1: INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

FOUNDATION ENGINEERING

Foundation engineering is the application and practice of the fundamental principles of soil mechanics and rock
mechanics (i.e., geotechnical engineering) in the design of foundations of various structures. These foundations
include those of columns and walls of buildings, bridge abutments, embankments, and others. It also involves the
analysis and design of earth-retaining structures such as retaining walls, sheet-pile walls, and braced cuts.

Foundation analysis, in general, can be divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.
Spread footings and mat (or raft) foundations are referred to as shallow foundations. A spread footing is simply an
enlargement of a load-bearing wall or column that makes it possible to spread the load of the structure over a larger
area of the soil. In soil with low load-bearing capacity, the size of the spread footings is impracticably large. In that
case, it is more economical to construct the entire structure over a concrete pad. This is called a mat foundation.
Piles and drilled shafts are deep foundations. They are structural members used for heavier structures when the
depth requirement for supporting the load is large. They transmit the load of the superstructure to the lower layers
of the soil.

SHALLOW FOUNDATION

For the purpose of stud, shallow foundations are considered as those that are placed at a depth �� , not exceeding
the width, �, of the foundation. From the point of view of design, the shallow foundations are classified into four
types. They are:

1. SPREAD FOOTINGS OR PAD FOUNDATIONS.

- A spread footing is that in. which· the base of a column or wall is enlarged. The footing of a column is also
called as pad foundation. A pad foundation may consist of a simple circular, square or rectangular slab of
uniform thickness, or they may be stepped or launched to distribute the load from a heavy column. A wall
footing is also called as a continuous footing or a strip footing.

2. STRAP FOOTINGS.
- lf the footing supports more than one column; it is called as a strap or combined footing. A row of column
foundation connected together by a beam is called as a continuous footing. Wide strip footings or
foundations are, necessary where the bearing capacity of the soil is low enough to necessitate a strip so wide
that transverse bending occurs in the projecting portion of the foundation beam, and reinforcements are
required to prevent cracking.

3. COMBINED FOOTINGS.
- In between column footings and raft foundations, comes combined footings where several footings (two or
more) are joined to form a small mat. A combined footing may have either rectangular or trapezoidal shape,
or a series of pads connected by narrow rigid beams called straps. Such footings are called as strap footings.

4. RAFT OR MAT FOUNDATION.

- Raft or mat foundations are normally required on soils of low bearing capacity or where the structural
columns or other loaded areas are so close in both the directions that individual footing foundations would
nearly touch each other. A normal practice is to use a raft foundation where the sum of the areas covered by
the conventional individual spread footings is more than about 50 percent of the loaded area of the structure.
Raft foundations are useful in reducing differential settlements on variable soil or where there is wide
variation in loading between adjacent columns or other applied loads. Raft foundations are commonly used
beneath multistoried buildings, storage tanks, silo clusters, chimneys, etc. It is common to use mat
foundation and to provide the floor slab for the basement. Mat foundations may be supported by piles in
situations such as high ground water to control buoyancy or where the base soil is susceptible to large
settlements.
DEEP FOUNDATIONS

Deep Foundations Deep foundations are normally defined as those that have depth width (�� /�) ratio greater than
2. Very deep foundations have ��/� ratio greater than 4. Piles, piers and caissons fall in this category. They are used
to transmit loads to deeper layers of soil. Piles and drilled piers are used both on land and under water for supporting
structures, whereas caissons are normally used for bridges and sometimes for multistoried buildings also. The terms
foundation pier and caisson are interchangeably used by engineers to denote a cylindrical foundation with or without
steel reinforcement. Piers are constructed with or without enlarged bottom which is concreted in place after
excavation or drilling. Piers, which are sometimes called as drilled piers, are nothing but large diameter piles, bored
and cast-in-situ. Whereas a caisson is a large monolith which is built above ground and sunk in stages to the required
founding level as a single unit. In some countries, the caisson type of foundation is also called as well foundation.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A STABLE FOUNDATION

A foundation is an integral part of the superstructure. The stability of a structure depends upon the stability of
supporting soil. Whether a foundation is shallow or deep, the following basic requirements must be satisfied:

1. The foundation structure must be properly located with respect to any future influence which could
adversely affect its performance.
2. The foundation (including the earth beneath) must be stable or safe from failure.
3. The foundation must not settle or deflect sufficiently to damage the structure or impair its usefulness. These
requirements should ordinarily be considered in the order given above.

Note: The first is rather nebulous; it involves many different factors, some of which cannot be evaluated analytically
but which must be determined by engineering judgement. The second is specific. It is analogous to the requirement
that a beam in the superstructure must be safe against breaking under its working load. The third requirement is
both specific and nebulous. It is analogous to the requirement that a beam in the superstructure should not deflect
enough to be objectionable; but how much is objectionable cannot always be defined accurately. These three
requirements are independent of one another, and each must be satisfied; that is, if only two of the three have been
met, the foundation is inadequate.

FOUNDATION LOCATION AND DEPTH

The location and depth of foundation of a structure play an important point in the overall stability of the foundation.
The location of the foundation in an area should not affect either its future expansion or its foundation should not be
affected by the constructions in the adjoining areas. The depth of foundation depends upon the type of soil in the
area, size of structure, the magnitudes of loads, and the environmental conditions.

MINIMUM DEPTH FOR SHALLOW FOUNDATION

The foundations that govern the minimum depth for shallow foundations are:
a. Local erosion of soil due to flowing water.
b. Underground defects such as root holes, cavities, mine shafts, etc.
c. Unconsolidated filled up soil.
d. Adjacent structures, property lines, excavations and future construction operations.
e. Ground water level.
f. Depth of frost action.
g. Depth of volume change due to the presence of expansive soils.
h. Desiccation due to the heat from boilers, furnaces, etc.
i. Desiccation due to drawing of water by the roots of trees.
SELECTION OF TYPE OF FOUNDATION

Factors to be considered The selection of type of foundation for a given site depends on many factors. The most
important factors are:

1. The function of the structure and the loads it must carry.

2. The subsurface condition of the soil.
3. The cost of the superstructure.

All the factors mentioned above are interrelated. If the structure is of an important type and carries very heavy loads,
the type of foundation must be such that it gives stability under all adverse conditions. Possibly in such cases, cost
might not be a major factor for consideration. The type of foundation and cost generally depend on the type of soil
met at the site.

In selecting the type of foundation, the design load plays an important part which again depends on the subsoil
conditions. The various loads that are likely to be considered are:

a. Dead loads.
b. Live loads.
c. Wind and earthquake forces.
d. Lateral pressures exerted by the foundation earth on the embedded structural elements.
e. Impact equivalents relating to moving and dynamic loads.

In addition to the above loads, it might be necessary, under special circumstances, to consider the following loads
based on the subsoil conditions:

a. Lateral or uplift forces on the foundation elements due to high water table level.
b. Swelling pressures on the foundations in expansive soils.
c. Heave pressures on the foundations in areas subjected frost heave.
d. Negative frictional drag on piles where pile foundations are used in highly compressible soils.

STEPS FOR THE SELECTION OF THE TYPE OF FOUNDATION

In choosing the type of foundation, the design engineer must perform five successive steps:
1. Obtain the required information concerning the nature of the superstructure and the loads to be transmitted
to the foundation.
2. Obtain from soil investigation the subsurface soil conditions,
3. Explore the possibility of constructing any one of the types of foundation under the existing conditions by
taking into account:
o the bearing power of the soil to carry to required load, and
o the adverse effect on the structure due to differential settlements. Eliminate in this way, the
unsuitable types.
4. Once one or two types of foundation are selected on the basis of preliminary studies, make more detailed
studies. These studies may require more accurate determination of loads subsurface conditions and footing
sizes. It may also be necessary to make more refined estimates of settlement to predict the behaviour of the
structure.
5. Estimate the cost of each of the promising type of foundation and choose the type that represents the most
acceptable compromise between performance and cost.
 FIGURE 1. Flow chart of foundation analysis/design and construction

COMMON TYPES OF FOOTINGS:

1. Wall footing or strip footing is a continuous strip of concrete that supports a bearing wall, cantilevering out
on each side of the wall.
2. Spread or square footing are pads that distribute the column load in two directions to an area of soil around
the column
3. Rectangular footings is used to support loads on a single column where sometimes the location of the
footing is limited to its property line on one of the sides.
4. Combined footings are used to support two heavily loaded columns are so spaced that normally designed
single footings would run into each other, it would be rectangular or trapezoidal in section.
5. Cantilever or strap footing which is really two footings joined by a beam instead of by a bearing portion of
the footing. Each of the two main parts of this footing supports a column load.
6. Mat or raft foundation is a single thick mat or slab that supports the entire structure. This type of foundation
is frequently used with poor soil conditions to equalize deformations.
7. Pile caps are slabs of reinforced concrete used to distribute column loads to group of piles.
 �

Strip or Wall Footing Spread or Square

� �1 �2

Rectangular Combined

Cantilever or Strap Footing

Mat or Raft
SOIL PRESSURE UNDER FOOTINGS:

The distribution of soil pressure under the footing is a function of the type of soil and the relative rigidity of the soil
and foundation pad. For structural design purposes, it is customary to assume that the soil pressure is linearly
distributed uniformly on the footing.

COLUMN FOOTING MUST BE DESIGNED FOR 6 STRENGTH CONDITIONS:

1. Bearing (compression) from column on top of footing

2. Dowels into the footing.
3. Strength of soil beneath the footing.
4. Shear strength.
5. Reinforcements provided.
6. Development length of bars.