FOUNDATION

- This is the element that connects the building to the ground.

- It is located at the very bottom of the construction, in direct contact with the soil, and acts to transfer loads
safely from the building to the ground.
- The main reason behind the stability of any structure. The stronger is the foundations provides provide a
proper surface for the development of the substructure in a proper level and over a firm bed.
- “ the feet of the building”

Functions of Foundation in Construction

• Provide overall lateral stability for the structure

• Foundation serves the function of providing a level surface for the construction of the substructure
• Load distribution is carried out evenly
• The load intensity is reduced to be within the safe bearing capacity of the soil
• The soil movement effect is resisted and prevented
• Scouring and the undermining issues are solved by the construction of foundation

Requirements of a Good foundation

o The design and the construction of the foundation is done such that it can sustain as well as transmit the dead
and the imposed loads to the soil. This transfer has to be carried out without resulting in any form of
settlement that can result in any form of stability issues for the construction.
o Differential settlements can be avoided by having a rigid base for the foundation. These issues are more
pronounced in areas where the superimposed loads are not uniform in nature.
o Based on the soil and area it is recommended to have a deeper foundation so that it can guard any form of
damage or distress. These are mainly caused due to the problem of shrinkage and swelling because of
temperature changes.
o The location of the foundation chosen must be an area that is not affected or influenced by future works or
factors.

General Types of Foundations in Construction Projects

➢ Shallow Foundation
➢ Deep Foundation
Shallow Foundation

- Spread foundation
- A foundation system placed directly below the lowest part
of the substructure and transferrring building loads
directly to the supporting soil by vertical pressure.
- This are commonly used for smaller projects and when the
top layer of the soil can adequately handle the distribution
weight.
- Type of building foundation that transfer structural load to
the earth very near to the surface, rather than to a subsurfaceor a range of depths, as does a deep foundation.

Types of Shallow Foundation

• Strip Footing
The continuous spread footing of a foundation wall. It is a type of foundation used
to provide support for linear structures like walls or columns. It is used to distribute
the weight of a load-bearing wall over a floor area and can be made of plain or
reinforced concrete. It is most commonly used type of footing.

• Isolated Footing

It is a footing that is provided beneath a single column. It is used to transfer a

superstructure load through a reinforced concrete column to the soil underneath
without exceeding the bearing capacity of the soil and excessive settlement. It is used to support a single column’s
load. This are used when the column loads are light, the columns are not closely spaced, and the soil is homogenous.

• Raft Foundation

A mat providing providing a footing on yielding soil, usually for an entire building, placed so that the weight of the
displaced soil exceeds the weight of the construction. It is actually a thick concrete slab resting on a large area of soil
reinforced with steel, supporting columns or walls and transfer loads from the structure to the soil.

• Spread Footings

A concrete footing extended laterally to distribute

the foundation load over a wide enouh area that
the allowable bearing capacity of the supporting
soil is not exceeded.This are commonly utilized to
support each column of a building and the piers of
a bridge. Is comes in various forms and sizes,
including square, round, and rectangular.
 • Cantilever Footing

It is a type of combined footing that the cantilever actions is used to balance the eccentricity induced due to the
eccentricity of the column load.

• Grillage Footing

It consists of one or more tiers of beams superimposed at right angels to each other on a concrete layer to disperse load
over an extensive area.It is generally used for heavy structural columns, piers, and scaffolds, where the foundation is
expected tp disperse heavy loads over large areas.

Deep Foundation

- It is a type of foundation which is placed at a

greater depth below the ground surface and transfer
structure loads to the earth at depth.
- The foundation continue to a deeper depth
where there is a hard soil layer that can sustain the
applied loads or continuation up to the bedrock or
into the bedrock as specified by the design.

Types of Deep Foundation

• Driven Piles

Known as displacement piles. This are commonly used form of building foundation
that provide support for structure, transferring their load to layers of soil or rock that
have sufficient bearing capacity and suitable settlement characteristics.

Types of Driven Piles

• Steel
• Pre-cast Concrete
• Timber
• Composite
 • Bored Piles

This are reinforced concrete cylindrical structures cast in place

in a drilled/ bored hole.This are the most versatile types of
deep foundation due to their adaptability to many kinds of
ground conditions whether in land or offshore or in riverbeds.

• Buoyancy Rafts

Known as hollow box foundation, this are designed to provide a semi- buoyant or buoyant substructure beneath that
loads the soil at a reasonable frequently.

• Caisson Foundation

These are hollow substructure that are built on or near the surface and then buried as a single unit to the desired path.
The caisson is a foundation in the shape of a hollow prismatic box built above ground level and then buried in one
piece to the appropriate depth.

Kinds of Caisson

- Pen Caisson
- Pneumatic Caisson
- Floating Caisson

• Pile Foundation

These are foundations that use vertical pieces known as piles to carry the load to a lower level. It is a thin structural
component made of steel, concrete, or wood. This type of foundation is usually utilised. Load is carried to a pile
foundation via friction and bearing.
REFERENCE:

https://perfectcontracting.com.au/news/what-are-foundations-in-construction/

https://theconstructor.org/geotechnical/foundation-in-construction-purpose-functions/18963/

https://www.bigrentz.com/blog/types-of-foundations

https://testbook.com/civil-engineering/strip-footings-definition-diagram-and-formula

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https://foundation-specialists.com/services/special-technologies/bored-piles