Reminder: Soil types

• Separated mainly on their particle size (using

PSD):
• Boulders-cobbles-gravel-sand-silt-clay

Coarseness increases
• From a geotechnical perspective, can be
separated into 2 main categories:
• Cohesive (clayey)
• Granular (sandy, gravelly)

PAN
• Why do we care?
• Different soils behave in different ways
• Things happen quickly in granular (sand/gravel) soils
• Things happen slowly in cohesive (clayey) soils

Some important soil properties

• Permeability (K)
• How much water can flow through it (m/s)

Clay Low K Sand High K

• Strength (c’, ∅′)

• How much load can it take before “failing”
• Sands/gravels – usually “stronger” than clays

• Stiffness (G,E)
• How deformable is the soil - much and how fast will it settle when
loaded
• Clays – usually less stiff than sands
 Shear strength
• Related to confinement and density
• Water generally reduces strength

• Soils generally fail in shear

• Failure occurs when the shear stress along the failure surface reaches
the shear strength

Shear strength dependent on friction and

cohesion (Mohr-Coulomb)
f = c’ + N’ tan’
Shear Stress 

’
f

c'
Normal Stress N’
• Failure occurs where the critical combination of shear stress and effective normal stress occurs
• Where ’ is the soils friction angle (force resisting relative motion of solid surfaces) and c’ is the
cohesion (strength of the soil under zero normal stress)
• Sands will have an “apparent cohesion” when moist – normally neglected in practice (if sand
dries or becomes submerged it will be lost)
 Foundations Intro:
Ancient Greek Foundations

Roman Shallow Foundations

• Invention of concrete

• Concrete cast between a

formwork in brick for
foundations (1: wooden tie
bar)

E.g. concrete raft for Colosseum

foundation
 Shallow foundations
• Spreads load out so we don’t get above bearing resistance of soil
• Reduces stress on soil (P=F/A)

Old: unreinforced masonry New: reinforced concrete

Deep foundations
• Push the load deep below the surface where soil/rock is stronger (e.g.
very large design loads, soft/low capacity soil, open water)
• Piles are long slender structural members used to transmit loads from
their top to the subsurface

End bearing Friction Pile group

Rock or “strong” soil

 Compensated (floating) foundation

• Usually basements in clay soils

• Weight of soil removed approx. equal

to weight of structure

• Soil underneath doesn’t feel any

change

Soil mass =

crap/soft soil
+
Foundation

Choice between shallow or deep

foundations

<2-3m >3m

• Use shallow foundations if a layer of soil with reasonable strength is within

2-3m of ground level
• Deep foundation (piles) are expensive, time consuming and require a
specialist sub-contractor
 The purposes of a foundation are to ensure:
(1) Stability (prevent overall failure) of the supported
structure (Ultimate Limit Sate (ULS))

• Failure could occur due to inadequate bearing

resistance, overturning or sliding.
• There must be adequate resistance from the soil against
these occurrences

Apartment building collapse, Nicoll Highway collapse in Singapore,

Shanghai 4 workers killed
Another purposes of a foundation are to
ensure:
(2) Settlements do not exceed the tolerable limits of the
structure (Serviceability Limit State (SLS))

• If the settlements are greater than the tolerable/specified

limits then the foundation will have exceeded the
serviceability limit state and can be considered to have
“failed”

B
P
a
0
9
18
.2

ULS or SLS??
 Shallow Foundation Types (Pads)
Structural Columns

Pads
• Square, circular, rectangular pads (usually
RC) located beneath individual load bearing
columns- reduce stress on the soil
• Transfers load to soil with adequate bearing
capacity
• Used where differential settlement not
expected or for relatively light loads

Shallow Foundation Types (Strip)

• Strip of concrete/reinforced concrete
running under all of the loadbearing
walls (all external walls, possibly some
internal walls)

• Assumed continuous for analysis (i.e.

L>>>B & L = )

L
B
Shallow Foundation Types (Strip)

Shallow Foundation Types (Raft)

• Slab of reinforced concrete

• Spreads the entire load over the

whole area

• Used on soft soils or where

differential settlement is likely
(variable ground)
Structural Columns
• Helps to keep differential
settlements within tolerable limits

• Expensive

Raft
 General Shear Failure

• Development of Zone I
(active Rankine zone)

GS • Development of Zone II
(radial shear zones / slip fans)
Transition between downward and
lateral movement.

• Development of Zone III

(passive Rankine zone)
GS
III I III initially prevented from moving
II II due to passive resistance of the
wedges. Once overcome lateral
and upward movement occurs –
bulging at surface

Modes of Failure
General Shear
• Well defined slip surface up to ground
level
• Heaving occurs on both sides with final
collapse and tilting on one side
• Failure is sudden and catastrophic
• Ultimate value is peak value (can be
easily located)
• Typically low compressibility soils, very
dense sands, saturated clays (NC and
abrupt failure OC)

Punching Shear
• Well defined slip surface only below the
foundation, none either side
• Large vertical displacements produced
by soil compressibility
• No heaving, tilting, or catastrophic
• No ultimate value
• Typically high compressibility soils, very
loose sands, partially saturated clays,
peats, NC clay in drained shear (slow Continuous increase in
settlement
loading)
 Modes of Failure

Local Shear
• Well defined slip surface only below
ground level
• Large vertical displacements required
before slip surfaces appear at surface
• Minor heaving, some tilting, not
catastrophic
• No peak/ultimate value
• Moderate compressibility soils, medium
dense sands

• The evaluation of the ultimate bearing capacity of a foundation is

usually obtained from an analysis of general shear failure

Design of Shallow Foundations (EC7)

Eurocode 7 (EC7) considers 4 methods in design:

• Design using presumed bearing values (first check)
• Design by calculation
• Theoretical approaches based on bearing capacity theory

• Design using load tests and experimental models

• Load tests on plates, piles, etc.. (need to take scale effects and
effects of load duration into account)

• Design by observational methods

• Monitor the behavior of a structure during construction to ensure that
settlements comply with the pre established constraints
 Presumed Bearing Values

• From BS 8004

• For initial estimates only, then need to calculate values