Foundations
Foundation is one of the most important parts of the
structure.
Foundation is defined as that part of the structure
that transfers the load from the structure as well as
its own weight over a large area of soil in such a
way that the load does not exceed the ultimate
bearing capacity of the soil and the settlement of
the total structure remains within a tolerable limit.
Foundation is the part of a structure on which the
building stands. The solid ground on which the
foundation rests is called the foundation bed.
Objectives of Foundation
• Distribute the weight of the structure over a large
area of soil.
• Avoid unequal settlement.
•Prevent the lateral movement of the structure.
• Increase structural stability.
Why There are Different Types of Foundation?
As we know that there are different types of soil and
bearing capacity of the soil is different for each individual
type of soil. So depending on the soil profile, size and load
of the structure, engineers chose different types of
foundation.
Two categories of Foundations
● SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS
● DEEP FOUNDATIONS.
The terms Shallow Foundation and Deep Foundation refer
to the depth of the soil at which the foundation is placed.
Generally, if the width of the foundation is greater than the
depth of the foundation it is labeled as “Shallow Foundation”
and If the width of the foundation is smaller than the depth of
the foundation it is called as “Deep Foundation
Main aspects for selecting different types of foundation.
● Terrain of site
● Soil condition( bearing capacity of soil)
● Building load
● Economic factors
Foundations Broadly classified into 2 types
● Shallow Foundation
● Deep Foundations
Shallow Foundation
● When the depth of the foundation is equal to or less
than the width of the foundation, it is termed as shallow
foundation. It is also known as open foundation
● A shallow foundation is placed immediately below the
super structure
● A footing is a foundation unit constructed in brick work,
stone masonry or concrete below the base of the wall or
column for the purpose of distributing the structural load
over a wide area
types of shallow foundations
1. Spread footing
2. combined footing
3. strap footing
4. matt or raft foundation
1. Spread footing
The spread footing are those which spread the super
imposed load of wall or column over a larger area. the
spread footing support either a column or a wall
the spread footing may be of the following kinds
● single footing for a column
● stepped footing for a column
● sloped footing (trapezoidal ) for a column
● wall footing without step
● stepped footing for wall
● grillage foundation
(i) Single footing for a column
● A spread footing for a single column is either known as
the isolated or pad footing
● In this case the footing may consist of a simple concrete
block projecting out from the column face on all sides
● the base dimensions of the concrete base should not be
less than twice the appropriate lateral dimension of the
column in that direction
● the thickness of concrete block should at least be equal
to side offset from the column face
(ii) Stepped footing for a column
● If the column load is more or is the safe bearing
pressure of the soil is less, the base will be large
● In such a case, it is necessary to provide masonry
offsets, to achieve larger spread, before the load is
transferred to the concrete base
● The height and width of each should be so proportioned
that the rate of spread does not exceed the permissible
value for the masonry
(iii) Sloped footing for a column
● These are also known as isolated or individual column
footings. they have the projection in the concrete base
due to low bending strength, the footing constructed
with brick, stone or plain concrete required
considerable depth to be safe to carry heavy loads
● the depth of plain concrete footing can be reduced
much by providing reinforcement at its base to take up
tensile stresses
● Rcc column footing may be circular, rectangular or
square in plan
(iv) wall footing without step
● It is also called strip footing, which provides a
continuous longitudinal bearing, thus a spread footing
for a continuous wall is called a strip footing
● When the wall carried light loads and the safe bearing
pressure is very high, width of the footing maybe very
small. in such a case, the wall directly rests on the
concrete base and no masonry offsets are provided
(v) Stepped footing for wall
● when the wall carries heavy loads and the safe bearing
pressure of the soil is not very high, the base width
required may be much greater
● in such a case, the masonry offsets are provided to
achieve larger spread, before the load is transferred to
concrete base
● in case of typical wall footings, the lowest course of
bricks will have twice the width of the wall above at
plinth level
● the base width of the wall is achieved by providing 5 cm
offsets on both side of the wall, the depth of each
course maybe 10 to 20 cm
(vi) Grillage foundations
● A Grillage foundation is an isolated footing generally
provided, when heavy structural loads from columns,
piers or steel stanchions are required to be transferred
to a soil having poor or low bearing capacity.
● it can be broadly divided into two categories, depending
upon the material used.
a) Steel Grillage Foundation
b) Timber Grillage Foundation
(a) Steel grillage foundation
Fig. 3.4 shows steel grillage foundation for steel
stanchion.
Steel grillage foundation consists of steel joints or
beams (Rolled Steel Joists — RSJ) which are provided
in single or double tiers.
A Minimum cover of 10cm. is kept on the outer sides
of the external beams as well as above the upper
flanges of the top tier.
the depth of concrete below the lower tier should be at
least 15 cm