Chapter 7. Well Foundations: CE-471: Foundation Engineering

CE- 471: Foundation Engineering
Chapter 7. Well Foundations


Introduction
Well foundations are being used in India
from very early days. Taj Mahal was
built on such foundations. Wells are
classified as deep foundations. The
main difference between a well and a
pile foundation is that, while a pile is
flexible like a beam under horizontal
loads, the well undergoes rigid body
movement under such loads.

Types of Wells
Wells have different shapes and
accordingly they are named
as
1. Circular Wells
2. Dumb bell
3. Double-D Wells
4. Double Octagonal Wells
5. Single and Double
Rectangular Wells
6. Multiple Dredged Holed
Wells

Components of Well Foundation
The various component of
a well foundations are

1. Cutting Edge
2. Well Curb
3. Bottom Plug
4. Steining
5. Top Plug
6. Well Cap

Design of Wells
Design of wells basically involves finding

1. Depth of the well
2. Size of the well and
3. Design of the other components.

Depth of Scour
Well foundations are constructed in river beds, they
should be taken to a safe depth well below the
anticipated scour level. Scour around piers depends on
several factors like flood discharge, the angle of attack
of the flow, flow obstruction etc. The scour depth is
calculated as follows.

(mm) bed river in particle soil of diameter Mean D
D 1.76 factor Silt s
/s) (m discharge Design q
(m) depth Scour D
where
473 . 0
m
m f
3
s
3
1
=
= =
=
=
=
f
s
s
q
D

Values of
Silt Factor
Type of material Mean diameter (mm) s
f
Coarse silt 0.04 0.35
Fine sand 0.08 0.5
Fine sand 0.15 0.68
Medium sand 0.3 0.96
Medium sand

0.5 1.24
Coarse sand

0.7 1.47
Coarse sand

1 1.76
Coarse sand

2 2.49

The foundation should be taken well below the scour level to protect it from
any movement due to the force of the stream and other external forces.
well of length Grip D
.
3
1
=
= s D D
Grip Length for Wells

Size of Wells
The size of dredge hole of a well varies.
In small and shallow wells, the
minimum diameter of the dredge hole
should be 1.8 m. In larger wells, the
minimum size of the dredge hole
should be 3 m. The final size is
decided after satisfying the lateral
stability condition of the wells.

Bearing Capacity of Wells
level scour below foundation well of Depth
well of dimension maller
value SPT Corrected
) (kN/m capacity bearing afe
where
100
)D] N 16(100 B [5.4N
q
failure shear against
safety for value N its on based sands for pressure bearing
allowable for formula following the recommends 3955 IS
2
a

2 2
a
=
=
=
=
+ +
=
D
S B
N
S q

This is subjected to
different types of
stresses. At the
sinking it is subjected
to water and earth
pressure. At dredging
stage, inside surface is
subjected to water
pressure while outside
surface to the earth
pressure. IRC
recommends some
rules of thumb for
fixing the thickness of
steining which are
given below.
Steining

etc. shale kankar, boulders, for 1.20
clay for 1.15
clay soft for 1.1
strata sandy for 1.0
where
) 12 . 0 01 . 0 ( T
wells D - double and r rectangula For 2.
well the of diameter External
well of Height
etc. shale kankar, boulders, clay, hard
including strata hard for 1.25
clay soft and silty sandy, for 1.1
where
) 1 . 0 01 . 0 ( T
wells shaped - dumbbell and circular For 1.
steining concrete Cement

H

=
+ =
=
=
=
+ =
k
D k
D
D
k
D D k
H
e
e H

clay hard for 1.25
clay soft for 1.1
sand for 1.0 k
where
40
D
8
D
k T
Steining Brick
H e
=
(
+ =

The curb of a well transfers all the superimposed loads to the soil through the
cutting edge while sinking. The material used for curbs may be timber or
RCC. The forces acting on well curb are shown in Fig(b). The total horizontal
force on the well curb on both sides is
well the of angle Internal
steining of line centre the along length unit per
curb and well of Weight W
well of diameter Internal D
where
2
D D
Wcot
i e
=
=
=
+
u
u
i
Curb

The cutting edge is provided at the bottom of the well below the curb to cut
through the soil during sinking. It is generally made of steel and welded to an
angle iron to fit the outer dimensions of the well steining. The height of the
cutting edge is given by
concrete of stress e compressiv Safe f
edge cutting of Thickness t
rock of strength Crushing
where
tan f
h
c
c.
.
e
=
=
=
=
u
u
q
t q
u
Cutting Edge
The value of u is usually taken as 30
0
. The choice of this angle has been proved to
be suitable for easy access to the cutting edge.

Bottom Plug
After final grounding of the
well to the required
foundation level, a
concrete plug is provided.
The bottom plug transfer
the entire load to the
ground. The bottom plug
functions as an inverted
dome supported along the
periphery of the steining.
As it is not feasible to
provide reinforcement at
the bottom, it is generally
made thick and a rich
concrete mix (M20) is
used.

Sand Filling
The bottom plug concrete is cured and
after curing, the well is filled with
sand in saturated condition. Sand
filling provides

1. Stability to the bottom of the well.
2. Eliminate the tensile forces at the
base
3. Cancels hoop stresses induced in
steining

Top Plug
The top plug is provided
after the filling is
completed. Top plug
helps in transferring the
load of the pier and
superstructure to the
steining. The thickness
of the top plug is
generally kept greater
than 50 % of the smaller
dimension of the dredge
hole. If sand filling is
used, the top plug is
simply constructed using
PCC of 1:2:4 otherwise
it is reinforced with steel
bars and lean concrete
of 1:3:6 is used.

Well Cap
As the shape of the well pier and cap
are different, the well cap forms an
interim layer to accommodate the
pier. The well cap is so designed that
the base of the pier is provided with
a minimum all round offset. The
centre of the well cap is made to
coincide with that of the pier and not
with that of the well. Such positioning
nullifies the effect of the minor shifts
which might have occurred during
well sinking.

Stability Analysis of Well Foundations
A well foundation supporting a bridge pier is subjected
to vertical and horizontal forces. The various forces
acting on the well are
1. Self weight of the well and its superstructure
2. Live loads
3. Water currents and buoyancy
4. Temperature, wind and earth quake
5. Breaking and tracking forces
6. Resistance of the well walls
7. Base and skin friction

Terzaghi (1943) gave an
approximate solution
based on the analysis
of the free rigid bulk.
Resolve all forces in
vertical direction and
obtain the resultant
P
V
.
Resolve the forces in two
horizontal directions
i.e along and across
the pier and get the
values of P
B
and P
L

The resultant vertical force P
V

and the resultant
horizontal force P
B
are
considered for analysis.
The forces and earth pressure
distribution acting on the
well are shown in the
figure.
Pressure at any depth z below
the scour level is

'
' ) ( p
DK DP z
zK K K z
D
a p

= =
= =

The well is assumed to fail as
soon as the soil reaction at
the bottom is equal to P
D
.
For equilibrium at that
instant

) 3 ( 2 9 3 2D
D for Solving
(2)
3
' 2
2
1
3
'
2
1
) (
E about moment Taking
(1) ) 2 ( '
2
1
) (
' 2
2
1
'
2
1

BCF of area - AEF of area
length unit per pressure total of resultant ) (
1 1
2
1 1
1
1
1
2
1 max
1 max
1
2
max
D H D H H
D
D DK
D
K D H P
D D DK P
or
D DK K D
P
B
B
B
+ =
=
=
=
A A =
=


) (
D
1
tan
as given is well, the of
line centre the of deflection angular then the
nts, displaceme horizontal the are and If
) (P ve conservati
a yields forces frictional these of Omision
wall and base at the friction no is There 3.
ts coefficien pressure earth s Rankine' are K and K 2.
head bulk light a as treated is well The 1.
s assumption
following on based is theory This F. safety of factor
a by P reducing by obtained be can depth safe A
force. horizontal
maximum e sustain th to required length grip the
is D This D. for solving and (1) equation in D Putting
2 1
2 1
max. B
a P
D
1
o
o

=

Stability Analysis of a Heavy Well
In the Terzaghi approximate
analysis, it is assumed that
the bulkhead tends to
rotate about some point O
above the lower edge and
tends to transfer the soil
from elastic to plastic
equilibrium. But in case of
heavy wells embedded in
cohesionless soil, the well is
assumed to rotate about its
base and the assumed
pressure distribution is
given in Fig(a). Taking the
moment about the base,
the value of (P
B
)
max

D H
D D D
K P
D H
D
K K P
B
a P B
+
+
=
+
=
) (
' '
6
1
) (
as given then is force resistance maximum equivlant
The Fig(b). in shown is on distributi pressure
The scour. of depth normal the half to equal be
to assumed be may and assess to difficult very is
D depth surcharge The surcharge. a as acts soil
uncovered the gs, surroundin well the Beyond
place. takes scouring well, the around Normally
) ( '
6
1
) (
2
2
max
2
3
max

base. at the occurs tension no assuming soil the of
capacity bearing safe n the kept withi be should
pressure foundation maximum The
base well the of modulus section z
base well of Area A
friction skin and
buoyancy for allowance making after
base well on the load direct net the is W
where
f
is condition moment g overturnin no for the well
the of base at the f pressure maximum The
2. than less be not should safety of factor The
) (
Pa
as given is
F safety, of factor a allowing after force resisting
total the well, the of length or diameter the is d If
max
=
=
=
=
=
A
W
F
d PB

d K' '
2FP
2F
d y K' '
P
then level,
maximum the below y depth a at zero is force
shear the If zero. is force resultant the where
occurs steining on the moment maximum The
a
2
a
=
=
y
or

IRC and IS Design Recommendations
The IRC and IS 3955 publications recommend
the following procedure for design of well
foundations in sand deposits (for clay the
expressions should be suitably modified)

1 Check the stability of well under working
loads, assuming elastic theory
2. Find the factor of safety of the well against
ultimate failure using ultimate load theory

Causes of Tilts and Shifts
1. Nonuniform bearing capacity
2. Obstruction on one side of the well
3. Sand blowing in wells during sinking. It will cause
sudden sinking of well
4. Method of sinking: Material should be removed from
all sides equally otherwise the well may experience
tilt
5. Sudden sinking due to blasting may also cause tilting
of well
6. Irregular casting of steining will cause less friction on
one side leads to chances of tilting of well.


Rectification of Tilt
1. Eccentric grabbing
2. Eccentric loading
3. Water jetting
4. Arresting the cutting edge
5. Pulling the well
6. Strutting the well
7. Pushing the well by jacks

Chapter 7. Well Foundations: CE-471: Foundation Engineering

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Chapter 7. Well Foundations

CE- 471: Foundation Engineering

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