WELL FOUNDATIONS A.LINTRODUCTION Well foundations have their origin in India & have been used for hundreds of years for providing deep foundation to important buildings and bridges. Well foundations were freely used during the Moghal Period for bridges aeross the major rivers. Moghal monuments including Taj Mahal are built on well foundations, Well foundations provide a solid & massive structure. ‘This foundation has maximum sectional modulus for a given cross: seetional area. Wells can resist large horizontal forces & vertical loads even when the unsupported length is large in scourable river beds. A well foundation is monolithic and relatively rigid in its structural behavioue 3.2, TYPES OF WELL FOUNDATIONS Ditterent types of wells in common use are shown in Fig. 3.1 The controlling factors in selecting the shape of the well foundation are: the base dimensions of pier or abutment, the ease with which the well can be sunk, cost, considerations of tilt and shift, ease of sinkil 2 and the magnitude of the forces to be resisted by the foundation. Circular wells are used most common! ‘and the mains points in their favour are their strength, simplicity in construction and ease of sinking. However, in terms of the lateral stability for a given cross-sectional ares, circular wells offer the least resistance against tilting when compared with other sections. cular wells also suffer from the disadvantage that in the case of large oblong piers, the diameter of a circular well becomes excessive which renders them uneconomical besides creating obstruction to the flow of water. Two or three independent circular. square or rectangular wells in section suitably connected can be used for supporting long piers. Such wells are called tied wells. Ted wells of different shapes are preferred to avoid relative tilts herween wells. Double-D shaped sand umb-hell shaped! wells are the most commonly used shapes of tied wells, Double octagonal well is also a monolithic well consisting of two circular dredge holes. On account of its shape, the flexural stresses developed in the steining are relatively less compared t0 2 double- D shape. However, sharp comers of double octagonal wells produce grater” scour. Rectangular wells are generally adopted for bridge foundations having shallow depths. ‘They can be adopted very conveniently where the bridge is designed for open foundations and c’change 1o well foundation becomes necessary during the course of construction on account of adverse conditions such as excessive inflow of water and silt into the excavation. For piers of 30] Pagevery large sizes, wells with multiple dredge holes are used. Wells of this type have been used ol) ad) for the towers of the Howrah Bridge. = OLLLZLLLLLLLE pra PEEL. (aeee ee Pee e ee COREE Y Ax ZZ YAY ZZLOAZEL ath 4, POO E OE IY Phe N oN eV rod| () Multiple dredge-hole well Fig. 3.1 Different Shapes of Well3.3 ELEMENTS OF A WELL FOUNDATION A well foundation is a type of foundation which is generally built in parts at the surface and sunk to its final position, where it forms the permanent foundation. Fig. 3.2 shows a typical section of circular well foundation wen aninter | wellcap | + ‘ting opens max a) einige eu depth tntermaatsteyog Mg ra ram x | pet ca | jotting edge PL vt ‘otom rhs Fig. 3.2 Typical Section of Well Foundation (a) Well-cap: leis a RCC slab at the top of the Well steining to transmit the loads and moments from the pier to the well or wells below. Shape of well eap is same as that of well with a possible overhand of 150 mm all-around to accommodate lengthy piers. It is designed as a two-way lal with pastil fixedity at supports "The top of the well éap is usually kept atthe bed level in cease of rivers with seasonal flow or at about the low water level in case of perennial rivers. Thickness of well cap is usually between 1500 mm to 2000 mm.(b) Steining: It is the main body of the well which transfers load to the base of the foundation. Steining is normally of reinforced concrete. Minimum grade of concrete used in steining is \ 120 with, cement content not less than 310 kg/m’, To facilitate well sinking an off-set of 75 mm to 100 mm is provided in well steining at its junction with the well curb. The thickness of well steining should not be less tan 500 mm nor less than that given by Eq. 3.1 KDNL, where, t = minimum thickness of concrete steining. m. 3.1) external diameter of circular well or dumb bell shaped well or smaller plan dimension of twin D well, m. L = depth of well in m below L.W.L. oF top of well cap whichever is greater K = a constant depending on the nature of subsoil and steining material (taken 2s 0.30 for circular well and 0.039 for twin — D well for concrete steining in sandy strata and 10% more than the corresponding value in the ease of clayey soil) (© Well curb: It is the wedge shaped RCC ring beam located at the lower portion of the well st ning provided to facilitate sinking. Well curb carries cutting edge for the well and is made up of reinforced concrete using controlled concrete of grade M25. The cutting edge usually consists of a mild steel equal angle of side 150 mm. In case blasting in anticipated, the outer face of the well curb should be protected with 6 mr thick steel plate and the inner Face should have 10 mm thick plate up 10 the top of the curb and 6 mm plate further up to a height of 3m ‘above the top of the curb. (d) Bottom plug: After the well is sunk to the required depth. the base of the well is plugged with concrete, ‘This is called the bottom plug. It acts like an inverted dome supported by the steining on all the sides and transn the load to the subsoil and acts as a raft against soil pressure from below, Minimum grade of concrete used in bottom plug is M15. Thickness of bottom plug should not be less than the half of dredge-hole diameter nor less than the value calculated in Eg. 32. me +9) where, W total beuring pressure at the buse of well,= flexural strength of concrete in bottom plug, 0.7. Fex «and, 8 ~ Poisson's ratio for concrete, 0.18 to 020 (e) Top plug: The top plug is an unreinforced concrete plug. generally provided with a thickness of about 600 mm beneath the well cap to transmit the loads from the pier to the steining- Minimum grade of concrete used in top plug is MIS. The space inside the well between the bottom of the top plug and the top of bottom plug is usually filled with clean sand, so that the stability of the well against overtuming is bility increased. While this practice is good in case of wells resting on sand or rock, the desi of sand ing for wells resting on clayey strata is doubtfil, as this increases the load on the foundation and may lead to greater settlement. In the latter case, the sand filling is done only for the part of well up to scour level, and remaining portion is left free. (f) Intermediate plug: As discussed above. for wells resting on clayey strata. it is not preferable to fill the space inside the well completely with sand. In such cases, sand filling is not done or sand is filled up to the scour level. A concrete plug covering the filling is usually provided, known as intermediate plug. Usually, thickness of intermediate plug is taken as 500 mm. 3.4 ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF WELL FOUNDATION In order to design the well foundation, maximum depth of scour should be determined first since the maximum scour depth decides the depth of the well foundation. 3.4.1 DETERMINATION OF MAXIMUM SCOUR DEPTH The codes IRC: 78-2000° and 1$:3955-1967° recommend that the maximum scour depth in a stream should he ascertained, whenever possible, hy actual soundings at or near the site proposed for the bridge, during or immediately afier a flood before the scour holes have had time to silt up appreciably. In case actual soundings are not possible, depth of scour in stream can be ascertained using theoretical methods taking into account the velo ‘stream, characteristics of the river bed materials, and many other factors. ‘The IRC: 78-2000" sexemimended , formula -for ealealting thepmennidepth oF xcaue below High Flood Level (HFL) for natural channels flowing over scourable bed is as follows: by?) gm = 1.34 () . 63 er where, Dp = Design discharge per meter width of effective linear waterway, m°/ms,g QM ateNUNRpeIEeminp AL -47E/E ene amare, Kg = Silt Factor fora representative sample of the bed mterial obtained up tothe level of the anticipated Ueepest scour, and, 21:76 fd «dy isthe medtan size of he bed el ment rman, ‘Table 3.1 presents the IRC: 78-2000" recommended values of silt factor for various types of sandy beds for ready reference and adoption. Table 3.1: Silt factors for Sandy beds, IRC: 78-2000" Type afhed mauerial dm (mam) Key Coase sil 004 035 Silvfine sand 0.081 t0 0.158 051006 Medium sand 0.233 00.505 Rw 125 Coarse sani ons 1s Fine baiji and sand 0.988 15 Heavy sand 1.290 2.00 20242 ‘The normal seour depth for natural Streams in alluvial beds can ako be calculated using Lacey’s formula given below: - ay a=0.473(2)'. Ba) where, d = Normal depth of scour below highest flood level for regime conditions in astable channel, m Q = Designed discharge, m'/s and, f = Lacey's factor for a representative sample ofthe bed material. This can be determined from Table 3.1 “The scour depch with maximum value, obtained from any of the formule as discussed above will be considered as dym. the mean scour depth for design of foundation ‘As per the recommendations of IRC: 78 — 2000, atthe noses of piers, the maximum depth of scour, dpa: is taken as twice of mean scour depth, dy mar = 2 Xdsm Gs)The well foundation shall be taken to such a depth that it is safe against scour. Apart from this, the depth of the well foundation should also be sufficient from considerations of bearing capacity, settlement stability and suitability of strata at the founding level. Invariably. the well foundation in all cases shall be taken down to a depth which will provide sufficient grip. The grip length below the anticipated maximum scour level shall not be less than 1/3"! the maximum anticipated depth of scour below HELL. 3.4.2 LOADS FOR WELL FOUNDATION DESIGN After determining the depth of the well foundation, the dimensions of well and its different components are empirically assumed The following loads are considered for the analysis and design of well foundation: 1. Dead load 2. Live load 3. Buoyancy 4. Wind toad 5. Horizontal force due to water current 6. Centrifugal forces 7. Longitudinal forces 8. Seismic forces 9, Horizontal shear forces at bearings due to longitudinal forces and seismic forces 10. Forces due to tilt and shift. The loads mentioned above are discussed in Section 2.2 of Chapter 2. These loads are calculated with respect to the bridge superstructure and substructure and correspondingly. the total vertical load, the total horizontal forces acting along the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction of bridge and the moments about the transverse and longitudinal axis of the bridge are obtained for the design of the well foundation. Moments due to shift and tilt of wells are also be included in the analysis of the well 34.3 STABILITY ANALYSIS OF WELL FOUNDATIONS The stability of well foundation under the action of lateral loads, particularly large agnitudes of seismic forces, depends on the passive resistance of the soil on the sides and the base of the well. As the lateral load increases for a given magnitude of the vertical load, the soil deformation increases disproportionately when compared with the deformation at initial loading. Under the combined action of vertical and lateral loads the mechanism of sharing the applied loads between the sides and the base of the well also gets significantly modified. Hence, the behaviour of the soil at ultimate loads is different form that at the elast¢ which is assumed to prevail under ve al loading. The IRC: 45-1972! therefore specifies two checks, one for soil pressures under working loads and the other for the factor of safety available with respect to ultimate strength of the surrounding the well As per IRC: 1972’, the resistance of the soil surrounding the well is checked using: a. Elastic theory b. Plastic theory (also called as Ultimate Resistance Method) ‘The following assumptions are made in computing soil pressure using elastic theory: i, The soil surrounding the well and below the base is perfectly elastic, homogeneous and obeys Hooke’ law ii, Under design loads. the lateral deflections are so small that the unit soil reaction “p” increases linearly with increasing lateral deflections “2”. Hence p = Ku where, Kyis the coefficient of horizontal subgrade reaction at the base. iii, ‘The coefficient of horizontal subgrade reaction increases linearly with depths in the case of cohesionless soils, iv. The well is assumed to be a rigid body, subjected to an extemal unidirection horizontal force “H’ and moment “M” at scour level. As a consequence of the above assumptions, the pressure distribution is parabolic on the sides of the well and linear at the base. ‘The elastic theory gives the soil pressure in the sides and the base of the well under design loads. However, to determine the actual factor of safety against f lure it is necessary to calculate the ultimate soil resistance which is done by assuming plastic behaviour of the at ultimate loads. For checking the ultimate load capacity of the well foundation, the applied loads are multiplied by suitable load factors for various load combinations and the ultimate resistance is reduced by appropriate under-surength factors and the ovo are then compared. A step-wise description of these two methods of analysis of well foundations is given below: Both the above methods are applicable if the well foundation is resting on non-cohesive soil like sand and is surrounded by the same soil below the maximum scour level. ‘The above methods should not be used for analysis if the depth of embedment of the well is less than 0.5 times the width of foundation in the direction of the principal Lateral forces.1. ELASTIC THEORY STEP 1: Determine the values of W, Hand M under combination of normal toads without wind and seismic loads Where, W = total downward load acting at the base of well, including self weight of well H = external horizontal force acting on the well at scour level z 4 = total applied extemal moment about the base of well, including those ue to tilts and shifts, STEP 2: Compute Ip and Iy and I; where, 1 = Ip + mly(1 + 2y'a), 36) Jy = moment of inertia of base about an axis normal to the direction of horizontal forces and passing though the C.G. of the well. Jy = moment of inertia of the projected area in elevation of the soil mass 5 3 offering lateral resistance = 2 ; projected width of the soil mass offering lateral resistance multiplied by the appropriate value of shape the factor. The value of shape factor for circular wells shall be taken as 0.9. For square or rectangular wells where the resultant horizontal force acts parallel to the principal axis, the shape factor shall be unity and where the forces are inclined to the principal axis, a suitable shape factor based on experimental results is used. D = depth of well below scour level, m = KyK: Ratio of horizontal to vertical coefficient of sub grade reaction at base of well. In the absence of values for Ky and K determined by field tests m shall generally be assumed to be unity. HI! = coefficient of friction between the sides of the well and the soil = tand, where 4 is the angle of wall frietion between well and the soil B a =F, fora rectangular well diameter = SS for acircular well STEP 3: Ensure the following: H> a+ mw) — ww 3.7)H< “GQ-w)+aw By where, r= 3X => coefficient of fi shall be taken as tan ® ion between the base of the and the soil. It ® = angle of internal friction of soil STEP 4: Check the elastic state nu MMe ¥(Ky — Ka) G9) = density of the soil (submerged density to be taken when under water or where, below water table) Ky & Ky = passive and active pressure coefficients to be calculated using Coulomb's theory, assuming “8° the angle of wall friction between well and soil to be equal to 29, but limited to a value of 223° 2 caso ; & = Gancfmeram G10) 2 cose ; ki = Geseiaerarm} an eC Oy wwe, Me ; STEP &: Calculate at we .12) where. oy & 02 = = area of the base of well, maximum and minimum base pressures, respective A: B = width of the base of well in the direction of forces and moments, P=Mh, £0 i.e. no tension, and, % allowable bearing capacity of soil STEP 6: Check 2 n Step 3 or Step 4 is not satisfied, then the grip length of &ay STEP 7: If any of the conditions the well may be increased and all the calculations are revised. If the conditions in Step 5 are ng seismic and wind not satisfied then, either the grip length of the well or the diameter of the well is increased. STEP 8: The above steps are repeated for load combinations contain loads separately.2. ULTIMATE RESISTANCE METHOD SHER 1: Check that wom, (3) where. W = total downward load acting at the base of well, taking appropriate load factors as per the combinations given below 11D LID +B + L4(We + Ey + Wor S) 11D+1.6L, LID+B + 14(L+We+ Er) 11D +B + 1.25(L+ We + Ey+ Wor S) where, D = dead load L = live load including barking load and other forces related to live load. B = Buoyancy We = water current force Ep = earth pressure W = wind force S = seismic force A = area of the base of well Oy = ultimate bearing capacity of soil below the base of well (taking a factor of safety of 2.5), STEP 2: Calculate the base resisting moment, Mp, at the base of well using the following, equation: M, = QWBtan@. G4) whore, B = width, in the case of square and rectangular wells measured parallel to the direction of forces and diameter for circular wells Q = aconstant whose values are given in Table 3.2 below for wells with a square or a rectangular base. A value of 0.60 is taken for circular wells © = angle of intemal friction of soil Table 3.2 Values of the constant Q for square or rectangular wells DB 2.0 25 05 10 15 o ] oa 045 030 | 0356 oF 20|Page‘The ultimate moment of resistance of the well sides due to the passive the soil, Mis calculated next. M, = 0.10 y D3(Kp— K,)L @.15) where, y = density of soil (submerged density to be taken for soils under water or below the water table), projected width of the soil mass offering resistance. In case of citcular a wells, it shall be 0.9 times the well diameter Ky & Kg = passive and active pressure coefficients to be calculated using Coulomb's theory, assuming *6", the angle of wall friction between the well and the surrounding soil to be equal to $0 hut limited to a value of 223°, My. is STEP 3: The ultimate moment of resistance of the well sides due to frietios calculated (@ — Forrectangular wells Mp = 0.18y (K, — Ka)L.B.D? sind G16) (i) Poreircular wells, My = OALy (Ky — Kq)B?.D? sind a7) STEP 4: The total ultimate moment of resistance of the well is taken as M, Gus) M, = 0.704, + M, +My) Where 0.7 is the strength reduction factor STEPS: Check M, € M where, M = Total applied external moment about the plane of rotation of the well taking appropriate load factors as per combinations given vide step | STEP 6: If the conditions in Steps 1 and 5 are not satisfied, the well shall be redesigned. 3.44 DESIGN OF WELL CURB When the well is dredged during the process of sinking, the curb cuts theough the soil jing kentledge, if any and hence hoop under the action of the dead weight of the steining inclu tension is developed in the well curb, The well curb has to be designed for the hoop tension . = o.75N (sn=nc0s 6 Total hoop tension, T = 0.75N @& sent (3.19) running load of the well steining on the curb, where.N d= mean diameter of well steining, angle of beveled edge of well curb with horizontal, and. coefficient of friction between soil and concrete of curb,A minimum reinforcement of 72 kg/m’ is provided in the well curb. The reinforcement is provided in the form of rings distributed along the perimeter of the well ing enclosed within stirrups, curb, the rings b 3.4.8 DESIGN OF WELL STEINING ng the section of the steining. the stresses in the steining are calculated Before des atthe level of maximum scour a-%+% (3.20) an RF (21) fous loads as considered during analysis M = Resultant moment due to v of Well ut maximum scour level Section modulus of well steining. ble limits. Permissible limit of stresses for The stresses should be within the permis: of concrete can be obtained from Table 2.2. If the suresses exceed the has to be increased. different grad permissible limits, the thickness of the well stei A minimum thickness of the steining, tyin. given by the following equation is required of the well to avoid the excessive kentledge during si Thickness, twin = $f1— G22) where, d=external diameter of well Ye = density of concrete, and, J) = skin friction acting on the curved surface area of the well _ UK Av eubh 2 where, ft = coefficient of friction between soil and concrete, K, = coefficient of active earth pressure Youp = Submerged density of soil on the sides of steining h = height of well 1g the checks for stresses and thickness of steining, the reinforcements should not be less After perfors in the steining are calculated. The vertical reinforcements in the stein ‘of the gross sectional area of the actual thickness provided for the steining. than 0.12 pore The vertical reinforcement should be equally distributed on both the faces of the steining. The:vertical reinforcement should be tied up with hoop steel not less than 0.04 percent of the volume per unit length of the steining. 3.4.6 DESIGN OF BOTTOM PLUG The bottom plug has to be checked for minimum thickness given by the following equations, #2 = 118r?4 orcircular wells). B23) qv? 2 e Afo+1.61a) (For rectangular wells). (324) where, r = radius of well atthe base 4 = unit bearing pressure against the base of the well {fe = flexural strength of concrete used in bottom plug b = short side of well 41 = shor side/long side ratio of wall 3.4.7 DESIGN OF WELL CAP A well cap is needed to transfer the loads and moments from the piet to the well. The shape of the wall cap is normally kept the same as of the well with a possible overhang of 150 mm. The top of the well cap is usually kept at about the low water level in case of perennial rivers. The well eap is designed as a two-way reinforced concrete slab resting over the top of well. The support conditions are taken partially restrained ‘The design of the well cap is ried out by assuming that the load from the pier acts on an imaginary circle having an area equal to the area of dispersion of the loads transferred from the pier to the well cap Since the well-cap is assumed to be partially restrained by the steining, the moments in the well-cap are calculated for cizcular patch loading and for U.D.L. (self-weight of well cap) for the following two conditions: (1) Well cap freely supported on steining (2) Well cap fully clamped on steining Condition 1: Well cap freely supported on the steining, Take, 9 = Poisson's ratio of rete, Ww = weight of well cap per unit area V = vertical load acting on the well-cap h = effective diameter of well-cap. M, & My are the radial and the tangential moments in well-cap. respectively.In the first instance. the moments in the well cap due to vertical loads transferred trom the pier and the self weight of the well cap are determined. (i) Moments beneath loaded area due to circular patch loading, v W mM, = £[1+a+oyn(§)] v i mM = Xfi+a+om(@)] d= diameter of equivalent circular patch loading Gi) Moments beneath unloaded area due to circular patch loading M, = -ta + d)In(é) M, = ~E[G-¥8)- (1+ 9)in@)] Atsupport.d = hi § = 2 = 1 The radial and tangential moments in the well cap due to U.D.L. are given by wht EN a o+)[1—()] wit “E[G+9)-(1 +386] M, M Atcentre.d = 0; € = Atsupport.d = h: €= 2 = 1 Condition 2: Well cap fully clamped at support () Moments beneath loaded area due to circular patch loading um, = L[a+om(%)] v we mM, = £[a+oyn(2)] 4. = diameter of equivalent circular patch loading (i) Moments beneath unloaded area due to circular patch loading mu, = £[(G) a--a+eme-3] [ae mM, = £|G6)' 0a -0)-a+0m@ -1] At support, d = h; € = =1 ‘The radial and tas fatial moments in the well cap due to U.D.L. ate given by M, = “(a +0)-G +08) 24|Page 26) (327) (3.28) (29) (330) (3.35)M, = 2 (+8) - +301 (336) Atcentre,d age 0 ‘ meat If My is the resultant moment per metre length of the pier, then maximum reactive moment at the support = 2% xosS At support. d 1 Hence, the maximum 1 © cene of the well cap due to mom 5M transferred form pier = + ‘The maxinnim moment at the edges of the well cap dite to moments transferred from My pier = £44 The resultant moments for the design of the well-cap section at mid-span and at supports can be found out as follows. Mieowe = (Mean radial moment due to patch loads bet cath the loaded area) + (Mean radial moment due to U.D.L. at the centre of well-cap) + (moment at the centie of well cap due to moments wansferred from pi Maise = (Mean radial moment due to pateh loads beneath unloaded area) 4+ (Mean radial moment due to U.D.L. at the support of well-cap) + (moment at the edges of well cap due to moments transferred from pies) Hence, the reinforeement at the centre of the well-cap is calculated for the moment M. and the reinforcement at the edges of well-cap is calculated for the momtent M wigs. Half of the main tension reinforcement at the centre and at the support sections of the well cap is provided on the compression face. All reinforcement in the well-cap is provided as an orthotropic mesh. ‘The well-cap is finally checked for punching shear as per IS: 456-2000 3.5 CONCLUSIONS, ‘The sole and the features of well foundations have been discussed in thi chapter. This stability analysis of well foundations has been explained and the design of various components has been briefly reviewed,