School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering

Geotechnical engineering Design - I
Chapter 2 -Foundations Type and Their Selection
By Dumesa G.
 Content of the chapter

1. Introduction

2. Purposes of foundations

3. Types of foundations

4. General principles of foundation design

5. Loads on foundation

6. Selection of foundation type

 What have you observed in the image ?

Burj Khalifa Merdeka 118 Tokyo sky tree Shanghai tower

828m 678.9m 634m 632m

“ building foundations have always been treated as step children” Terzaghi's

 1. INTRODUCTION
❑ Virtually every structure is supported by Soil or Rock. Those are
not either fly, float or fall over.

❑ Every building consists of two basic Components

❖The super structure

❖The sub structure (Foundation)

❑ The basic function of foundation is to transmit

❖The dead load (weight of walls, partitions, floors, roofs, and

other permanent structures)

❖Super imposed load (Live loads) e.g. People, furniture,

machines etc.

❖Wind load
 1. Introduction
❖ Important considerations (design criteria)

1. Stability against shear failure - The soil doesn’t fail by the shear
failure criterion.

2. Must not settle beyond tolerable limits to damage the structure

i.e. Settlements are within permissible limits, without causing
cracks in the super structure

❑ Differential settlement may be caused by

✓ Weak sub soils

✓ Shrinkable and expansive soils

✓ Frost action

✓ Movement of ground water and uplift pressure

✓ Excessive vibration, slipping of strata on slopping etc.

 2. Purposes of foundations
❖ Foundations are used for the following purposes
1. Reduction of load intensity

• By increasing the area of contact, so that the total load

divided by the total area (intensity of load) doesn’t exceed
the bearing capacity of the soil.

2. Even distribution of loads

• Foundations distribute the non-uniform load of the

superstructure evenly to the sub soil.

3. Provision of level surface

4. Lateral stability

• It anchors the super structure to the ground, thus imparting

lateral stability to the super structure.
 2. Purposes of foundations
5. Safety against undermining
• provides structural safety against undermining (scouring)
due to burrowing animals and flood water.
6. Protection against soil movements
• minimizes cracks in the super structure due to expansion or
contraction of sub soil because of moisture movement in
some expansive soils.

❑ Essential Requirements of a good foundation

o Sustain the dead and imposed loads
o It should be rigid
o Good location.
 3. Types of foundations (as per Terzaghi’s )
❖ Foundations can be broadly classified into the following two
categories

✓ Shallow foundations

✓ Deep foundations

1. Shallow Foundations

➢ The foundations provided immediately beneath the lowest part

of the structure, near to the ground level are known as shallow
foundations.

➢ Purpose- to distribute the structural loads over a considerable

base area at the foundation bed.

➢ are constructed in open excavations, therefore, they are termed

as open foundations
 3. Types of foundations (as per Terzaghi’s )
➢ Shallow foundations are further classified into the following types:

1. Spread or Isolated footings

2. Combined footing

3. Cantilever footing

4. Continuous or wall footing

5. Raft foundation

❖ Spread or Isolated Footings:-

➢ They are used to support individual column.

➢ Isolated footings are stepped type, simple type or slope type,

having projections in the base concrete.

➢ To support heavy loads, reinforcement is also provided at the base.

➢ The reinforcement provided is in the form of steel bars and is placed

in both directions.
 3. Types of foundations

Section, plan and 3- D of

isolated footing
 3. Types of foundations
❖ Combined Footing:-
✓ supports two or sometimes three column in a row.
✓ used when property lines, equipment locations, column spacing or other
considerations limit the footing clearance at the column locations.
✓ can be rectangular in shape if both the columns carry equal loads, or can
be trapezoidal if there is a space limitation and they carry unequal loads.
✓ Generally they are constructed of reinforced concrete.
3. Types of foundations
 3. Types of foundations
❖ Cantilever or Strap Footing: -
✓ consists of two individual footings connected by a beam called a strap.

✓ It is also sometimes called as strap footing.

✓ may be used where the distance between the columns is so great that a
trapezoidal combined footing becomes quite narrow, with resulting high
bending moments.

✓ The strap beam does not remain in contact with soil so a strap doesn’t
transfer any pressure to the soil
 3. Types of foundations
❖ Continuous or Wall Footing:-
✓ In this type of footing a single continuous reinforced concrete slab is
provided as foundation of wall and three or more columns in a row.

✓ This type of footing is suitable at locations liable to earthquake activities.

✓ This also prevents differential settlement in the structure.

 3. Types of foundations
❖ Raft or Mat Foundation:-
✓ A raft or mat is a combined footing that covers the entire area
beneath a structure and supports all the columns.

✓ When the allowable soil pressure is low or the structure loads are
heavy, the use of spread footings would cover more than one-half of
the area, and it may prove more economical to use raft foundation.

✓ It is also used where the soil mass contains compressible layers so

that the differential settlement would be difficult to control the raft
tends to bridge over the erratic deposits and eliminates the
differential settlement
3. Types of foundations

Examples of mat foundations:

a. Flat plate;
b. plate thickened under columns;
c. beam-and-slab;
d. plate with pedestals;
e. basement walls as part of mat.
 3. Types of foundations

2. Deep foundation
✓ When the upper ground stratum at a site is weak and unable to carry
the load even by a raft foundation, then eventually shallow foundation
has to be ruled out, and a deep foundation, taken to an available firm
stratum, is adopted.

✓ Deep foundation may be in the form of Piles or Well (i.e., Caissons).

✓ A pile is relatively a small diameter shaft, which is used to transmit the

loads to deeper soil layers capable of supporting the loads.

✓ A well on the other hand is a large diameter circular body, usually, sunk
into the ground, by removing the ground soil and it is usually adopted
for structures across rivers streams, where heavy scouring is involved,
such as for supporting the piers of a road or a railway bridge, or some
monumental building
 3. Types of foundations
❑ Deep foundations are the following types.

1. Pile foundations- more commonly used.

2. Pier foundation

3. Caisson or well foundation

❖ Pile foundations are preferable under the following situation:

✓ When the load of the super structure is heavy and its distribution is
uneven.

✓ The top soil has poor bearing capacity

✓ The sub soil water level is high so that pumping of water from the open
trenches for the shallow foundations is difficult and uneconomical.
 3. Types of foundations
✓ When there is large fluctuations in sub soil water level
✓ When the structure is situated on the sea shore or river bed
✓ Canal or deep drainage lines exist near the foundations.

❑ Types of piles
▪ Piles used for building foundation may be of four types; based
on the function they serve.

❖ End bearing piles

▪ Used to transfer load through water or soft soil to a suitable
bearing stratum.

▪ Such piles are used to carry heavy loads safely to hard

strata.
▪ Multi-storey buildings are invariably founded on end
bearing piles, so that the settlements are minimized.
 3. Types of foundations

Figure of end bearing pile

 3. Types of foundations
❖ Friction piles
▪ Used to transfer load to a depth of a friction –
load- carrying material by means of skin friction
along the length of the pile.
▪ Generally used in granular soil where the
depth of hard stratum is very great.

❖ Combined end bearing

▪ Some times the super
imposed load is transferred
both through and friction
side friction as well as end
bearing.
 3. Types of foundations
❖ Compaction piles
- Used to compact loose granular soils, thus increasing their bearing capacity.

- The compaction piles themselves do not carry a load. Hence it may be of weaker
material (e.g. timber, bamboo, etc.)

- The pile tube, driven to compact the soil, is gradually taken out and sand is filled
in its place thus forming a ‘sand pile’
 3. Types of foundations
2. Pier Foundations (drilled caisson foundation)
➢ Transfer large superimposed loads to the firm strata below.

➢ The difference between pile foundation and pier foundation

lies in the method of construction.

➢ Pile foundations transfer the load through friction and or

bearing, pier foundations transfer the load only through
bearing.

➢ Pier foundation is shallower in depth than pile foundation.

➢ Pier foundation is preferred in a location where the top

stratum consists of decomposed rock over laying strata of
sound rock.
3. Types of foundations
 3. Types of foundations
3. Well Foundations (Caissons)
▪ These are box like structures circular or rectangular which
are sunk from the surface of either land or water to the
desired depth

▪ Much large in diameter than the pier foundations.

▪ These are used for major foundation works, such as.

✓ Bridge piers and abutments in rivers, lakes, etc

✓ Wharves, quay, walls, docks (related to ships)

✓ Break waters and other structures for shore

protection.

✓ Large water front structures such as pump houses

 4. General principles of foundation design
1. General- The usual approach to a normal foundation-engineering
problem is:-
a. To prepare a plan of the base of the structure showing the various columns, load-
bearing walls with estimated loads, including dead load, live load, moments and
torques coming into the foundation units.

b. To study the tentative allowable bearing pressures allocated for the various strata
below the ground level, as given by the soil investigation report.

c. To determine the required foundation depth. This may be the minimum depth
based on soil strength or structural requirement considerations.

d. To compute the dimensions of the foundation based on the given loading and
allowable bearing pressure.

e. To estimate the total and differential settlements of the structure. If these are
excessive the bearing pressure will have to be reduced or the foundation taken to
a deeper and less compressible stratum or the structure will have to be founded
on piles or other special measures taken.
 5.Loads on Foundation

➢ An accurate estimation of all loads acting on the foundation

should be made before it can be properly designed.

➢ A foundation may be subjected to two or more of the following

loads.

❖ Dead load:

▪ Weight of structure

▪ All material permanently attached to structure

▪ Static earth pressure acting permanently against

the structure below ground surface.

▪ Water pressures acting laterally against basement

walls and vertically against slab.
 5.Loads on Foundation
❖ Live load: - temporary loads expected to superimpose on the
structure during its useful life.

❖ Wind load: - lateral load coming from the action of wind. Local
building codes provide magnitude of design wind pressure.

❖ Earth-quake load: - lateral load coming from earthquake motion. The

total lateral force (base shear) at the base of a structure is evaluated
in accordance with local building code.

❖ Dynamic load: - load coming from a vibrating object (machinery).

In such case, separate foundation should be provided. The impact

effect of such loads should be considered in design.
 6. Selection of Foundation Type
❖ In selecting the foundation type the following points must be considered.

a. Function of the structure

b. Loads it must carry

c. Subsurface conditions

d. Cost of foundation in comparison with the cost of the super

structure.

❖ Having these points in mind one should apply the following steps in order
to arrive at a decision.

i. Obtain at least approximate information concerning the nature of

the superstructure and the loads to be transmitted to the
foundation.

ii. Determine the subsurface condition in a general way.

iii. Consider each of the usual types of foundations in order to judge

whether or not.
 6. Selection of Foundation Type
a. They could be constructed under existing conditions.

b. They are capable of carrying the required load.

c. They experience serious differential settlements.

❖ The types that are found to be unsuitable should then be

eliminated.

iv. Undertake a detailed study of the most promising types. Such a study
may require additional information on loads and subsurface conditions.
Determine the approximate size of footing or the approximate length and
number of piles required

v. Prepare an estimate for the cost of each promising type of foundation.

vi. Select the type that represents the most acceptable compromise between
performance and cost.