What is foundation?

-The weight, or load, must be evenly distributed over enough soil to prevent it from
compressing the soil. In addition to resist the load from gravity, the foundation must
resist floods, winds, and earthquakes.
-Where flooding is a problem, the foundation system must be designed for the possibility
that much of the supporting soil may be washed away.
-The foundation must also be designed to resist any debris that may be carried by
floodwaters.

Structural designs analysis and computations are required by building codes to be done
for projects exceeding a certain height to be constructed out of reinforce concrete, steel
and other construction materials. This job must be performed by a qualified and licensed
structural engineer and/ or assistants under his close supervision.

The critical problems to be solve by structural engineer are the following:

1. Correct sizes of footings, number, sizes and arrangement of their reinforcements bars
so that they will be able to support the dead load and live load, based on the soil bearing
capacity at the site.
* Live load
* Dead load

Dead load : Dead load on a structure is the result of the weight of the permanent
components such as beams, floor slabs, columns and walls.
These components will produce the same constant 'dead' load during the lifespan of the
building. Dead loads are exerted in the vertical plane.
Live load : refers to a load that can change over time. The weight of the load is variable or
shifts locations, such as when people are walking around in a building. Anything in a
building that is not fixed to the structure can result in a live load, since it can be moved
around.

2. Right sizes of columns, sizes, number of reinforcement bars so that they will not
collapse due to the dead and live loads of the structure.

Flexural stresses / bending stress.

* Beams
* Slabs
* Retaining wall
FOUNDATION PLAN
* Top view of the footings or foundation walls, showing the area the location by distances
between the centerlines and distances from reference lines or boundary lines.
* Show not only the concrete footings and walls but also the members that are used to
form the floor

DEEP FOUNDATION
~ carry building loads to more competent strata that are down too far below the ground
level, preventing the surface conditions from affecting their base bearing capacity.
* They usually go beyond 3 meters below the finished ground surface.
* Large structures.

EXAMPLE'S OF DEEP FOUNDATION

1. PILE FOUNDATION
• Long cylinder of a strong material such as concrete that is push into ground to act as
steady support for the structure built on the top of it.
When building is very heavy, concentrated loads, such as in high rise structure, bridge or
water tanks.
2. CASSION FOUNDATION
* Pier foundations are prefabricated hollow substructures designed to be constructed on
or near the surface of the ground, sunk to the desired depth and then filled with concrete,
thus ultimately becoming an integral part of the permanent structure.
* Foundation beneath rivers and other bodies of water.

SHALLOW FOUNDATION
• Shallow foundations perform very well on sites with strong soils, sufficiently thick
natural gravel rafts overlying weaker soils
Or where
robust,
engineered ground improvement is carried out.
≥ Small buildings
• Capacity and reasonable depth.
EXAMPLE'S OF SHALLOW FOUNDATION
1. Isolated footing - support individual columns.
STEEL REINFORCEMENT BARS
Most widely used reinforcing materials for almost types of concrete construction.
• Incorporated in concrete and other masonry members primarily to prevent cracking
when tension, compression and other forces or loads exceeding the strength.