FEN4702 FOUNDATION ENGINEERING IV PROJECT

MOLEBOGENG MATHIBEDI

Student Number: 57143862

Unique Code: 833413
Assignment: 2
Due: 23 August 2019
FEN4702 FOUNDATION ENGINEERING IV PROJECT

MOLEBOGENG MATHIBEDI

DECLARATION:

I Declare that this assignment is my own work and that all

sources quoted have been acknowledged by appropriate
references

SIGNED: M MATHIBEDI DATE: 17 June 2019

1
 Table of Contents

Item Page

Question 1 3

Question 2 6

Question 3 8

Question 4 11

Question 5 13

References 17

2
 Question 1:

a) The Plan of a Mat Foundation:

The plan of a mat foundation if shown in Figure 1 below. Calculate the soil pressure using the
appropriate method of mat design at points P, Q, R, S, T and U. Please note that all columns
are planned to be 0.6m x 0.6m).

Total Column Load:

Q = Q1+Q2+Q3+Q4+Q5+Q6+Q7+Q8+Q9+Q10+Q11+Q12

Q = (550+660+470+2000+2000+1600+2000+2000+1600+550+660+600)
3

Q = 14690kN
 A = BL fn = Q/A

A = (20.6)(27.6) = 14690/568.56

A = 568.56m² fn = 25.837 kN/m²

Ixx = 1/12 BL³ Iyy= 1/12 LB³

Ixx = 1/12 (20.6)(27.6)³ Iyy = 1/12 (27.6)(20.6)³

Ixx = 36092.189m⁴ Iyy = 20106.177m⁴

Taking Moment about y’ axis:

𝑄𝑥 = 0.3(550 + 2000 + 2000 + 550) + 10.3(660 + 2000 + 2000 + 660) + 20.3(470 + 1600 + 1600 + 600)

14690𝑥 = 0.3(5100) + 10.3(5320) + 20.3(4270)

14690𝑥 = 1530 + 54796 + 86681

14690𝑥 = 143007

143007
𝑥=
14690

𝒙 = 𝟗. 𝟕𝟑𝟓𝒎

𝑩
𝒆𝒙 = 𝒙 −
𝟐
20.6
𝑒𝑥 = 9.735 −
2

𝑒𝑥 = 9.735 − 10.3

𝒆𝒙 = −𝟎. 𝟓𝟔𝟓𝒎 (𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒕)

Taking Moment about x’ axis:

𝑄𝑦 = 0.3(550 + 660 + 470) + 9.3(2000 + 2000 + 1600) + 18.3(2000 + 2000 + 1600) + 27.3(550 + 660 + 600)

14690𝑦 = 0.3(1680) + 9.3(5600) + 18.3(5600) + 27.3(1810)

14690𝑦 = 504 + 52080 + 102480 + 49413

14690𝑦 = 204477

204477
𝑦=
14690

𝒚 = 𝟏𝟑. 𝟗𝟐𝟎𝒎
4
 𝑳
𝒆𝒚 = 𝒚 −
𝟐
27.6
𝑒𝑦 = 13.920 −
2

𝑒𝑦 = 13.920 − 13.8

𝒆𝒚 = −𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝒎 (𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒕)

𝑴𝒙 = 𝑸𝒆𝒚

𝑀𝑥 = 14690 × 0.12

𝑴𝒙 = 𝟏𝟕𝟔𝟐. 𝟖𝒌𝑵/ 𝒎

𝑴𝒚 = 𝑸𝒆𝒙

𝑀𝑦 = 14690 × 0.565

𝑴𝒚 = 𝟖𝟐𝟗𝟗. 𝟖𝟓𝒌𝑵/ 𝒎

𝑸 𝑴𝒙 𝑴𝒚
𝒒= ± 𝒚± 𝒙
𝑨 𝑰𝒙𝒙 𝑰𝒚𝒚

1762.8 8299.85
𝑞 = 25.837 ± 𝑦± 𝑥
36092.189 20106.177

𝒒 = 𝟐𝟓. 𝟖𝟑𝟕 ± 𝟎. 𝟎𝟒𝟗𝒚 ± 𝟎. 𝟒𝟏𝟑𝒙

Point x (m) y (m) q (kPa)

P -10.3 +13.8 22.259
Q 0 +13.8 26.513
R +10.3 +13.8 30.767
S +10.3 -13.8 29.415
T 0 -13.8 25.161
U -10.3 -13.8 20.907
5
 Question 2:

2.1 Foundations are structural elements like beams and columns, which are designed to
transfer building loads safely to the underlying ground. Explain in your own words what are
the criteria that they must satisfy?

The criteria that foundations should meet are a deep intense knowledge of the following factors:

• Analysis of the actual load/s that will be transmitted by the superstructure to the foundation system
within the structure.
• One should make sure to check the requirements of the local building code within the area in which
they wish to construct that structure
• Ensure to assess the behavior and stress-related deformability of the soils that will support the
foundation system within that specific project location
• Ensure to assess the geological conditions of the soil under consideration. Through geotechnical
investigations. A Geotechnical Report will have everything required in terms of the soil assessment
and/or any underlying bedrock or water tables etc.

For a foundation engineer the last two factors are very important because they are the one’s
concerned with the soil mechanics of the soil on which the foundation will be placed.

2.2 Consider a square foundation 1m x 1m in plan located on a saturated clay layer underlain
by a layer of rock. Given:

Clay: 𝑐𝑢 = 72𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 Unit weight: 𝛾 = 18𝑘𝑁/𝑚3

Distance between the bottom of the foundation and the rock layer = 0.2m 𝐷𝑓 = 1𝑚

Estimate the gross allowable bearing capacity of the foundation by using FS = 3

Equation for square foundation: (EQ 4.8) Braja M Das

𝑩
𝟎. 𝟓 (𝑯) − 𝟎. 𝟕𝟎𝟕
𝒒(𝒖)𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒆 = 𝟓. 𝟏𝟒 (𝟏 + ) 𝒄𝒖 + 𝒒
𝟓. 𝟏𝟒

B/H = 1m/0.2m = 5

𝐷𝑓 = 1𝑚 𝛾 = 18𝑘𝑁/𝑚3

𝒒 = 𝒚𝑫𝒇

𝑞 = (18)(1)

𝒒 = 𝟏𝟖𝒌𝑵/𝒎²
6
 𝑩
𝟎. 𝟓 (𝑯) − 𝟎. 𝟕𝟎𝟕
𝒒(𝒖)𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒆 = 𝟓. 𝟏𝟒 (𝟏 + ) 𝒄𝒖 + 𝒒
𝟓. 𝟏𝟒

0.5(5) − 0.707
𝑞(𝑢)𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒 = 5.14 (1 + ) (72) + 18
5.14

𝒒(𝒖)𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒆 = 𝟓𝟏𝟕. 𝟏𝟕𝟔 𝒌𝑵/𝒎²

𝒒𝒖
𝒒𝒂𝒍𝒍 =
𝑭𝑺
517.176
𝑞𝑎𝑙𝑙 =
3
𝒒𝒂𝒍𝒍 = 𝟏𝟕𝟐. 𝟑𝟗𝟐𝒌𝑵/𝒎²

7
 Question 3

3.1 The use of drilled shaft foundations has several advantages. List these advantages in your
own words.

• To start off you can use a single drilled shaft can be used rather than a group of piles and pile cap.
• Also it’s easier to use drilled shafts over driving piles when constructing drilled shafts in deposits that
are made up of dense sand and gravel.
• You can construct the drilled shafts before completing any grading operations.
• Another great advantage is that when the piles are driven by a hammer this causes ground vibration
that could possibly cause damage to any nearby structures. The usage of drilled shafts is a great
way to avoid such problems.
• When piles are driven into clay soil they could potentially produce ground heaving and also cause
previously driven piles to start moving laterally. This does not occur during the construction of drilled
shafts.
• During the construction of drilled shafts there is no hammer noise.
• The base of a drilled shaft can be enlarged and so this provides great resistance to the uplifting load.
• Surfaces over which the base of a drilled shaft is constructed can be visually inspected.
• During the construction of drilled shafts generally mobile equipment is utilized, and under proper soil
conditions this procedure may prove to be more economical than the methods of constructing pile
foundations.
• The drilled shafts offer high resistance towards lateral loads.

3.2 Discuss the two basic types of concrete piles in your own words.

The two most basic concrete piles are precast piles and cast in situ piles.

Precast Piles:

These type of concrete piles can be made using ordinary reinforcement they can be square shaped or
octagonal shaped in cross section. This reinforcement is provided in order to enable the pile’s
resistance against bending developed during pickup and transportation, the vertical load and the
bending which is also caused by lateral load. These piles are cast to their desired lengths and cured
before being transported to their specific work sites. These type of piles can also be pre-stressed by
making usage of high strength steel prestressing cables. The ultimate strength of these steel cables is
known to be exactly about 1800 MN/m2.
8
The typical details of a precast concrete piles are as follows:
Usual length: between 10 m–15 m
Usual load: between 300 kN–3000 kN

Some few Advantages:

a) Can withstand hard driving
b) Has corrosion resistant
c) Can also be easily combined with concrete superstructure

Few Disadvantages:
a) Can prove difficult to get proper cut off
b) Can prove to be difficult to transport

PRECAST CONCRETE PILES

Cast-in-Situ Piles:

Cast-In-Situ Piles are concrete piles that are particularly made by making a hole in the ground and
filling it up with concrete. They are designed and then constructed on site not prefabricated. There are
several types used in construction and most of them have already been patented by their
manufacturers. There are two types of cast-in-situ piles: Cased Piles and Uncased Piles
9

CAST IN-SITU CONCRETE PILES

3.3 What is a piled raft?

A Pile is a structural member made of either steel, concrete or timber and it is used to build pile
foundations, which are deep foundations and more costly than shallow foundations. A foundation is
said to be “piled” when its depth is more than three times its breadth. A normal Raft Foundation is
considered a shallow foundation which are formed by either combined footing that may cover the
entire area under a structure that is supporting several columns and walls or by a reinforced concrete
slab of uniform thickness covering a large area. When this raft does not provide the required support,
it is then enhanced by the addition of piles creating what is now known as A Piled Raft Foundation.
This addition of piles to the raft increases the effective size of a foundation can aid in the resistance of
horizontal loads.

Typical Piled Raft

10
 Question 4:

A moist soil has these values: V=7.08𝑥10−3𝑚3, 𝑚=13.95𝑘𝑔, 𝑤=9.8%,𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐺𝑠=2.66

Determine the following:

4.1 𝜌 (Density of soil)

𝑚
𝑝=
𝑣
13.95𝑘𝑔
𝑝=
7.08 × 10−3 𝑚³

𝒑 = 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟎. 𝟑𝟑𝟗 𝒌𝒈/𝒎³

4.2 𝜌𝑑 (Dry density of soil)

𝑝
𝑝𝑑 =
1+𝑤

1970.339𝑘𝑔/𝑚³
𝑝𝑑 =
9.8
1 + (100)

𝒑𝒅 = 𝟏𝟕𝟗𝟒. 𝟒𝟖𝟎 𝒌𝒈/𝒎³

4.3 𝑒 (Void ratio)

𝐺𝑠𝑝𝑤
𝑒= −1
𝑝𝑑

(2.66 × 1000)
𝑒= −1
1794.480

𝒆 = 𝟎. 𝟒𝟖𝟐

4.4 𝑛 (Porosity)
𝑒
𝑒=
1+𝑒
0.482
𝑒=
1 + 0.482

𝒆 = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟐𝟓
11
4.5 𝑆 (%) (Degree of saturation)

𝑤𝐺𝑠
𝑆(%) = (100)
𝑒
9.8
(100) 2.66
𝑆(%) = (100)
0.482

𝑺(%) = 𝟓𝟒. 𝟎𝟖𝟑%

4.6 Volume occupied by water

𝑚
𝑚𝑠 =
1+𝑤
13.95𝑘𝑔
𝑚𝑠 =
9.8
1 + (100)

𝒎𝒔 = 𝟏𝟐. 𝟕𝟎𝟓𝒌𝒈

𝑚𝑤 = 𝑚 − 𝑚𝑠

𝑚𝑤 = 13.95𝑘𝑔 − 12.705𝑘𝑔

𝒎𝒘 = 𝟏. 𝟐𝟒𝟓𝒌𝒈

𝑚𝑤
𝑉𝑤 =
𝑝𝑤

1.245𝑘𝑔
𝑉𝑤 =
1000𝑚³

𝑽𝒘 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟏𝟐𝟓𝒌𝒈/𝒎³

12
 Question 5:

5.1 There are various in situ tests and soil sampling conducted at laboratories. Briefly
describe atleast four (4) of these tests, in your own words.

Standard Penetration Test (SPT)

This test can be used to collect samples by fitting a split-spoon sampler. Split-spoon samplers may be
used in the field to obtain soil samples that are considered to be disturbed but still representative.The
test mainly consists of a tool-steel driving shoe, a steel tube that gets split longitudinally in half, and a
coupling at the top. The coupling is what connects the sampler to the drill rod. The standard size for a
split tube has an inside diameter of 34.93 mm and an outside diameter of 50.8 mm though there are
samplers available that have inside and outside diameters up to 63.5mm and 76.2 mm. A borehole the
made and extended to a predetermined depth, the drill tools are then removed and the sampler is then
lowered to the bottom of the borehole. The sampler is then driven into the soil by hammer blows to the
top of the drill rod. The standard weight of a hammer is usually 623 N. For each and every each blow,
the hammer then drops at a distance of 762 mm. The number of blows required for spoon penetration
of three 152.4-mm intervals is then recorded. The numbers of blows required for the last two intervals
are added to give the what we call Standard Penetration Number, N, at that specific depth. This
specific number is generally referred to as the N value (American Society for Testing and Materials,
2002, Designation D-1586). To conclude the sampler is then withdrawn, the shoe and coupling are then
removed. The soil sample recovered from the tube is then placed in a glass bottle and transported to
the laboratory for the results.

13
The Cone Penetration Test:

The Cone Penetration Test (CPT) which was originally known as the Dutch cone penetration test, is a
versatile sounding method which is used to determine the type of materials in a soil profile and also
provide an estimation of the geotechnical engineering properties of soils and delineating soil
stratigraphy. The CPT is also known as the static penetration test, and no boreholes are necessary
to perform it.

Two types of penetrometers are used:

Mechanical friction-cone penetrometer:

The penetrometer tip is connected to an inner set of rods. The tip is first advanced about 40 mm,
giving the cone resistance. With further thrusting, the tip engages the friction sleeve. As the inner rod
advances, the rod force is equal to the sum of the vertical forces on the cone and the sleeve.
Subtracting the force on the cone gives the side resistance.

Electric friction-cone penetrometer

14
In this case on the above shown image, the tip is attached to a string of steel rods. The tip is pushed
into the ground at the rate of 20 mm/sec. Wires from the transducers are threaded through the center
of the rods and continuously give the cone and side resistances.

Vane Shear Test:

The vane shear test (ASTM D-2573) is used during the drilling operation in order to determine the in
situ undrained shear strength (c) of clay soils-particularly soft clays. The vane shear apparatus
consists of four blades on the end of a rod. The height(H), of the vane is twice the diameter, D. The
vane apparatus can be either rectangular or tapered.

The dimensions of vanes used in the field are given in (Principles of Foundation Engineering: Braja M
Das, Table 2.6). The vanes of the apparatus are pushed into the soil at the bottom of a borehole
without disturbing the soil. Torque is applied at the top of the rod to rotate the vanes at a standard rate
of 0.1°/sec. This rotation will induce failure in a soil of cylindrical shape surrounding the vanes. The
maximum torque T applied to cause failure is measured.

These Field Vane Shear tests are moderately rapid and economical and are used extensively in field
soil-exploration programs. The vane shear test gives good results in soft, medium and stiff clays and
also gives excellent results in determining the properties of sensitive clays.
15
Pressure Meter Test (PMT):

The Pressure Meter Test is an in situ test that is conducted in a pre-made borehole. This pre-bored
hole must have a diameter that is between 1.03 and 1.2 times the nominal diameter of the probe
Originally it was developed by Menard (1956) in order to measure the strength and deformability of
soil. It is also known to have been adopted by ASTM as Test Designation 4719. The Menard-type
PMT probe has three cells with a diameter of 58mm and common length of 420mm, which can be
expanded by liquid or gas. The guard cells are expanded to reduce the end-condition effect on the
measuring cell. The test consists of two guard cells at the top and bottom, the middle one is the
measuring cell.

The results of the pressure meter test are expressed in a graphical form of pressure versus volume
shown in the below image.

In order to conduct this test, one, must first measure the cell volume, Vo then insert the probe into the
borehole. Pressure is then applied in increments you then measure the Volumatic expansion of the
cell. Repeat this procedure until the soil fails or until the pressure limit of the device is reached. The
soil is then considered to have failed when the total volume of the expanded cavity, V, is about twice
the volume of the original cavity. After the completion of the test, the probe is deflated and advanced
for testing at another depth.

5.2 What are the general design considerations used for a mechanically stabilised retaining
wall?

• Satisfying internal stability requirements. The internal stability requires checks that involves the
determination of the tension and pull-out resistance in the reinforcing elements and ascertaining
the integrity of facing elements.
• Checking the external stability of the wall. The external stability requires checks that involves
16

checks for overturning, sliding, and bearing capacity failure.

 Resources

• Chegg Study,(n.d), Principles of Foundation Engineering 8th Edition , viewed 12th June 2019,from
https://chegg.com/homework-help/refer-figure-1-1-vane-shear-tests-conducted-clay-layer-vane-ta-chapter-
3-problem-15p-solution-9781305081550-exc
• Craig, RF., (2004), Craig’s Soil Mechanics 7th Edition,Spon Press: United States of America &
Canada.
• Das, BM., (2007), Principles of Foundation Engineering 6th Edition, Thomson Canada Limited:
United States of America.
• Das, BM.,(2010), Principles of Geotechnical Engineering Engineering 7th ,Edition,Thomson
Canada Limited: United States of America.
• H, Mahmoud.,(2015),Design Of Mat or Raft Foundation, viewed 12th June 2019,from
https://drive.uqu.edu.sa/_/hmmostafa/files/10%20Raft.pdf

17