CESP 105 – FOUNDATION ENGINEERING AND

RETAINING WALL DESIGN

Lesson 11. Structural Design of Spread Footing

11.1 Steps In Designing A Square, Spread Or Isolated Footing.

1) Assume weight of footing between 6% to 8% of service load (DL + LL)
2) Compute the required area of footing using the relation:
𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 + 𝑫𝑳 + 𝑳𝑳
𝑹𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑨𝒓𝒆𝒂 =
𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆
3) Use a bigger size than the required area.
4) Compute ultimate column load, Pu:
𝑷𝒖 = 𝟏. 𝟐𝑫𝑳 + 𝟏. 𝟔𝑳𝑳
5) Compute the net upward soil pressure, 𝒒𝒖
𝑷𝒖
𝒒𝒖 =
𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒓𝒆𝒂
6) Compute the allowable ultimate soil pressure, 𝒒𝒂
𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒙 𝑷𝒖
𝒒𝒂 =
𝑫𝑳 + 𝑳𝑳
𝒅
7) Compute “d” by punching shear which occurs at a distance from the face of the
𝟐
column.

a) Compute allowable punching shear:

𝟏
𝑽𝒄 = √𝒇𝒄′
𝟑
 𝟐 √𝒇𝒄′ 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒏
𝑽𝒄 = (𝟏 + ) 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝜷𝒄 =
𝜷𝒄 𝟔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒏

Note: use whichever is lesser.

b) Equate actual punching shear to allowable punching shear and solve for “d”.
𝑽𝒖
𝑽𝒏 = (𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍)
𝝓𝒃𝒐 𝒅

Where: 𝑽𝒖 = 𝒒𝒖 [𝑳𝟐 − (𝒅 + 𝒄)𝟐 ]

𝒃𝒐 𝒅 = (𝒅 + 𝒄)(𝟒)(𝒅)
Ø = 0.85
𝑽
𝑽𝒄 = 𝝓𝒃𝒖 𝒅
𝒐
8) Compute ρ:
𝒙
From bending: 𝑴𝒖 = 𝒒𝒖 (𝑳)(𝒙) (𝟐)
𝑴𝒖 = 𝝓𝒇𝒄′ 𝒃𝒅𝟐 𝒘(𝟏 − 𝟎. 𝟓𝟗𝒘)
𝒘𝒇𝒄′
𝝆= critical section for bending
𝒇𝒚

X
9) Compare with 𝝆𝒎𝒊𝒏
𝟏. 𝟒
𝝆𝒎𝒊𝒏 =
𝒇𝒚
If ρ < ρmin ; use ρ = ρmin

10) Check for beam shear which occurs at a distance d from the face of the column.
𝑽𝒖
𝑽𝒏 = (𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍)
𝝓𝒃𝒅
Where: 𝑽𝒖 = 𝒒𝒖 (𝑳)(𝒙)
𝟏
𝑽𝒄 = 𝟔 √𝒇𝒄′ (𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆)
 critical section for beam shear

X d
11) Compute for steel area requirement:
𝑨𝒔 = 𝝆𝒃𝒅
12) Compute the required development length.
𝟎. 𝟎𝟐 𝑨𝒃 𝒇𝒚
𝑹𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑳𝒅 =
√𝒇𝒄′
Where: Ab = area of one bar
𝑴𝒊𝒏. 𝑳𝒅 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟔𝒅𝒃 𝒇𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝟑𝟎𝟎 𝒎𝒎

13) Recheck actual weight of footing.

𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 = 𝒅 + 𝟕𝟎 + 𝟏. 𝟓𝒅𝒃

Example:
Design a spread footing for a column 480mm x 480mm in section to carry a dead load
of 900 kN and live load of 1,600 kN. Allowable soil bearing capacity is 170 kPa. Neglect the
weight of the soil above the footing. Use fc’= 20 MPa and fy = 400 MPa.

Solution:
Assume weight of footing between to be 8% of column load (DL + LL)
Wt. of footing = 0.08(900 + 1600) = 200 kN
Total load = 900 + 1600 + 200 = 2,700 kN
 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 + 𝑫𝑳 + 𝑳𝑳
𝑹𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑨𝒓𝒆𝒂 =
𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆

2700
𝑅𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 = = 𝟏𝟓. 𝟖𝟖 𝒎𝟐
170

𝑳𝟐 = 𝟏𝟓. 𝟖𝟖 𝒎𝟐

𝑳 = 𝟑. 𝟗𝟗 𝑴 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝟒. 𝟎𝟎𝒎

Try 4.00m x 4.00m

A = 4.00m x 4.00m = 16.00 m2

𝑃𝑢 = 1.2𝐷𝐿 + 1.6𝐿𝐿 = 1.2(900) + 1.6(1600) = 3,640 𝑘𝑁

𝑃𝑢 3,640
𝑞𝑢 = = = 227.50 𝑘𝑁⁄𝑚2
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 16

𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑥 𝑃𝑢 170 𝑥 3,640

𝑞𝑎 = = = 247.52 𝑘𝑁⁄𝑚2 > 227.50 𝑘𝑁⁄𝑚2
𝐷𝐿 + 𝐿𝐿 900 + 1600

Compute “d” by punching shear.

𝟏 𝟏
𝑽𝒄 = √𝒇𝒄′ = √𝟐𝟎 = 𝟏. 𝟒𝟗 𝑴𝑷𝒂
𝟑 𝟑
2 √𝑓𝑐 ′
𝑉𝑐 = (1 + )
𝛽𝑐 6
𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑛 480 𝑚𝑚
𝛽𝑐 = = = 𝟏. 𝟎𝟎
𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑛 480 𝑚𝑚
2 √𝑓𝑐 ′ 2 √20
𝑉𝑐 = (1 + ) = (1 + ) = 𝟐. 𝟐𝟒 𝑴𝑷𝒂
𝛽𝑐 6 1 6

Use 𝑽𝒄 = 𝟏. 𝟒𝟗 𝑴𝑷𝒂

Actual punching shear:

𝑽𝒖
𝑽𝒏 =
𝝓𝒃𝒐 𝒅

𝑽𝒖 = 𝒒𝒖 [𝑳𝟐 − (𝒅 + 𝒄)𝟐 ] = 𝟐𝟐𝟕. 𝟓𝟎[𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟐 − (𝟒𝟖𝟎 + 𝒅)𝟐 ]

𝒃𝒐 𝒅 = (𝒅 + 𝒄)(𝟒)(𝒅) = (𝟒𝟖𝟎 + 𝒅)(𝟒)(𝒅)

𝑽𝒖
𝑽𝒏 = = 𝑽𝒄
𝝓𝒃𝒐 𝒅
𝟐𝟐𝟕. 𝟓𝟎[𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟐 − (𝟒𝟖𝟎 + 𝒅)𝟐 ]
𝑽𝒏 = = 𝟏. 𝟒𝟗
(𝟎. 𝟖𝟓)((𝟒𝟖𝟎 + 𝒅)(𝟒)(𝒅))𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎
(𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟎)𝟐 − (𝟒𝟖𝟎 + 𝒅)𝟐 = 𝟐𝟐. 𝟐𝟕(𝟒𝟖𝟎 + 𝒅)(𝒅)
(4000)2 − 230400 − 96𝑑 − 𝑑 2 = 10689.6𝑑 + 22.27𝑑 2
𝟐𝟑. 𝟐𝟕𝒅𝟐 + 𝟏𝟎𝟕𝟖𝟓. 𝟔𝒅 − 𝟏𝟓𝟕𝟔𝟗𝟔𝟎𝟎 = 𝟎
By Quadratic Equation:
d = 623.46 mm say 650 mm.

𝒙
From bending: 𝑴𝒖 = 𝒒𝒖 (𝑳)(𝒙) ( ) critical section for bending
𝟐

4000

x = 1760
𝒙 𝟏. 𝟕𝟔
𝑴𝒖 = 𝒒𝒖 (𝑳)(𝒙) ( ) = 𝟐𝟐𝟕. 𝟓𝟎(𝟒. 𝟎𝟎)(𝟏. 𝟕𝟔) ( ) = 𝟏, 𝟒𝟎𝟗. 𝟒𝟏 𝒌𝑵. 𝒎
𝟐 𝟐
𝑴𝒖 = 𝝓𝒇𝒄′ 𝒃𝒅𝟐 𝒘(𝟏 − 𝟎. 𝟓𝟗𝒘)
𝟏𝟒𝟎𝟗. 𝟒𝟏 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟔 = 𝟎. 𝟗𝟎(𝟐𝟎)(𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟎)(𝟔𝟓𝟎𝟐)𝒘(𝟏 − 𝟎. 𝟓𝟗𝒘)
𝒘 − 𝟎. 𝟓𝟗𝒘𝟐 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟒𝟔𝟑
By Quadratic Equation:
w = 0.0476
𝒘𝒇𝒄′ 𝟎. 𝟎𝟒𝟕𝟔(𝟐𝟎)
𝝆= = = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟐𝟑𝟖
𝒇𝒚 𝟒𝟎𝟎
𝟏. 𝟒 𝟏. 𝟒
𝝆𝒎𝒊𝒏 = = = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟑𝟓
𝒇𝒚 𝟒𝟎𝟎

If ρ < ρmin ; use ρ = ρmin

Use 𝝆 = 𝝆𝒎𝒊𝒏 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟑𝟓

Check for beam shear:

𝑽𝒖
𝑽𝒏 = (𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍)
𝝓𝒃𝒅
𝑽𝒖 = 𝒒𝒖 (𝑳)(𝒙) = 𝟐𝟐𝟕. 𝟓𝟎(𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟎)(𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟎) = 𝟏, 𝟎𝟏𝟎. 𝟏𝟎 𝒌𝑵 critical section for beam shear
𝑽𝒖 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟎. 𝟏𝟎
𝑽𝒏 = = = 𝟎. 𝟒𝟓𝟕 𝑴𝑷𝒂
𝝓𝒃𝒅 𝟎. 𝟖𝟓(𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟎)(𝟔𝟓𝟎)

𝟏
𝑽𝒄 = √𝒇 ′ (𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆)
𝟔 𝒄
1 1
𝑉𝑐 = √𝑓𝑐 ′ = √20 = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟓 𝑴𝑷𝒂 > 𝟎. 𝟒𝟓𝟕 𝑴𝑷𝒂 (𝑺𝑨𝑭𝑬)
6 6
4000

1110 650
Steel area requirement:
𝑨𝒔 = 𝝆𝒃𝒅
𝑨𝒔 = 𝝆𝒃𝒅 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟑𝟓(𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟎)(𝟔𝟓𝟎) = 𝟗, 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝒎𝒎𝟐

Try 25mmØ bar:

𝝅
(𝟐𝟓)𝟐 𝑵 = 𝟗, 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝒎𝒎𝟐
𝟒

N = 18.53 say 19 pcs

Use 19 pcs – 25mmØ bars
Check for development length:
𝝅
𝟎. 𝟎𝟐 𝑨𝒃 𝒇𝒚 𝟎. 𝟎𝟐 [(𝟒 ) (𝟐𝟓𝟐 )] (𝟒𝟎𝟎)
𝑹𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑳𝒅 = = = 𝟖𝟕𝟖 𝒎𝒎
√𝒇𝒄′ √𝟐𝟎
𝑴𝒊𝒏. 𝑳𝒅 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟔𝒅𝒃 𝒇𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝟑𝟎𝟎 𝒎𝒎
𝑴𝒊𝒏. 𝑳𝒅 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟔𝒅𝒃 𝒇𝒚 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟔(𝟐𝟓)(𝟒𝟎𝟎) = 𝟔𝟎𝟎 𝒎𝒎

Ld furnished = 1760 – 70 = 1690 mm, OK

Check for bearing strength:

𝑨𝟐
𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 = 𝝓𝟎. 𝟖𝟓𝒇𝒄′𝑨𝟏√
𝑨𝟏

𝑨𝟐 (𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟎)(𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟎)
√ = √ = 𝟖. 𝟑𝟑 > 𝟐
𝑨𝟏 (𝟒𝟖𝟎)(𝟒𝟖𝟎)
𝑨
USE √𝑨𝟐 = 𝟐
𝟏

𝐴2
𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 𝜙0.85𝑓𝑐′𝐴1 √ = 0.70(0.85)(20)(480𝑋480)(2) = 𝟓𝟒𝟖𝟑. 𝟓𝟐 𝒌𝑵
𝐴1

𝟓, 𝟒𝟖𝟑. 𝟓𝟐 𝒌𝑵 > 𝟐, 𝟕𝟎𝟎 𝒌𝑵 (𝑺𝑨𝑭𝑬)

Pu = 2,700 kN
Check weight of footing:
Total depth = 650 + 70 + (1.5 x 25) = 757.50 mm

Actual weight of footing:

= (𝟒𝒙𝟒)(𝟎. 𝟕𝟓𝟕𝟓)(𝟐𝟒𝟎𝟎)(𝟗. 𝟖𝟏) = 𝟐𝟖𝟓. 𝟑𝟔 𝒌𝑵

Total Weight = 285.36 + 900 + 1,600 = 2,785.36 kN

Area Required:
2785.36
𝐴= = 𝟏𝟔. 𝟑𝟖 𝒎𝟐 > 𝟏𝟔. 𝟎𝟎 𝒎𝟐
170

AREA NEEDS REVISING

Reference:
1. Principles of Foundation Engineering by Braja M. Das 7th edition.
2. Foundation Analysis and Design by Bowles, J.E., 5th edition.
3. Design of Reinforced Concrete by McCormac, J.C. and Brown, R.H. 9th edition.