FOUNDATION ENGINEERING

Grading:
Quiz: 30%
Midterm: 30%
Final: 40%

Lecturer: Assist. Prof. Dr. Mohsen SEYEDİ

SPRING 2025
References:
Contents:

1) Introduction

2) Natural Soil Deposits and Subsoil Exploration

3) Shallow Foundations: Ultimate Bearing Capacity

4) Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundations: Special Cases

5) Design of Single Column Foundations

6) Design of Mat Foundations

7) Lateral Earth Pressure

1) Introduction:

FOUNDATIONS: THEIR IMPORTANCE AND PURPOSE

All engineered construction resting on the earth must be carried by some kind of interfacing element called a
foundation. The foundation is the part of an engineered system that transmits to, and into, the underlying soil or
rock the loads supported by the foundation and its self-weight.

FOUNDATIONS: CLASSIFICATIONS AND SELECT DEFINITIONS

Foundations may be classified based on where the load is carried by the ground, producing:
Shallow foundations—termed bases, footings, spread footings, or mats. The depth is generally D/B < 1 but may
be somewhat more.
Deep foundations—piles, drilled piers, or drilled caissons. Lp/B > 4.

Footing vs Foundation:
The footing is a formation which is in contact
with the ground. Foundation is a structure
which transfers its gravity loads to earth from
superstructure. Footing can be analogized with
the feet of the leg.
Spread footing is a type of the shallow foundation. It Combined footings are constructed for two or more
is defined as the structural members used to support columns when they are close to each other and their
the column and walls as well as transmit and foundations overlap. The function of a footing or a
distribute the load coming on the structure to the soil foundation is to transmit the load form the structure to the
beneath it. underlying soil.
Raft foundation is a thick concrete slab reinforced with Grillage Foundation is a type of foundation often used
steel which covers the entire contact area of the structure at the base of a column. It consists of one, two or more
like a thick floor. ... Raft foundation is required where tiers of steel beams superimposed on a layer of concrete,
soils have low bearing capacity and have to support adjacent tiers being placed at right angles to each other,
heavy structural loads. while all tiers are encased in concrete.
Pile foundations are deep foundations. They are formed
by long, slender, columnar elements typically made from
steel or reinforced concrete, or sometimes timber.
A foundation is described as 'piled' when its depth is
more than three times its breadth

A caisson foundation also called as pier foundation is a

watertight retaining structure used as a bridge pier, in the
construction of a concrete dam, or for the repair of ships.

A cofferdam, also called a coffer, is an enclosure built

within, or in pairs across, a body of water to allow the
enclosed area to be pumped out. This pumping creates a
dry working environment so that the work can be carried
out safely.
2) Natural Soil Deposits and Subsoil Exploration

Introduction
To design a foundation that will support a structure, an engineer must understand the types of soil deposits that will support
the foundation. Moreover, foundation engineers must remember that soil at any site frequently is nonhomogeneous; that is, the
soil profile may vary. Soil mechanics theories involve idealized conditions, so the application of the theories to foundation
engineering problems involves a judicious evaluation of site conditions and soil parameters. To do this requires some
knowledge of the geological process by which the soil deposit at the site was formed, supplemented by subsurface
exploration. Good professional judgment constitutes an essential part of geotechnical engineering—and it comes only with
practice. This chapter is divided into two parts.
Purpose of Subsurface Exploration

The process of identifying the layers of deposits that underlie a proposed structure and their physical characteristics is
generally referred to as subsurface exploration. The purpose of subsurface exploration is to obtain information that will
aid the geotechnical engineer in:

1. Selecting the type and depth of foundation suitable for a given structure.

2. Evaluating the load-bearing capacity of the foundation.

3. Estimating the probable settlement of a structure.

4. Determining potential foundation problems (e.g., expansive soil, collapsible soil, sanitary landfill, and so on).

5. Determining the location of the water table.

6. Predicting the lateral earth pressure for structures such as retaining walls, sheet pile bulkheads, and braced cuts.

7. Establishing construction methods for changing subsoil conditions

The Standard Penetration Test (SPT)—ASTM D 1586: The standard penetration test (SPT) was developed in 1927
and it is perhaps the most popular field test. This test is useful for determining the relative density and the angle of
shear resistance. The SPT is performed by driving a standard split spoon sampler into the ground by blows from a drop
hammer of mass 63.5 kg falling 760 mm. The sampler is driven 152 mm (6 in.) into the soil at the bottom of a borehole,
and the number of blows (N) required to drive it an additional 304 mm is counted. The number of blows (N) is called
the standard penetration number. Also, different types of anvils, rods, and rod lengths are prevalent. Various corrections
are applied to the N values to account for energy losses, overburden pressure, rod length, and so on. It is customary to
correct the N values to a rod energy ratio of 60%. The rod energy ratio is the ratio of the energy delivered to the split
spoon sampler to the free-falling energy of the hammer. The corrected N values are denoted as N60 and given as
The Cone Penetrometer Test (CPT)—ASTM D5778
The cone penetrometer is a cone with a base area of 10
cm2 and cone angle of 60° that is attached to a rod. An
outer sleeve encloses the rod. The thrusts required to
drive the cone and the sleeve into the ground at a rate
of 2 cm/s are measured independently so that the end
resistance or cone resistance and side friction or sleeve
resistance may be estimated separately. Although
originally developed for the design of piles, the cone
penetrometer has also been used to estimate the
bearing capacity and settlement of foundations.
Consider a strip foundation with a width of B resting on the surface of a dense sand or stiff cohesive soil,
as shown in Figure 3.1a. Now, if a load is gradually applied to the foundation, settlement will increase.
The variation of the load per unit area on the foundation (q) with the foundation settlement is also shown
in Figure 3.1a. At a certain point—when the load per unit area equals —a sudden failure in the soil
supporting the foundation will take place, and the failure surface in the soil will extend to the ground
surface. This load per unit area, is usually referred to as the ultimate bearing capacity of the foundation.
When such sudden failure in soil takes place, it is called general shear failure.
If the foundation under consideration rests on sand or clayey soil of medium compaction (Figure 3.1b), an
increase in the load on the foundation will also be accompanied by an increase in settlement. However, in
this case the failure surface in the soil will gradually extend outward from the foundation, as shown by the
solid lines in Figure 3.1b.
When the load per unit area on the foundation equals movement of the foundation will be accompanied by
sudden jerks. A considerable movement of the foundation is then required for the failure surface in soil to
extend to the ground surface (as shown by the broken lines in the figure). The load per unit area at which this
happens is the ultimate bearing capacity, qu. Beyond that point, an increase in load will be accompanied by a
large increase in foundation settlement. The load per unit area of the foundation, is referred to as the first
failure load (Vesic, 1963). Note that a peak value of q is not realized in this type of failure, which is called
the local shear failure in soil.
If the foundation is supported by a fairly loose soil, the load–settlement plot will be like the one
in Figure 3.1c. In this case, the failure surface in soil will not extend to the ground surface.
Beyond the ultimate failure load, the load–settlement plot will be steep and practically linear.
This type of failure in soil is called the punching shear failure.
Terzaghi (1943) was the first to present a comprehensive theory for the evaluation of the ultimate bearing capacity of
rough shallow foundations. According to this theory, a foundation is shallow if its depth, is less than or equal to its width.
Later investigators, however, have suggested that foundations with equal to 3 to 4 times their width may be defined as
shallow foundations. Terzaghi suggested that for a continuous, or strip, foundation (i.e., one whose width-to-length ratio
approaches zero), the failure surface in soil at ultimate load may be assumed to be similar to that shown in Figure. The
effect of soil above the bottom of the foundation may also be assumed to be replaced by an equivalent surcharge, (where
is a unit weight of soil).
The failure zone under the foundation can be separated into three parts:

1. The triangular zone ACD immediately under the foundation

2. The radial shear zones ADF and CDE, with the curves DE and DF being arcs of a logarithmic spiral
3. Two triangular Rankine passive zones AFH and CEG

The angles CAD and ACD are assumed to be equal to the soil friction angle φ' . Note that, with the replacement of the
soil above the bottom of the foundation by an equivalent surcharge q, the shear resistance of the soil along the failure
surfaces GI and HJ was neglected.
Using equilibrium analysis, Terzaghi expressed the ultimate bearing capacity in the form:
For foundations that exhibit the local shear failure mode in soils, Terzaghi suggested the following modifications:
Calculating the gross allowable load-bearing capacity of shallow foundations requires the application of a factor of safety
(FS) to the gross ultimate bearing capacity, or:

The factor of safety should be at least 3 in all cases.

The ultimate bearing capacity equations that were mentioned before are for continuous, square, and circular foundations
only; they do not address the case of rectangular foundations. Also, the equations do not take into account the shearing
resistance along the failure surface in soil above the bottom of the foundation. In addition, the load on the foundation may
be inclined. To account for all these shortcomings, Meyerhof (1963) suggested the following form of the general bearing
capacity equation:
Bearing Capacity Factors:
Example:
A square foundation is 2m×2m in plan. The soil supporting the foundation has a friction angle of φ'=25° and c’=20 KN/m2. The
unit weight of soil, γ, is 16.5 KN/m3. Determine the allowable gross load on the foundation with a factor of safety (FS) of 3.
Assume that the depth of the foundation (Df) is 1.5 m and that general shear failure occurs in the soil. Use Meyerhof method.