4.

Foundation Types and Their

Selections

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• Definition: The lowest artificially built part
of a structure which transmits the load of
the structure to the ground is called
foundation.
• The foundation of a structure is always
constructed below ground level to increase
the lateral stability of the structure.

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firm
ground

bed rock weak soil

bed rock

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Types of Foundations
Foundations can be broadly classified into the following two
categories:
– Shallow foundations
– Deep foundations
1. Shallow Foundations :- The foundations provided immediately
beneath the lowest part of the structure, near to the ground
level are known as shallow foundations.
Shallow foundations are further classified into the following types:
» Spread or Isolated footings
» Combined footing
» Cantilever footing
» Continuous or wall footing
» Raft foundation

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 Spread or Isolated Footings: used to support individual
column.
• These are the most common type of foundation,
primarily because of their cost and ease of construction.
• They are most often used:
–in small to medium size structures,
– on sites with moderate to good soil conditions,
–on some large structures when they are located
at sites underlain by exceptionally good soil or
shallow bedrock.
• Isolated footings are stepped type, simple type or slope
type

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Combined Footing: supports two or sometimes
three column in a row.
• Combined footing is used when property lines,
equipment locations, column spacing or other
considerations limit the footing clearance at the
column locations.
• Combined footing can be:
• rectangular in shape if both the columns carry equal
loads, or
• trapezoidal if there is a space limitation and they
carry unequal loads.
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 A
A C
C

b b1 b2

a
a
Plan
Plan
Columns Columns
Footing
Footing

D D

a a

Section A.A Section C.C

Combined footing (rectangular) Combined footing (trapezoidal)

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Combined Footing

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Cantilever or Strap Footing: consists of two
individual footings connected by a beam called a
strap.
• Cantilever footing may be used:
• where the distance between the columns is so
great that a trapezoidal combined footing
becomes quite narrow, with resulting high
bending moments.
• The strap beam does not remain in contact with
soil so a strap doesn’t transfer any pressure to the
soil.
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12
A
A

a1 a2

b1 b2

Strap beam

D2
D1

b1 b2

Property line Section A-A

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Continuous or wall footing or strip
footing:
• In this type of footing, a single continuous
reinforced concrete slab is provided as
foundation of load bearing wall.
• A strip footing is also provided for a row of
columns which are so closely spaced that their
spread footings overlap or nearly touch each
other.

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 Columns
A
C

Wall b b

A
Plan C Plan

Wall
Column
Footing Footing

D D
b
b

Section A.A Section C-C

Wall on footing Columns on footing

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Wall Footing

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Mat (Raft) Foundation: is a combined footing that
covers the entire area beneath a structure and
supports all the columns.
• Foundation engineers often consider mats when
dealing with any one of the following conditions:
– The structural loads are so high or the soil
conditions so poor that spread footings would be
exceptionally large.
As a general rule of thumb, if spread footings would cover
more than 50 percent of the building footprint area, a mat
or some type of deep foundation will usually be more
economical.
– The soil is very erratic and prone to excessive
differential settlement.
– The structural loads are erratic, and thus increase
the likelihood of excessive differential settlement.

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– The lateral loads are not uniformly distributed through
the structure and thus may cause differential horizontal
movement in spread footings.

– The uplift loads are lager than spread footings can

accommodate.

– The bottom of the structure is located below ground

water table, so waterproofing is an important concern.
Because mats are monolithic, they are easier to
waterproof.

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Flat plate mat foundation Two-way beam and slab
(Ribbed mat)

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 2.Deep Foundations: When the soil at or near the
ground surface is not capable of supporting a structure,
deep foundations are required to transfer the loads to
deeper strata.
• Deep foundations are, therefore, used
»when surface soil is unsuitable for shallow
foundation, and a firm stratum is so deep
that it cannot be reached economically by
shallow foundations.
• The most common types of deep foundations are piles,
piers and caissons.

• Pile: is a slender structural member made of steel,

concrete or wood.
• A pile is either driven into the soil or formed in-situ
by excavating a hole and filling it with concrete.
•
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• Pier: A pier is a vertical column of relatively large
cross-section than a pile.
»A pier is installed in a dry area excavating a
cylindrical hole of large diameter to the
desired depth and then backfilling it with
concrete.
• Caisson: A caisson is a type of foundation of the shape
of hollow prismatic box, which is built above the
ground and then sunk to the required depth as a single
unit.
• It is a watertight box or chamber used for laying
foundation under water.
• A pier and caisson differ basically only in the method of
construction
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GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FOUNDATION DESIGN
• The usual approach to a normal foundation-engineering
problem is:

• To prepare a plan of the base of the structure showing the

various columns, load-bearing walls with estimated loads,
including dead load, live load, moments and torques
coming into the foundation units.

• To study the tentative allowable bearing pressures

allocated for the various strata below the ground level, as
given by the soil investigation report.

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• To determine the required foundation depth. This may
be the minimum depth based on soil strength or
structural requirement considerations.

• To compute the dimensions of the foundation based

on the given loading and allowable bearing pressure.

• To estimate the total and differential settlements of

the structure.

If these are excessive the bearing pressure will have to

be reduced or the foundation taken to a deeper and
less compressible stratum or the structure will have
to be founded on piles or other special measures
taken
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Loads on Foundation
• A foundation may be subjected to two or more of the
following loads.
• a) Dead load:
• Weight of structure
» All material permanently attached to structure
» Static earth pressure acting permanently against the
structure below ground surface.
» Water pressure acting laterally against basement walls and
vertically against slab.

• b) Live load: temporary loads expected to

superimpose on the structure during its useful life.

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• c) Wind load:- lateral load coming from the action of wind.
-Local building codes provide magnitude of design
wind pressure.

• d) Earth-quake load:- lateral load coming from earth- quake

motion.
-The total lateral force (base shear) at the base of a
structure is evaluated in accordance with local
building code.
• e) Dynamic load:- load coming from a vibrating object
(machinery).
– In such case, separate foundation should be provided. The
impact effect of such loads should be considered in design.

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Pressure Distribution Beneath Foundations
• This is the distribution of the pressure between the base of the
foundation and the ground.
• The pattern of the distribution varies according to the stiffness
of the foundation.

b)
a)

Pressure distribution under a rigid footing

a) On cohessionless soil
b) On cohesive soil
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a) b)

Pressure distribution under a flexible footing

a) On clay soil
b) On granular soil

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Approximate contact pressure
distribution
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Eccentric Loads or Moments

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Eccentric Loads or Moments

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Two-way Eccentric Loads or
Moments

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 ea
.
b eb

a
max
 = P/ab (16eb/b 6ea/a)
min
For contact pressure to remain (+) ve
everywhere,
6eB 6eL
+  1.0
B L 34
 Settlement of Foundations
l1 l2 l3

Ground Level
Original foundation level

1
 max
2 3
1,2,3 = Differential sett.,  = Greatest differential sett.
max = maximum total sett., l1,l2,l3= Bay width, /l = angular distortion
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 NO SETTLEMENT * TOTAL SETTLEMENT * DIFFERENTIAL
SETTLEMENT
Uniform settlement is usually of little consequence in a building, but
differential settlement can cause severe structural damage

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• From statistical analysis Skempton and MacDonald concluded
that as long as the angular distortion , /l of a building is less
than 1/300, there should be no settlement damage.

1. Recommendation of Skempton and MacDonald

i) Settlements on sand
a) isolated footings /l = max/600, max  2inches

b) rafts /l = max/750, max  2 1/2inches

ii) Settlements on clay
a) isolated footings /l = max/1000, max  3.3inches

b) rafts /l = max/1250, max  4 1/4inches

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2. Recommendation of Bowles

Types of soil Type of foundations

Isolated Rafts

Sand 3.8cm 3.8-6.4cm

clay 6.4cm 6.4cm-10.2cm

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3. Recommendation of EBCS7-1995

Types of Isolated rafts

soils
Sand 5.0cm 5.0cm
clay 7.5cm 7.5cm

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Selection of Foundation Type
• In selecting the foundation type the following points must be
considered
• Function of the structure
• Loads it must carry
• Subsurface conditions
• Cost of foundation in comparison with the cost of the
superstructure.
• Having these points in mind one should apply the following
steps in order to arrive at a decision.
• Obtain at least approximate information concerning
the nature of the superstructure and the loads to be
transmitted to the foundation
• Determine the subsurface condition in a general way.

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• Consider each of the usual types of foundations in order to judge
whether or not
• They could be constructed under existing conditions.
• They are capable of carrying the required load.
• They experience serious differential settlements.
• The types that are found to be unsuitable should then be
eliminated.
• Undertake a detailed study of the most promising types. Such a
study may require additional information on loads and subsurface
conditions.
• Determine the approximate size of footing or the approximate
length and number of piles required
• Prepare an estimate for the cost of each promising type of
foundation.
• Select the type that represents the most acceptable compromise
between performance and cost.

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