Total Settlement

The bed of springs analyses produces a computed total settlement.

However, this value is unreliable and should not be used for design. These

analyses are useful only for computing shears, moments, and deformations

(differential settlements) in the mat. Total settlement should be computed

using the methods described in Chapter 7 of Foundation Design by Coduto.

 Classical Method
• Based on Terzaghi’s theory of consolidation

• Assumes settlement is one-dimension

• All strains are vertical (εx=εy=0)

• Initial vertical effective stress and final effective vertical stress is needed
r-Values for computation of total settlement at the center of a shallow foundation,
and methodology for computing differential settlement.
•  
•  
For settlement computation:

Three Cases of Classical method

Normally Consolidated Soils
Over-Consolidated Soils Case I
Over-Consolidated Soils Case II
 Skempton and Bjerrum Method

Method of computing the total settlement of shallow foundations.

This method accounts for three-dimensional effects by diving the
settlement into two components

Distortion settlement - caused by the lateral distortion of the soil beneath the
foundation
Consolidation settlement – cause by the change in volume of the soil that results
from changes in the effective stress.
 .

Schmertmann’s Method
Developed primarily as a means of computing the settlement
of spread footings on sandy soils. Schmertmann method is
based on a physical model of settlement, which has been
calibrated using empirical data.
Simplified Schmertmann method
If Es is constant with depth between the bottom of the foundation and the depth
of influence (2 zf/B for square and circular foundation to 4 zf/B for continuous
footings), then :
Application to the Mat Foundations

Schmertmann’s method was developed primarily for spread footings, so the various empirical

data used to calibrate the method have been developed with this type of foundation in mind. In

principle, the method also may be used with mat foundations. However, it tends to overestimate the

settlement of mats because their depth of influence is much greater and the equivalent modulus

values at these depths is larger than predicted by the methods described earlier in this section.

Therefore, when applying Schmertmann’s method to mat foundations, it is best to progressively

increase the Es values with depth, such that Es at 30m(100 ft) is about three times that predicted by

the methods described earlier in this section.

Differential Settlement
Differential settlement, δD, is the difference in settlement between
two foundations, or the difference in the settlement between two
points on a single foundation.
Normally we design the foundations for a structure such that all of them
have the same computed total settlement, δ. Therefore, in theory, there
should be no differential settlement. However, differential settlements
usually occur anyway. There are many potential sources of these
differential settlements, including:
•Variations in the soil profile
•Variations in the structural loads
•Design controlled by bearing capacity
• Construction tolerances
Application to the Mats Foundations

Because of their structural continuity, mat foundations generally experience less differential

settlement, or at least the differential settlement is spread over a longer distance and thus is less

troublesome. In addition, differential settlements in mat foundations are much better suited to

rational analysis because they are largely controlled by the structural rigidity of the mat.