GE-502 FOUNDATION ENGINEERING-I

Introduction, Importance and purpose of foundation engineering, Types of

foundations, selection of foundation type,

Bearing capacity of shallow foundations: definitions, design methods based on soil

mechanics theory, penetration test results, bearing capacity of footings on rocks,

Settlement of shallow foundations: definitions, limits, stress distribution, immediate

and long term settlement, settlement based on elastic model, penetration tests and
consolidation theory, rate of settlement, computing techniques

Geotechnical design of various types of shallow footings including rafts

Improving Site Soils for Foundation use,

Reference Books

 Foundation Analysis and Design, Joseph E. Bowles, 5th ed. 1996

 Foundation Design and Construction, M.J. Tomlinson
 Foundation Engineering, Peck, Hanson & Thornburn
 Foundation Engineering Handbook, Hsai-Yang Fang
 Principles of Foundation Engineering, Braja M. Das
 Geotechnical Engineering, Principles and Practices, by Donald P. Coduto
 Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual, 2nd ed., 1985 by Canadian
Geotechnical Society
 Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering by S.K. Garg

 Foundations for Mechanics ; Analysis and Design, Prakash & Pur

 A Short Course in Foundation Engineering by Simons and Menzie

 Advanced Foundation Engineering by V.N.S Murthy

 Soil Mechanics and Foundations by Muni Budhu

 The Foundation Engineering Handbook by Manjriker Gunaratne

 STRUCTURAL AND SOIL MECAHNICS ASPECTS OF FOUNDATION
DESIGN:

Foundation
Bottom most part of the structure which carries the load of the structure including its
own weight and transmits it to the underlying / surrounding soil and /or rock safely.

Foundation Engineering (deals with sub-structures)

An art that deals with (i) determining the ability of the earth to support the load (ii)
designing the proper transition member to transmit the super-structure load into the
ground safely.

Purpose of the Foundation

The enlarged area of the column/wall (i.e. footing) reduces the contact pressure
between the footing and soil. This prevents excessive settlement and shear failure (BC
failure).

Basic Foundation Types

- Shallow Df/B  1 (after Terzaghi)

Generally Df  3 m

- Deep Df/B > 4+ or depth > 3 m

Foundations

SHALLOW DEEP

Footings Raft Piles Piers Caissons

Strip for Isolated Combined Strap

walls or footings footings for
columns for columns columns in
in a single single row
row
 Client requirements

Environment Statutory
Foundation Design requirements

Site
Experience
investigations

General Design Requirements

 Gather information about the structure such as structure type, its function,
anticipated structure life span including any special requirements
 Subsoil profile and GWT conditions
 Available construction procedure and construction materials
 Owners needs and statutory requirements
 Impact on environment, noise, gas/health hazards etc.
 Rigidity & durability i.e. safety against overturning, sliding, uplift etc.
 Protection against concrete/steel deterioration/wood
 Ease of construction and compatibility
 Regional seismicity
 Influence of the environment (hydrology, surface water, subsidence, seasonal
changes of moisture)
 Conditions with regard to its surroundings (neighbouring structures, traffic,
utilities, vegetation, hazardous chemicals etc.)

Environment (Check List)

The nature of the environment within which the design is set includes the following:

 Changes to ground surface (scour, erosion, excavation)

 Chemical corrosion
 Weathering
 Freezing
 Ground water fluctuation (flooding, failure of drainage, abstraction, vegetation)
 Gases emission
 Changes to materials (creep, mammals, vegetations)
 Earthquake
 Subsidence (mining, solution cavities)
 The tolerance of structures to deformation
 The effect of the new structure on existing structures or services.

Footing Depth (Df)

Physical Requirements

 Below top organic soil containing roots

 Below peats, muck or humus
 Below shallow caverns (voids) or any other form of anomalies
 Below frost line
(a) place footing below frost line or (b) replace frost susceptible soil – frost
susceptible soils are very fine sand and silts
 Below surface erosion zone
 Below volume sensitive zone or weather susceptible zone
 Proper slope edge protection
a = minimum 0.6 m (2 ft) for footings on rock

= minimum 0.9 m (3 ft) for footings on soil

a

 Footings with different elevations

Limit for horizontal spacing in all soils

30 o
b 45 o

Soft soil

Limit for bottom of new footing

deeper than the old footing

Average soil
Mechanical Requirements

 Scour depth (footings should be placed well below the scour depth)
1/ 3
 q2 
Scour depth, D = 1.338  in meters
 f 

q = discharge per unit width in cumecs

f = Inglis silt factor = 1.76 m Lacey silt factor = 1.59 d 50

= 0.5 for fine silt

= 9 for gravel

m = weighted mean diameter D50 mm

 Allowable Bearing Capacity Requirement

Adjust Df to suit required ABC

 Settlement
Settlement, in general, decreases with increasing depth. Adjust Df to suit
settlement