Introduction

The shallow foundation of a structure can be

defined as that part of the structure in direct contact
with the ground and which safely transmits the load
of the structure to the ground.

In the broadest sense foundation engineering is

concerned with both the ability of the soil to
support the load and the structural design of the
sub-structural element which transmits the load
onto the ground. Since the structural behavior of
the substructure depends on the characteristics of
the supporting soil as well as the possible structural
influence of the superstructure the engineer should
consider the structure, the foundation and the
supporting soil as a whole rather than as
independent elements.
Type of shallow foundation
1-Isolated Spread footing: Footings with Lf/Bf ratio less than 10 are considered to be
isolated footings. Isolated spread is designed to distribute the concentrated loads
delivered by a single column to prevent shear failure of the soil beneath the footing. The
size of the footing is a function of the loads distributed by the supported column and the
strength and compressibility characteristics of the bearing materials beneath the footing.
For bridge

Columns, isolated spread footings are typically greater than 10 ft. by 10 ft. (3 m by 3 m).

2-Strip Footings: The most commonly used type of foundation for buildings is the continuous
strip footing. For computation purposes, footings with an Lf/Bf ratio ≥ 10 are considered to be
continuous or strip footings. Strip footings typically support a single row of columns or a
bearing wall to reduce the pressure on the bearing materials. Strip footings may tie columns

together in one direction .

3-Combined Footings: Combined footings are similar to isolated spread footings except that
they support two or more columns and are rectangular or trapezoidal in shape. They are used
primarily when the column spacing is non-uniform (Bowles, 1996) or when isolated spread
footings become so closely spaced that a combination footing is simpler to form and
construct. In the case of bridge abutments, an example of a combined footing is the so-called
“spill-through” type abutment.

4-Mat Foundations: A mat foundation consists of a single heavily reinforced concrete slab
that underlies the entire structure or a major portion of the structure. Mat foundations are
often economical
when spread footings would cover more than about 50 percent of the plan area of the
structure’s footprint (Peck, et al., 1974). A mat foundation typically supports a number of
columns and/or walls in either direction or a uniformly distributed load such as that imposed
by a storage tank.
Advantages

— Cost(affordable)

— Construction procedure (simple)

— Materials(mostly concrete)

— Labor(doesn’t need expertise)

— Disadvantages

— Settlement

— Limit capacity soil structure

— Irregular ground surface (slope, retaining wall)

— Foundation subjected to pullout ,torsion ,moment.