Foundation- purpose (civil engineering structure /machine) and types .

5.1 Shallow Foundations …(02marks)

Shallow foundation meaning types – spread, strap, combined, raft.

Pressure distribution beneath rigid footing.

IS criteria for depth of foundation
5.2 Deep Foundations …(02marks)
Meaning of deep foundation, Use and classification of piles, Under-reamed piles, Well foundation
– type, Caissons, Pier foundations
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Difference between Foundation and Footing:

Foundation is substructure below the ground. It is rested on foot i.e footing.
Footings are structural supports that is part of foundation. It help to transfer the load
from the foundation into the soil. Footers are typically in direct contact with the
ground, while the foundation is in contact with the footing and superstructure.

Foundation: It is a part of structural system that supports and anchors the

superstructure and transmits loads directly to the earth or strata.

Types of Foundation: -
1. Shallow foundation
2. Deep foundation

Shallow foundation
Definition: If the depth of foundation is less than the width of foundation then it is
known as Shallow Foundation.
A shallow foundation system generally used when the hard soil strata is at
shallow depth and has sufficient bearing capacity.
Types of shallow foundation
1.spread footing: (either for Column or for Wall)
a) Isolated spread footings: It is provided under individual columns which
can be square, rectangular or circular.
 Single pad footing for a column
 Stepped footing for a column.
 Sloped footing for a column
2. Continuous footing : It is a continuous slab/ strip along the length of wall.
 Continuous wall footing without step.
 Continuous wall footing with Stepped
3. Combined footings: support two or more columns. These can be rectangular or
trapezoidal in plan. A combined footing is necessary in following three reasons:
 Columns are placed very close to each other so that their individual footings
overlap each other
 When bearing capacity of soil is less so it is required to have a more spread area for
footing and so footing of adjacent column may overlap
 When external column is close to property line, it is not possible to provide
isolated footing for that column because it may be extended beyond the property line
and so combined footing solves the problem
 The essential condition to satisfy in combined footing is that, centroid of footing
area should coincide with resultant of column loads so that soil pressure distribution
is uniform under soil.

Types of combined footing:

 Combined footing (Rectangular):
 Combined footing (Trapezoidal): If outer column near property line carries a
heavier load .
4. Strap or Cantilever Footing
 Strap footings are similar to combined footings.
 In strap footing, the foundation under the columns is built individually and
connected by a strap beam. Generally, when the edge of the footing cannot be
extended beyond the property line, the exterior footing is connected by a strap beam
with interior footing.

5. Raft / mat foundation:

 This is a large continuous footing supporting all the columns of the structure.
 This is used when soil conditions are poor but piles are not used. Raft foundation is provided
 When load transmitted by columns are so heavy or allowable soil pressure are so small that
individual footings if provided would cover more than about half of the area, then it is better to
provide a continuous footing called raft foundation under all columns and walls
 Raft foundations are used to reduce settlement of structure located above heavy compressible
deposits i.e. they control differential settlement
Pressure distribution below the footing -
Contact Pressure and settlement
The stability of structure is majorly depending upon soil and foundation
interaction. Even though they are of different physical nature, they both must be act
together to get required stability. So, it is important to know about the contact
pressure developed between soil and foundation and its distribution in different
conditions.
Generally, loads from the structure are transferred to the soil through footing.
A reaction to this load, soil exerts an upward pressure on the bottom surface of the
footing which is termed as contact pressure.
The distribution of contact pressure under different types of footings on different
types of soils are explained below.
1. Flexible Footing: e.g earth embankment
2. Rigid Footing: e.g. concrete foundation
Factors Effecting Contact Pressure Distribution:
1.Stiffness of Footing: Contact pressure is uniform in case of flexible footings such as
earth embankments. Contact pressure varies in case of rigid foundations such as
R.C.C pad foundations etc. If the footing is partly flexible and partly rigid like raft
foundation, contact pressure slightly varies.
2.Compressibility of soil: If the soil is coarse grained, contact pressure is more at the
center of foundation than edges where as in case of clayey soils contact pressure is
uniform.
3.Type of loading: a) If concentrated loading is applied at the center of foundation
resting on cohesive soil, contact pressure is not uniform irrespective of stiffness of
foundation. For flexible foundation, contact pressure is maximum exactly under the
load application. For rigid foundations, contact pressure is maximum at edges.
b) Uniform Loading  Contact pressure distribution under uniform loading and
deformed patterns of flexible and rigid foundations are already explained above with
figures of flexible and rigid footing.

Difference between rigid footing and flexible footing

Depth of foundation as per I.S. Criteria
The minimum depth of a foundation in India, as per IS 1904, is 50 centimetres below
the natural ground level (Natural Ground Level). This depth is required to ensure that
the foundation has a safe bearing capacity and an optimal frost depth.
The minimum depth of a foundation also depends on the type of soil or rock it's built
on:
 Sandy soil: The minimum depth of a foundation is 0.8–1 meter.
 Clayey soil: The minimum depth of a foundation is 0.9–1.6 meters.
 Rocky soil: The minimum depth of a foundation is 0.05–0.5 meters.
 Partially weathered, jointed, and sheared rocks: The foundation base should be
at least 0.5 meters inside the rock.
 Very low strength rock: The foundation material should be treated as soil and
the depth determined using IS 1904 provisions.
 Sound and massive rock: The foundation line should be above the frost
penetration limit.

Deep foundation
Definition: If depth of footing greater or equal to the width of footing, it is known
as the deep Foundation. Deep Foundation is used where the bearing capacity of the
soil is very low.
Types of deep foundation:
1.Pile foundation
2.Pier foundation
3.Caissons

1.Pile Foundation
 A pile is a slender column or member provided with a cap to receive the column
load and transfer it to undelaying soil layer / layers.
 It is used to transmit foundation loads to a deeper soil or rock strata when the
bearing capacity of soil near the surface is relatively low.
 Pile foundations are economical when Soil with higher bearing capacity is at a
greater depth. When the foundation is subjected to a heavily concentrated load
The foundation is subjected to strong uplift force, Lateral forces.
Classification/types of Pile foundation:

1) Based on the material:

a) Timber Piles: These piles are made up of wood. For these piles, seasonal Timber
wood is used. The diameter of the timber pile varies in between 20 to 50 cm.
b) Concrete Piles These piles are made up of concrete. The diameter of these pile
varies from 30 to 50 cm. Concrete piles are manufactured either by precast or cast in
situ method.
c) Steel Piles These files are generally in shape of ‘I’ or hollow section. It can be
easily driven in the soil because it has a very small cross-sectional area.
d)Composite Piles When the piles are made from more than one material they are
known as composite pile. These piles are made from concrete and wood.

2) Based on mode of load transfer:

a) End Bearing pile: They are driven till hard Strata or layer of Rock beds are made
available .The load is transmitted by piles end to the hard layer of soil.
b) Friction pile: These piles are used where the soil is soft at a considerable depth.
The load is transferred to the soil due to the friction produced between the soil and
pile contact.
c) Combined end bearing and friction pile: This pile transfers the super-imposed
load both through side friction as well as end bearing.
3)Based on the construction method and installation process
I) Based on the construction method
a) Precast pile: These piles are manufactured off-site in controlled environments,
cured and then transported to the construction site for installation. The process
involves casting concrete in reusable molds, allowing for consistent quality,
accuracy and precision. Various types of precast concrete piles exist to suit
different soil conditions and project requirements, such as driven piles and bored
piles.
 Screw Pile: Screw piles are wound into the ground. they are now used in rail, road,
tele-communications. Screw piles can bear large tensile and compression loads, so
they are often used for masts, and retaining structures

b) Cast in Situ pile: A cast-in-situ pile is a concrete pile that is assembled and cast
on-site, there are several types of cast-in-situ piles.
Under reamed pile- It is cast-in-situ concrete pile with an enlarged bulb at
bottom made by either cutting or scooping out soil or by any other suitable
process is called Under-Reamed Pile. Under-Reamed Piles are also called bored
cast-in-situ concrete piles. It is used where the soil is weak or expansive.Bulbs
should not be installed in black cotton soil below the water level.
Some characteristics of under-reamed piles:
 Bulb size: The bulb is usually 2 to 3 times the diameter of the pile stem.
 Bulb spacing: The spacing between bulbs should not be more than 1.5 times the
diameter of the bulb.
Advantages:
1.Under-reamed piles provide sufficient bearing or anchorage, resist uplift pressures,
and can handle downward, upward, and lateral loads.
2.When the number of bulbs are increased from one to two, the load carrying
capacity of the Under-Reamed Pile is increases

.
II) Based on the installation process:
a) Driven Piling: Driven piles are driven or hammered into the ground with the use
of vibration .
b) Bored Piling: Bored piles are installed by auguring into the ground forming a hole
into which concrete can be poured, thereby casting the pile in position or some times
precast pile may be insert in bore hole.

4)Based on Function or Use:

a) Compaction Piles: These are used to compact loose granular soil thus increasing
their bearing capacity.
b) Tension pile/Uplift piles: These piles anchor down the structure subjected to
uplift due to hydrostatic pressure or due to overturning moment
c)Load bearing pile: End-bearing piles are designed to bear and transfer heavy
vertical loads,
d) fender pile: These are used to protect water front structure against impact from
ships or other floating objects.
e) Batter pile: A pile driven at an angle with the vertical to resist a lateral force.
f) Sheet Piles: Used as impervious cut-off to reduce seepage and uplift under
hydraulic structures.
g) Anchor pile: It provides anchorage against horizontal pull from sheet piling.
Anchor piles can transfer both compressive and tensile forces as well as bending
moments to the ground
Diagram: Piles as per functions or use
 2.Pier foundation
Definition: Pier is a deep foundation structure above ground level that transmits
a more massive load, which cannot be carried by shallow foundations.
 It is usually shallower than piles.
 Pier foundation is a cylindrical structural member that transfer heavy load
from superstructure to the soil by end bearing
 Unlike piles, it can only transfer load by end bearing only .

Difference between Pile and Pier foundation

Pile foundation Pier foundation
Piles are always below the ground level Piers are always above the ground
Larger in length and smaller in diameter Smaller in length and larger in diameter
Adopted when there is no hard bearing Adopted when there is hard bearing strata
strata of soil available at reasonable depth of soil available at reasonable depth but
other types of foundation construction is
not economical
Piles are driven through overburden soil Pier is drilled by drilling machine
into load bearing strata
Transfers full load through both bearing Transfers full load through bearing action
and friction action only only
Constructed at greater depth Constructed at shallower depth
Resist greater intensity of load Resist smaller intensity of load
3.Caissons
Definition: A caisson is a watertight box-like structure that is used in
construction projects to work underwater or as a foundation.
 When ground surface in water is levelled then this type of caisson is to be used
. If the caisson is to be supported on a group of piles, all the piles are made to the
same height and a pile cap is made at the head. The caisson is usually supported on a
sand carpet.The caisson is constructed on the ground at the shore of river and cured
on the ground itself then, the caisson is tied with a rope and pulled to sink in the right
place.The inner space of box caisson is filled with sand, gravel or concrete to
immerse the caisson. The head of the caisson is sealed with concrete. Then the
foundation is built on it. The bottom of the caisson is concreted on all sides to avoid
scoring of sand at bottom, using tremie pipe
Favourable conditions/ situation for construction of Box caisson foundation:
 When the base surface is already level.
 The velocity of water flow is slow.
 The depth of water is 6 to 8 m.
 The base material is loose so that it can be dug to create a flat holding
surface.
 hard layer is at a shallow depth and the water depth is shallow. Such
caissons are used for fewer loads. This type of caisson is used for the
construction of Quay walls, breakwater, etc

(Quay walls are usually earth retaining structures at which ships can berth. They can
be located on the sea, a lake or a river, inside a harbour or a canal, and are equipped
with the necessary superstructure (bollards, fenders, cranes, etc.) to allow the
common operations of transshipment of goods.)
( breakwater structures are used to protect the bank from erosion due to tides.)
This type of caisson is opened at the top and bottom. They are made of steel,
reinforced concrete or masonry. Such caissons are used as foundations of bridges and
buildings. Open caissons come in different shapes. It has a cutting edge at the
bottom. So that it is easy to sink the well.
The different shapes of the well caisson are given below:
 Components of well foundation/open caisson:
Steining:It is main body of well which transfer load to subsoil.
Curb: It is lower wedge like part of the Steining, it facilitates process of
sinking.
cutting edge: It is lowermost part of well curb, it cut soil while sinking.
Bottom plug: After sinking of well at required depth, base is filled or plugged
by concrete.
Dredge hole: wells hollow internal portion is called dredge hole which is
filling well by sand.
Top plug: it covers the top of the well, above the sand in dredge hole.it
transfer load from well cap to sand filling.
Construction process:
 Sinking of well
Wells sink into the ground by their own weight. The soil underneath the
cutting edge is removed by dredging or excavation of the soil inside the well
can be done by sending down workers inside the wells.
 Tilt and shift of well
A well's foundation can tilt vertically or shift horizontally.
Here are some methods to rectify tilt and shift:
1.Eccentric loading: Place eccentric loading on the higher side of the well. You can
construct a platform on the higher side for this purpose.
2.Water jetting: Apply water jets on the outer face of the well on the higher side to
reduce friction.
3.Pulling the well: In the early stages of sinking, place one or more steel ropes
around the well to pull it to the higher side.
4.Strutting the well: Use suitable logs of wood to strut the well on its tilted side.
5.Pushing the well with jacks: Use mechanical or hydraulic jacks to push the well
6. kentledge loading: As the well sinks deeper, the skin friction on the sides
increases. To counteract this, additional loading, called kentledge, is applied to the
well. Kentledge can be made of iron rail, sand bags, or concrete blocks.
 Pnumatic Cassion:

This type of caisson is closed at the head and open at the bottom. Some part of its
bottom is free from external environment. This part is called the working chamber.
The working chamber is pressurized so that water or mud from the bottom cannot
enter the caisson. That is, the air pressure in the working chamber is slightly higher
than the water pressure at that surface.
Pneumatic caissons are useful when wells cannot be used as a foundation. Pneumatic
caissons are especially useful where there are boulders, pressed wood, masonry, etc.
in the ground.
Two shafts are generally kept in the caisson. One shaft is used for the movement of
labourers and the other shaft is used to extract the excavated material.
Often a third shaft is also used to lay the concrete to seal the bottom, each shaft has
an airlock system at the head.
Each airlock has two doors. One door opens into the atmosphere and the other door
opens into the working chamber.
When the worker enters the airlock from the outside, the air pressure in the airlock
is equal to the atmospheric pressure.
Now by closing the door that opens into the atmosphere, the pressure in the airlock is
gradually increased.
When the air pressure in the airlock is equal to the pressure in the working chamber,
the door to enter the chamber is opened and the laborer can reach the working
chamber through a ladder placed in the shaft.
The opposite process has to be done to get out from the working chamber.
Difference between caissons and cofferdam
IKS (Indian knowledge system)
Well foundation: