1:What are the Typical characteristics of

black catton soil

 They are very fertile
They are black in colour
they are high in organic matter.
They often form in grasslands and wetlands.
Organic matter contains plant nutrients and it
also improves the physical properties of the soil,
enhancing it for plant growth
It is also known as regur soil
2: what are The Problems of Foundation on
black Cotton soil

Black cotton soil is not suitable for foundation

because it swells excessively when wet and it
shrinks excessively when dry. So it is not suitable
because of its property to undergo a volumetric
change due to variation of moisture content.
○ Settlement
○ cause the soil to pull away from the foundation
○ causing soil shrinkage and settlement of the home.
○ cause heaving of expansive clay soils.
3 what points should kept in mind while
designing and constructing foundation soil
In designing footings on these soli, the following points
should be kept in mind:

The safe bearing capacity should be

properly determined, taking into account
The effect of sustained loading. The long
term effect of loading results in slow
consolidation. In absence of tests, the
bearing capacity of these soils may be
limited to 5 to 10 t/m2.

The foundation should be taken at Least 50

cm lower than the depth of moisture
movement. This depth should also be much
more than depth of tension cracks.
. Where this soil occurs only in top layer,
and where the thickness of this layer does
fol exceed 1 to 1.5 m, the entire layer of
black cotton soil (or other expansive soil)
should be removed, and the foundation
should be laid on non-shrinkable non-
expansive soil.
Where the depth of clay layer is large, the
foundation or footing should be prevented
from coming in contact with the soil. This
can be done by excavating wider and
deeper foundation trench and interposing
layer of sand/mooram around and beneath
the footing.

Where the soil is highly expansive, it is

very essential to have minimum contact
between the soil and the footing. This can
be best achieved by transmitting the loads
through deep piles or piers and by
supporting wall loads on capping beams
which are kept some distance (5 to 15 cm)
above the ground surface, to permit free
expansion of the soil.

. Where the bearing capacity of soil is poor,

or soil is very soft, the bed of the
foundation trench should be made firm or
hard by ramming mooram and ballast mio
it.
 The foundations should be constructed
during dry season. Also sailable plinth
protection around the external wall should
be made on the ground surface, with its
slope away from the wall, so that moisture
does not penetrate the foundation during
rainy season

4: what are different Types of foundation

used in black catton soils Briefly discuss them
with the help figures photos sketches
The following type of foundation may be provided

1. Strip or pad foundation

2. Pier foundation with arches
3. Under reamed pile foundation.
1: Strip or Pad Foundation
Pad foundation Are generally shallow foundations,
but can be deep depending on the ground conditions.
They are a form of spread foundation formed by
rectangular, square, or sometimes circular concrete
Strip foundations are a type of shallow foundation
that are used to providea continuous, level strip of
support to a linear structure such as a wall or
closely-spaced rows of columns built centrally above
them.

Strip foundation are for walls while pad foundations

are for columns. In these foundation the attempt is to
keep black cotton soil from foundation by
interposing layers of sand and gravel.
These foundations should be constructed during dry
season. Suitable plinth protection should be made
around external walls with its slops away from the
wall, so that moisture do not penetratethe foundation
during rainy season

2: Pier Foundation with Arches

In Generally are type of deep foundation A pier
foundationis a collection of large diameter
cylindrical columns to support the superstructure and
transfer large super-imposed loads to the firm strata
below. It stood several feet above the ground. It is
alsoknown as “post foundation”.

A pier is a vertical columns of relatively larger

cross-section than piles. For walls carrying heavy
loads, piers are dug at regular intervals and filled
with plain concrete.
These piers are taken up to good bearing strata. Then
the piers are connected by concrete or masonry arch.
Over these arches regular masonry is built.

3: Under reamed pile foundation

Under reamed piles are Suitable for Expensive soil
Swelling and shrinkage due to the property of
volumetric changes of expansive soil like black
cotton soil results movement of the ground
producing cracking of the order of (sometimes) 15 to
20 cm wide and 2.5 to 4 m deep.
This property is very dangerous for the structures
supposed to be founded on it.
under-reamed piles are provide an ideal solution for
foundation in black cotton soil or other similar types
of expansive soils
Under reamed piles are bored and then concreted at
the sites. Their length may vary from 3 to 6 m. They
are provided with reams and reinforcement.
The pile spacing varies from 2 to 4 m.
The top of piles are provided with capping beams
over which walls are built.
5: what are most Common Types foundation
used in black Cotton soil in Addis ababa
As we know black cotton soil is an expensive soil
which has swelling and shrinkage properties.The
structural arrangement of such soil is like platelets of
book for which it can easily increase it's volume
when getting wet or in rainy season. Swelling is heig
in this soil as well as shrinkage.shear strength is too
less and Safe bearing capacity of such soil is very
low ,which is dangerous for construction purpose.
When we think of to construct a building then we
need to provide very strong foundation
After Experiment in history of soil charactrsts and
properts they found their soil are good for
agriculture but failure and poor in site of Building
The following three type foundation usually used in
Ethiopia
In East Ethiopia are use pier and under reamed
foundation
But west Ethiopia are used other foundation like
combined and footing by coused Envermontel
changes
Finally the most common uses black cotton soil are
these three Foundations
 Pad foundation
 Pier foundation
 Under-reamed pile foundation.