Shallow Foundation

Settlement

MUHAMMAD AZRIL HEZMI

PROF. RAMLI NAZIR
PROF. KHAIRUL ANUAR KASSIM
Pre Class Questions
( 30 Minutes short discussion with visual aid
presentation)
1.Why foundations settlements are major concern of engineers in the
geotechnical design?
2.What’s the type of settlement occurred on foundations?
3.Please explain of the geotechnical problem occurred in leaning tower
of Pisa?
4.What is the difference between Elastic, Primary and Secondary
settlements?
5.What are factors may influence degree of settlements?
 Foundation Settlement
Foundation settlement is the shifting of the
foundation (and the structure built upon it) into the
soil.
This can cause damage to the structure. Whether the
soil is moist or dry is central to predicting the amount
of settlement to expect in a given foundation.
Areas with moist soils will have more foundation
settlement than dry areas.
The idea is that as water is squeezed out from the
soil, the structure will shift according to the empty
spaces the water left. The more water, the more shift.
Settlement

Immediate or Elastic Settlement: Occurs immediately after the construction. This

is computed using elasticity theory (Important for Granular soil)

Primary Consolidation: Due to gradual dissipation of pore pressure induced by

external loading and consequently expulsion of water from the soil mass, hence
volume change. (Important for Inorganic clays)

Secondary Consolidation: Occurs at constant effective stress with volume

change due to rearrangement of particles. (Important for Organic soils)
________________________________________________________________
For any of the above mentioned settlement calculations, we first need
vertical stress increase in soil mass due to net load applied on the
foundation 4
5
6
Elastic Settlement