4.1.

FOUNDATIONS AND SOIL

EXPLORATION
 is that part of the structure which is in
direct contact with the ground to which the loads are
transmitted.

q The function of a foundation is to distribute the load of

superstructure over a larger area, in such a way that;
 A foundation should be sufficiently strong to prevent
excessive settlement as well as unequal settlement.
 Unequal settlement or differential settlement may be
caused by:
 Foundation distribute the loads of
superstructure, to a larger area so that the intensity of the load
at its base does not exceed the safe bearing capacity of the
sub-soil.
foundations distribute the non uniform
load of the superstructure evenly to the sub soil.
foundations provide leveled and
hard surface over which the superstructure can be built.
it anchors the superstructure to the ground, thus
imparting lateral stability to the superstructure.
it provides safety against scouring
due to burrowing animal and flood water.
minimizes the distress on
the superstructure due to expansion or contraction of sub-soil
because of moisture movement in some problematic soil.
1. The foundations shall be constructed to sustain all loads
and transmit them to the sub soil with out causing settlement
which would impair the stability of the building or adjoining
structure.
2. Foundation base should be rigid so that differential
settlements are minimized, specially for the case when
super-imposed loads are not evenly distributed.
3. Foundation should be taken sufficiently deep to guard the
building against damage or distress caused by swelling or
shrinkage of sub-soil.
4. Foundations should be so located that its performance
may not be affected due to any unexpected future
influence.
Foundations may be broadly classified under two heads:

 Shallow foundations are those founded near to the finished

ground surface.
.
when surface soils are
sufficiently strong and stiff to support the imposed loads.
u n s u i t a b l e i n we a k o r h i g h l y
compressible soils, such as poorly-compacted fill, peat,
alluvial deposits, etc.
q Deep foundations are those
for their

Ø This is usually at finished ground level.

Ø Deep foundations can be
 Isolated
Footings, Wall footings
(strip footings), Grillage
foundations
ü Spread footings are those which

ü Spread footings support either

ü They are most widely used foundation types since they do not
require

ü Spread footings may be of the following types:

Isolated Footings - These
footings are sometimes
known as column footings
and are used to
support the individual
columns, piers or other
concentrated load. Most
column footings are slab
footings with two-way
reinforcements and
constant depth.
 Wall footings (strip footings)
 Wall footings (strip footings) - Strip foundations are used to
support
. A wall footing may have a base
course of concrete; may be entirely built up of one material , e.g.
bricks or stones.
Wall footings (strip footings)

Fig. Strip Footings

Grillage foundations - They consist of
. They are generally
provided for heavily loaded steel column and used in locations where
bearing capacity of soil is poor.
Fig. Grillage Foundation
§ A which is
termed as
§ Footings of this type are most frequently used to

§ Combined footings are essential whenever:

Ø The projections of
and
Ø When the
for isolated footing.
§ The combined footing for columns will be
if they or for
Fig. Combined Footings
 If the independent it
is called a They serve the same function as combined
footings by permitting a column load to be placed near the edge of
the footing.
 It is used where a large spacing between two columns create a
situation where a continuous footing is uneconomical due to the usage
of large quantity of concrete.
 The doesn’t , and thus

, assumed to be , serves to
on the soil with and soil pressure under both
footings.
q A rigid beam connects the two pads to transmit the
unbalanced shear and moment from the statically
unbalanced footing to the second footing.

Fig. Strap Footings

 A raft or mat is a that
beneath a and
Rafts divided into three types, based on their design and
construction
i. Solid slab system: is a solid reinforced concrete slab generally
uniform thickness.
ii. Beam slab system: consists of up-stand or down-stand beams
that take the loads of the walls or columns and spread them.
iii. Cellular system: consists of top and bottom slab separated by
and reinforced with vertical cross ribs in both directions.
q Deep foundations are those founding too deeply below the
finished ground surface for their base bearing capacity to be
affected by surface conditions.
q This is usually at depths greater than 3m below finished ground
level.
q Deep foundations can be used to transfer the loading to deeper,
more competent strata at depth if unsuitable soils are present near
the surface.
q This is an element of a construction placed in the ground
either vertically or slightly inclined to increase the load
carrying capacity of the soil. Pile foundations may be
adopted:
I. Instead of raft foundation where no firm bearing strata
exists at any reasonable depth and the loading is
uneven.
II. When a firm bearing strata does not exist but at a depth
such as to make strip or spread footing uneconomical
III. When pumping of sub-soil water would be too costly or
timbering to excavations too difficult.
Piles commonly used in buildings are classified into:
 Classification based on basic design function
1a. End bearing piles - transfer load through
Such piles are used to carry heavy loads
safely to hard strata. Multi-storied buildings are invariably founded on
end bearing piles, so that the settlements are minimised.
1b. Friction piles - are used to transfer loads to a depth of a
along the length of
the pile. Such piles are generally used where the
depth of hard stratum is very great.
1c. Combined end bearing and friction piles - transfer the
superimposed load .
1d. Compaction piles - are used to , thus
increasing bearing capacity.
 Pile Foundations -
Classified based
on basic design
function
I. End bearing piles
II. Friction piles
III. Combined end bearing
IV. Compaction piles
2. Classification based on method of construction
2a. Replacement piles - These are often called since the
removal of the soil to form the hole for the pile is always carried out
by a boring technique.
2b. Displacement piles - These are often called since
they are usually driven into the ground displacing the earth around the
pile shaft.
 have the
following advantages and disadvantages:
 - piles made of
have the following advantages and disadvantages:
 - is a
.
Advantages and disadvantages of cast in situ concrete pile
are listed below:
 may be made of
Some of the attributes of steel piles are;
 Because of small sectional area, steel piles are easy to drive.
 They are mostly used as .
 It is usual to fill the tube with mass concrete to form a
composite pile.
 Consists of to support and
Transfer to the
 The difference between pile foundation and pier foundation

the load through and /or

the load only
 Pier foundation is than pile foundation
 Pier foundation is preferred in a
In such cases it
is difficult to drive the bearing piles through decomposed rock.
 Pier foundations are , which offer large
resistance to the driving of a bearing pile.
 In case of piers, the excavation can be carried to the desired depth
easily.

Drilled Pier/caissons
may be of three types:
(i). Concrete caisson
with enlarged bottom
(ii) Caisson of steel
pipe with concrete
filled in the pipe
(iii) Caisson with
concrete and steel
core in steel pipe
§ These are which are
to the desired depth.
§ Much than the pier foundations.
§ These are used for major foundation works, such as.

§ Well foundations or caissons are , which may

and .
§ The through
§ Well foundations are
 Excavation for Foundation

 There are steps that should be followed before

marking points of excavation. Some of them are;
and ,
and

 Steps in marking points of excavation is summarised as

follow:
 Excavation for Foundation
c) Mark the
d) Mark : lines making the inside
and outside of walls
e) Mark
,
f) By ,
g) If and all corners
are right angle,
 Since the soil being excavated has different properties
and the depths of excavation vary, there are different
ways used to
.
 Giving in trench
excavation and
or are among the methods used.
 Excavations of foundation trenches in ground having
pose great
problems. Excavations can be carried out by
Fig. Trench excavation
Excavation in Ground with Sub-soil Water
 Since the foundations have to transfer the load to ,
.
 Sub soil investigation is essential to gather information required
both for the and of foundation.
 Sub-soil investigation is done for the following purposes:
 An and
features is often helpful.
 In site reconnaissance a study of the following features is
useful:
 The object of site exploration is to provide reliable, specific and
detailed informa tion about the soil and ground wa ter
conditions for safe and economic design of foundations.
 Site exploration should yield precise information about the
following :
i. The order of occurrence and extent of soil and rock
strata,
ii. The nature and engineering properties of the soil and
rock, and
iii. The location of ground water and its variation

 Depth (Significant Depth) shall be up to the level where the

pressure increase will cause settlement or shear failure of
foundations.
 Significant depth depends on the type of structure, its weight, size,
shape and disposition of loaded areas, and the soil profile and its
properties
 The significant depth may be assumed to be equal to

1. Isolated spread footing or raft: 1.5 times the width

2. Adjacent footings with clear spacing less than twice the width: 1.5
times the length
3. Pile foundation: 10 to 30 meters , or more, or at least 1.5 times the
width of the structure.
4. Base of the retaining wall: 1.5 times the base width or 1.5 times the
exposed height of face of wall, which ever is greater.
5. Floating basements: depth of construction
 O p e n / Tr i a l p i t s a r e t h e
cheapest method of exploration.
 Biggest advantage: soil strata
can be inspected in their
natural condition and samples
(disturbed and undisturbed)
can be taken.

The cost of open excavation

increases rapidly with depth.
 Soil borings are probably the most common methods of subsurface
exploration.
 The following are the various boring methods commonly used:

 Augers are used in cohesive and other soft soils above water table.
 They may either be operated manually or mechanically.
 Hand Augers are used up to depth of 6m.
 Mechanically operated augers are used for greater depth and they
can also be used in gravely soil.
 Is a fast and simple method for
advancing holes in all types of
soils.
 Boulders and rocks can't be
penetrated by this method.

 Driving a casing with hollow

drilled rod with sharp chisel or
chopping bit
 Forcing water under pressure
 Resulting in Chopping and jetting
action
 Forcing the cutting up ward and
reviewing the color of wash
 Sounding methods consist of measuring the resistance of the soil
with depth by a means of PENETROMETER under static and
dynamic loading.
 The penetrometer may consist of a sampling spoon, a cone or
other shaped tool.
 The resistance to penetration is empirically correlated with some
of the Engineering properties of soil, such as density index,
consistency, bearing capacity etc.
 These tests are useful for general exploration of erratic soil
profiles, for finding depth to bed rock, to have an approximate
induction of the strength and other properties of the soil.
 The two commonly used tests are :
 They are used when

 These methods were developed in connection with

prospecting of useful
 The major method of geophysical investigations are:

and methods are the

most commonly used for civil engineering purpose
 The supporting power of a
soil or rock is refer to as its

 The ultimate bearing

capacity is the minimum
gross pressure intensity at
the base of the foundation at
which the soil fails in shear.
 The bearing capacity of soil can be determined by:
a) Analytical methods involving the use of soil parameter
b) Plate load test on soil
c) Penetration test
 Soil samples can be of two types:

 Disturbed sample is that in  Undisturbed sample is

which the natural structure that in which the natural
of soil gets partly or fully structure and properties
modified and destroyed. remain reserved.
 The soil sample is  The sample disturbance
representative of the depends upon the
natural soil by maintaining design of the samplers
the original proportion of and the method of
the various particles intact. sampling.