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CT-344: FOUNDATIONS ENGINEERING (THEORY)

BSC Civil Engineering Technology
Fifth Semester (Fall-2022)

Lecture 01
By:
Engr. Kamran Khan
Email: kamran@uotnowshera.edu.pk
 Why study Foundations Engineering? 3

• The most carefully designed structures can fail if they

are not supported by suitable foundations.
 Definition of Foundations 4

• A structure essentially consists of two parts, namely the super

structure which is above the plinth level and the substructure which is
below the plinth level.

• The substructure or foundation is the part of a structure which

transmit the load from the superstructure to the underlying soil or
rock.
• Generally, about 30% of the total construction cost is spent on the
foundation.
• Footing is the term used for shallow foundations.
• The most efficient foundation system is that, which transmit
building loads mostly to the soil without exceeding the bearing
capacity of the soil.
 Foundation Engineering 5

In a broad sense, foundation engineering is

related with selecting, designing and
constructing the elements that transfer the
weight of structure to the underlying soil or
rock.
 Foundation Engineer
 The foundation engineer should posses the
following information:

 Knowledge of Soil Mechanics/Foundation

Engineering and background of theoretical
analysis
 Necessary experience-precedents-what designs
have worked well under what conditions
 Economic aspects
 Engineering judgment- to find solutions to the
problems.
 Loads on Foundation 7

1. Dead Load: Refers to the overall weight of the structure. Includes

weight of the materials permanently attached to the structure (such as
flooring) and fixed service equipment (such as air conditioning)
2. Live load: Refers to the weight of the applied bodies that are not
permanent parts of the structure. Applied to the structure during part of its
useful life (e.g. people, warehouse goods etc.)
3. Wind loads: Wind load is the load, in pounds per square foot, placed on
the exterior of a structure by wind.
4.Earthquake Forces: Earthquake forces are called lateral forces because
their predominant effect is to apply horizontal loads to a building.
Although earthquake waves do impart a vertical component of force to
buildings, the weight of the building normally provides sufficient
resistance.
5. Snow load: is the downward force on a building's roof by the weight of
accumulated snow and ice. The roof or the entire structure can fail if the
snow load exceeds the weight for which the building was designed to
shoulder. Or if the building was poorly designed or constructed.
 Attributes of an ideal foundation 8

1. A properly designed foundation is one that transfers the

structural loads (the dead load of the building and live loads
of its occupants and contents) throughout the soil without
overstressing of soil which can result in either excessive
settlement or shear failure, both of which can damage the
structure.
2. Foundation system must resist lateral loads from earthquake
and wind and provide anchorage for the building
superstructure against the uplift force.
3. Small settlements (Total and differential settlement)
4. Economical
 Foundation depth 9

• Foundation should be carried below:

1. Zones of high volume changes due to moisture

fluctuations.
2. Topsoil or organic material
3. Unconsolidated material such as abandoned garbage
dumps and similar filled in areas.
 Foundation spacing 10

• Recommendations for footing adjacent to existing

structures
• When footings are to be placed adjacent to an
existing structure, as indicated in figure (1) the line
from the base of the new footing to the bottom edge
of the Existing footing should be 45 degree with the
horizontal plane.
 Foundation spacing 11

• Recommendations for footing adjacent to existing

structures Fig 2
• Excavation may cause settlement to old foundation
due to lateral bulging in the excavation and/or shear
failure due to reduction in overburden stress or more
importantly may result in settlement cracks in the
existing building.

Fig 2
 Types of Foundations 12

• Following are different types of foundations used in

construction:

 Shallow foundation
 Individual/Spread/Single/ Isolated footing
 Combined footing
 Strip/Wall footing
 Raft or Mat footing

 Deep Foundation
 Pile foundation
 Caissons or well foundation
 Drilled Shafts (Pier Foundation)
 Types of Foundations 13

• Shallow foundation

• A shallow foundation is defined as the foundation that transmits the

building loads to the earth adjacent to the surface. It’s depth is
equivalent to or under its width.
• Depth ≤ Width

“OR”

• A foundation is shallow if the depth is less than 3 m or less than the

breadth of the foundation
 Types of Foundations 14

• Individual/Spread/Single/Isolated Footing

• Isolated footing is foundation which is constructed for a single

column and also called a pad foundation.

• The shape of individual footing is square or rectangle and is

used when loads from the structure is carried by the columns.
• Size is calculated based on the load on the column and the safe
bearing capacity of soil.

• For example, Consider a column with a vertical load of 200 KN

and a safe bearing capacity of 100 KN/m2 then the area of the
footing required will be 200/100 = 2m2. So, for a square footing,
the length and width of the footing will be 1.414 m x 1.414 m.
 Types of Foundations 15

• Isolated Footing is provided, either

as simple footing, sloped footing or
stepped footing.

In simple isolated footing, base of

uniform depth is provided.
• Simple isolated footing is simple to
construct, which reduces the time for
construction and it distributes the
load in a uniform manner.
 Types of Foundations 16

• In sloped footing, base of uniformly sloping

downward pattern is provided.

• Sloped footing is more economical than the

simple isolated footing, because the amount of
concrete is reduced towards the edges.

• A slope of 45° is provided in sloped footing.

• It requires more supervision during the construction

and thus consumes more time in construction.
 Types of Foundations 17

• In stepped footing, base is constructed in steps to

distribute the load uniformly to the foundation soil.

• In the stepped footing, Load coming from column on

the footing is distributed in steps.
 Types of Foundations 18

2. Combined Footing
• Combined footings are used when two columns are so
close that single footings cannot be used or when one
column is located at or near a property line.
• It is a combination of isolated footings, but their
structural design differs.
• The shape of this footing is a rectangle or trapezoidal
and is used when loads from the structure is carried
by the columns.
 Types of Foundations 19

2. Combined Footing

Rectangular
P1 < P2

Trapezoidal
P1 > P2
 Types of Foundations 20

3. Strip footings or Wall footings

• Strip footings are commonly used as foundations of load-bearing walls.
• The footing usually has twice the width as the load bearing wall, sometimes
it is even wider. The width as well as the type of reinforcement are
depending on the bearing capacity of the foundation soil. The wider base of
this footing type spreads the weight from the building structure over more
area and provides better stability.

• Wall footings are used where the bearing soil

layer is within 3m (10 feet) from the ground
surface.
• These should not be used on soils where there
is any possibility of a ground flow of water
above bearing layer of soil which may result
in scour or liquefaction.
 Types of Foundations 21

4. Raft or Mat Footing

• Raft or mat foundations are the types of foundation which are
spread across the entire area of the building to support heavy
structural loads from columns and walls.
• Provided when Base soil has low bearing capacity or the
column loads are so large that more than 50% of the area is
covered by conventional spread footings.
 Types of Foundations 22

4. Raft or Mat Footing

• Used to prevent differential settlement of
individual footings, thus designed as a single mat
of all the load-bearing elements of the structure.
• Resist unequal settlement due to earthquake.
• Quickness of the construction work
• These foundations should not be used where the
groundwater table is above the bearing surface of
the soil. The use of foundation in such conditions
may lead to scour and liquefaction.
 Types of Foundations 23

• Deep Foundation
• If the depth of footing is greater than the Width of footing,
it is known as the deep Foundation.
• Poor soil conditions at shallow depth and huge design
loads can make a deep foundation a better option than
shallow foundation.
• Deep foundations carry building loads to more competent
strata that are down too far below the ground level,
preventing the surface conditions from affecting their base
bearing capacity.
• They usually go beyond 3 meters below the finished
ground surface.
 Types of Foundations 24

Types of Deep Foundation

1. Pile Foundations
• Pile foundation transfer heavy loads from the structure to a hard
rock strata much deep below the ground level where shallow
foundations such as spread footings and mat footings cannot be
used.
• This is also used to prevent uplift of the structure due to lateral
loads such as earthquake and wind forces.
• Pile foundations are generally used for soils where soil conditions
near the ground surface are not suitable for heavy loads. The depth
of hard rock strata may be 5m to 50m deep from the ground
surface.
• Pile foundation resists the loads from the structure by skin friction
and by end bearing.
 Types of Foundations 25

1. Pile Foundations
 Types of Foundations 26

2. Caisson Foundation or well foundation

• These are hollow structures (Box or Rectangular) that can be
constructed near or on the ground surface and are sunk to the
desired level as a single unit. It is provided with a cutting edge at
the bottom to facilitate sinking. They are commonly used for
bridges in rivers. Well foundations or caissons are hollow from
inside, which may be filled with sand, and are plugged at the
bottom. The load is transferred though the perimeter wall, called
steining.
• They are much large in diameter
than the Pier foundation..
• The construction of caissons
are done using an auger.
 Types of Foundations 27

3. Drilled shaft or Pier Foundation

• It can transfer column loads larger than pile foundations.

• It is used where the depth of hard strata below ground level is
located within 10m to 100m.
• With available drilling equipment, shaft diameters up to 20 ft and
depths exceeding 250ft are possible. However, for most normal
applications, diameters in the range of 3 to 10 ft are typical. This
size versatility allows a single drilled shaft to be used in place of
a driven pile group and eliminates the need for a pile cap.
• Highly specialized construction techniques & equipment
(Augers) have been developed to install drilled shafts in
conditions ranging from soft soils to hard rock.
 Types of Foundations 28

3. Drilled shaft or Pier Foundation

Auger drilling lowering rebar cage

Concrete is placed in the drilled hole

Thanks