Foundation Prep Work

Site Investigation
Site investigations should always be done before any design work, in order to obtain
geotechnical information, parameters, and data about the site. Site investigation reports usually
include location of the proposed structure, size of the proposed structure, site surveys, possible
loads, topography, history of the site, overall stability of site, material composition and data of
site (ex. Standard penetration test counts), soil and ground conditions of the site, surface drainage
conditions, and moisture content. Site investigation reports should also include an appraisal
section of whether there are any adjacent existing foundations, due to their effects on the
proposed structure.
For shallow foundations, tests that should be done include determining maximum shear capacity
for bearing capacity and determining settlements and moisture content. The structure should be
investigated to a depth of 1.5 times the width of the footing area or building for shallow
foundations.
For deep foundations, tests that should be done include using boreholes to determine piles
suitability and determining bearing capacity and settlements. For deep foundations, investigation
should continue down 3m beyond top of bedrock in order to determine whether the thickness of
the rock layer is sufficient.
The following information should be determined for the corresponding structural activities.
Soil
- Permeability
- Stability of excavation
- Shear strength of retaining
structures

Clay
- Stability of excavation
- Shear strength of retaining structures
Excavation
- Strength of clay and possibility of reusing
material as fill
- Shear strength of footing for bearing
- Shear strength of footing for
Shallow
capacity
bearing capacity
footings
- Consolidation for settlements
- Loading tests for settlements
- Moisture content and plasticity tests
- Long-term test pile for bearing capacity
- Test piles for bearing capacity and
Deep
and settlement
settlements
foundations
- Boreholes
- Boreholes
- Shear strength of clay
Contamination Investigation
Contamination of land can occur from chemical, biological, or physical pollutants from land use
and pollutants migrating from adjacent land uses by water or air. They can be combustible, toxic,
metallic, or chemical. These pollutants (solid, gas, liquid) can cause harm to living organisms,
waters, or property.

In order to alleviate contamination, disposal or treatment of contaminated soil should be done

during excavation and replacing soil with clean fill or decreasing concentrated contaminated soil
by blending it with clean soil. The method of remediation depends on the characteristic of the
contaminant and the target. One can remove the contamination completely, decrease
contamination concentrations or risk to below the required level, or remove the pathway (the
path in which contaminants undertake to reach the site).

Excavation
o Contaminated soil can be excavated to a disposal or treatment plant. The site will
then be replaced with clean fill material. This method is expensive but expenses
can be cut by excavating only a certain amount of excavated material down to a
cut off level and then filling the site back in with clean fill.

Blending
o Contaminated soil is mixed with clean material. This can decrease the
contamination concentration, until it reaches an acceptable level. This method is
more cost effective since a certain amount of soil needs only be replaced by clean
material.

Isolation
o Isolation techniques include sheeting piling, barriers, slurry trenches and jet
grouting.

Foundation Types
1. Shallow Foundations
Types: Strips, Pads, Rafts
Shallow Foundations are common in construction and are inexpensive due to their lightweight
properties. It is usually not required to employ heavy equipment for constructing shallow
foundations.
Situations where they should be used in:
Shallow foundations are used when the strata at shallow depths is strong and has enough bearing
capacity to support the above building loads, with respect to reasonable differential settlements.
The strong strata must be consistent at the shallow depth, so that settlement can be relatively
small.

Rock or dense sand or gravel that goes towards great depths

o However, it should be noted that shallow foundations should not be
designed below GWT and when there are great uplift conditions. The more
moisture content is in he soil, the less resistance the foundation gives to the above
loads.

Firm clays at shallow depths lying on top of soft clays that go towards great depths

Uniform firm clays when there are no trees around the proximity of the foundation
structure and around temporary works and where loads can be distributed on the surface
area of the foundation

Situations where they can be used in with ground improvement techniques:

Loose sands and soft clays at great depths

o Ground improvement should be used because towards the greater depths,
groundwater level changes. Also, vibration of equipment can cause overall and
differential settlement.

Peat
o Consider the acidity of soil when implementing ground improvement techniques

Fill
o More appropriate if the fill is well compacted which will create a higher bearing
capacity

Stiff or high density sand or clay on top of soft clay lying over compact clays at great
depths

Sloping site where sloping effects should be considered and support, such as ground
improvement and temporary works, should be used to construct the foundation

Site with high GWT where dewatering techniques should be used

2. Deep Foundations
Types: Piles (Click to learn the different types of piles)
Deep foundations are heavy foundation structures used to transmit heavy loads created from

loading and self-weight of the superstructure into the soils of the deep stratum. They can prevent
large differential settlements that will affect the strength and robustness of the building.
Information that need to be included during scheme design consist of:

Number of piles

Diameter of piles

Thickness of pile caps

Situations where they should be used in:

Deep foundations are used when the strong strata is located at a depth and piles, caissons, or
piers are driven or bored to the strong strata so that structural columns or walls can transmit
loads directly to the rock strata. Deep foundations are also used when the soils between the
surface and the rock strata has high settlement rate, such as peat and silt. Loads are transmitted
and resisted by end-bearing and skin friction.

Weak soil stratum or loose sand underneath strong or weak stratum

o Driving piles can also help to increase the density of sand and stiffness of clay

Uniform stiff and firm clays, with trees at the proximity of the foundation
o Even though trees can affect the shrinkage and expansion of soil, trees will not
affect the foundation negatively due to piling.

Peat
o Consider drag on piles and acidicity of soil when implementing ground
improvement techniques

Suitable for high water tables and uplift conditions

o Deep foundations do not need as much dewatering as shallow foundations
o Bored piles should be cased to prevent water damage to piles
o Temporary works should be carefully designed for the stability of the foundation

Stiff or high density sand or clay on top of soft clay lying over compact clays at great
depth

Soft clay on top to stiff clay at great depths

o Use deep bored piles with casing

Proposed foundation is close to adjacent building

o Use sleeves with the piles to prevent surcharge or undue stress onto the adjacent
existing foundation and building superstructure

Sloping site where temporary works design and sloping effects should be considered

If applied building loads are more than the allowable bearing capacity, ground
improvement techniques should be used to strengthen the foundation or the soil strata. One
method is the use of vibro replacement stone columns. This technique increases the bearing
capacity and decreases soil settlement. Crushed coarse aggregates are to be placed by
vibrators into areas of soil where bearing capacity needs to be increased. Not only do the
aggregate replaces the soil that carries low bearing capacity, the aggregates induce
additional pressure onto the soil and the vibrator increases the density of the soil by
compaction of air pores in the soil, which increases the bearing capacity.

Foundation: Design
Foundation design can be done using the following two methods.
1. Using Elastic Theory, loads are assigned and applied onto the soil surrounding the
foundation. The soil, with its particular Youngs Modulus and Poissons Ratio, is
calculated for its deformation, which is dependent on the soils stiffness, due to a given
pressure over a given area.
2. Using Subgrade Reaction Method, a series of springs are assigned onto the soil. These
independent springs, that simulates as soil mass with different stiffness properties,
function as resistance to loads applied to the superstructure or foundation elements. This
method is usually used for raft foundations.
The foundation design is based on unfactored loads. It will be designed to have load bearing
capacity capable of supporting the superstructure loads and, at the same time, have limited
amounts of settlement. Bearing capacity is the ability or the maximum pressure of the foundation
to support loads, without failure in shear.
Stress can be induced by the differential settlement between new and existing foundations,
between different foudnation types, and unexpected ground conditions. Maximum allowable
settlement for low rise buildings should be 25mm. And the allowable settlement to distance ratio
should be less than 1:300. For tall buildings, differential settlement should govern where
settlement should be limited to a maximum of L/150 for differential settlement (where L is the
distance between columns or walls)
Groundwater must be controlled, during and after construction. This is because the change in

groundwater can change the water table of the soil and affect the moisture content.
Typical soil properties
Undrained conditions are when pore water pressures within soil are supporting applied forces in
the short term. Undrained conditions are often considered for fine grained soils. However, for
granular soils above the water table, pore water pressures are not accounted for due to pore water
draining quickly. Drained conditions will then be used for granular soils, as well as, for
conditions where pore water have drained in the long term.
Typical allowable bearing capacity
Description
Safe bearing capacity (kN/m^3)
Limestones and hardstones
Up to 3000
Stiff clays
150-300
Firm clays
75-150
Soft clays and silts
<75
Compact or gravel
600
Medium dense gravel and sandy gravel
200-600
Loose gravel and sandy gravel
<200
Compact sand
300+
Medium dense sand
100-300
Loose sand
<100
Firm organic
20-40
Source: Structural Engineer's Pocket Book, 2nd Edition: British Standards Edition
Equations for allowable bearing for shallow foundations
Area of foundation = Applied loads/Allowable bearing pressure
Shallow foundations on undrained cohesive clay
qallowable = 2Cu (on undrained cohesive soil yf = 2.5)
Shallow foundations on drained gravel
qallowable = 10N
Pad footing on dry soil (yf =3)
qallowable = 7N
Strip footing on dry soil (yf =3)
qallowable = qallowable/2
when the foundation is on or below the water table
Source: Structural Engineer's Pocket Book, 2nd Edition: British Standards Edition
Equations for allowable bearing for piles
Concrete piles are made of cast insitu, prestressed, precast or reinforced concrete. Steel piles are
needed when the foundation is required to have slender or lightweight piles. Even though steel
piles require corrosion protection, they are good in supporting lateral forces.

Pile diameters generally range from 100mm to 2000mm and are 5m to 100m in length.
Typical pile capacity for bored piles = 300 to 1800 kN
Typical pile capacity for driven piles = 500 to 2000 kN
Typical pile capacity for minipiles = 50 to 500 kN
Piles should be spaced about 3 diameters apart (between pile faces). Pile capacities increases at
deeper depths. However, for piles in granular soils, negative skin friction and pile capacities peak
at around 110,000 kPa when pile capacities are taken at around 20 pile diameters deep.
For bored piles in granular soils, the bearing capacity is less than that of driven piles since there
is loosening effect as a result of boring.
Other considerations
Negative skin friction is the additional drag force acted on the piles by surrounding cohesive
soil as its soft layer consolidates and compresses when the piles are being driven and compressed
to reach a firm strata layer below. Negative skin friction is also induced by the drag force of the
soil weight on the piles.
NSF used for group of piles
Qskin friction = AH/Np
A = area of pile group
H = thickness of consolidation layer of soil
Np = number of piles in group
Pile caps assist in transmitting applied loads from the superstructure into the piles below. One
constant pile cap depth should be used for one project, even with different piles with different
diameters, in order to reduce cost and labor.
Pile diameter (mm)
300 350 400
450
500
550
600
750
Pile cap depth (mm)
700 800 900 1000 1100
1200 1400 1600

Foundation Ground Conditions

The values and properties indicated in the table below can also be used instead of the bearing
capaicty equations above. These values are given only as estimated values for preliminary
analysis, for its respective soil materials. The values should only be used for scheme
design calculations.
Soil
SPT, N
Undrained shear strength, C
Assumed Bearing Capacity,
Material
Value
(kN/m^2)
qallow
Sand
N
10N or 10N/2 if submerged
Stiff Clay
C
5.14 C/3
10N or assumed 3000 kPa with
Rock
N
FOS = 3

Foundation Types of Failure

Foundation can fail due to several cases.

Overall and/or differential settlement are caused by excessive ground movement and
deformation and can induce stresses between strips of foundation. These stresses can
induce additional loads onto adjacent strips. Settlement can also lead to cracking and
increasing groundwater table under the foundation. Settlement can also be separated into
two parts, short-term and long-term. Short-term settlement accounts for foundation loads
and soil mass. Long-term settlement accounts for time-dependent settlement effects and
effects due to time dependent hydration of soil and loss of water pressure within
the soil. To mitigate settlement effects, movement or connection joints can be provided
between foundations portions, in order to reduce stress during movement or loading.

When trees are located near the foundation, foundation failure is prone to occur due to
movement of tree roots and the shrinkage and expansion of soils near tree roots due to
changes in water level. Movement of roots are caused by the growth of trees. The
shrinkage and expansion of soils are caused by trees absorbing water through their roots
(shrinkage) and by rainwater absorbed by soil (expansion). Insulation and coatings should
be used to control changes in moisture level.

For shallow foundations, when the structural loads are high, this will induce cracking.
Moreover, when there are concentrated loads, this will induce punching shear failure, as
well as, cracking.

The bearing capacity of the foundation is not sufficient to support the applied loads on the
structure. This will create shear failure between strips of foundations and between the
foundation and the surrounding soil.

Soil creep can occur when there are changes in water levels or moisture content of the
soil, due to adjacent vegetation absorbing the soils water. Insulation and coatings should
be used to control changes in moisture level.

Foundation failure can occur when the pile depth do not reach all the way below
expansive soils that are affected by moisture content changes. Foundation settlement and
heave can occur, since the pile cannot support the loads above.

Flooding can occur, which affects groundwater movement. Insulation and coatings should
be used to control changes in moisture level.

Corrosion in steel can occur in steel reinforcement in reinforced concrete piles and in
steel piles. This is due to oxidation and degradation when the piles are in contact with
groundwater level, which consist of high levels of reactive ions.

Soil dissolution due to contact with limestone can occur, mostly in karst terrains.
Carbonic acid is formed, which creates cavities within the strata. Sometimes, the roof of
the voids can collapse and form sinkholes. These holes do not provide any support to the
foundation.