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Geotechnical Engineering: Hernandez, Gene Bryant V. Pangdan, Katherine Mae P. Pascual, John Casimir T

The document discusses various types of shallow foundations used in the Philippines, including spread footing foundations, mat-slab foundations, slab-on-grade foundations, rubble trench foundations, and earthbag foundations. It provides details on the design, application, advantages, and construction methods of each type of shallow foundation.

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Kenneth Repas
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165 views

Geotechnical Engineering: Hernandez, Gene Bryant V. Pangdan, Katherine Mae P. Pascual, John Casimir T

The document discusses various types of shallow foundations used in the Philippines, including spread footing foundations, mat-slab foundations, slab-on-grade foundations, rubble trench foundations, and earthbag foundations. It provides details on the design, application, advantages, and construction methods of each type of shallow foundation.

Uploaded by

Kenneth Repas
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Hernandez, Gene Bryant V.

Pangdan, Katherine Mae P.


Pascual, John Casimir T.

GEOTECHNICAL
ENGINEERING
Objective
 To determine which shallow foundation
is economical in the Philippines
Introduction
 A foundation (also called a groundsill) is a structure that
transfers loads to the earth. Foundations are generally broken
into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.
Footings are designed to have an adequate load capacity with
limited settlement by a geotechnical engineer, and the footing
itself is designed structurally by a structural engineer.

 The primary design concerns are settlement and bearing


capacity. When considering settlement, total settlement and
differential settlement is normally considered. Differential
settlement is when one part of a foundation settles more than
another part. This can cause problems to the structure the
foundation is supporting. It is necessary that a foundation not be
loaded beyond its bearing capacity or the foundation will "fail".
 Other design considerations include scour and frost heave. Scour
is when flowing water removes supporting soil from around a
footing (like a pier supporting a bridge over a river). Frost heave
occurs when water in the ground freezes to form ice lenses.

 Changes in soil moisture can cause expansive clay to swell and


shrink. This swelling can vary across the footing due to seasonal
changes or the effects of vegetation removing moisture. The
variation in swell can cause the soil to distort, cracking the
structure over it. This is a particular problem for house footings in
semi-arid climates such as South Australia, Southwestern US,
Turkey, Israel, Iran and South Africa where wet winters are
followed by hot dry summers. Raft slabs with inherent stiffness
have been developed in Australia with capabilities to resist this
movement.
 When structures are built in areas of permafrost, special
consideration must be given to the thermal effect the
structure will have on the permafrost. Generally, the
structure is designed in a way that tries to prevent the
permafrost from melting.
TYPES OF SHALLOW
FOUNDATION
Spread footing foundation
 Spread footing foundations consists of
strips or pads of concrete (or other
materials) which transfer the loads from
walls and columns to the soil or bedrock.
Embedment of spread footings is controlled
by several factors, including development of
lateral capacity, penetration of soft near-
surface layers, and penetration through
near-surface layers likely to change volume
due to frost heave or shrink-swell.
Application
These foundations are
common in residential
construction that includes a
basement, and in many
commercial structures. But
for high rise building it is not
sufficient.
Mat-slab foundations
 Mat-slab foundations are used to distribute
heavy column and wall loads across the
entire building area, to lower the contact
pressure compared to conventional spread
footings. Mat-slab foundations can be
constructed near the ground surface, or at
the bottom of basements. In high-rise
buildings, mat-slab foundations can be
several meters thick, with extensive
reinforcing to ensure relatively 
Slab-on-grade foundation
 Slab-on-grade foundations are a structural
engineering practice whereby the concrete
slab that is to serve as the foundation for the
structure is formed from a mold set into the
ground. The concrete is then placed into the
mold, leaving no space between the ground
and the structure. This type of construction is
most often seen in warmer climates, where
ground freezing and thawing is less of a
concern and where there is no need for heat
ducting underneath the floor.
Advantage
The advantages of the slab
technique are that it is cheap
and sturdy, and is
considered less vulnerable to
termite infestation because
there are no hollow spaces
or wood channels leading
from the ground to the
structure (assuming wood
siding, etc., is not carried all
the way to the ground on the
outer walls).
Rubble Trench foundation
 The rubble trench foundation, a construction
approach popularized by architect Frank Lloyd
Wright, is a type of foundation that uses loose
stone or rubble to minimize the use of concrete and
improve drainage. It is considered more
environmentally friendly than other types of
foundation because cement manufacturing requires
the use of enormous amounts of energy. However,
some soil environments (such as particularly
expansive or poor load-bearing (< 1 ton/sf) soils)
are not suitable for this kind of foundation.
The rubble-trench foundation is a
relatively simple, low-cost, and
environmentally-friendly alternative to
a conventional foundation, but may
require an engineer's approval if
building officials are not familiar with
it. Frank Lloyd Wright used them
successfully for more than 50 years in
the first half of the 20th century, and
there is a revival of this style of
foundation with the increased interest
in green building.
Earthbag foundation

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