CIVL 1160

Civil Engineering and Modern Society

Chapter 5

Foundation Systems

Prof. Thomas HU
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Main Parts of a Building Structure

Superstructure

Substructure

Foundation
 Foundation of Structures
A structure has to stand on firm ground:
 Soil
 Rock

Structure Structure

Firm soil
Rock
Rock
 Effect of soil density
• “Bearing capacity” (in kN/m2) = maximum load per
unit area the underlying soil/rock can carry
Loose soil: Lower
bearing capacity Dense soil: Higher
Bedrock: The highest bearing capacity
bearing capacity

Bedrock
 Effect of depth
Soil at this depth has Soil at a greater
at least the capacity depth with greater
to support the weight bearing capacity
of soil above it
Ground

Bedrock
 Effect of foundation size
W

W
W = 3W

WWW 3W
= W

Loose
soil A 3A 3A 3A

Bedrock
 Foundation Types
Foundations:
structural components to support columns and walls
transfer all loads from above to underlying soil stratum
Foundations

Shallow Deep

Pad Strip Combined Raft

footing footing footing footing
Piles Caissons
Driven Bored
piles piles
 Foundation Types
 In the old days/poor areas: only
shallow foundations were possible
 building structures usually not
massive
 Modern society: with advanced
machinery and materials  use of
deep foundations  massive and
tall buildings can be built
 Shallow Foundations: Footings
 Footing: An enlarged base for a foundation
 Distributes building load over a large area of soil
 Can be divided into
1. Pad footings
2. Strip footings
3. Combined footings
4. Rafts
 Shallow Foundations: Footings

 Founded near finished ground

surface
 Founding depth: usually less than
footing’s width, and less than 3 m
(i.e. shallow)
 Used when surface soil is strong
enough to support the loading
 Unsuitable for weak soils
Footings
 1. Pad footings
They support single columns
One of the most economical footing types
Used when columns are spaced at
relatively long distances
 1. Pad footings
For a rough idea of required footing size (A):
Suppose
 Total load on the column = 20 T
 Safe bearing capacity (SBC) of the soil = 10 T/m2
 20 T / A ≤ 10 T/m2
 Required footing size, A = 2 m2

1 T = 1 (metric) ton
= 1,000 kg  9810 N
 1. Pad footings

Footing

Individual footings connected by beams

 How to Read Simple RC Details
5 R 10-04-100 5 R 10-04-100
1 2 R 10-03 2 6 R 10-04-200

1 02 2 02
2 R 10-01 & 1 R 16-02
100 2∙200 100

2∙400
Elevation

04

Sections

Nomenclature:
total number of bars in the group center to center spacing (if applicable)

5R10-04-100

Type of steel diameter (mm) bar mark (“name”)

 Typical construction details

Prefix “R”: Plain round steel bars

Grade 250 (yield stress no less than 250
MPa; “mild steel”)
Bar diameters: usually 10, 12, 16 (mm)
 Typical construction details

Prefix “T” or “Y”: Deformed high tensile steel bars

(ribs increase bonding strength with concrete)
Grade 460 (“high tensile steel”/”high yield steel”)
Bar diameters: usually 10 to 40
Typical construction details

Load from column

tends to bend the
footing (bottom in
tension)

Rebars in footing
and column
 2. Strip footings
 They spread the weight of load-bearing walls
across an area of soil
 2. Strip footings: Example
Strip footing layout

Building near
completion

Walls built on top of the

strip footing
 3. Combined footings
 They usually support two columns (or three
columns not in a row)
 Used when two columns are too close for
single footings to be used, or when one
column is located at/near another property

Existing
building
3. Combined footings: Example
 4. Raft footings
Columns
A single footing, usually with the
concrete slab placed under the Elevation
entire built area, used when
heavy column loads
Low soil bearing capacity
isolated column footings are Plan
impracticable
 pile foundation not
economical/feasible

 Concrete slab resists

differential
movements between
loading positions 
differential
settlements reduced
 Deep Foundations
 Used when loads are very
high (e.g. skyscrapers in Hong
Kong) and/or soils are weak
(“bad”) near ground surface
 They transfer the load to
more competent soil strata
beyond typical reach (say, a
few m) of shallow
foundations; founded deep
below ground surface bedrock
 Derive their support from
deeper soils or/and bedrock
Common Types of Deep Foundations
A. Piles
Long, slender members bringing superstructure
loads to deep soil or rock strata having a high
bearing capacity
Also anchors structures against uplift forces and
assist in resisting lateral and overturning forces
Common Types of Deep Foundations
(cont.)
Pile cap:
Thick concrete slab for
transferring column
load to a group of
piles below
Similar to raft footing
but supported by piles
instead of soil or rock
Common Types of Deep Foundations
(cont.)

Formation of Pile Cap for a Group of H Piles

Common Types of Deep Foundations
(cont.)
B. Caissons
Watertight structure also known as pier
foundation for bridges
Prefabricated hollow box or cylinder sunk
to the required depth by excavating or
dredging, filled with concrete to form the
foundation
 Pile Foundations

End Bearing

Bored Pile
Bored Piles

Friction Pile
End Bearing Pile
Driven
Piles

Rock
End Bearing vs. Friction Piles
Load Load

Sands Various soil

“grips” the pile
by friction to
support it
Clays

Pile tip standing on firm bedrock

(e.g. limestone), resisting the
load imposed
Driven piles
Methods for Driving Piles

1. Drop Hammer Pile Driver

2. Vibratory Pile Driver

 Note: this video shows sheet
piles forming a protective “wall”
to prevent soil collapse during
excavation work

3. A Cheap Method (not

recommended)
 2. Bored Piles
 RC piles installed into drilled holes where soil and rocks
are removed using drill tools
 Usually: less piles involved, and higher in capacity
 Can be installed with little vibration, at lower noise levels
than driven piles
Insert steel
cage
Temporary casing
for bore hole
support (protects
the soil from
collapsing)
Excavate the
shaft and drive
casing to founding
level Tremie pipe
for
Clean the shaft concreting
temporary casing gradually removed
2. Bored Piles: Construction
Installing Temporary Casing
Vibration equipment to
drive casing down

Temporary
steel casing
 2. Bored Piles: Construction

Steel Reinforcement
Cage Insertion

Soil Removal by Continuous

Flight Auger (CFA)
2. Bored Piles: Construction

Concreting (Tremie Pipes)

Consequences of Foundation Settlements

No Settlement Total (uniform) Differential settlement

settlement

Uniform settlement may bring less structural

damage to the building;
Differential settlement could cause severe
structural damage
Consequences of Foundation Settlements

(SUSPECTED)
Tilt
Settlement
Consequences of Foundation Settlements

(Possible) Tilt Settlement

 Practical Ways to Check Verticality

Rotating laser level (激光水准儀 Total stations (全站儀)

/ 平水儀)
 Traces out a vertical (or  Precise measurement of
horizontal) plane vertical, horizontal angles
 Typical accuracy: a few and (slope) distances
mm (at ~10m, say)  More expensive ($10,000+)
 Short Piling at Yuen Chau Kok
 Involved two Home Ownership Scheme (HOS)
buildings at Yuen Chau Kok, Sha Tin

 1998: Zen Pacific

awarded piling contract by
Housing Department (HD)
 ZP: Lowest bidder for
piling works ($63,330,000
for 5 buildings)
 Short Piling at Yuen Chau Kok
 ZP immediately subcontracted the foundation
works to Hui Hon Contractors Ltd (not on HD’s
list of approved contractors), w/o informing HD
 Temporary casings did not reach proposed
founding level Insert steel
cage
Temporary casing
for bore hole
support (protects
the soil from
collapsing)
Excavate the
shaft and drive
casing to founding
level Tremie pipe
for
Clean the shaft concreting
temporary casing gradually removed
Short Piling at Yuen Chau Kok
 Lack of temporary casing
support at bottom soil
collapsed  length of
many pile shafts shorter
than required
 Financial problems,
delays and potential huge
fines  HH decided to
cover up the non-
compliant piling works
 Short Piling at Yuen Chau Kok
 1999: monitoring survey indicated
abnormal foundation settlement at
the two buildings under construction
 Thorough investigation by ICAC
revealed many of the 36 large
diameter bored piles were shorter
than their required lengths
 Construction had already proceeded
to over 30 storys
 March 2000: HA announced the 2
buildings would be demolished
 Site eventually turned into a leisure
park
 Short Piling: Consequences
Monetary losses:
 $328 million lost in net assets
 + Payments, demolition fees,
investigation fees, termination of works,
damages claimed by superstructure
contractor, etc.
 Total: $650 million (public money)

Jail terms:
Parties involved Sentences for the Yuen Chau
Kok short piling case
Two HH Ex-directors 12 years’ imprisonment each
HH Site agent 42 months’ imprisonment
 Short Piling: Aftermath
• 9 HD staff members failed to perform their duties at
the Yuen Chau Kok site
• Disciplinary action against 3 site officers by Civil
Service Bureau; the rest transferred to other posts

• Similar incident at Tin Chung

Court, Tin Shui Wai (problem
subsequently fixed)

• 2012 news article (in Chinese)

 Ground Settlement
 HA has since initiated comprehensive
settlement monitoring survey for all buildings
in their projects
 Note: ground movement may/may not be
associated with building settlement; both
would need to be measured to be sure
 Monitoring of Settlement
 Construction level (水准儀/ 平水鏡):
establishes a truly horizontal line of
sight through a rotatable (about a
vertical axis) telescope
 Height differences determined by
erecting a leveling staff (標尺/塔尺)
over ground points
if tilt —> bigger reading (not correct reading)

lower —> larger reading

 Monitoring of Settlement
 Backsight on A – Foresight on B = Rise from A to B

Staff placed
• Estimate to 0.001 m (1 mm) at top of
• Use main horizontal crosshair screw firmly
inserted into
BS = 2.521 m FS = 1.345 m building

 Height of B relative to stable benchmark A:

monitored regularly
 May need more points in between if A, B far apart
 “B” can be on building or ground
 Using a Construction Level
X

B
laser beam

D
 Monitoring Ground Settlement
 Same method helps to solve “car-rolling-
uphill” mysteries
 Total station was seen in video
 Cheaper method: level & staff

 Lands Dept.
provides
benchmark
information
Monitoring Ground Settlement

 Heights of government benchmarks given in

mPD (“meters above Principal Datum”)
 Monitoring Ground Settlement
 Principal Datum: an imaginary (fixed) reference
plane at slightly below Mean Sea Level (MSL)

 Chart Datum: another reference plane (often

used in marine works)
 Mysteries Solved by a Level
 You can use a level to help this
guy solve his “mystery”

CIVL1160 IS COOL!

Is B really lower than A?

 Mysteries Solved by a Level
 The true picture may be…

 B actually higher than A

Previous projects:
 Identify an area in HK where settlement
is suspected (e.g. Tai Kok Tsui)
 Establish suitable markers & measure
(twice, >30 days in between)
End of Ch. 5
(for Final / Midterm
purposes)
 Advanced Analysis (Leveling Net)
To improve accuracy and guard against blunders, professional
surveyors may perform a “level net” such as the one below. Arrowheads
indicate direction of travel (e.g. from A to B, a rise of 9.131m was
observed). We can apply least squares to best-estimate the heights at
B, F and G.
 Advanced Analysis (Leveling Net)
 Three unknowns: B, F, G
 Many redundant data collected
 Six equations available (e.g. B – 100 = 9.131 from
route 1, F – B = 9.505 from route 5, etc.)
 Must use all data, with statistical treatment
 CAS calculator technique: efficient & useful in other
areas requiring matrices and/or least squares
 Background: Least Squares
(Matrix Approach)

x1 mn matrix
1
From experiment (constants)
1 x2
…

1 xn
model
parameters in
model
Least Squares: Matrix Method

Note: A’s appearance depends on the order of

elements in u
Least Squares: Matrix Method

= SSE

• You can verify this gives same answers for a and b as by linear
regression formulas
• This matrix approach applies to more general types of problems
• Mathematical details: given in MATH 2350
 Example 5.1 (quadratic model)
 Suppose our regression model is quadratic:
y = ax2 + bx + c
 With experimental x-y data as follows, find
the best estimates for a, b, c.
x= 1 6 11 16 21
y= 6.2 50.5 146.8 290.5 486.9

• Use the matrix approach (what is “A”???)

• On calculator page, enter x:={1,6,11,16,21}
and also y:={6.2, 50.5, …}
• You can go to a spreadsheet (not needed) and
enter x as the column heading, then the x
data will appear (similar for y)
• Alternatively, if you entered the data on
spreadsheet and gave it a heading, it will be
available on a calculator page
 Example 5.1 (quadratic model)

Here’s an easy way to build matrix

A (by building AT first), using the
fact “a list of lists is a matrix” on
r1
a list of (two) lists Computer Algebra Systems (CAS)
r2

squared x values
x values
ones

You may also use the template key to

build matrices (specify # of rows &
columns, then fill in all elements)
Example 5.1 (quadratic model)
Build A (“book” key – t for
transpose command)

Build (column) vector “y” (this

step needed as y is a list, not
a vector)

Answers for a, b, c based on

least squares

Model: y = ax2 + bx + c
 Example 5.1 (quadratic model)
How can we compute the SSE?
This is the (squared) norm of the vector (y – Au)
Use least square to obtain u, then norm(…) and ^2

 What about the SST? SST   ( yi  y )

2

• Ctrl – arrow to spreadsheet, pick an empty cell – menu -

 Example 5.1 (quadratic model)
• What about the SST? SST   ( yi  y ) 2
• num of lists = 1, “y” for X1 List - OK
• Select last entry in output (the SST)
• Ctrl – var (i.e. sto) to store it in “SST”
• This may wipes out other data (but OK)

• Return to calculator page and compute R2

• Indeed this model provides a very good fit

• Now solve the level net example (for B, F,

G) using CAS calculator
• Answers: 109.124, 118.632, 104.330 (m)