Structural Design of Spread Footings

Steps in square or rectangular spread footing design with a concentrically loaded

column and no moments are:

1. Compute the footing-plan dimensions B x L or B using the allowable soil

pressure. A rectangular footing may have a number of satisfactory solutions.

P P
B or L
qa Bq a

2. Convert the allowable soil pressure to an ultimate value for use in USD.
Obtain Pu by applying appropriate load factors to the given design loading.

Pu Pu
qu  or qu 
B2 BL
3. Obtain the allowable two-way action shear stress and compute the required
effective footing depth.

 q   q  q
 4  2
 
d 2  vc  u   d  vc  u  c  BL  c 2 u
4
or
 q   q  q
 4  2
 
d 2  vc  u   d  vc  u  c  B 2  c 2 u
4
with
vc   4 f ' c

4. If the footing is rectangular, check wide beam shear or compute the required
effective depth for wide beam shear (use larger).

L c

d 2 2
vc
1
qu
with
vc   2 f ' c

5. Compute the required steel for bending and use the same amount each way
for square footings. Use the effective d to the intersection of the two bar
layers for square footings if d > 12 in. For d < 12 in. and for rectangular
footings use the actual d for the two directions. The bending moment is
computed at the critical section shown (face). Check the steel ratio verses
minimum and maximum steel ratios.
2
q B  L c
Mu  u   
2  2 2
 
 2 
or E 
 L
 distribution
 1
 B 
2
q L  B c
Mu  u   
2  2 2
6. Compute the column bearing and use dowels for bearing if the allowable
bearing stress is exceeded. Minimum dowels must always be provided. If
dowels are required, the length must be adequate for compression bond.

7. Detail the design.

Design of Square Spread Footings

Design a square spread footing using f’c = 3

ksi and fy = 60 ksi on soil with and
allowable bearing pressure of 4.5 ksf. An
18-inch square column is concentrically
place on the footing with 295 kips of dead
load and 295 kips of live load.

Determine footing size from service load and

allowable soil pressure

B
P

 295  295 k  11 .45 ft B  11 .5 ft
qa 4.5ksf

Determine factored soil pressure for reinforced footing design

Pu � 1.2  295   1.6  295  �

� �k  6.246ksf  43.37 psi
qu  
 11.5 ft 
2
B2

Determine effective depth of footing for two-way shear

vc   4 f 'c  0.75  4  3000 psi  164.3 psi

 q  
4 
q 
2
  q
d 2  vc  u   d  vc  u  c  B 2  c 2 u
4


� 43.37 � � 43.37 � 43.37

164.3 
d2 �
�
� d �
4 � �
164.3 
2 �
18  1382  182
�  4


175.2d 2  3348d  202987  0 d  25.80in d  26.5in

Determine effective depth of footing for one-way shear

vc   2 f 'c  0.75  2  3000 psi  82.16 psi

L c 138 18
 
d 2 2 2 2  20.73in < 26.50in
vc 82.16
1 1
qu 43.37

Determine required flexural reinforcing

qu B �B c � 43.37  138  �
2 2
138 18 �
Mu  �  � �  � 10773910lb  in  897.8k  ft
2 �2 2 � 2 �2 2�

Mu 10773910 fy 60000
Rn    123.5 m   23.53
 Bd 2
0.9  138  26.52 0.85 f 'c 0.85  3000 

1� 2mRn � 1 � 2  23.53 123.5 �

r 1 1
� � 1 1
� � 0.0021107
m�
� fy � 23.53 �
� 60000 �
� �

As  r Bd  0.0021107  138in  26.5in  7.719in 2 As  0.6712in 2 / ft

200 200 4 4
r min    0.003333 since r<rmin increase 1/3 r  0.0021107  0.0028143
fy 60000 3 3

r<rmin use r or As  r Bd  0.0028143  138in  26.5in  10.29in 2 As  0.8950in 2 / ft

Select appropriate reinforcing for exterior crack control and 2-in clear cover using
Reinforcement 15 and Reinforcement 11 (cracking.xls)

#6@5½ in o.c. or 24#6’s ea. way 11’-6” x 11’-6” x 30 in deep footing