MODULE 3

Settlement analysis: Introduction- causes of settlement – estimation of immediate

settlement – Numerical problems - Allowable settlement-Maximum and differential
settlements as per Indian standard - Field test - Plate load test – Procedure, uses and
limitations
Footings :Principles of design of footings – strip/continuous and individual footings -
Numerical Problems - Combined footings- Rectangular and Trapezoidal combined footings -
Numerical problems - Footings subjected to eccentric loading
Raft foundations: Types – Principles of design of raft foundation- Bearing capacity
equations for raft on sand (Teng’s equation based on SPT value) and for raft on clay
(Skempton’s formula) - Floating foundations - conventional design procedure for rigid mat.
 Settlement

The vertical displacement of the base of a structure, or of the surface of a road or

embankment due to the compression and deformation of the underlying soil.
 The foundation should be designed such that
1. The soil below does not fail in shear
2. The settlement is within the safe limits
 Causes of Settlement
 Static loads such as those imposed by the weight of a structure or an
embankment.

 Moving loads such as heavy traffic vehicles are transmitted through a road
or airfield pavement

 Changes in moisture content, which may arise from natural causes such as
seasonal fluctuation in the water table or the abstraction of water by roots of
large trees. Nearby excavation, pile driving, pumping or drainage may also
have an important effect in Structural Settlement of the foundation

 Undermining due to mining operations, tunneling, or underground erosion.

The settlement of soils in response to loading may be broadly divided into
two types:
1. elastic settlement and 2. time-dependent settlement.

 Elastic settlements are a simplest to deal with; they are recoverable, instantaneous,
and may be calculated from linear elastic theory. Also called immediate settlement

 Time-dependent settlements occur in both cohesive and granular soils, although the
response time for granular soils is usually short.

 In addition to being time-dependent, their response to loading is nonlinear, and

deformations are only partially recoverable. In clays, two types of time-dependent
settlements are recognized.

Primary consolidation & Secondary compression

 TOTAL SETTLEMENT
● Total settlement of a foundation occurs mainly due to following
causes
– immediate settlement due to distortions within foundation soil
– primary consolidation settlement
– secondary consolidation settlement.
 TOTAL SETTLEMENT CONSISTS OF:
● Immediate or Elastic Settlement (Si)
– Takes place during or immediately (Less than 7 days duration)
after the construction of the structure. Normally computed using
elastic theory.
● Primary Consolidation Settlement (Sc)
– Decrease in volume or compression takes place due to
expulsion of water in the voids resulting from a long term static
load and the consequent escape of pore water
● Secondary Consolidation Settlement (Ss)
– Occurs at constant effective stress, with volume change
occurring due to rearrangement of soil particles.

Total Settlement (S) = Si + Sc + Ss

TOTAL SETTLEMENT IN
COHESIVE SOILS

TOTAL SETTLEMENT IN
COHESIONLESS SOILS
Immediate settlement, Si
 Takes place immediately after the load is placed
 Also known as Distortion or elastic settlement
Immediate settlement on cohesive soils is given by,

where ,
q - Net foundation pressure
μ - Poisson’s ratio
E – Young’s modulus of soil
Iw or If– Influence factor for settlement depending on
rigidity of foundation
INFLUENCE FACTOR If
Flexible footing, If = 1.52
Rigid footing , If = 1.22
Immediate settlement on cohesionless soils

Schmertmann’s Method

C1 – correction factor for depth of foundation

C2 – correction factor for creep in soil
q - pressure at the level of foundation
q – surcharge
Es - modulus of elasticity of soil
Iz - strain influence factor
Primary consolidation settlement , S c
 Due to gradual expulsion of pore water from the voids of the saturated fine
grained soil ,resulting in a dissipation of excess pore water pressure

where
H - depth of clay layer
Cc – compression index
σ 0 – initial overburden pressure
Δ σ – increase in pressure
e0 – initial void ratio
Secondary consolidation, Ss
● The reduction in volume continues at a very slow rate even after the excess pore
water pressure developed by the applied pressure is fully dissipated and the
primary consolidation is complete. This additional reduction in the volume is called
secondary consolidation.
● It is attributed to the plastic readjustment of the solid particles and the adsorbed
water to the new stress system.
Secondary compression settlement ,Ss
 Volume change occurring due to rearrangement of soil particles

where
Cα – slope of secondary recompression curve
ef – final void ratio

Total settlement , S = S i + S c + Ss
 Modes of Settlement
1. Uniform settlement
Occurs if a structure settles uniformly

Less likely to cause structural damage

If becomes excessive , utilities such as

water supply and sewage lines ,
telephone lines etc may get impaired

A structure with a rigid raft foundation

will experience uniform settlement
2. Differential settlement
Occurs if one part of the structure settles more than the other

The difference in settlement between any points is the magnitude of

differential settlement,δ
3. Tilt or angular distortion
Ratio of differential settlement
between two points of a structure to
spacing between the points ;

T =δ/L
The foundation was made of limestone and lime mortar. However, it was
dug only 3 meters deep and built on dense clay, which was not a very
stable place to build a 14,500-ton tower.

The weight started to compact the soil until it found the weakest point and
started sinking in on one side.

This is why it is so crucial to have the proper foundation in the first place. If we were
wanting to building something like this today, we would make sure you would have a
deep foundation. A deep foundation anchors a building in utilizing piles that are driven
deep into the ground. These anchors are usually provided via helical piles or driven
piles. While both achieve their goals in separate ways, they get similar results.
 Causes of Differential settlement

1. Variations in soil strata

 One part of structure may be founded on a compressible soil and other on an

incompressible soil
 Causes of Differential settlement contd…
2. Variations in foundation loading
Causes of Differential settlement contd…
3. Large loaded areas on flexible foundations
Differential settlement can occur for large flexible
raft foundation on compressible soils

Can occur if large areas comprising the

independent foundations of a number of columns
are constructed on compressible soil

A bowl shaped settlement pattern can be seen with

maximum settlement at centre
flexible footing, the footing is considered to have some degree of flexibility and
hence upon application of partial pressure or concentrated load the footing bends.

rigid footing is assumed to be infinitely rigid which means that whole footing will
settle as a rigid element. There will not be any curvature(no bending) along its length
or width even if it experiences the concentrated loading and the pressure distribution
beneath such footing remains linear.
 Causes of Differential settlement contd…
4. Differences in time of construction of adjacent parts of a
structure
Occurs when extension to a structure is built many years after
completion of original structure
Long term settlement will be completed for the older structure but
new structure will be starting to settle

5. Variation in site conditions

One part of the building area may have been occupied by a heavy
structure which had been demolished
On a sloping site it may be necessary to remove a considerable
thickness of overburden to form a level site .
These variations can result in differential settlement
Causes of Differential settlement contd…

● Underground Erosion
● Structural Collapse of Soil
● Thermal Changes
Other Causes ● Frost Heave
● Vibration and Shocks
● Land Slides
● Mining Subsidence
 Methods to reduce differential settlement
 Provision of a rigid raft foundation with thick slab

 Pressure bulb is deep

 Soil pockets with different compressibility remain scattered and their

effects on settlement on loaded area will be negligible
Methods to reduce differential settlement contd….

 Provision of deep basements to reduce the net bearing pressure

on soil
Methods to reduce differential settlement contd….
 Transfer of foundation loading to deeper and less compressible
soil by means of piers, piles etc
 Methods to reduce differential settlement contd….

 Providing brackets to relevel the  Providing piles to stabilise the

superstructure settled portion
 Allowable settlement
● Theoretically, no damage occurs to the structure if the soil settles uniformly. But may cause
trouble in utilities such as water pipe lines, sewers, telephone lines, etc.

● But differential settlement causes severe damages to the structure due to angular distortion.

● It is possible to predict the maximum settlement, but difficult to predict differential settlement.

● Differential settlement is automatically controlled if the maximum settlement is controlled.

● IS : 1904 is restricting the maximum and differential settlement for different types of
structures and different types of foundations which is known as Allowable Settlement

Allowable total settlement depends on

 Type of soil
 Type of foundation
 Structural framing system
 Allowable Settlement
 Differential settlement seldom IS 1904 (1986): Code of practice for design
exceeds 75% of maximum settlement and construction of foundations in soils:

 In most cases it is less than 50% of

differential settlement In general practice, maximum

 IS 1904 permits a maximum differential settlement is limited to

settlement of • 25 mm on sandy soils

 50 mm for Isolated footings on sand • 40 mm on clayey soils

 75 mm for Isolated footings on clay

To avoid architectural damage
 IS 1904 permits a maximum settlement of
• Angular distortion should
 40 -75 mm for Raft foundations on sand
not exceed 1/300
 65 -100 mm for Raft foundations on clay
 Soil improvement through installation of
drains and preloading
● Soft saturated clay layers undergo large consolidation settlement,
depending on the structural load and depth of clay layers.

● Many plastic clays swell considerably when water is added to them and
shrink with the loss of water. Foundations constructed on such expansive
clays are subjected to large uplifting forces during swelling.

● when a project encounters difficult foundation condition, the existing

ground properties can be modified which is called as ground
improvement techniques.
Soil/Ground Improvement Techniques
 It is difficult to predict differential settlement compared to total settlement.
 In most of the cases, differential settlement is less than 50% of total
settlement.
 Differential settlement can be controlled if total settlement is controlled.
 Different ground improvement techniques can be adopted.
 Preloading
 Sand drains
 Wick drains
 Stone columns
 geosynthetics
Preloading
 Also known as precompression or surcharging

 Generally used for soft clays & silty soils

 The ground is covered with a temporary surcharge before construction.

 A surcharge fill of suitable height is raised on ground to cause precompression

of soil below.

 It is kept on the ground for a long time to cause consolidation of soil

 The height of surcharge fill varies from 3m to 10 m

 The surcharge fill is removed before the construction of the structure.

 Preloading reduces the compressibility of soil and thus settlement of structure
will be decreased.

 Shear strength of soil get increased and bearing capacity of soil is improved.

 The precompressed soil behaves as an over consolidated soil.

 Advantages
 Simple and convenient.
 Inexpensive, if the soil for surcharge fill is available in the vicinity of site.
 Ensures uniformity of improvement of ground.
 The progress of consolidation of soil can be easily monitored by
installing simple settlement plates and piezometers.

 Time of consolidation is quite long. If construction of structures cannot

be delayed that long, other methods have to be adopted.
 Requires large space around site of construction to raise surcharge fill. If
the site is in congested area, the method cannot be used.
 Expensive if suitable material for surcharge fill is not easily available at
low cost.
If the foundation soil drains rapidly, the time required for pre
loading will be relatively short. This requires a short drainage path
for which sand drains or prefabricated vertical drains (PVD)
installed in clayey soils or low permeable soils.

Preloading
with Vertical
drains
 Sand drains
 Commonly used to reduce the time of consolidation.

 Radial consolidation is allowed to accelerate the drainage in embankment.

 Sand drains are constructed by driving a casing in to the embankment and

making vertical boreholes.

 The holes are backfilled with suitably graded sand.

 The casing is withdrawn after the sand has been filled.

 Laid either in square or triangular pattern.

 Spacing of drain is kept smaller than the thickness of embankment to reduce

the length of drainage path.
 Advantage
Accelerate the rate of
consolidation and there by
reduce the time for consolidation
 Disadvantage Expensive
Wick drains( prefabricated vertical drains)
 Also known as band drains or PVD.

 Consists of corrugated or fluted plastic ribbons covered by

geosynthetic membranes.

 At the top, there is a header drain to discharge pore water.

 Usually of a shape of strip about 100mm wide and 5mm thick.

 For Installation, wick drains are held in a tube, and the tube is
pushed into soft clay deposit.

 The tube is then gradually withdrawn leaving behind the wick

drain in clay deposit.
 Advantages

 Installation is quite easy and convenient.

 Equipment used is small.

 Drilling is not required to make holes in clayey deposits.

 Drainage is good.

 Increase the tensile strength of clay deposit to some extent.

 Less expensive than sand drains.

 Plate load test (IS1888)

The Plate Bearing Test (or Plate Loading Test) is an insitu load bearing test of soil used
for determining the ultimate bearing capacity of the ground and the likely settlement
under a given load.

 To determine the load-settlement behaviour of a footing.

 Can be done in field or lab.

 A pit of 5Bpx5Bp is excavated to a depth equal to the depth of foundation (Df)

 Size of plate is usually 0.3m square. (may be circular or square)

 Made of steel and minimum 25 mm thickness.

 A central hole of size BpxBp is excavated in the pit.

•Gravity loading platform method

•Reaction truss method
 Procedure
 The plate is placed in the central hole and load is applied
using a hydraulic jack supported against a reaction frame.

 A seating load of 7 KN/m2 is first applied and released after

some time.

 Then load is applied in increments of about 20% of estimated

safe load or 1/10th of ultimate load.

 Settlement is recorded after 1, 5, 10,20, 40, 60 min and further

after intervals of 1 hour

 Observations are continued for clayey soil until the rate of

settlement is less than 0.2mm/hr

 The test is continued until the settlement is about 25 mm has

occurred or upto when the soil fails due to shear.
 Ultimate bearing capacity
 For clayey soil, qu(f)=qu(p) qu ( f ) Bf

qu ( p ) Bp
 For sandy soil,

 Settlement
 For clay, Sf Bf

Sp Bp

 For sand, 2
Sf  B f ( B p  0.3) 
 
S p  B p ( B f  0.3) 
Advantages of Plate load test
Limitations of Plate load test

•Size Effect
•Scale Effect
•Time Effect
•Interpretation of Failure Load
•Reaction load
•Water-table
 1. Size Effect of plate load test
 The strength and the settlement characteristics of the soil within the
pressure bulbs reflected the results of the plate load test.
 As the pressure bulb depends upon the size of the loaded area, it is
much deeper for the actual foundation.
 When the soil is not homogeneous and isotropic to a large depth,
the pate load test does not truly represent the actual conditions.
 2. Scale effect
 For saturated clays, the ultimate bearing capacity is independent
of the size of the plate but for the cohesionless soils, the ultimate
bearing capacity increases with the size of the plate.
 To decrease the scale effect, it is desirable to repeat the plate
load test with plates of two or three different sizes and extrapolate
the bearing capacity for the actual foundation and take the
average of the values produced.

3. Interpretation of Failure load

Except in the case of general shear failure, the failure load does not
well defined. In other types of failures, an error of personal
interpretation may involve.
 4. Water Table
The bearing capacity of the sandy soils affected by the level of the water table. When the
water table is above the level of the footing, it has to lower by pumping before placing the
plate.

5. Time Effect
Essentially a plate load test is a test of short duration. It does not give the ultimate
settlement for clayed soils. The load settlement curve is not purely representative.

6. Reaction Load
To provide a reaction of more than 250 kN is not practicable. Hence, it is difficult to test on
a large size plate of more than 0.6 m widths.
Design of shallow foundations
• Provided to support an
individual column-

• Circular, square or
rectangular slab of
uniform thickness
• Provided for a no. of closely spaced columns
[row of columns]
• Their spread footings overlap or nearly touch
each other
• more economical
• Also provided below walls
 When two columns are so close to each other that their individual footing will overlap,
then we will go for combined footing or
 when property line is so close to one column that a spread footing would be eccentrically
loaded or
 no space for equal projections by combining it with that of an interial column, the load is
evenly distributed.
COMBINED FOOTINGS –
2 TYPES
• Two individual or isolated
footings connected with a
structural strap behave as
one unit
GENERAL REQUIERMENT FOR ANY DESIGN:-

 By design we always mean that what are the stresses acting on

a particular member and the corresponding size of the members
that theses stresses can be carried out efficiently. The general
principle of the design is to design the structure into different
elements. We are going to discus only one element, i.e.
foundation.

 Designing is done in two stages;

 Analysis

 Sizing.
 STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS:-

 In first step of every design, we analyze the state of stress and see the
strain due to these stresses. In analysis we see the type of loading,
type of strain and the modes of failure. In foundation design these
stresses are called as bearing capacity and strains as settlements.

 So in foundation design, analysis means the determination of bearing

capacity and settlement. We have various methods both field tests and
empirical methods for finding bearing capacity and settlements.
 SIZING:-

 Step # 01(Material Selection)

Before going to sizing, we decide about the material to be

used in the construction of the footing e.g. wood, concrete,
steel etc. it depends upon the availability of the material and
economy. The cost of project mainly depends on it.

Since the foundation system is a very complex system, the

construction material is not homogeneous. It consists of soil
and other materials (wood, concrete etc.). here we will take
concrete only.
 SIZING:-
 Step # 02 (Dimensioning)

Now using the data from analysis and the material selected
the dimension are chosen (i.e. thickness, width, depth of pad)
and the design is completed.

 Step # 03 (Documentation)

Now the design is represented in the form of drawings and

the construction specifications (i.e. procedure, problems and
solutions) are also mentioned.
SPECIFIC DESIGN OF FOUNDATION:-

Design means the P

G.S.L

determination of;
Df
 Df =?

d =?
BXL

B =?

L =? B

 As =? L
Principles of Design of Combined Footings

Rectangular CG
footing
 RECTANGULAR COMBINED FOOTING
The design consists in selecting length and width of the footing such that
the centroid of the footing and the resultant of the column loads coincide.

Procedure:
1. Determine the total column loads; Q=Q1+Q2
Q1 is the exterior column and Q2 is the interior column

2. Find the base area of the footings A = Q/ qa

A=(Q)/qa where qna is the allowable soil pressure

3. Locate line of action of resultant column loads from one of the

column loads (left exterior)(Taking moments about Q1)Q x x¯=Q2 x x2/Q
x¯=Q2 x x2/Q where x2 is the distance between columns

4. Determine total length of footings L=2(x¯+b1/2) where

b1=width of exterior column

5. Find the width of footings B=A/L

6. Actual L and B are slightly different , actual soil pressure q0= Q/A0
where A0 is the actual area =BxL

7. Calculate actual pressure/m run = q0 x B

8. Draw the SFD and BMD along the length of the footing considering
pressure q0 acts as udl upwards
Column loads are taken as point loads acting at the centres.

9. Determine the bending moments at the face of the columns and

max BM at the point of zero shear.
 Q=
Design a rectangular combined 1500kN

footing for two columns shown in

X
figure. Take qa=100kN/m2
X2 =

1. Q=600+900=1500kN
2. A=(Q/qna = (Q)/100=15 m2
3. x¯ =Q2 x X2/Q=900x5/1500=3m Please read
x¯ = x bar
4. Length of ftg, L=2(x¯+(b1/2))=2x(3+(0.3/2))=6.3m ( b1 = 0.3, size of
exterior column)
5. Width of ftg, B=A/L=15/6.3=2.38 m 2.4 m
6. More phone numbers:
7. Actual Soil pressure =q0=Q/A0=1500/(6.3x2.4)=99.20kN/m2
< 100kN/m2(safe)
7. Actual pressure per metre run = 99.2 x 2. 4
= 238.1kN/m
 Length=6.3m
Q1 = Q2 = Distance b/w loads = 5m
600kN 900kN
Remaining =1.3m
Left side projection = 0.15m
Right side projection = 1.15m
 Figure shows SFD and BMD

SF@A= 0
SF@B= 238.1x.15=36kN
Then 600kN downwards…
So 36-600 = -564kN
-564+ 238.1 x 5 = 626.2kN
636.2-900 = 273.8 kN
-273.8 + 238.1 x 1.15 = 0

BM
BM @ A =0
BM @ B =238.1 x 0.15 2/2 =2.67kNm
C D E BM @ E=0
A B BM @ D = 238.1 x 1.15 2/2 =157.5kNm

Point of contraflexure
For Max BM, SF =0, ie, at C
238.1 x x -600 =0; X = 2.519m from left
end.
So, BM @ C = -600 x (2.519-0.15) +
238.1 x 2.5192 /2
= 666kNm
Repeat the qn with Q1 = 800kN, Q2 = 1200kN.
Columns 0.4mx 0.4m, 0.5m x 0.5m, Dist bet columns 6m
 TRAPEZOIDAL COMBINED FOOTING
Trapezoidal footings are provided to avoid eccentricity of
loading with respect to base.
Trap. Footings are reqd when the space outside the
exterior column is limited
And the exterior column carries a heavier load.
The design procedure consists of the foll. steps.

Procedure:
1. Determine the total column loads; Q=Q1+Q2
Q1 is the exterior column and Q2 is the interior column

2. Find the base area of the footings

A=(Q)/qna where qna is the allowable soil pressure

3. Locate line of action of resultant column loads measured

from one of the column loads (left exterior)
(Taking moments about Q1)Q x x¯=Q2 x x2/Q
x¯=Q2 x x2/Q where x2 is the distance between columns
 4. Determine the distance x’ from the outer face of the exterior column.
x’=(x¯+b1/2) where b1=width of exterior column.

5. A trapezoidal footing is required if L/3<x’<L/2 where L is the length of the trapezoidal footing

If x’ = L/2, a rectangular footing is provided. However, if x’ = L/3, a combined footing cannot be provided.
In such a case, a strap footing is suitable.

6. Determine the widths B1 and B2 from the following relations.

Solving, we’ll get,

Actual L and B are slightly different , actual soil pressure q0= Q/A0 where A0 is the actual
area =(B1 +B2)/2 x L

7. Calculate actual pressure/m run on either sides.(it will be different)

= q0 x B1 ( on left side)
and =q0 x B2 (on right end)
Pressure intensity at section XX is written (from right side)
Thus SFD is drawn.
8. Eqn for BM written for section XX.
9. Draw the SFD and BMD along the length of the footing
10. Determine the bending moments at the face of the columns and max BM at the
point of zero shear.
Length of footing (given) = 6.5m
 Eccentrically loaded footings

• Normal footing becomes eccentrically load footing when there is an

eccentricity in the loading or when there is a bending moment at the
connection of footing and the column.
 Eccentrically loaded footings

• Foundations are sometimes subjected to

moments in addition to loads
• The distribution of footing pressure is not
uniform in this case
• It is a case of bending combined with thrust
• The maximum and minimum pressures are
given by
 Eccentrically loaded footings
• The maximum and minimum pressures are
given by

• I = moment of inertia (LB3/12)

• Q = total vertical load
• M = moment on the foundation
• B = width of the footing
• L = length of the footing
 Eccentrically loaded footings

I = LB3/12

• Taking eccentricity e as M/Q, the above

equations become
• qmax = Q/BL (1+6e/B)
• qmin = Q/BL (1- 6e/B)
• The maximum pressure qmax should be less
than the safe gross bearing capacity
Eccentrically loaded footings

• qmax = Q/BL (1+6e/B)

• qmin = Q/BL (1- 6e/B)

• When e = B/6, qmin becomes zero, and the further

increase of the eccentricity ( e > B/6), negative
pressure will be generated on the soil.

• It is the development of tension in soil. In this

situation, there will be a separation between the soil
and the footing.
 Eccentrically loaded footings
STRAP FOOTING OR CANTILEVER FOOTING
• The Cantilever or strap footing is used to connect an eccentrically loading column to
inside a column, while the strap is used to transmit the moment caused by an
eccentricity to the interior columnar foot so that a uniform soil pressure is produced
under both footings.
• If the distance between the columns is massive or the allowable soil pressure is
comparatively large, strap footing could also be used as an alternative of rectangular
or trapezoidal joint footing where the extra footing space is not required.
 Raft foundation
• Mat or raft foundation is classified as a shallow foundation
• its depth is greater than other types of shallow foundation
• useful in controlling the differential settlement and transferring the loads not exceeding
the bearing capacity of the soil due to integral action of the raft foundation.

Mat foundations are an ideal type of foundation in several conditions for instance low
bearing capacity soil, spread footing cover about 70% of the structure, high structure
loads, soft pockets or cavities of in the soil to unknown extent raft, and highly compressible
soil and extents to a great depth.

certain requirements of raft foundation are minimum depth of 50cm, required excavation
depth of approximately 2.5m, and rebar cover of 50mm, etc.
 Raft foundation

A combined footing that covers the entire area

supporting a number of walls and columns

 Provided ,
 When allowable soil pressure is low

 Building loads are heavy

 when Individual footings may overlap

 To reduce differential settlement

 For buildings with basements

 Over pile foundations on highly compressible soils

 Raft foundation

 For raft foundation ,pressure bulb is very

Raft
deep compared to a spread footing
isolated footing
 Compressible/loose soil lenses remain
scattered at random and their effects on
settlement of a loaded area partly cancel
each other

 Therefore higher allowable pressure can be

adopted for design of rafts than an isolated
footing for the same load intensity
pressure bulbs
 Types of Raft foundations
 Flat plate with mat of uniform  Flat plate with pedestals

thickness
 Provided when column loads
are light and spacing b/w
columns is relatively small
 Types of Raft foundations
• Flat plate thickened • Two way Beam & slab type
under columns  Beams run in both ways
 Columns located at intersection of
beams
 Types of Raft foundations
 Box structure
(with basements)
Basement walls provide stiffness for
the mat
 Types of Raft foundations
• Mat placed on piles
• Used where soil is highly compressible

• Water table is at shallow depth

 Advantages Of Raft Foundation
 economical because it does not require deep excavation.

 distributes the load on a large area.

 suitable for low-bearing capacity soil.

Disadvantages Of Raft Foundation

 The cost of labour is high because it required skilled labours.

 There is a chance of edge erosion.

 Rafts on cohesionless soils
 Bearing capacity of foundation on cohesionless soils depends on width.

 As width of raft very large, bearing capacity is high. Shear failure does
not occur.

 So allowable pressure of rafts on cohesionless soils is governed by

settlement consideration

The bearing capacity of raft foundation in sands is governed by settlement except for the
case where the sand deposit is very loose i.e. the corrected SPT value is less than 5.

for the same loading intensity and soil condition, the differential settlement in a mat
foundation is about 1/2 than that of a spread foundation
 Rafts on cohesionless soils
 As per Teng (1962) the safe bearing capacity can be obtained from the results of SPT
test.
 From shear failure criteria, the net safe bearing capacity is given by:
qns = 0.02N2BRW1 + 0.06(100 + B2)DfRW2 ———-(1)

 From settlement criteria of 25 mm the safe bearing pressure is,

qna = 1.75(N-3)RW1 ———-(2)

Where, B = smaller dimension of the footing

Df = Depth of foundation
N = corrected SPT Value
RW1, RW2 = water table correction factors
Where, qns and qna are in ton/m2
 Rafts on cohesive soils
 In cohesive soils , Bearing capacity is not affected by ) the width of the
foundation ( For φ = 0, Nγ= 0)
 So shear criteria governs the design in rafts on cohesive soils
qu = cNc + γ D f ;
qnu = c Nc;
qns = cNc /F

Net safe bearing capacity q ns is taken as the allowable soil

pressure q na
1 0

qult  c N c  q N q  0.5  B N 
 Rafts on cohesive soils

 Using Skempton’s equation ,

qnu = c Nc
qns = qnu/F
qna = qns
 Floating foundation
 a type of foundation constructed by excavating the
soil in such a way that the weight of structure built
on the soil is nearly equal to the total weight of
the soil excavated from the ground including the
weight water in the soil before the construction
of structure.

 also known as Balancing Raft is a type of

foundation where the weight of the building is
approximately equal to the full weight of the soil and
Zero settlement
assumption water removed from the site of the building prior to
construction.
 Floating foundation
• main principle of floating foundation is to balance the weight of removed soil by a
structure of same weight which causes zero settlement to the structure.

• The ground is excavated up to certain depth which is below water table. Now in the next
step, a building is constructed which is as same weight as of the removed soil and
water. Even the depth of excavation is below the table the total vertical pressure in the
soil below the foundation is unchanged because of its balancing weight.
 Floating foundation

• one point is to be noted that we cannot build a structure immediately after the
excavation.
• During the time of construction, the effective vertical pressure under the depth of
excavation may slightly increase because of unbalancing weight.
• So, this type of foundations can also be called as partly compensated foundations
instead of fully floating or compensated foundation
 Suitability of Floating foundation

 Soils which are having good shear strength but having a problem
of large settlements and differential settlements under heavy
loads. In which case, floating foundation can reduce the
settlement values to greater extent.

 Soils which are having low shear strength and there is no hard
layer of soil at reasonable depth. Here also, floating foundation
helps to reduce the shear stresses to satisfactory level and
hence settlement is prevented.
Difficulties in Construction of Floating Foundation

During the construction of floating foundation some problems may arise which
can be prevented by taking proper care. The problems will arise during

 Excavation

 Dewatering

 Critical depth

 Bottom heave
 Difficulties in Construction of Floating Foundation

Excavation

The excavation for floating foundation

should be done carefully. The walls of
excavated part should be supported using
sheet piles or timber piles or soldier piles
etc.
 Difficulties in Construction of Floating Foundation

Dewatering

If the depth of the excavation is below the

water table then dewatering is essential. It is
better to examine the water table level prior
to the excavation. Dewatering should be
done cautiously otherwise it may cause
lowering of water table which disturbs the
adjoining structures.
 Difficulties in Construction of Floating Foundation

Critical depth

If the soil is of low shear strength as specified above, there is a limit to the depth of
excavation which is known as critical depth.

Bottom heave

When the soil is excavated up to some

depth, the pressure of the soil below this
depth is lowered which results the
formation of heave. The formed heave
causes settlement to the structure or
foundation.
 Floating foundation design
Consider the case when foundations are not backfilled
(in the case of basements
Gross pressure at the base of footing = Q/A
(neglecting thickness of floor &thickness of footing)
Net footing pressure = (Q/A)-γ Df
For safe design , net footing pressure, ≤ allowable soil
pressure
 (Q/A)- γ D ≤ q or q ns
f na

 Q/A = γ Df + q na
ie. Load carrying capacity is increased
by γ Df if foundation is not backfilled
 Floating foundation design
If (Q/A)- γ Df = q na or q ns

 If base of the raft is placed at a depth Df such that qna is sufficient to

take care of net loading intensity, then such a foundation is partially
compensating or partially floating foundation

 Factor of safety of partially compensating foundation,

 A raft 20 m x 10 m exerts a gross pressure of 200 kN/m2 at foundation level. Df =
2.5 m. Soil is clay. Cohesion = 80 kN/m2 γ= 19 kN/m3. Find factor of safety if raft is
used as basement

 L = 20 m , B = 10m , c =80kN/m2 , γ= 19 kN/m3,

Q/A = 200 kN/m2
Raft used as basement , so

Using skempton’s equation

 Determine depth below GL of a raft foundation 30 X 30 m to carry a gross load of
150 MN. Soil is clay. Cohesion = 15 kN/m2 γ= 19 kN/m3. F =3 .Determine depth of a
fully compensated foundation

Soln:
For fully compensated foundation ,
Q/A = γ Df
Q = 150 MN = 150 x 10 3 kN
A = 30x30 = 900 m2
Df = 150 x 10 3/ ( 19 * 900)
Df = 8.77m
 Design methods of Raft foundation
Conventional Rigid beam method

 Foundation assumed to be rigid.

 The actual deflection of the raft does not influence the pressure distribution below the raft

 Soil pressure is assumed to be planar and coincides with line of action of the resultant load

 Weight of the raft is not considered in structural design

 Method Does not take into account moments and shear caused by differential settlement .So

reinforced more heavily than required

 Method may be used when either of the following conditions is satisfied:

 a) The structure behaves as rigid ( due to the combined action of tbe superstructure and the

foundation ) with a relative stiffness factor K > 0.5 b) The column spacing is less than 1.75/λ
Design Procedure of Raft Foundations
1. Determine the line of action of all the loads acting
on the raft.
2. The self weight of the raft is not considered, as it
is taken directly by the soil.
3. Determine the contact pressure distributions: The
max contact pressure should be less than the
allowable soil pressure.
 Design Procedure of Raft Foundations
4. Divide the slab into strips in x and y directions.

5. Each strip is assumed to act as independent beam subjected to the contact

pressure and the column loads.

6. The strip does not satisfy statics. ie, resultant of column loads and resultant of
contact pressure are not equal and they do not act in the same line.

7. The reason is that the strips do not act independently as assumed and there is
some shear transfer between adjoining strips.
 Design Procedure of Raft Foundations

8. Modified column loads are determined.

9. The modified contact pressure on each strip is also determined.

10. SF and BM diagrams are drawn using these modified loads

11. Design the individual strips for the SF and BM found .
12. The raft is also designed as an inverted floor supported on columns.
13. As the analysis is approximate, the reinforcement provided is twice the
computed value.
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