Course : S0484/Foundation Engineering

Year : 2007
Version : 1/0

Session 7 – 8
SETTLEMENT OF SHALLOW
FOUNDATION
 SHALLOW FOUNDATION

Topic:
• General
• Immediate Settlement
• Consolidation Settlement
 GENERAL

The settlement of shallow foundation may be divided into

three broad categories:
1. Immediate settlement, which is caused by the elastic
deformation of dry soil and of moist and saturated soils
without any change in the moisture content. Immediate
settlement are generally based on equations derived
from the elasticity theory
2. Primary consolidation settlement, which is the result
of a volume change in saturated cohesive soils
because of expulsion of the water that occupies the
void spaces.
3. Secondary consolidation settlement, which is
observed in saturated cohesive soils and is the result of
the plastic adjustment of soil particles.

This course will focus at immediate and primary consolidation settlement only.
IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT
 IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT

General Equation (Harr, 1966)

• Flexibel Foundation
– At the corner of foundation S e 
B.q o
Es
 
1   s2

2

– At the center of foundation S e 

B.q o
Es
 
1   s2 

– Average Se 
B.q o
Es
 
1   s2  av

1   1  m 2  m   1  m 2  1  L
  ln  m. ln 
; m ; H=
   1  m 2  m   1  m 2  1 
  B


• Rigid Foundation

Se 
B.q o
Es

1   s2  r 
Es = Modulus of elasticity of soil
B = Foundation width L = Foundation length
IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT
 IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT

If Df = 0 and H < , the elastic settlement of foundation

can be determined from the following formula:

Se 
B.qo 
2 1   s  F1  1   s  2  s  F2
1   s 
2 2
 (corner of rigid foundation)
Es 2

Se 
B.qo
Es
 
1   s2  1   s2  F1  1   s  2  s2  F2  (corner of flexible foundation)

The variations of F1 and F2 with H/B are given in the graphs of next slide
IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT
IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT
 EXAMPLE

Problem:
A foundation is 1 m x 2 m in plan and carries
a net load per unit area, qo = 150 kN/m2.
Given, for the soil, Es = 10,000 kN/m2, s 0.3.
Assuming the foundation to be flexible,
estimate the elastic settlement at the center
of the foundation for the following conditions:
a. Df = 0 and H = 
b. Df = 0 and H = 5 m
 EXAMPLE

Solution:
Part a.
Se 
B.q o
Es
 
1   s2 

For L/B = 2/1 = 2    1.53, so

Se 
(1)(150)
10,000
 
1  0.32 (1.53)  0.0209m  20.9mm

Part b.
Se 
B '.qo
Es
      
1   s2 1   s2 F1  1   s  2  s2 F2

For L’/B’ = 2, and H/B’ = 10  F1  0.638 and F2  0.033, so

Se 
(0.5)(150)
10,000
  
1  0.32  1  0.32 (0.638)  1  0.3  2(0.3) 2 (0.033) x 4  0.0163m  16.3mm
 IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT

General Equation (Bowles, 1982)

1   s2
S e  q o .B'. .F1 M
L'
Es B'

1  
1  M2  1 M2  N2 
M  M2  1 1  N2   H
F1  M . ln
  
M 1 M  N 1
2 2
 ln
M  M  N  1 
2 2
 N
B'

Es = Modulus of elasticity of soil

H = effective layer thickness, ex. 2 - 4B below foundation

L B
At the center of Foundation L'  B'  and F1 time by 4
2 2
At the corner of Foundation L'  L B'  B and F1 time by 1
IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT

• For saturated clay soil

q o .B
S e  A 1 .A 2
Es
 IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT

• For sandy soil

 
z2
Iz
S e  C1 .C 2 q  q  z
0 Es

where:
– Iz = factor of strain influence
– C1 = correction factor to thickness of embedment
foundation = 1 – 0.5x[q/(q-q)]
– C2 = correction factor due to soil creep
= 1+0,2.log(t/0,1)
– t = time in years
– q = stress caused by external load
– q =  . Df
IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT

Young Modulus

Circle Foundation or L/B =1

z=0  Iz = 0.1
z = z1 = 0,5 B  Iz = 0.5
z = z2 = 2B  Iz = 0.0

Foundation with L/B ≥ 10

z=0  Iz = 0.2
z = z1 = B  Iz = 0.5
z = z2 = 4B  Iz = 0.0
 EXAMPLE

A shallow foundation 3 m x 3 m (as shown in the following drawing). The

subgrade is sandy soil with Young modulus varies based on N-SPT value
(use the following correlation: Es = 766N)

Determine the settlement

occur in 5 years (use strain
influence method)
EXAMPLE
 EXAMPLE

Depth z Es Iz Iz
z
Es
(m) (m) (kN/m2) (average) (m3/kN)
0.0 – 1.0 1.0 8000 0.233 0.291 x 10-4
1.0 – 1.5 0.5 10000 0.433 0.217 x 10-4
1.5 – 4.0 2.5 10000 0.361 0.903 x 10-4
4.0 – 6.0 2.0 16000 0.111 0.139 x 10-4
 1.55 x 10-4
 q   17.8 x1.5   t   5 
C1  1  0.5   1  0.5   0.9 C2  1  0.2. log   1  0.2. log   1.34
 q  q   160   17.8 x1 .5    0.1   0. 1 

 
2B
Iz
S e  C1.C2 . q  q  .z
0 Es
S e  (0.9)(1.34)(160  17.8 x1.5)(1.55 x10  4 )
S e  24.8mm
CONSOLIDATION
SETTLEMENT
CONSOLIDATION SETTLEMENT

• Normal Consolidation
pc  po pc Cc p o  p
or 1 Sc  .H c . log
po 1  eo po

• Over consolidation
p c  p o or pc
1
po

po + p < pc Cs p  p
Sc  .H c . log o
1  eo po
Cs p Cc p  p
po < pc < po+p Sc  .H c . log c  .H c . log o
1  eo p o 1  eo pc
 CONSOLIDATION SETTLEMENT

where:
– eo = initial void ratio
– Cc = compression index
– Cs = swelling index
– pc = preconsolidation pressure
– po = average effective pressure on the clay layer before the construction of
the foundation
=  ’.z
 p = average increase of pressure on the clay layer caused by the
foundation construction and other external load, which can be determine
using method of 2:1, Boussinesq, Westergaard or Newmark.
Alternatively, the average increase of pressure (p) may be approximated
by:
1
p   pt  4pm  pb 
6
pt = the pressure increase at the top of the clay layer
pm = the pressure increase at the middle of the clay layer
pb = the pressure increase at the bottom of the clay layer
CONSOLIDATION SETTLEMENT
 EXAMPLE

A foundation 1m x 2m in plan is shown in the following figure.

Estimate the consolidation settlement of the foundation.
Assume the clay is normally consolidated.
 EXAMPLE

Cc p o  p
Sc  .H c . log
1  eo po

po = (2.5)(16.5) + (0.50)(17.5-10) +(1.25)(16-10) = 52.5 kN/m2

qo .B.L 2:1 method

p 
 B  z  L  z 
150.1.2
p   13.45 kN / m 2
1  3.25 2  3.25

0.32 52.5  13.45

Sc  2.5 x log  44 mm
1  0.8 52.5
ALLOWABLE SETTLEMENT