footing.
Q1 Q2
A
q net,allowable
2. But, from the definition of the trapezoid,
B1 B2
A L (6)
2
3. Determine the location of the resultant exactly as in the rectangular footing.
Q2 .L3
X (7)
Q1 Q2
4. Calculate the centroid of the trapezoid from the left side boundary of the
footing.
B1 2 B2 L
X L2 ( ) (8)
B1 B2 3
5. From (8) and (6) calculate B1 and B2.
6. Note that centroid of the trapezoid should be located from one third to one
half of foundation length.
L L
X L2
3 2
In many cases we design a cantilever footing (figure 3) by introducing strap
beams to connect the eccentrically loaded foundations with other interior
foundations.
These footings replace the combined footings when the soil bearing capacity
is high and distance between the columns is large.
Figure 3 Schematic diagram of cantilever footings

]

190
Mat Foundation
If the area of the isolated footing is more than 50% of the entire building
plan, a large footing is designed to cover the entire structure. This type of
foundation is called mat or raft foundation.
Mats are designed at low bearing capacity soil supporting a high load.
There are different types of mat foundation, some of them are shown in
figure 3.
Figure 4 Different types of mat foundations
Flat Plate (a)

Flat plate thickened under column (b)
Beam and slabs (c)
Flat plates with pedestals
Slab with basement walls as a monolithic part of mat

191
When it is essential to reduce the settlement and control buoyancy (under
water), mats are supported with piles.
Design of mat is same as that of the isolated footing, but width is the entire
width of the mat as shown in figure 5.
Figure 5 Width and length of the mat foundation
Bearing Capacity of the Mat Foundation
The gross bearing capacity of the mat is same as in the spread footing.
1
qu c' N c Fcs Fcd Fci qN q Fqs Fqd Fqi B N Fs Fd Fi
2
Net ultimate bearing capacity of a mat foundation is calculated as,
qnet,u qu q
A suitable safety factor should be chosen to calculate the allowable bearing
capacity. For mats on clay and sand, safety factor of 3 is taken, but minimum
safety factor of 2 is seldom used for clays.
Bearing capacity is calculated exactly in the same way as explained in the
preceding chapters.
If SPT value is known for a granular soil layer, following equation can also be
used,
N B 0.3
2
S
qnet (kPa) 60 ' Fd ( e
0.08 B 25
Where,
Df
Fd = 1 0.33( ) 1.33
B
Se = settlement

192
As the width of mat foundation is large, the stress increase with depth is much
larger than that in the isolated footing.
For a maximum settlement of 2 in., a differential settlement of 0.75 in is
expected.
Q
Net allowable pressure q D f qall
A
Figure 5 Definition of net pressure in the mat foundation
Compensated foundation
Net pressure increase in the soil under the mat can be reduced by increasing Df.
This approach is called Compensated Foundation Design.
This method is used when foundations are designed on soft clays.
Deeper basement is made below the higher portion of superstructure and vice
versa to make the pressure distribution uniform.
At fully compensated foundation situation, depth of the foundation is
calculated as,
Q
Df
A
qnet ,u
FS
And Q
.D f
A
Figure 6 Compensated foundation

193
Structural Design of the Mat Foundation
There are four methods for structural design of the mat foundation.
Conventional Rigid Method
Approximate Flexible Method
Finite Difference Method
Finite Element Method
However, first two methods are commonly used.
ACI 366 (1988) mentions that we need to use conventional rigid method if the c/c
spacing of column is less than 1.75/. Otherwise flexible method should be used.
B1K
4
4 EF I F
Where,
q
K = coefficient of sub-grade reaction = q = load/unit area

= Settlement
EF = Modulus of elasticity of foundation material
B1 h 3
IF = Moment of inertia of the cross-section of the beam =
12
B1 = Width of foundation (strip)
Following steps are followed to design the foundation with conventional rigid method.
Figure 7 Conventional Rigid Method of Foundation Design

194
1. Calculate total load Q = Q1 + Q2 + .
2. Calculate stresses at all corners/ columns
Q Myx Mxy BL3 LB 3
q Ix Iy
A Iy Ix 12 12
M x Q.e y M y Q.e x
3. Calculate location of resultant force
Q1 .x1 'Q2 x2 '.... B
x' e x x'
Q 2
Q . y 'Q2 y 2 '.... L
y' 1 1 e y y '
Q 2
4. Check if q > q, all net
5. Divide the mat into several strips of width B1.
6. Draw Bending Moment and Shear Force Diagram for individual strips
qI qF
For this, q av
2
Total reaction = qav x B1 x B
Total Q = Q1 + Q2 + ..
q av B1 B Q
Average load =
2
average load
Modified qav = q av
q av B1 B
F = (average load)/Q, Modify the column loads by multiplying with F.
7. Calculate depth of mat (d) with

U b0 d 0.34 f c ' U = Factored load (MN)
= Reduction factor (0.85)
fc = 28 day compressive strength of concrete (MN/m2)
For English unit

U b0 d (4) f c ' U = Factored load (lb)
fc = 28 day compressive strength of concrete (psi)
b0 is calculated in terms of d (figure 8).
8. Make BM and SF diagram

9. Calculate Mmax/B1
a
10. M U M 'Load factor As f y (d )
2
As f y
a
0.85 f c ' b
As = Area of steel

195
fy = Field stress of steel
= 0.9
Figure 8 calculation of bo

196
Example Problems on Mat Foundation

1. A mat foundation is shown in the figure. The values of column loads are as follows:
Q1 40 t Q6 60t
Q2 45t Q7 50t
Q3 40 t. Q8 50t
Q4 60t Q9 45t
Q5 60t
Size of the all columns is 20 in x 20 in. Calculate the pressures at A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H.

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198
2. A mat foundation is shown in the figure. Size of the all columns is 50 cm x 50 cm.
a) Calculate the pressures at A, B, C, D, E, and F.

b) Using load factor of 1.7, design the mat foundation.

199

200

201

202

203

204

205
3. A mat foundation is shown in figure below. Design parameters are also shown below.
Calculate the consolidation settlement under the center of mat.
L = 12 m B = 10 m Df = 2.2 m
Q = 30 MN x1 = x2 = 2 m, x3 = 5.2 m
Preconsolidation pressure = 105 kPa

206

207
Mat Foundation: Design Exercise
1. A mat foundation is shown in the figure. Size of the column is 0.5 m x 0.5 m. Calculate
the pressures at A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H.
(35 points)

208
Pile Foundation
When one or more soil layers at upper depth are highly compressible or too weak
to support the load, we use pile foundation instead of the shallow foundation.
For this purpose, load is transferred to the bed rock or relatively stronger layer.
When the horizontal load at foundation is very high, pile foundation is used in
place of shallow foundation.
To bypass the load from expansive or collapsible soil layer to the stable layer,
we use pile foundation.
When foundation is to be constructed under water, pile foundation is preferred.
To be safer from the loss of bearing capacity due to scouring, we found the
bridge structures on piles.

209
Figure 1 Various situations where piles are required
Types of Pile
Depending on the type of materials used, piles are classified as,
Steel Pile
Concrete Pile
Wooden Pile
Composite Pile
Steel Piles
They are either pipe piles (hollow or concrete filled) or H-piles. H-pile is
preferred over pipe or I sections.
Capacity: Qallowable As f s
Where, As = Cross-sectional area
fs = Allowable stress of steel (0.4 fy)

210
To prevent from corrosion, either it is used in the non-acidic area or epoxy
coating is done before installation.
Length ranges from 50 to 200 ft. Load capacity ranges from 67 to 265 kips.
It is easy to handle and easy to reshape/cut off
It does not damage easily while driving.
It has high load carrying capacity
But it is costly, cause a large noise during construction, and cause corrosion.
Figure 2 Steel pile sections a) splicing of H-pile by welding, b) splicing of pipe pile by welding,
c) splicing of H-pile by bolts, d) flat driving point of pile, e) conical driving point of pile
Concrete Pile
They are either pre-cast, pre-stressed, or cast-in-situ
Precast piles are available in rectangular or square shape.
Usual length for pre-cast pile ranges 30 50 ft, pre-stressed pile ranges from
30 - 150 ft, and cast-in-situ piles ranges from 15 150 ft.
Usual load for pre-cast pile ranges 67 675 kips, pre-stressed pile ranges from
1700 - 1900 kips, and cast-in-situ piles ranges from 45 - 115 kips.

211
Concrete piles are relatively cheap, can be connected to super structures easily,
are corrosion resistant, but are difficult to cut-off and are subjected to
damage while driving.
Capacity: Qallowable As f s Ac f c
Where, As, Ac = Cross-sectional area of steel and concrete, respectively
fs, fc = Allowable stress of steel and concrete, respectively
Figure 3 Pre-cast piles with reinforcement details
Figure 4 Example of cast in place concrete piles

212
Figure 5 Difference between pile, pier and caisson
Timber Pile
They are tree trunks
These piles are used under water, especially in the bay area.
Usual length ranges from 15 to 50 ft. and load carrying capacity ranges from 67
to 115 kips.
Figure 6 Splicing of timber piles

213
Capacity: Qallowable Ap f w
Where, Ap = Cross-sectional area
fw = Allowable stress of wood (0.4 fy)
Composite Pile
They are made of more than 2 materials. Steel and concrete or concrete and
timber combinations are common.
Estimation of Pile length

Piles are divided into 3 major groups as per their load transfer functions:
Point Bearing Piles
Friction Piles
Compaction Piles
Figure 7 friction and end bearing piles
End/Point Bearing Piles

Used when bed rock is available at reasonable depth
Load bearing capacity depends on the bearing capacity of soil layer where the
pile is resting.

214
Sometimes, piles are extended slightly inside a reasonably hard stratum
although firm bed rock is not available.
Figure 8 Calculation for load bearing (a and b) piles and friction piles (c)
Load carrying capacity Qu Q p Qs

Qp = Load carried at the tip
Qs = Load carried by skin friction
In this type of pile Qs is very small and Qu Q p
Friction Piles
When bed rock is not available at reasonable depth, load is transferred through
the skin friction even at the softer materials.
Value of Qs is very small and Qu Qs
In clayey soil, those skin resistances are obtained by adhesion.

Length of friction pile depends on shear strength of soil, applied load, and pile
size.
Compaction Piles
Compaction piles are driven to achieve proper compaction
Length depends on relative density of soil, desired relative density, and required
depth of compaction.

215
Installation of Piles
Drop hammer
Single acting air or steam hammer
Double acting and differential air or steam hammer
Diesel hammer
A cap is attached to the pile to safeguard from damage.
Figure 9 Pile driving equipment- a) drop hammer and b) single acting air or stem hammer

216
Figure 9 Pile driving equipment- c) double acting and differential air or stem hammer, d) diesel
hammer, e and f) vibratory pile driver

217
Figure 10 Pile driving in the field

218
Estimation of Pile Capacity
Ultimate load carrying capacity of a pile

Qu Q p Qs
Qp = Point bearing capacity (Load carried at the tip)
Qs = Load carried by skin friction as a result of soil-pile interface
Figure 11 Ultimate load bearing capacity of pile
Point Bearing Capacity
1
qp Fs Fd Fi D N c' Fcs Fcd Fci N c qFqs Fqd Fqi N q
2
But D <<<<<<< than L. Therefore,
q p c' Fcs Fcd Fci N c qFqs Fqd Fqi N q
Q p q p Ap
Ap = Area of pile tip

219
Table 1 Meyerhofs shape, depth, and inclination factors for rectangular footing
Frictional Resistance
Qs p L f
Where, p = perimeter of pile
L = Incremental pile length that has constant p and f.
f = unit friction resistance
Allowable Load
Qu
Qall
FS

220
Meyerhofs method for estimation of Qp
Sand
Figure 12 Variation of point resistant in homogenous sand
For piles in sand, c = 0
q p qFqs Fqd Fqi N q Q p qFqs Fqd Fqi N q Ap

Or Q p qN q * Ap but Q p ql A p
ql 0.5 Pa N q * tan ' Pa = 100 kPa
L
ql 0.4 Pa N 60 * 4 Pa N 60 Average N60 is from 4 D to 10 D depth.
D
Figure 12 Variation of Nq* with

221
Clay
=0
q p c' Fcs Fcd Fci N c or Q p cu ' N c * Ap or Q p 9cu ' Ap

Frictional Resistance (Qs)
Sand
Figure 13 Unit frictional resistance for pile on sand
L = 15 D Qs p L f
From 0 to L, f K 0 ' tan ' = 0.8
From 0 to L to L, f f zL'
For bored pile K = K0
For low displacement driven pile K = 1.4 x K0
For high displacement driven pile K = 1.8 x K0
In general case, Qs f av pL f av 0.01 to 0.02 Pa N 60

high displacement = 0.02 low displacement = 0.01

222
Figure 14 Variation of K with L/D
Clay
Method
Qs f p L f cu = adhesion factor
Figure 15 Determination of with cu and 0

223
Method
For Normally consolidated clays u = 4 to 6 cu
But this excess pore pressure dissipates within a month.
Clay becomes remolded clay then after as CD situation prevails.
Shearing resistance can be calculated with effective normal stress
Qs f p L f 0' K 0 tan R '
Point Bearing Capacity in Rock
q p qu ( N 1) qu = Unconfined compression strength
'
N tan 2 (45 ) qu, design = qu, lab/5
2
qu ( design) ( N 1). A p
Qall
FS
Pile Load test
Figure 16 Method of point load testing

224
Figure 17 Load-settlement curve
Figure 18 a) Remolded or compacted zone around a pile driven into soft clay, b) Nature of
variation of cu with time for pile driving in a soft clay

225
Piles in a Group
Sand
In most of the cases, piles are used in groups as shown in the figure in order to
transmit the structural load to the subsoil.
Those groups of piles are connected at the top with a pile cap. Those caps can
be right on the ground level or above the ground level as shown in the figure.
Figure 19 Group of Piles

226
When a number of piles are arranged to transmit the load as a group, there will
be overlap between the stresses transmitted by some piles, as shown in figure.
This reduces the efficiency of pile in terms of soil bearing capacity.
Ideally, if the spacing is large enough, soil bearing capacity of the group equals
the total soil bearing capacity of the individual piles.
Standard practice says that such spacing should be more than 2.5 times (in many
cases goes up to 3.5 times) the diameter of pile.
Efficiency of load bearing capacity of group pile,

Qg (u )

Q u
Where,
Qg(u) = Ultimate load bearing capacity of pile group
Qu = Ultimate load bearing capacity of a single pile
For friction piles, if the spacing of the piles is wide enough, each pile acts as an
individual pile.
Otherwise, all piles act as a group of pile.
For pile group, Q g (u ) f av p g L

where,
Pg = Perimeter = 2(n1 n2 2)d 4 D for groups of n1 rows and n2 columns
fav = unit frictional resistance
For individual pile, Q(u ) f av p L

where,
P = Perimeter
Qg (u ) f av 2(n1 n2 2)d 4 DL

Q u n1n2 pLf av
Or
2(n1 n2 2)d 4D
n1n2 p
Qg (u ) Qu
2(n1 n2 2)d 4D
And
n1n2 p
Q u
But, if 1 Qg (u ) Qu

227
There are other equations too to calculate group pile efficiency. We can use a chart to
calculate group efficiency as shown in figure.
Figure 20 Efficiency of pile group

in sand
Saturated Clays
Figure 21 Ultimate bearing capacity of group of piles in clay

228
1. Calculate ultimate bearing capacity of a single pile
Q u n1n2 (Q p Qs )
But
Q p Ap 9cu ( p )
Qs pcu L
Therefore,
Q u
n1n2 9 Ap cu ( p ) pcu L
2. Determine ultimate bearing capacity of a pile group assuming that a pile is acting
as a block of dimension Lg x Bg x L
Q p ( g ) Ap cu ( p ) N c* Lg Bg cu ( p ) N c*
Qs ( g ) 2( Lg Bg )cu L
Therefore,
Q u( g ) Lg Bg cu ( p ) Nc* 2( Lg Bg )cu L
Figure 22 Variation of Nc* with other parameters
3. Lower value of that obtained from (1) and (2) is Qu(g)
Note: Check settlements using the similar concepts as you used in the shallow
foundation.

229
Example Problems on Pile Foundation

1. You are driving a square prestressed concrete pile of 20 m length. Size of the
pile is 460 mm x 460 mm. The pile is embedded entirely into a sand homogenous
sand layer. Water table is far below the pile tip. Following parameters are known
from the field test.
= 18.6 kN/m3 = 300 K = 1.5 = 0.6 x
Calculate the point bearing and skin frictional resistance of pile. Comment on the values.

230
2. You are driving a square prestressed concrete pile of 20 m length. Size of the
pile is 381 mm x 381 mm. The pile is embedded entirely into a saturated
homogenous clay layer. However, water table is far below the pile tip. Following
parameters are known from the field test.
sat = 18.5 kN/m3 = 00 Cu = 70 kPa
Calculate the total allowable load on this pile for a factor of safety of 3.
Comment on the values.

231
3. Shown in the figure is a group of pile constructed under a bridge pier. Spacing
of the pile (d) is 2 times the diameter (D) and diameter of each pile is 460 mm.
the pile is driven in a homogenous sand layer. Calculate the efficiency of the
group of pile.
4. A group of 9 piles are driven in a homogenous clay layer having undrained cohesion of
95.8 kPa. Diameter (D) of each pile is 406 mm and spacing of the pile (D) is 700 mm.
Length of each pile is 18.5 m. Assume that the clay is saturated and is 18 kN/m3.
Ground water table is at 30 m below the tip of pile. Calculate the allowable load on this
group of pile for a factor of safety of 3.

232

233
5. Plan and section of a building system in downtown LA is shown in the following figure.
It is impossible to extend the foundation beyond the boundary and we need to design a
pile foundation. Considering the safety factor of 3 and ignoring the effect of ground
water, please design the size, number, length, and spacing of driven concrete pile to
support the load.

234

235

236
Exercise Problems on Pile Foundation
1. We need to design the foundation for a building. As the soil below the
foundation is very weak, we need to design a group of pile to transfer the load.
Available diameter and length of the pre-stressed concrete piles are 0.4 m and
20 m, respectively. Total load to be transferred is 36 MN and desired factor of
safety is 3. Ground water table is more than 30 m below the ground. The
homogenous clay layer has an undrained cohesion of 100 kPa. Please calculate
the number of piles and spacing of piles to be connected with a pile cap to
transfer the load from the building. Consider that all piles behave similarly and
horizontal movement is zero.
2. We need to support the foundation for a building shown in the following figure
with a number of driven piles. Available diameter and length of the pre-stressed
concrete piles are 0.5 m and 20 m, respectively. Desired factor of safety is 3.
Ground water table is more than 35 m below the ground. The properties of the
clay layers are shown below. Please calculate the number of piles and spacing of
piles to be connected with a pile cap to transfer the load from the building.
Consider that all piles behave similarly and horizontal movement is zero.

237
3. It is requested to design a foundation system for a student housing project at CSUF. Plan
of the building and column loads are shown in the following figure. Preliminary design
calculation shows that we need to design a deep foundation system with piles. Noise during
pile driving is strictly prohibited. University has a stock of 500 number of circular concrete
piles of 1 ft diameter and 20 ft length. We need to use those piles to save the cost. It is
estimated that the base of pile cap is at the distance of 4 ft below the ground. Desired factor
of safety is 3. Please design the pile foundation system. Consider that all piles behave
similarly and there is no horizontal load in pile.

238
Lateral Earth Pressure

Vertical or near vertical slopes of soil are supported by retaining walls, cantilever
sheet pile walls, sheet pile bulkheads, and braced excavations.
All those backfills induce lateral forces to the pertinent structures.
Lateral earth pressures are important in the design of retaining walls, basement
walls, and bulkheads.
Forces of the backfill materials need to be calculated to design the structures
properly.
Following assumptions are made while deriving equations for lateral earth pressure.
Earth facing sides of the earth retaining wall is vertical.
The interface between the wall and the soil is frictionless.
The wall is rigid and extends to an infinite depth in dry, homogenous, and
isotropic soil mass.
Soil surface is horizontal and no shear acts on horizontal and vertical
boundaries.
Soil is loose and is initially at rest condition.
In earth pressure, we calculate horizontal forces acting to the retaining walls. As z
is generally known, h is calculated based on earth pressure coefficients.
h
Earth pressure coefficient (K) = where z is the vertical pressure.
z
There are three types of earth pressure situations, which are described below.
Earth Pressure at Rest

When no movement of wall is occurred, it is said that the earth pressure is at rest (figure
1). Coefficient of earth pressure at rest is denoted by K 0.
Examples consolidometer, basement floor, soil resting under ground.
Figure 1 Situation for at rest earth pressure (Das, 2006)

239
In figure 1,
Vertical stress = z = q + . z
Horizontal stress = h = K0 . 0 + u
K0 can be calculated by using Jakys equation, which is as follows.
K0 = (1 sin )
This works for normally consolidated and fine grained soil.
For over-consolidate soil, we need to use Mayne and Kulhawy (1982)s equation, which is as
follows.
K 0 (1 sin ' ).OCR sin

'
OCR = over consolidation ratio
Based on the calculated earth pressure, we need to calculate lateral earth force which is
equal to the area of the pressure diagram. Line of action of this force is acting at the CG of
the pressure diagram as shown in figure 1 b (for dry case).
For the situation shown in figure 1 b,
1
P0 P1 P2 qK 0 H H 2 K 0
2
The line of action of resultant force is located at,
H H
P1 P2
z 3
2
P0
If water table is located within the retaining wall height, the pressure distribution will be
as shown figure 2.
1 1 1
P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 K 0 qH1 K 0 H 1 K 0 (q H 1 ) H 2 K 0 ' H 2 w H 2
2 2 2
2 2 2
Line of application of the force can be calculated by taking the moment at the base.
Figure 2 At rest earth pressure when water table is at a depth smaller than H (Das, 2006)

240
Active Earth Pressure
Figure 3 Variation of the value of earth pressure coefficient with the tilt of wall (Das, 2006)
When the frictionless wall moves away from soil mass as shown in figure 3 and 4, h
decreases. If the wall moves with a distance sufficient enough to reach plastic
equilibrium condition, the horizontal stress acted on the wall is called active earth
pressure.
h'
Earth pressure coefficient Ka =
z'
Table 1 Typical values of La/H and Lp/H (Das, 2006)
Soil should move with sufficient amount of distance to reach this condition. Table 1
shows that required distance for different types of soil.
Passive Earth Pressure

When the frictionless wall moves towards the soil mass as shown in figure 3, 4 and 5,
h increases. If the wall moves with a distance sufficient enough to reach plastic
equilibrium condition, the horizontal stress acted on the wall is called active earth
pressure.
h'
Earth pressure coefficient Kp =
z'
There are various theories to calculate earth pressures, which are described below.

241
Figure 4 Active and passive earth pressure diagrams (Budhu, 2006)
Rankines Earth Pressure theory (1857)

Rankines Active Earth Pressure
Soil reaches the plastic equilibrium at every point in a soil mass on a verge of failure.
At the beginning, when the soil is at rest, h = K0 . z
Lets move the wall gradually to the left. Then the horizontal stress is also gradually
decreased until it causes failure as shown in figure 5.
At failure, the soil touches the Mohrs Circle.
This failure state is called Rankines active state and horizontal stress h in this
condition is called Rankines active earth pressure.
Figure 5 Concept of Rankines earth pressure theory (Budhu, 2006)

242
Figure 6 Rankines active (b) and passive (a) zones (Budhu, 2006)
From figure 5 as we derived in Strength of Soil,
' '
a ' z ' tan 2 (45 0 ) 2 c' tan( 45 0 )
2 2
' '
Or a ' ' z tan 2 (45 0 ) 2 c' tan( 45 0 )
2 2
For NC and coarse grained soil, c = 0
a' '
Then, Ka tan 2 (45 0 )
z 2
In general, a ' ' z K a 2 c' K a
In clayey soil, zero lateral earth pressure occurs at

2 c' 2 c' 2 c' '
zc Or zc = tan( 45 0 )
' Ka ' ' 2
' tan( 45 0 )
2
Zc is referred as the depth of tensile crack.
'
As seen from the Mohrs Circle and figure 6, failure occurs at ( 45 ) from
0
2
horizontal.
Rankines Passive Earth Pressure

Lets push and move the wall towards the earth.
That will increase h.

243
Ultimately the circle touches the failure envelope and soil undergoes plastic
failure as shown in figure 5.
This situation is Rankines passive state and the horizontal stress at this
condition is Rankines passive earth pressure.
From figure 5,
p' '
Kp tan 2 (45 0 )
z' 2
' '
z ' ' p tan 2 (45 0 ) 2 c tan( 45 0 )
2 2
For cohesionless soil or NC clay,
p' 1 '
Kp = tan ( 45
2 0
)
0 '
2
tan (45
2 0
)
2
' '
' p tan 2 (45 0 ) z 2 c tan( 45 0
'
)
2 2
'
Or '
p z tan (45
' 2 0
) 2 c tan( 45 0
)
2 2
1
Therefore, 'p 'z Kp 2 c Kp Here, Kp =
Ka
'
Failure occurs at ( 45 ) from horizontal as shown in figure 5 and 6.
0
2
In practice, the wall of limited height yields certain distance La or Lp to give active or
passive pressure condition as shown in figure 6. Those limits are presented in the table 1.
The active and passive earth pressure diagram for a general case is shown in figure 7.
Figure 7 A generalized active and passive earth pressure diagram (Budhu, 2006)

244
Rankines Earth Pressure for Granular Backfill and general case (figure 8)
Figure 8 A generalized case of Rankines active and passive earth pressure (Das, 2006)
Rankines Active Earth Pressure
z cos 1 sin 2 ' 2 sin ' cos a

a '
cos sin 2 ' sin 2
sin
Where, a sin 1 ( ) 2
sin '
Line of action of a is inclined at from the plane normal to the frictionless wall.
sin '.sin a
tan 1 ( )
1 sin ' cos a
1
And Pa = K a( R) H 2
2
Where
cos( ) 1 sin 2 ' 2 sin '.cos a

K a( R)
cos2 (cos sin 2 ' sin 2 )

245
Figure 9 Location and direction of resultant Rankines force (Das, 2006)
Locations and directions of Pa and Pp are shown in figure 9. Likewise, an inclination of failure
wedge is calculated as,
' 1 sin
sin 1
4 2 2 2 sin
cos cos2 cos2 '

When = 0 (i.e. vertical back fill), K a ( R ) cos
cos cos2 cos2 '
Table 2 shows the values of Ka(R) for different and for a vertical backfill.
Table 2 Values of Ka(R ) for a vertical backfill (Das, 2006)

246
Rankines Passive earth Pressure case
z cos 1 sin 2 ' 2 sin ' cos a

p '
cos sin 2 ' sin 2
sin
Where, p sin 1 ( ) 2
sin '
Line of action of a is inclined at from the plane normal to the frictionless wall.
sin '.sin p
tan 1 ( )
1 sin ' cos p
1
And Pp = K p ( R ) H 2 , where
2
cos( ) 1 sin 2 ' 2 sin '.cos p
K p( R)
cos2 (cos sin 2 ' sin 2 )
For = 0,
cos cos2 cos2 '

K p ( R ) cos
cos cos2 cos2 '
The value of Kp for a vertical back fill is shown in table 3.
Table 3 Passive earth pressure coefficient (KpR) for a vertical backfill (Das, 2006)

247
Distribution of Lateral Earth Pressure
Cohesionless Soil with Horizontal Backfill (figure 10)
Active Case
a ' K a z
At depth H, a ' K a H
1 1
Pa K a H . H or Pa K a H 2
2 2
H
Line of action, x=
3
Figure 10 Pressure distribution against a retaining wall for cohesionless backfill with
horizontal surcharge: a) Rankines active, and b) Rankines passive (Das, 2006)
Passive Case
p ' K p H
1
Pp K p H 2
2
H
Line of action, x=
3

248
Partially Submerged Cohesionless Soil Supporting a Surcharge (figure 11)
Active Case
a ' K a 0 '
At z = 0 0 = q and a = Ka . q
At z = H1, 0 = q + . H1 and a = Ka ( q + . H1)
At z = H 0 = q + . H1 + . H2 and a = Ka ( q + . H1 + . H2)
= sat - w
At z = H u = w . H2
1 1
Pa = Ka q H + Ka H12 + Ka H1 H2 + (Ka + w) H22
2 2
Figure 11 Rankines active earth pressure for

partially submerged cohesionless soil
backfill. (Das, 2006)

249
Passive Case (figure 12)
1 1
Pp = Kp q H + Kp H12 + Kp H1 H2 + (Kp + w) H22
2 2
Figure 12 Rankines passive

earth pressure for partially
submerged cohesionless soil
backfill. (Das, 2006)

250
Cohesive Soil with Horizontal Backfill
Active Case (figure 13)
Figure 13 Rankines active earth pressure for cohesive soil backfill. (Das, 2006)
2 cu
z0

As the soil cant resist negative pressure, cracks are formed up to z0 depth. They
are called tension cracks. In long term, these cracks are filled with water and
provide water pressure.
1
Pa = Ka H2 2 K a c H
2
For = 0 condition,
1
Pa = H2 2 c u H
2
Generally, pressure from ground level to z0 is ignored.
From diagram shown in figure 12,
2c'
Pa
1

K a H 2 K a c' H
K a
2

251
1 c' 2
Pa K a H 2 2 K a c' H 2
2
For = 0 situation
2
1 c
Pa H 2 2 cu H 2 u
2
Passive Case
Figure 14 Rankines passive earth pressure for cohesive soil backfill. (Das, 2006)
p K p z 2 K p c'
At z = 0, p 2 K p c'
At z = H, p K p H 2 K p c'
1
Pp K p H 2 2 K p c' H
2
For = 0 condition, Kp = 1
1
Pp H 2 2cu H
2

252
Earth Pressure for c- Soil with Inclined Backfill
According to Mazindrani and Ganjali (1997),
a ' z K a ( R ) z K ' a ( R ) cos
Where,
Ka(R) = Rankines Earth Pressure Coefficient
K a(R)
Ka(R) =
cos
Figure 15 Rankines active and passive earth

pressures for inclined backfill. (Das, 2006)
Also, Kp(R), Ka(R), =

2

1 c' c' c'
2 cos 2 2 cos '.sin ' 4 cos 2 (cos 2 cos 2 ' ) 4 cos 2 ' 8 cos 2 sin ' cos ' 1
cos ' z z z
2

253
Table 4 Variation of Ka(R) and Kp(R) (Das, 2006)

254
Coulombs Earth Pressure theory
Assumptions:
Failure surface is plane
There is wall friction between wall and soil
Cohesionless Backfill
Figure 16 Coulombs Earth Pressure Theory: (a) trial failure wedge, and (b) Force Polygon(Das, 2006)
In figure 16, BC is a trial failure surface
Forces involved for stability are,

W = Weight of soil wedge
F = Resultant of shear and normal forces at BC
Pa = Active earth force inclined at to the normal drawn to the face of wall and also
the friction angle between wall and soil.
Lets make a force triangle.
W Pa

sin( 90 ' ' ) sin( ' )
sin( ' )
Therefore, Pa W
sin( 90 ' ' )
1 cos( ) cos( ) sin( ' )
Or Pa H2 2
2 cos sin( ) sin( 90 ' ' )

255
All terms other than are constant.
1
Maximum Pa occurs at Pa = K a (C ) H 2
2
Where, Ka(C) = Coulombs active earth pressure
cos2 ( ' )
Ka 2
sin( ' ' ) sin( ' )
cos cos( ) 1
2

cos( ' ) cos( )
For = 0, = 0, and = 0, Coulombs earth pressure coefficient is same as Rankines earth
pressure coefficient.
Table 5 Value of Ka for =0 and = 0 (Das, 2006)

256
Table 5 Value of Ka for =0 and different (Das, 2006)

257

258
Table 5 Value of Ka for different and different (Das, 2006)

259

260
Graphic Solution of Coulombs theory
This solution was proposed by Culmann (1985)
This solution can be used for any wall friction
Figure 17 Culmanns solution for active earth pressure (Das, 2006)
1. Draw the features of retaining wall and backfill in scale.

2. Determine , which is 90
3. Draw a line BD at an angle from horizontal.
4. Draw a line BE at an angle from BD.
5. Draw a trial failure wedge BC1, BC2, BC3, and so on.
6. Calculate area of ABC1, ABC2, ABC3, . and so on.
7. Determine the weight of the soil from each trial wedge.
W1 = AreaABC1 x x 1 and similar for other wedges
8. Plot W1, W2, .. in some scale on line BD.
9. Draw C1C1 CnCn parallel to BE. This will give a smooth curve, which is called
Culmanns curve.
10. Draw a tangent BD on the curve to make BD parallel to BD. Let Ca be the tangent
point.
11. Draw a line CaCa parallel to BE.
Pa = Length of CaCa x Load scale
12. Draw a line from B to connect Ca. That will intersect at Ca. BCaCa is failure wedge.
Line of action of Pa is at inclination from the normal at wall face and is at O. O is

obtained by making a line from O to O which is parallel to BC.

261
Figure 18 Approximate method for finding the

point of application of the resultant active
force (Das, 2006)
Coulombs Passive Earth Pressure
Figure 19 Coulombs passive earth

pressure; (a) trial failure wedge, and (b)
force polygon (Das, 2006)

262
cos2 ( ' )
Kp 2
sin( ' ' ) sin( ' )
cos cos( ' ) 1
2

cos( ' ) cos( )
Table 8 Value of Kp for =0 and = 0 (Das, 2006)

263

264
Example Problems on Earth Pressure Calculation
1. For the retaining wall shown below:

a) Analyze the retaining wall using the Coulomb trial wedge method to find
the magnitude of the active earth force, assuming that the wall-backfill
interface friction angle is 0 degrees.

265
2. Compare the values of the horizontal force, Ph, to be used for design of the
retaining wall shown in the attached sketch if the backfill is
a) medium dense sand b) compacted silt

c) compacted lean clay d) compacted fat clay

266

267

268

269
Design of Retaining Wall

Retaining walls are designed to retain a soil mass.
Earth pressure calculation for retaining wall is done exactly in the same way as
we studied in lateral earth pressure.
There are four types of retaining walls:
Gravity Retaining Wall
Semi-gravity Retaining Wall
Cantilever Retaining wall
Counterfort Retaining Wall
Figure 1 Types of retaining walls

Gravity retaining walls are constructed with plain concrete or stone masonry.
Stability is maintained by the weight of wall. It is not economical for high walls.

270
Semi-gravity walls are same as the gravity wall, but are reinforced by small
amount of steel.
Cantilever retaining walls are made of reinforced concrete and consist of a stem
and a base slab. This is economical up to the height of 25 ft.
Counterfort retaining walls are the cantilever retaining wall, but are stiffened
by concrete slabs called counterforts at certain interval to tie the base and
stem so that bending moment and shear force could be reduced.
Design of retaining wall consists of designing the retaining wall section and
checking overturning, sliding, and bearing capacity failure, and structural steel
reinforcement design.
MSE walls have reinforced backfill to increase the strength of soil.
Retaining Wall Nomenclature
Figure 2 Proportioning and nomenclature of retaining wall section

Dimensions of retaining Wall
While designing retaining wall, we assume some dimensions. This is called
proportioning.
Stability of the wall is checked for that dimension, and if it is critical, we
reshape the wall.
Depth should be at least 2 ft. But is mainly dictated by frost level or other
parameters as mentioned in foundation design.
Counterfort spacing is 0.3 H to 0.7 H c/c and the size of slab is about 1 ft thick.

271
Figure 3 Dimensions of cantilever and semi-gravity retaining wall

Calculation of Earth Pressure
Figure 4 Assumption for the determination of lateral earth pressure in

cantilever retaining wall (Das, 2006)
Generally, Rankines Earth Pressure theory works, but in cantilever, we make a

vertical line AB from heel and Rankines active earth pressure is calculated at
that vertical line.

272
The concept works if we can directly connect AC without the obstruction of the
stem.
That angle is calculated as,
' sin
45 0 sin 1 ( )
2 2 sin '
For gravity wall also, same theory can be used or earth pressure is calculated
directly from Coulombs Theory.
Figure 5 Assumption - determination of earth pressure in semi-gravity retaining wall (Das, 2006)
But for Coubombs theory, soil structural friction angle should be known.

273
Stability of retaining Wall
Retaining walls may have 5 modes of failure:
Overturning about the toe
Sliding along base
Bearing capacity failure
Deep seated failure
Excessive settlement
Figure 6 Failure of the retaining wall: a) by overturning; b) by sliding; c) by

bearing capacity failure; d) deep seated shear failure (Das, 2006)
Excessive settlement and deep seated failure occurs when the weak soil is underlain by
a strong soil.

274
Check of Over-turning
Figure 7 Checking overturning for the valid Rankines pressure

(Das, 2006)
1
PP K P 2 D 2 2c 2 ' K P D
2
'2
K P tan 2 (45 0 )
2
M R Sum of resisting moment
FSoverturning about toe >3
M O sum of overturnin g moment

275
Check of Sliding along base
Figure 7 Checking sliding at base (Das, 2006)

FR ' Sum of Re sisting Force
FS sliding >1.5
FD sum of Driving Force
Resisting force = B( ' tan 'ca ' ) PP = (V ) tan ' Bca ' PP
Driving force = PA cos

If the FS is not enough, we increase the heel of the footing or make shear key. If key
is included, passive force is increased to a greater depth.
Figure 9 Shear key and extended heel can increase FS against sliding (Das, 2006)

276
Checking Bearing Capacity Failure
The concept is exactly same as that in the bearing capacity of foundation.
Figure 10 Checking bearing capacity failure (Das,

2006)
qu
FS bearing capacity >3
q max
V 6e
q max qtoe (1 )
B B
V 6e
q min q heel (1 )
B B
1
qu c 2 ' N c Fcd Fci qN q Fqd Fqi 2 B' N Fd Fi
2
B = B 2e

277
Example

278

279

280
Example Problems on Design of Retaining Wall

1. For a cantilever retaining wall shown in the figure below, following date is given.
Please calculate the factor of safety with respect to over-turning, sliding and
bearing capacity. Take adhesion = 2/3 of c and = 2/3 conc = 150 pcf. Ignore the
passive earth pressure.

281

282

283
2. A gravity retaining wall is shown in the following figure. Calculate the factor of
safety with respect to over-turning and sliding. Considerconc = 23.58 kN/m3,
adhesion = 2/3 of c and = 2/3 and ignore the passive earth pressure.

284
3. Analyze the stability of the retaining wall shown below. The wall should be
analyzed for (1) overturning, (2) bearing capacity, and (3) sliding.
For sliding stability, you may assume that = for the foundation soil. In
determining the factor of safety against bearing capacity failure at the toe of
the wall, you may assume that the ultimate bearing pressure is 10,000 psf.

285

286
4. Design a cantilevered concrete retaining wall that provides a change in grade of

19 feet. Both the foundation soil and the backfill soil will be clean coarse sand.
The backfill will be compacted to a medium dense condition. Both the backfill
and toe slopes will be level. The frost depth is 2 feet. The surcharge pressure
could be up to 200 psf. The ultimate bearing pressure for the sand is 8 tsf. The
water table is below the bottom of the wall, and drainage will be provided behind
the wall. Provide a neat, labeled sketch of the wall that you have designed. You
must include all supporting calculations.

287

288

289
Retaining Wall Design Examples

1. Please design a cantilevered concrete retaining wall for the height and soil
as shown in the figure. The frost depth at the site is 2 feet. Consider the
ultimate bearing capacity of the sand as 8 tsf. Provide a neat, labeled sketch
of the wall that you have designed. Check the following design parameters:
a. Factor of safety against overturning
b. Factor of safety against bearing capacity
c. Factor of safety against shearing

290

291

292
2. Please design a cantilevered concrete retaining wall for the height and soil as shown in
the figure. The frost depth at the site is 2 feet. Provide a neat, labeled sketch of the
wall that you have designed. Check all of the necessary design parameters. Bearing
capacity of foundation soil is 8 tsf.

293

294

295

296
3. You have to review the design of a cantilevered concrete retaining wall designed for the height
and soil as shown in the figure. Please check the design and provide your recommendation for
the following situation:
Surcharge load on top of the backfill material = 200 psf
Lean clay at foundation same soil for backfill
Dry unit weight of soil = 115 pcf
Cohesion/adhesion of the clay/concrete = 1200 psf
Bearing capacity of the soil = 8,000 psf
Active earth pressure coefficient = 0.4
Ignore the effect of ground water table

297

298

299
4. An engineer designed a cantilevered concrete retaining wall for the height of 15 ft in a medium
stiff clay, properties of which are shown in the figure. Same clay material was used for the back
fill and the backfill material has the following properties.
Unit weight of soil = 113 pcf
Cohesion =0
0
Drained friction angle = 10
Bearing capacity of the foundation soil is 6,000 psf. Please check the design and provide your
recommendation.

300

301

302
5. For sustainable construction, use of tire derived aggregate (TDA) as a geotechnical material is
being popular lately. A retaining wall was designed and constructed at Highway 91 near Riverside
with that type of material. Shown in the following figure is a section of a cantilever retaining wall
that was designed by a geotechnical engineer. Section of the retaining wall and the properties of
the foundation soil as well as the TDA backfill material are shown in the sketch. Please ignore the
effect of thin clay layer used at the top. Bearing capacity of the foundation soil is 6,200 psf.
Please check the design and provide your recommendation. If the TDA material is replaced with
0
sand that has unit weight of 115 pcf and friction angle of 33 , will the design be better? Use unit
weight of concrete as 150 pcf and ignore the effect of soil above the base of retaining wall for the
passive earth pressure calculation.

303

304

305

306

307
Retaining Wall Design Exercises

1. A geotechnical engineer designed the following cantilevered concrete retaining wall for the
height and soil as shown in the figure. The eccentricity of the resultant force was calculated to
be 0.3 ft. I have checked the factor of safety of this retaining wall for bearing capacity and it
was 7.3. Please check whether the retaining wall has enough safety factors for all three
criteria or not.
2. A proposed super store site is shown in the figure. A cantilever retaining wall is to be designed
to retain the soil for final grade as well as the storm water, shown below. Frost depth in the area
is 3 ft. Please propose a tentative section of the retaining wall and check whether the retaining
wall you proposed is safe or not against over-turning, bearing capacity, and sliding. The
0
foundation soil as well as the backfill soil is a loose sand of 30 friction angle. Saturated unit
weight of soil is 120 pcf. Bearing capacity of the foundation material is 10,000 psf.
3. You have to review the design of a cantilevered concrete retaining wall designed for the height
and soil as shown in the figure. Please check the design and provide your recommendation for
the following situation:
= 34 d = 120 pcf
0
Sandy backfill with and
Clayey base soil with Cu/a = 1.4 ksf and d = 115 pcf

308
Bearing capacity of the soil = 10 ksf
4. A retaining wall is already constructed and the section of the retaining wall is shown in the
following figure. There was a debate between two engineers regarding the use of backfill material.
Engineer A wanted to use the soil that was derived from the excavation material as a back fill soil.
Engineer B wanted to use an imported sandy backfill material. Properties of the soils are given in
Table. Please perform review calculations to evaluate the appropriateness of the backfill
materials proposed and provide your opinion.
Soil Proposed by Engineer A Engineer B

Unit weight (pcf) 110 118
Cohesion (psf) 0 0
0 0
Drained friction angle 15 35
Bearing capacity of the foundation soil is 8 ksf. Please consider: a) the surcharge load for both
resisting moment and earth pressure calculations; b) passive earth pressure below the top of the
footing/slab. Take skin friction as 0.7 times the drained friction.

309

310
Design of Sheet Pile Wall
Sheet piles are connected or semi-connected.

They are mostly constructed for water front structures.
We dont need to dewater the area while constructing the sheet piles.
Sheet piles are also used for braced cuts.
Sheet piles are made of wood, pre-cast concrete, aluminum, or steel.
Wooden sheet piles are used for temporary structures above water table.
Concrete sheet piles are used to withstand a heavy permanent stress.
Steel sheet piles are about 0.5 in. thick and are available in various sections.
They are available for different types of interlocking in order to make them
water tight. Thumb and finger and ball and socket are two common types of
connections. Allowable stresses for some common types of sheet piles are shown
in the table below.
Figure 1 Typical section of sheer pile

Table 1 Allowable stresses of different sheet pile sections
Type of steel Allowable stress (MN/m2) Allowable stress (psi)
ASTM A328 170 25,000
ASTM A572 210 30,000
ASTM A690 210 30,000
Properties of some sheet pile section, produced by Bethlehem Steels Corporation are shown
below.

311
Figure 2 Dimensions and properties of different sheet pile sections

312
Method of Construction
Surface of soil in the water front is called mud line or dredge line.
Backfill material is granular material.
Dredge material can be clay or silt.
Construction method is different for backfill and dredge. Sequence of backfill
structure for anchor sheet pile is shown in the figure below.
Dredge the soil in back and front
Drive the sheet pile
Backfill to the anchor level and place anchor
Backfill completely.
Figure 3 Sequence of construction

for backfilled structure
Sequence of construction for dredge structure is shown in the following figure.

313
Figure 4 Sequence of construction

for dredged structure
Drive the sheet pile

Backfill until anchor level and place anchor
Complete backfill
Dredge the front side.
For cantilever sheet pile, anchors are not necessary, but other process is same.
Design Consideration
Cantilever sheet piles are useful up to 20 ft. height above dredge line.
The wall rotates at an imaginary point O.
We dont need to consider hydrostatic pressure as they cancel out.
Pressure distribution is shown in the following figure.
Designing the sheet pile includes calculation of embedment depth, pile section
and design of anchor block.

314
Design of Cantilever Sheet Pile Penetrating Sandy Soil
Figure 5 Pressure diagram of cantilever sheet pile penetrating sand
Figure 6 Pressure and moment diagram of cantilever sheet pile penetrating sand

315
Active Earth Pressure from right:

At z = L1,
'
'1 L1 K a K a tan 2 (45 0 )
2
At z = L1+L2,
' 2 ( L1 ' L2 ) K a (Note: water pressures balance each other)
Up to the point of rotation O,

At depth of z,
' a ( L1 ' L2 ' ( z L1 L2 )) K a
Passive Earth Pressure from left:

At depth of z,
'
' p ' ( z L1 L2 ) K p K p tan 2 (45 0 )
2
Net pressure,
' ' a ' p ( L1 ' L2 ' ( z L1 L2 )) K a ' ( z L1 L2 ) K p 0
Or ' 2 ' ( z L)( K p K a ) 0
'2
or ( z L) L3
' (K p K a )
Slope of net pressure increase with depth = ' ( K p K a )
Therefore, HB ' ( K p K a ) L4
'
3
At the bottom of sheet pile,

At depth of z =L+D,
Active Earth Pressure from left:
' a ' DK a
Passive Earth Pressure from right:
At depth of z,

316
'
p (L1 ' L2 ' D) K p
Net lateral pressure at the bottom of sheet pile,
' p ' a ' 4 (L1 ' L2 ' D) K p ' DK a
= (L1 ' L2 ) K p ' ( L3 L4 )( K p K a )
= 5 ' ' L4 ( K p K a ) '5 (L1 ' L2 ) K p ' L3 ( K p K a )
For equilibrium,
PH 0 M @ B 0
PH 0
P 0.5 '3 L4 0.5 L5 ( '3 ' 4 ) 0 P = Area of pressure diagram ACDE
'3 L4 2P
L5
'3 ' 4
M @ B 0
L4 L
P( L4 z ) (0.5 '3 L4 )( ) 0.5 L5 ( '3 ' 4 )( 5 ) 0
3 3
Combining both equations will give a quadratic equation in terms of L4.
L4 A1 L4 A2 L4 A3 L4 A4 0
4 3 2
Where
'5
A1
' (K p K a )
8P
A2
' (K p K a )
6 P(2 z ' ( K p K a ) '5 )
A3
'2 (K p K a ) 2
P(6 z '5 4 P)
A4
'2 (K p K a ) 2
Stepwise Procedure to get pressure diagram
' '
1. Calculate Ka and Kp K a tan 2 (45 0 ) K p tan 2 (45 0 )
2 2
2. Calculate 1 and 2 with given L1 and L2

317
1 L1 K a
'
' 2 ( L1 ' L2 ) K a
'2
3. Calculate L3 L3
' (K p K a )
4. Calculate P Sum of the area in pressure diagram
5. Calculate z Take moment about E for pressure diagram
6. Calculate 5 '5 (L1 ' L2 ) K p ' L3 ( K p K a )
7. Calculate A1, A2, A3, and A4
'5 8P
A1 A2
' (K p K a ) ' (K p K a )
6 P(2 z ' ( K p K a ) '5 ) P(6 z '5 4 P)
A3 A4
' (K p K a )
2 2
'2 (K p K a ) 2
8. determine L4 L4 A1 L4 A2 L4 A3 L4 A4 0
4 3 2
9. calculate 4 ' 4 (L1 ' L2 ' D) K p ' DK a

10. Calculate 3 ' 3 ' ( K p K a ) L4
'3 L4 2P
11. Calculate L5 L5
'3 ' 4
12. Draw pressure distribution diagram as shown in the figure.
13. Calculate D D = L3 + L4
14. calculate Design D Ddesign = 1.3 D
Calculation of maximum bending moment
Find the point of 0 shear

P 0.5 z ' 2 ( K p K a ) '
2P
z'
( K p K a ) '
z'
M max P( z z ' ) (0.5 z ' 2 ( K p K a ) ' )
3
Design sheet pile based on the section modulus (S) calculated from Mmax and
allowable stress (all). i.e. select the right section for this section modulus.
M max
S
all

318
Special Case: If there is no water table
Figure 7 Pressure diagram for sheet pile

penetrating sand having no water
' 2 LK a
' 3 L4 ( K p K a )
' 4 5 ' L4 ( K p K a )
'5 L K p L3 ( K p K a )
'2 LK a
L3
' (K p K a ) (K p K a )
1 1
P 2 ' L 2 ' L3
2 2
L LK a L L( 2 K a K p )
z ' L3
3 K p Ka 3 3( K p K a )
'5 8P
A1 A2
(K p K a ) (K p K a )
6 P (2 z ( K p K a ) ' 5 ) P(6 z '5 4 P)
A3 A4
(K p K a )
2 2
2 (K p K a ) 2
L4 A1 L4 A2 L4 A3 L4 A4 0
4 3 2

319
Design of Cantilever Sheet Pile Penetrating Clay
Figure 8 Pressure and moment diagram of cantilever sheet pile penetrating clay

Above point O,
At depth z
'
a ( L1 ' L2 sat ( z L1 L2 ) 2c K a tan 2 (45 0 ) 1
2
Passive Earth Pressure from left:
At depth of z,
'
' p sat ( z L1 L2 ) 2c K p tan 2 (45 0 ) 1
2
Net pressure,
6 ' ' p ' a [ sat ( z L1 L2 ) 2c] [( L1 ' L2 sat ( z L1 L2 ) 2c] 4c (L1 ' L2 )

320
At the bottom of sheet pile,
Active Earth Pressure from left:
' a sat D 2c
Passive Earth Pressure from right:
' p (L1 ' L2 sat D) 2c
Net lateral pressure at the bottom of sheet pile,
7 ' p ' a 4c (L1 ' L2 )
For equilibrium,
PH 0 M @ B 0
PH 0
1
P1 [4c (L1 ' L2 )]D L4 [4c (L1 ' L2 ) 4c (L1 ' L2 )] 0
2
P1 = Area of pressure diagram ACDE
D[4c (L1 ' L2 )] P1
L4
4c
M @ B 0
2
D 1 L
P( D z1 ) [( 4c (L1 ' L2 )] L4 (8c)( 4 ) 0
2 2 3
Combining both equations,
P1 ( P1 12c z1 )
D 2 [4c (L1 ' L2 )] 2 DP1 0
(L1 ' L2 ) 2c
Get D from the above equation.
Stepwise Procedure to get pressure diagram

'
1. Calculate Ka for backfill K a tan 2 (45 0 )
2
2. Calculate 1 and 2 with given L1 and L2
'1 L1 K a ' 2 ( L1 ' L2 ) K a
3. Calculate P1 Sum of the area in pressure diagram
4. Calculate z Take moment about E for pressure diagram
5. Obtain theoretical value of D

321
P1 ( P1 12c z1 )
D 2 [4c (L1 ' L2 )] 2 DP1 0
(L1 ' L2 ) 2c
D[4c (L1 ' L2 )] P1
6. Calculate L L4
4c
7. Calculate 6 and 7 6 ' 4c (L1 ' L2 ) 7 4c (L1 ' L2 )
8. Draw pressure distribution diagram as shown in the figure.
9. Calculate Design D Ddesign = 1.5 D
Calculation of maximum bending moment
Find the point of 0 shear

P1 6 z' 0
P1
z'
6
M max P1 ( z1 z ' ) (0.5 6 z ' 2 )
Design sheet pile based on the section modulus (S) calculated from Mmax and
allowable stress (all). i.e. select the right section for this section modulus.
M max
S
all

322
Special Case: If there is no water table
Figure 9 Pressure diagram for sheet pile

penetrating clay having no water
' 2 LK a
' 6 4c L
' 7 4c L
1 1
P 2 ' L L2 K a
2 2
1
D (4c L) L2 K a
L4 2
4c
P1 ( P1 12c z1 )
D 2 [4c L] 2 DP1 0
L 2c
L
z1
3
M max P1 ( z1 z ' ) (0.5 6 z ' 2 )
P1 0.5L2 K a
z'
6 4c L

323
Design of Anchored Sheet Pile Penetrating Sandy Soil
When height of cantilever sheet pile is more than 20 ft, we can make the wall
economical by tying the wall near the top with anchor plates or anchor wall or
anchor piles (called anchor bulkhead).
Anchor reduces the depth of penetration, cross sectional area and weight of
sheet pile.
Anchored sheet piles are designed with two main methods
free earth support method
Fixed earth support method
Figure 10 Variation of deflection and moment for anchored sheet pile a) free
earth support method, and b) fixed earth support method
Penetration depth with free earth support system is always less than that with the
fixed earth support system.

324
Design of Anchored Sheet Pile with Free earth Support method Sandy Soil
Figure 11 Anchored sheet pile penetrating sand

At z = L1,
'
'1 L1 K a K a tan 2 (45 0 )
2
At z = L1+L2,
' 2 ( L1 ' L2 ) K a
At the point of rotation E, net pressure is 0.
Exactly in the similar way as in cantilever wall,
'2
L3
' (K p K a )
At the bottom (B) net stress is calculated as

325
8 ' ( K p K a ) L4
'
slope of net pressure increase with depth = ' ( K p K a )
For equilibrium,
PH 0 M @ O ' 0
PH 0
P 0.5 '8 L4 F 0 P = Area of pressure diagram ACDE
F P 0.5[ ' ( K p K a )] L4
2
M O ' 0
1 2
P[( L1 L2 L3 ) ( z l1 )] [ ' ( K p K a )]L4 (l 2 L2 L3 L4 ) 0
2
2 3
3P[( L1 L2 L3 ) ( z l1 )]
Or L4 1.5 L4 (l 2 L2 L3 ) 0
3 2
' (K p K a )
Get L4 from the above equation.
Dtheoretical = L3+L4
Ddesign = 1.4 Dtheoretical
Depth for maximum moment is calculated as,

1 1
1 ' L1 F 1 ' ( z L1 ) K a ' ( z L1 ) 2 0
2 2

326
Rowes Moment Reduction for Anchored Sheet Pile
Yielding of sheet pile cause re-distribution of lateral earth pressure.
This causes the reduction in bending moment.
For a sheet pile penetrating in wall, moment reduction is calculated using the
following chart.
Figure 12 Log vs Md/Mmax chart for sheet pile walls penetrating sand in Rowes MR Method
In figure,
H '4
relativefl exibility 10.91 10 7 H in m E in MN/m2
EI
I in m4/ m length of wall
H '4
relativefl exibility H in ft E in psi
EI
I in in4/ ft length of wall
Md = design Moment
Mmax = Maximum theoretical moment

327
Procedure to use moment reduction diagram:

Choose a sheet pile section
Find S per unit length
Determine I per unit length
Calculate H and calculate and log
Find Md = all x S
Determine Md/Mmax
Plot log r and Md/Mmax in the figure
If plotted above the curve, it is safe, otherwise repeat the procedure for
bigger section.
Design of Anchored Sheet Pile with Free earth Support method Clay
Figure 13 Anchored sheet pile penetrating clay

328

At z = L1+L2 to L1+L2+D,
6 4c ( L1 ' L2 )
'
For equilibrium,
PH 0 M @ O ' 0
PH 0
P1 '6 D F
P1 = Area of pressure diagram ACD

F = Anchor Force per unit length of sheet pile
M O ' 0
D
P1 ( L1 L2 l1 z1 ) ' 6 D(l 2 L2 )0
2
Or '6 D 2 2 '6 D( L1 L2 l1 ) 2P1 ( L1 L2 l1 z1 ) 0
Calculation of moment is same as in the sand.

Moment reduction technique is also calculated by Rowe, which is as follows.
Calculate H ' L1 L2 Dactual
L1 L2
Calculate Non-dimensional wall height
( L1 L2 Dactual )
cu
Calculate stability number S n 1.25
(L1 ' L2 )
L1 L2
Calculate Non-dimensional wall height
( L1 L2 Dactual )
Calculate and log
Md
Determine from chart shown below
M max
Choose a sheet pile section and follow the same technique as explained in the
case of sand.

329
Figure 12 Stability number vs Md/Mmax chart for sheet pile walls penetrating clay in Rowes MR
Method

330
Example Problems on Sheet Pile Design

1. Shown in the following figure is a sheet pile section penetrating a granular
backfill.
a. Calculate Dtheotetical, Ddesign for 30% increment, and Length of sheet pile.
b. Mmax (theoretical)

331

332

333
2. Shown in the following figure is a sheet pile section penetrating a granular

backfill.
a. Calculate Dtheotetical, Ddesign for 40% increment, and Length of sheet pile
b. Mmax (theoretical)

334

335
3. Shown in the following figure is an anchored sheet pile bulkhead section

penetrating a granular backfill.
Using the Free earth support method

a. Calculate Dtheotetical, , and draw a pressure distribution diagram
b. Anchor Force per unit length of wall.
c. Ddesign = 1.3 x Dtheory, determine Mmax,theoretical.
d. Design a sheet pipe section using Rowes moment reduction method.
Take E = 210 x 103 MN/m2 all = 210 MPa

336

337

338
4. Shown in the following figure is a anchored sheet pile bulkhead section

penetrating a clay.
Using the Free earth support method

a. Calculate Dtheotetical

339

340
Sheet Pile: Design Examples
1. A sheet pile is to be designed for the section shown below. Using the Free
earth support method, calculate the following parameters.
a. Dtheotetical and Ddesign

341

342
2.
a. Design a sheet pile wall section for the above problem using Rowes moment
reduction technique,
b. Design an anchor bulkhead section for the above section.

343

344

345
Sheet Pile: Design Exercises

1. An anchored sheet pile wall is shown in the following diagram. Using the free
earth support method, please complete an earth pressure diagram for the design
of sheet pile.
2. A section of proposed sheet pile is shown in the following figure. Please

prepare the pressure diagram required for the design of the sheet pile.
3. You have to check the calculation for the total height of an anchored sheet pile
wall as shown in the following figure. Using the free earth support method,
a) Provide your recommendation for the proposed depth/height of sheet pile

346
b) Calculate design force per length to be supported through the anchor
system.
4. Please check the calculation for the total height of an anchored sheet pile wall
as shown in the following figure. Using the free earth support method,
a) Provide your recommendation for the proposed depth/height of sheet pile

b) Calculate design force per length to be supported through the anchor
system.

347
5. You are required to design a total height of sheet pile system for the following topographic
condition and make a complete pressure diagram that helps to estimate the maximum
moment required for the design of sheet pile. Please perform necessary calculations for that
and present your results neatly.

348
Design of Anchor Bulkhead

We already calculated the force to be supported by an anchor bulkhead.
Various types of anchors can be used to support that force.
Deadman (anchor plate or beam)
Tie backs
Vertical anchor piles
Anchor beams supported by batter
Figure 1 Various types of anchor system for the sheet pile walls a) anchor plate or
beam, b) tie back, c) vertical anchor pile, d) anchor beam with batter pile

349
Anchor plates are precast concrete blocks, attached to sheet piles by
coated/painted anchor rods with the support of wale.
Tiebacks are bars or cables (high strength, pre-stressed steel tendons) placed
in predrilled holes and supported with concrete grouts.
Vertical anchor piles and batter piled anchors are shown in the figure.
Position of Anchor Blocks

Anchors should be placed beyond (inside) Rankines active zone of the sheet pile
(wedge ABC). Likewise, anchors should also be placed beyond the Rankines
Passive zone (CHI) of the anchor itself.
Capacity of an anchor block
Case 1 General Case
Figure 2 Step 1 : A vertical and continuous anchor in granular soil
F H 0
1 1
P'u F H 2 K p cos H 2 K a cos '
2 2
1
P'u H 2 ( K p cos K a cos ' )
2
F V 0
1 1
H 2 K p sin H 2 K a sin 'W 0
2 2
1
H 2 K a sin 'W
K p sin 2
1
H 2
2

350
Figure 3 Variation of a) Ka for = , and b) Kpcos with Kp sin
We can use the above chart to estimate Kp cos.

Substitute it in the first equation and get H.

351
Case 2 Continuous Anchor
Figure 4 Vertical anchor in a strip case

C ov 1
P'us Pu ' Pus = Ultimate resistance of a continuous anchor
H
C ov ( )
h
Cov = 19 for dense sand and 14 for loose sand.
Case 3 Anchor Blocks in Row
This is the most common case.
Figure 5 a) Diagram showing the setting of the row of

anchors; b) Variation of (Be-B)/(H+h) with (S-B)/(H+h) :
(S B)/ (H + h)
after Ovesen and Stromann, 1972.

352
Pu P'us Be
Equivalent length (Be) can be calculated from the above figure.
Empirical Method
Pu can also be calculated from empirical method.
0.28
5 .4 H 2
P'u AH
tan ' A
A = area of anchor i.e. B.h
Factor of safety
Pu
FS = generally 3
P' all
Spacing of the Anchor Plate

Pall
S
F
F = Force per unit length of sheet pile
Resistance of the Anchor Plate in Clay
Figure 6 Experimental variation of Pu/(hBc) with H/h for plate anchors in clay

353
Ultimate resistance of Tieback
Figure 7 Parameters involved in designing the ultimate

resistance of tiebacks
Pu d l '0 K tan '

'0 = Average effective vertical stress
K = earth pressure coefficient at rest (if grouted at pressure) or active
In clays,
Pu d l ca
Generally, FS of 2 is taken.

354
Example Problems on anchor bulkhead

1. Shown in the following figure is an anchored sheet pile bulkhead section
penetrating a homogeneous sand backfill. Using the Free earth support method,
draw a pressure distribution diagram and calculate the required (design) length of
sheet pile. Also calculate the anchor force per unit length of wall.
For the material of the sheet pile, consider E = 29 x 106 psi all = 30,000
psi

355

356

357
Exercise Problems on anchor bulkhead

1. An anchored sheet pile wall is shown in the following diagram. Please
calculate the size of anchor for to support the F of 8 kips.

358
Design of Braced Excavation System
In many cases we need to construct a vertical or near vertical trench for the
construction of foundation.
We need to protect that slope from collapsing with the help of bracing system.
Those bracings are provided with a) soldier pile ( a vertical steel or timber
beam braced by horizontal members called lagging), or b) sheet pile ( a vertical
inter-locking sheet piles), and c) slurry wall
In both cases, piles are driven before trenching and once the desired depth is
reached, wales and struts are used to support the piles.
We need to calculate the lateral earth pressure distribution for designing such
bracing systems.
Mostly, the empirical pressure diagrams are used for the design purpose.

359
Figure 1: Different types of braced excavation systems a) soldier beams, b) sheet piles
Sequence of construction
1. Install pile.
2. Excavate a little
3. Install bracing or anchors
4. Go to 2.

360
5. Pressure Distribution for Braced excavation System Design
The lateral earth pressure on the braced cut depends,
Type of soil
Construction method
Type of equipment used
Location of the structural member (strut/wales)
Figure below shows the apparent pressure diagram to calculate the loads
subjected to the struts.
Figure 2: Apparent pressure diagrams for the

known strut loads
Let s = center to center spacing of the struts in the perpendicular direction,.

P1 P2
1 2
d d d
s d 1 2 s 2 3
2 2 2
P3 P4
3 4
d d d d
s 3 4 s 4 5
2 2 2 2
Excavation in Sand
Based on the knowledge got from subway cut in Munich and New York, Peck
(1969) proposed (for the diagram shown below),
a 0.65 H K a

361
Figure 3: Pecks apparent pressure envelope for cuts in sands
Excavation in Clay ( = 0)
Figure 4: Pecks apparent pressure envelope for cuts in soft to medium stiff clays
H
For soft to medium clays with 4 , pressure should be larger of,
c
4c
a H 1
and a 0.3 H
H

362
H
For stiff clays and 4 , pressure should be,
c
a 0.3 H (coefficient ranges from 0.2 to 0.4)
Figure 5: Pecks apparent pressure envelope for cuts in stiff clays
Assumptions
Apply to the excavations deeper than 20 ft.
Water table is below the bottom of excavation
Sand completely drained
Clay completely undrained
Layered Soil
Figure 6: Profile of a layered clay in braced excavation system

363
When sand and clay layer is encountered, we calculate equivalent c value for
sand (for = 0) and calculation for clay is used.
c av
1
2H

s K s H s 2 tan ' s ( H H s )n ' qu
For = 0, Ks = 1
n = coefficient of progressive failure = 0.75
Ks = earth pressure coefficient for sand
qu = Unconfined compressive strength of clay
Likewise, av
1
s H s ( H H s ) c
H
For different types of clay layers,
c H
1
c av i i
H
Hi
1
av i
H

364
Design of Braced Excavation System
Strut
Minimum vertical spacing should be 9 ft. for workability
Struts are horizontal columns (axially loaded) subjected to bending
Total load carrying capacity depends on slenderness ratio. Slenderness ratio can
be reduced by providing horizontal and vertical support at regular interval or
splicing.
Depth of first strut from ground surface should be less than the depth of
2c '
tensile crack zone i.e.
ka
Design steps are as follows:
Draw pressure diagram and show proposed strut level. The sheet
pile/soldier piles are hinged at the strut level except at top and bottom
Determine the reactions for 2 simple cantilever beams (top and bottom)
and all others as simple beams (A, B1, B2, C1, C2, D)
Calculate strut loads as:
PA A s PB ( B1 B2 ) s PC (C1 C2 ) s PD D s
Calculate sections for those loads
Figure 7: Diagram to show calculations for strut loads

365
Sheet Piles
Determine maximum bending moment for each section
Get maximum value of Mmax
M max
Obtain required section modulus S =
all
Choose sheet pile that has S greater than this
Wale
Calculate maximum bending moment at wales at all levels.
A s2
At level A M max
8
( B1 B2 ) s 2
At level B M max
8
(C1 C 2 ) s 2
At level C M max
8
D s2
At level D M max
8
M max
Calculate section modulus S =
all
Choose wale section that has S greater than this
(See example Problems)

366
Construction Sequence and Braced Excavation Examples
Figure 8 Setting of lagging on H Pile
Figure 9 A bracing system for retaining wall

367
Figure 10 An example of 75 ft. deep garage excavation

368
Figure 11 Different alternates of struts
Figure 12 Post tension tie back wall

369
Figure 13 Post tension tie back wall

Lateral Movement of Sheet Pile
Figure shown below has been developed from the data gathered from a number of
excavation projects. It is a tool to predict the ground movement in the surrounding
areas as the result of an excavation for wide varying subsurface conditions. Using this
figure one can determine the induced settlement adjacent to an excavation. It is an
empirical and not a theoretical expression of actual expectations.
Figure 14 Lateral movement of sheet pile

370
Example:
Estimate the settlement 15 ft from the bracing wall of a 30-ft-deep excavation in

soft clay.
Therefore, expected settlement = 0.006 x 30 = 0.18 ft

371
Example Problems on Braced Excavation

1. Shown in the following figure is an excavation section which should be braced
appropriately. Following parameters are known.
S=3m all = 170 x 103 kPa
Design the Braced Excavation System

372

373

appropriately. Following parameters are known.
S = 12 ft all = 25000 psi

374

375

376
3. Following parameters are known. Spacing of the struts in the perpendicular

direction of the paper is 15 ft and all for the strut material was 25000 psi.
Please calculate the axial loads in strut and design bending moments in
wales for all three levels.

377

378

379
Exercise Problems on Braced Excavation

appropriately. Following parameters are known. all = 25000 psi

appropriately. Following parameters are known. all = 25000 psi

380
3. A section of an excavation bracing system is shown in the following figure.

Spacing of the strut is 10 ft. Using steel sections with allowable stress of
30,000 psi, calculate axial loads for all struts, and section modulus for all
wales and sheet piles.

381
4. You are required to design an excavation bracing system as shown in the
following figure. Spacing of the strut is 15 ft. Using steel sections with
allowable stress of 4000 ksf, calculate axial loads for all struts, and section
modulus for all wales and sheet piles.
5. Detail of a trench that requires a design of the bracing system is shown in the following
figure. Using steel sections with allowable stress of 4000 ksf, calculate axial loads for all
struts, and section modulus for all wales and shoulder piles. Please make necessary
assumptions.

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California State University, Fullerton

Civil & Environmental Engineering Department

2. Geotechnical Properties of Soil 6

3. Shear Strength of Soil 35

5. Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundation 82

6. Eccentrically Loaded Foundation 94

7. Elastic Settlement of Shallow Foundation 113

8. Consolidation Settlement 141

9. Combined Footing and Mat Foundation 186

10. Pile Foundation 207

11. Lateral Earth Pressure 237

12. Design of Retaining Wall 268

13. Design of Sheet Pile Wall 309

14. Design of Anchor Bulkhead 347

15. Design of Braced Excavation System 357

Foundation Design Binod Tiwari, PhD

EGCE 418 Foundation Design

Instructors: Binod Tiwari, Ph.D.

Prerequisite EGCE 324, EGCE 408

Course Learning Objectives

Foundation Design Binod Tiwari, PhD

Topics Covered in Lecture

Topics Covered in Lab

Program Educational Objectives

A) Technical Growth: Graduates will be successful in modern engineering practice,

Assessment of Students Learning

An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering.

Homework and Quizzes

Foundation Design Binod Tiwari, PhD

Students With Special Needs

Foundation Design Binod Tiwari, PhD

Week Day Topic/s Section Textbook Due Homework*

Dec. 15 (17:00 18:50) Final Exam

Foundation Design Binod Tiwari, PhD

The safety of all students attending California State University Fullerton is of

Before an emergency occurs-

When an emergency occurs-

After an emergency occurs-

2. Students can determine the University's operational status by checking the

Non-emergency line: (657) 278-2515

Foundation Design Binod Tiwari, PhD

Geotechnical Properties of Soil

Soil behavior includes compressibility, permeability, and shear strength.

Following are a few important geotechnical properties of the foundation material.

Index Properties of Soil

Particle Size Analysis

Coarse Grained Soils

Foundation Design Binod Tiwari, PhD

Fine Grained Soils

Shown in table 1 are the openings for different US sieve sizes.

Table 1 Dimension of opening for each US sieve #

Right) Opening of various sieves.

If the unit of,

Foundation Design Binod Tiwari, PhD

Table 2 Value of K from the above equation

Sieve Analysis Data Interpretation

The Coefficient of Uniformity (Cu) is a parameter that is used to determine if a soil is

Foundation Design Binod Tiwari, PhD

Figure 1 Typical grain size distribution curve

Coefficient of Curvature (also called the Coefficient of Gradation)

Types of grain size distribution curves

Figure 2 Typical grain size distribution curves found in nature

Foundation Design Binod Tiwari, PhD