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Foundation design
Ranjan Kumar Dahal, PhD, PostDoc, M.ASCE
Associate Professor,
Geodisaster Research Center, Central
Department of Geology, Tribhuvan
University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

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Course 1 credit 15 hours

Bearing capacity of shallow foundation: Basic definitions, gross and net footing pressure,
Rankines analysis, Hogetogler and Terzaghis analysis, Prandtls analysis, Terzaghis
bearing capacity theory, Types of shear failures, effect of water table on bearing capacity,
bearing capacity of square and circular footings, foundation on layered clay, bearing
capacity from standard penetration test, settlement of foundation, loads for settlement
analysis, immediate settlement of cohesive soils and cohesionless soils, consolidation
settlement in clays, settlement of foundations on cohesionless soils, allowable soil
pressure for cohesionless soils and cohesive soils, Housels method for design of
foundation.
Shallow foundations: Types, depth of footings, foundation loading, principle of design of
footings, proportioning footings for equal settlement, design of combined footing by
elastic line method, finite difference method for combined footings, elastic plate method,
finite difference method for mats.
Pile foundations: Classification of piles, pile driving, construction of bored piles, static
methods for driven piles in sand and saturated clay, static method for bored piles, in-situ
penetration tests for pile capacity, pile load test, pile grouping in sand and gravel, and in
clays, settlement of pile groups, tension piles, laterally loaded piles.
Drilled piers and caissons: Drilled piers and their constructions, design and construction
of open caissons, pneumatic caissons and their construction, floating caissons and their
stabilities.
Pavement design: Types of pavements, basic requirements, functions of components of a
pavement, California Bearing Ratio Test, design of flexible pavements, group index
method, CBR method, California Resistance Value method, McLeod method, Triaxial test
method, Burmisters method, Coefficient of subgrade reaction, Westergaards analysis,
temperature stresses in rigid pavements, combined stresses in rigid pavements.

7th Lecture

Introduction
Foundation Engineering, Importance and purpose
Foundation
Substructure elements, used to transfer the load of a
structure(self weight +other actions) to the soil

Correspond to either limited loads or good quality soil

(strength and stiffness)

Different geometries

Reinforced concrete

Two main aspect of the behavior:

Ultimate limit failure: bearing capacity

Serviceability limit: settlement

Foundation

1.
2.

Foundation is an integral part of the

structure. The stability of structure depends
on the stability of supporting soil. Two
important factors that are to be considered
are
The foundation must be stable against shear
failure of the supporting soil.
The foundation must not settle beyond a
tolerable limit to avoid damage to the
structure.

Foundation other factors

1. The location and depth of the
foundation.
2. For location and depth, we have to
consider the erosions due to
flowing water, underground
defects such as root holes,
cavities, unconsolidated fills,
ground water level, presence of
expansive soils etc.

Selecting type of foundation

In

selecting a type of foundation, we

have to consider the functions of the
structure and the load it has to carry,
the subsurface condition of the soil,
and the cost of the superstructure.
Design loads also play an important
part in the selection of the type of
foundation.

Load need to be considered

Loads that are needed to consider are

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

dead loads
live loads
wind and earthquake forces
lateral pressures exerted by the foundation earth on the embedded
structural elements, and
the effects of dynamic loads.

Load due to subsoil conditions

1.
2.
3.
4.

Lateral or uplift forces on the foundation elements due to high

water table
Swelling pressures on the foundations in expansive soils
Heave pressures on foundations in areas subjected to frost heave
and
Negative frictional drag on piles where pile foundations are used in
highly compressible soils

Why Foundation Engineering is

important?

Pile failure due to earthquake

Differential Settlement

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

leans due to a faulty foundation.

Main types of foundation

Foundations or footings come under two

main categories:

SHALLOW and DEEP

Shallow foundations or spread footings

include pads, strip footings and rafts.

Classification

Classification

Types of shallow
foundations:
(a) plain concrete
foundation
(b) stepped
reinforced concrete
foundation
(c ) reinforced
concrete rectangular
Foundation and
(d) reinforced
concrete wall
foundation

Strip foundations
These are use to
support a line of
loads such as a load
bearing wall.
They could also be
used where the line
of column positions
are so close that
individual pad
foundations would
be pointless.

Raft Foundations

These are used to

spread the load
from a structure
over a large area.

This would normally

be the entire area of
the structure.

Raft foundations

Raft foundations are

often needed on soft
or loose soils which
have a low load
bearing capacity.

Pads and pile foundations

Pad foundations
support an individual
point of load.

Piles are used to

support buildings in
poor soil conditions.
A basic pile foundation
is a series of stilts
which rest on a solid
load bearing layer.

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Shallow foundation

The term shallow foundation refers to a

structure that is supported by the soil lying
immediately beneath the structure.
Individual footings, usually rectangular in
plan view are the most common shallow
foundations for columns whereas strip
footings are used to support walls. In some
instances structures are supported by mats.

7th Lecture

Shallow foundations

The guidelines for a shallow foundation are :

They are founded near to the finished ground
surface.
The depth is generally less than the width of
the footing and less than 3 m.
They are used when the surface soils are
strong enough to support the load imposed
upon it.

Classification
o Shallow Foundation

Terzaghi (1943)
If D/B<1, shallow
If D/B>1 & <15,
moderately deep
If D/B>15, deep
Foundation

Isolated footing

Strip Footing
(L>>B)

20

Strap

Strap footing

Raft foundation

Deep foundations

Shallow foundations are unsuitable in weak

or highly compressible soils.
DEEP foundations include piles, pile walls
and piers.
Deep foundations are usually at depths
deeper than 3m.
Deep foundations are used to transmit the
loading to a deeper, more competent strata

Deep Foundation

End bearing
pile

Pile Foundation

Friction pile

22

SOIL TYPES

The make up of the soil has a major influence

on the choice of foundation.
A good soil type needs to be able to cope
with loadings.
A good soil needs to drain water well.
A poor soil type will shrink, swell or move
depending on the loads or conditions placed
upon it.

SILT

Silty soil is found in flood plains or around

lakes.
Silt holds water well and is soft when wet.
Silty soil is not a very good foundation
material unless it has been compressed and
hardened, or has been dried out.

SANDY SOIL

Sand is usually considered favourable from

the standpoint of foundation support.
It can be a problem though usually due to
water.
Water raising through a sand deposit can
create an unstable condition.
Sandy soils can hold water.

CLAY

Clay is composed rock particles ground

extremely fine or reduced by weathering.
Clay soils normally contain water.
Clay drains slowly and compresses when
foundations are placed upon them.
Clay has a tendency to absorb water and
swell.

GRAVEL

Gravel can be well compacted and allows

water to drain freely.
Gravel soils do not hold water.
The variety in particle sizes in gravel means
that even when closely packed it still contains
voids and drains well.
Gravel is least likely to be affected by drying
out.

General Requirement
Location

and depth criteria

Settlement Criteria
Differential settlement
Example: Leaning Tower
Of Pisa
non-uniform, sponge-like
saturated clay soil

The Leaning Tower of Pisaleans

due to a faulty foundation.

Settlement Criteria

Shear failure criteria or bearing capacity

criteria

Selecting Type of Foundation

1. Obtain the required information concerning

the nature of the superstructure and the loads
to be transmitted to the foundation.
2. Obtain the subsurface soil conditions.
3. Explore the possibility of constructing any
one of the types of foundation under the
existing conditions by taking into account (i)
the bearing capacity of the soil to carry the
required load, and (ii) the adverse effects on
the structure due to differential settlements.
Eliminate in this way, the unsuitable types.

4. Once one or two types of foundation are

selected on the basis of preliminary studies.
Make more detailed studies. These studies
may require more accurate determination of
loads, subsurface conditions and footing
sizes. It may also be necessary to make more
refined estimates of settlement in order to
predict the behavior of the structure.
5. Estimate the cost of each of the promising
types of foundation, and choose the type
that represents the most acceptable
compromise between performance and cost.

Some basic
definitions:

Total Overburden Pressure q0

qo is the intensity of total overburden pressure due to the weight of

both soil and water at the base level of the foundation.
Effective Overburden Pressure q'0

q'0 is the effective overburden pressure at the base level of the

foundation.

The Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Soil, qu

qu is the maximum bearing capacity of soil at which the soil fails by

shear.
The Net Ultimate Bearing Capacity, qnu

qnu is the bearing capacity in excess of the effective overburden

pressure q'0 expressed as

Gross Allowable Bearing Pressure, qa is expressed as:

where Fs = factor of safety.

Net Allowable Bearing Pressure, qna

Safe Bearing Pressure, qs

qs is defined as the net safe bearing pressure which produces a

settlement of the foundation which does not exceed a permissible
limit.

Note: In the design of foundations, we have to use the least of the

two values of qna and qs.

Behavior of Footing on Elastoplastic Material

Uniform strip load on hypothetical elastoplastic material

Failure zones under foot

Load-settlement curve at centerline of hypothetical problem.

Displacements and first yielded point at load of 4.52 TSF.

Extent of yielded zone and motion field at load of 7.0 TSF.

Extent of yielded zone and motion field at load of 8.5 TSF.

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Typical load-settlement curves

7th Lecture

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Design Criteria

The basic criterion governing the design of foundations is that

the settlement must not exceed some permissible value. This
value will vary from structure to structure.
First, for any foundation there is some value of the applied
stress at which the settlements start to become very large and
difficult to predict. This load is called the bearing capacity.
The Foundation must be designed so that the actual bearing
stress is less than the bearing capacity with an appropriate
margin of safety to cover uncertainties in the estimate of both
the bearing stress and the bearing capacity.
Generally, the bearing capacity is taken as the bearing stress
causing local shear failure
Clearly, the load that causes a general shear failure (i.e., the
ultimate bearing capacity) is an upper limit for the bearing
capacity
7th Lecture

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Second after determining the bearing

capacity and ensuring that the bearing
capacity exceeds the expected applied
bearing stress with an adequate margin of
safety an engineer must estimate the
settlement that wiII occur under the expected
load and compare this estimated settlement
with the permissible value.

7th Lecture

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Three key steps

Three key steps in evaluating foundation

design are:
1. Selection of the required factor of safety
against a Shear
2. Determination of the bearing capacity and
the actual factor of safety under the
expected load.
3. Estimation of the settlement and
comparison with the-permissible settlement.
failure and the permissible settlement.
7th Lecture

Relationship
between bearing
stresses and
bearing Capacities.

The rules
of
bearing
capacity

BEARING CAPACITY THEORIES

The determination of bearing capacity of soil based on the classical

earth pressure theory of Rankine (1857) began with Pauker, a Russian
military engineer (1889).
It was modified by Bell (1915). Pauker's theory was applicable only for
sandy soils but the theory of Bell took into account cohesion also.
The methods of calculating the ultimate bearing capacity of shallow
strip footings by plastic theory developed considerably over the years
since Terzaghi (1943). Terzaghi extended the theory of Prandtl (1921).
Taylor (1948) extended the equation of Prandtl by taking into account
the surcharge
Terzaghi (1943) first proposed a semi-empirical equation for
computing the ultimate bearing capacity of strip footings by taking
into account cohesion, friction and weight of soil, and replacing the
overburden pressure with an equivalent surcharge load at the base
level of the foundation effect of the overburden soil at the foundation
level.

Types of failure in
soil

Experimental investigations have indicated that

foundations on dense sand with relative density greater
than 70% fail suddenly with pronounced peak resistance
when the settlement reaches about 7% of the foundation
width.
The failure is accompanied by the appearance of failure
surfaces and by considerable bulging of a sheared mass
of sand.
This type of failure is designated as General shear
failure by Terzaghi

Local shear
failure

Foundations on sand of relative density lying

between 35 and 70 percent do not show a sudden
failure. As the settlement exceeds about 8 percent
of the foundation width, bulging of sand starts at
the surface.
At settlements of about 15 percent of foundation
width, a visible boundary of sheared zones at the
surface appears. However, the peak of base
resistance may never be reached.
This type of failure is termed local shear failure.

Punching shear
failure

Foundations on relatively loose sand with relative

density less than 35 percent penetrate into the soil
without any bulging of the sand surface. The base
resistance gradually increases as settlement
progresses. The rate of settlement, increases and
reaches a maximum at a settlement of about 15 to 20
percent of the foundation width.
Sudden jerks or shears can be observed as soon as
the settlement reaches about 6 to 8 percent of the
foundation width. The failure surface, which is vertical
or slightly inclined and follows the perimeter of the
base, never reaches the sand surface. This type of
failure is designated as punching shear failure

Bearing Capacity
Failure

a) General Shear Failure

Most common type of shear
failure; occurs in strong
soils and rocks

b) Local Shear Failure

Intermediate between
general and punching shear
failure

c) Punching Shear Failure

Occurs in very loose sands
weak clays

57

Soil Conditions and Bearing

Capacity Failure

59

Load Displacement
Curves (after Vesic (1973))

a) General Shear Failure

b) Local Shear Failure
c) Punching Shear Failure

60

Comments on Shear Failure

Usually only necessary to analyze general

shear failure.

Local and punching shear failure can usually

be anticipated by settlement analysis.

Failure in shallow foundations is generally

settlement failure; bearing capacity failure
must be analyzed, but in practical terms is
usually secondary to settlement analysis.

Development of Bearing Capacity

Theory

Application of limit equilibrium methods first done

by Prandtl on the punching of thick masses
of metal.

Prandtl's methods adapted by Terzaghi to bearing

capacity failure of shallow foundations.

Vesic and others improved on Terzaghi's original

theory and added other factors for a more complete
analysis
62

Assumptions for Terzaghi's

Method
Depth of foundation is less than or equal to
its width
No sliding occurs between foundation and
soil (rough foundation)
Soil beneath foundation is homogeneous
semi infinite mass
Mohr-Coulomb model for soil
General shear failure mode is the governing
mode (but not the only mode)

63

Assumptions for Terzaghi's

Method
No soil consolidation occurs
Foundation is very rigid relative to the soil
Soil above bottom of foundation has no
shear
strength; is only a surcharge load against the
overturning load
Applied load is compressive and applied
vertically to the centroid of the foundation
No applied moments present

64

Failure Geometry for Terzaghi's Method

65

Terzaghis Bearing Capacity Analysis

Terzaghi (1943) analysed a shallow continuous
footing by making some assumptions

* The failure zones do not extend above the

horizontal plane passing through base of footing
* The failure occurs when the down ward pressure
exerted by loads on the soil adjoining the inclined
surfaces on soil wedge is equal to upward
pressure.
* Downward forces are due to the load (= qu B) &
the weight of soil wedge (1/4 B2 tan)
* Upward forces are the vertical components of
resultant passive pressure (Pp) & the cohesion (c)
acting along the inclined surfaces.

For equilibrium:
Fv = 0
1/4 B2tan + quB = 2Pp +2C Li sin
where Li = length of inclined surface CB
( = B/2 /cos)
Therefore,
qu B = 2Pp + BC tan - B2tan ------ (1)
The resultant passive pressure (Pp) on the surface
CB & CA constitutes three components i.e. (Pp),
(Pp)c & (Pp)q,
Thus,
Pp = (Pp) + (Pp)c + (Pp)q

qu B= 2[ (Pp)r +(Pp)c +(Pp)q ]+ BCtan- B2 tan

Substituting; 2 (Pp)r - B2tan1 = B BN

2 (Pp)q
= B D Nq
& 2 (Pp)c + BC1 tan1 = B C Nc;
We get,
qu =CNc + Df Nq + 0.5BN
This is Terzaghis Bearing capacity equation for
determining ultimate bearing capacity of strip
footing. Where Nc, Nq & N are Terzaghis bearing
capacity factors & depends on angle of shearing
resistance ()

Notes on Terzaghi's Method

Since soil cohesion can be difficult to quantify,

conservative values of c (cohesion) should be used.

Frictional strength is more reliable and does not

need to be as conservative as cohesion.

Terzaghi's method is simple and familiar to many

geotechnical engineers; however, it does not take
into account many factors, nor does it consider
cases such as rectangular foundations.
70

The General Bearing Capacity

Equation.

71

The General Bearing Capacity

Equation.

72

The General Bearing Capacity

Equation.

73

Other Factors

74

Other Factors
For continuous footing,
s=1
For perpendicular load,
i=1
For level foundation,
b =1
For level ground,
g =1
Need to compute factors
- Bearing Capacity Factor
N,
- Depth Factor d

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Next class

Groundwater effect and other BC equations

Home work:
1. If qc = cNc Prove that Nc =

2. If qq = qNq Prove that Nq =

3. If q = 1/2BNq Prove that N =

submission:

Next class.
Lecture notes in http://www.ranjan.net.np
7th Lecture