Chapter II

Types of Foundation and Their Selection

By Gashaw Haile +251912377796/[email protected]

 Introduction
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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Purposes Of Foundations
i. To distribute the load of the structure
over a large bearing area so as to bring Concentrated Load
intensity of loading within the safe
bearing capacity of the soil lying
underneath.
ii. To load the bearing surface at a Distributed Load
uniform rate so as to prevent
differential settlement.
iii.To increase the stability of the
structure as a whole.
i. To prevent the lateral movement of the
supporting material.
ii. To secure a level and firm bed for
building operations.
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1. Types of Foundations
Foundations can be broadly classified into
the following two categories:
–Shallow foundations
»(Df/B<1)
–Deep foundations
(Df/B>1)

firm ground weak soil

bed rock bed rock 4
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:
A. Spread/Isolated/pad footings
B. Combined footing
C. Strap/Cantilever footing
D. Strip /Continuous or wall footing
E. Raft/Mat foundation

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 A. Spread or Isolated or pad Footings:
– 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, single type or slope type
• They can be Circular, Square and Rectangular in shape
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B. Combined Footing:
– Supports two or sometimes three column in a row.
• Combined footing is used
– When property lines, equipment locations, column spacing or
• Proportioning two isolated footings with common influence zone
• Under two footings separated by expansion joint
• 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.

Property line

? ?

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Very Close to each other
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C. 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 & high concrete volume.
• The strap beam does not remain in contact with soil so a
strap itself doesn’t transfer any pressure to the soil.
A
Strap beam A

a1 a2

b1 b2

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D. Continuous | wall footing | 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.
• Used mostly under masonry or brick walls

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 E. Mat (Raft) Foundation:
 Is a combined footing that covers the entire area beneath a
structure and supports all the columns.
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.
 The lateral loads are not uniformly distributed through the structure
and thus may cause differential horizontal movement in spread
footings.
 The uplift loads are larger than spread footings can accommodate.
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 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.

In multistory buildings Mat Foundations are usually used in conjunction with pile
foundations .

Burji khalifa
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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.

• Number & structural Design in Foundation II

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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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Reinf. concrete pile foundation Timber pilefoundation Steel pile foundation

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 .

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.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
Pier- cast in-situ
Precast

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• Selection of Foundation Type
– In selecting the foundation type the following points must be
considered
– 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.

– 1. Obtain at least approximate information concerning

the nature of the superstructure and the loads to be
transmitted to the foundation
– 2. Determine the subsurface condition in a general way.
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 3. Requirements of Foundation
• 1. Strength Requirement
– Ability to accommodate various forces & moments
• External Stability
– BC, bending, sliding
• Internal Stability [Structural Design]
– Bending, Shear (Punching & WBS) --> thickness & reinforcement of
foundation
• 2. Serviceability requirement
• Maximum Settlement & Differential settlement should not exceed
allowable limits
• 3. Constructability

• 4. Economic Requirement
• Type & design of foundation should be economical
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GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FOUNDATION DESIGN

• The usual approach to a normal foundation-engineering problem

is:

– To prepare a plan of 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 there 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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• 3.2 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.

Pressure distribution under a rigid footing

a) On cohessionless soil (sand)
b) On cohesive soil (clayey)
Approximate contact pressure distribution assumed in analysis &
design of Foundation

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 Eccentric Loads or Moments

For contact pressure to remain 6eB 6eL

  1.0
(+) ve every where, B L 24
 3.3 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
Differential settlement pose more danger to stability of the building.
Permissible limits are specified by EBCS-7
•Based on the performance of the structure & type of soil
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•Recommendations on Permissible limits

Indian Code

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

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

ii) Angular distortion on clay 

a) isolated footings /l = max/1000, max  3.3inches
L
b) rafts /l = max/1250, max  4 1/4inches

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2. Recommendation of Bowles
– Maximum settlement

Type of foundations
Types of soil Isolated Rafts
Sand 3.8cm 3.8-6.4cm
clay 6.4cm 6.4cm-10.2cm

3. Recommendation of EBCS7-1995
 Maximum settlement
Types of soils Isolated rafts
Sand 5.0cm 5.0cm
clay 7.5cm 7.5cm
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 4. Depth of Foundation
• Depth of foundation is function of BC of soil.
However the following consideration shall be met.
• Consider
1. Avoid Zone of significant volume changes in soil.
• Top Soil & Expansive clay soils
• Volume changes usually insignificant below a depth from 1.5-
3.0 m and does not occur below volume changes.
2. Ground water - As far as possible above GWT
• Raising GWT reduces in BC and results dampness
3. Underground defects [faults, caves, holes(animal &
termite)]
4. Scour depth of streams [erosion of streams] 30
 5. Adjacent structures and property lines.
• Excavation for large structures may affect nearby
structures
• After new foundations have been constructed, the (new)
loads they place on the soil may cause settlement of
previously existing structures as a result of new stress
pattern in the surrounding soil.
• 6. Slopping ground

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  NGL
Df
 450  New Footing  450

 Existing Footing
• Any footing must be outside the influence zone or
provide braced Excavation
 Preferred at the same elevation

 Existing Footing  450  New Braced

Excavation

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Minimum depth of Foundation

EBCS-7 1995
minimum depth of foundation =0.7m. (0.2m site
clearing +0.5m depth))

However in case of rocks only the top surface may be

removed

Rankine Recommendation
Minimum depth of foundation

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Thank you

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