Well Foundation and its

Design
Well Foundation

 Large, thick, hollow cylindrical well sunk into the ground

to transmit loads from super and substructure of bridge
to the founding soil

 Suitable for very heavy vertical and lateral loadings as

well as large scour depths

 Commonly used and popular type of foundation in

alluvial plains in South Asian region

 Generally costly and ineffective in utilization of materials

in case of small loads and shallow depths.

 Not suitable for clays and soils containing large boulders

Merit/Demerit of Well
Foundation

Merit
 It has a larger bearing area and section modulus as compared with
the cross sectional area of the main body of pier and abutment.
This provides better load distribution and good lateral resistance.
 Concrete is cast over ground and has better quality control, as
well as good depth control.
 Skilled man power and technology easily available

Demerit
 Obsolete technology in many parts of the world
 Uneconomic for smaller bridges
 Problems of tilt and shift
 Time consuming in construction
 Quality control problem in bottom plugging of well
Types of Well

Open Well Pneumatic Well Floating Box Well

Types of Well
Components of
Well Foundation Pier

Well Cap

Top Plug

Well
Steinin
g

Dredge Hole
with
Granular
Filling
Well Curb

Cutting Edge

Bottom Plug
Components of Well Foundations and their
Functions
Well Steining
Well steining is the main body of a well. It should be heavy enough to sink the whole well
without excessive kentledge. It should be strong enough so that it is not to get damaged
during sinking and from the earth pressure from outside of well.

Well Curb
Lowest part of well steining to transfer load through the cutting edge to the ground. It is
made of richer concrete and is heavily reinforced. It withstands the force from bottom
plug
due to arch action. It is made with tapering side inside the well and the taper angle is
around 60 degrees with the horizontal plane. Sometimes the curb is lined with steel plate
through out its height inside and outside to protect from damages due to boulders if any.
Its top diameter(outer) is kept 5 to 15 cm higher than the outer dia. of the well steining to
facilitate sinking.

Cutting Edge
Sharp cutting edge is provided at the end of well curb, where boulders are not expected.
Where as stud nose cutting edge is provided, where boulders are mixed with soil.
Cutting edge should be strong enough to resist cutting pressure and rigidly fixed with well
curb.
Bottom Plug
Concrete layer at end of curb to stop the sinking of well, transfer load of well in wider
area and to control the movement of underground water. It should be strong enough
to withstand large pressure and preferably in the shape of a bulb to produce arch
action and increase the bearing area. The concrete should be richer and with about
15% more cement content. It should be more workable with slump about 150 to 200
mm.

Top Plug
Sand filling in the well is covered with top plug. It is usually made from lean concrete of 300
mm to 500 mm thickness. Its function is to make a smoother base for well cap.

Well Cap
Well cap is a RC slab cast monolithically with the well steining and transfers load from
superstructure / substructure to the well steining. Its diameter can be made larger by up
to 1.0 m from the steining to accommodate the long abutment or pier. It should be
strong enough to withstand the pressure from above by slab action. The top level of
well cap is usually flushed with the lowest water level or at the river bed level.
Design of Well
Foundation
Design of well foundation is carried out in the following
steps.

1. Determine the depth of well foundation

2. Determine the shape and size of well foundation

3. Check the stability of well foundation

- Check stability at elastic state
- Check stability at ultimate state
4. Perform structural design of well
foundation
- Design well cap
- Design well steining
- Design well curb
- Design of bottom
plug
Depth of Well
Foundation
 Shape and Size of Well Foundations

 Shape and size of well depends on the size of substructure ,load and type
of soil. Elongated shapes are used for long piers and abutments.

 Size of well is determined considering safe bearing capacity of soil at

the founding level of well.

 The size of the dredge hole shall not be less than 2 m to facilitate
dredging .

 Top diameter(outer) of curb should be higher than the outer diameter of the
well steining to facilitate sinking. Usually curb offset is taken in the range of
50 to 150 mm

 Thickness of steining should be sufficient so that well can be sunk by its

self weight . Minimum thickness of steining shall be 500 mm.

 Circular wells are most preferred because they are relatively strong, simple in
construction , easy in sinking. Circular wells are not suitable for wide roads
with wide substructures.

 Double D and rectangular types are commonly used wells after circular wells.
Loads and Loads (IRC:78-2000, Cl. 706.1.1)
Combinations
Loads and loads combination to be considered in the design of well are
Dead loads from superstructure (G), self weight of substructure including weight
of sand filling (G), live load (Q), longitudinal force by braking (Fb), buoyancy (Gb),
force due to water current (Fwc), frictional force due to expansion/contraction
of 
superstructure (Ff ), wind load (W), forces due to tilt and shift of the well (G),
seismic load from superstructure and substructure (Feq), load due to back fill ,
Load due to snow (Gs), erection load (Fer), force due to water wave (Fwp), impact
due to floating bodies (Fim) and centrifugal force (Fcf )

Impact factor is ignored in the design of foundations. Buoyancy is separately considered for HFL
and LWL. Only 15% of the total buoyant force is taken for the depth below max. scour level.
The loads and forces may be evaluated as per IRC: 6 and their combinations for the purpose of the
design of well will be as follows:

Combination (I): G + Q or Gs + Fwc + Ff  ± Fb + Gb + Fcf + Fep

Combination (II): (I) + W + Fwp or (I) + Feq + Fwp or (I ) + Fim + Fwp

Combination G + Fwc + Gb + Fep + Fer + Ff  + W or Feq

(III):
 Loads on Well Foundation

W W, H, M - Resultant vertical force,

Horizontal force and
Moment due to
H externally
applied load
P
M - Force due to net lateral
M aximum earth pressure
µ‘P scoured µ’ P Frictional force along the
level
- embedded height of
P
well
R Vertical reaction from base
-
M ’- Moment at base due to
M’ unequal distribution of base
pressure
F
R F Frictional force at base
Base of Well
-
 Tilt and shift of
well
Soil stratum through which the wells are sunk are very rarely uniform and
therefore, the resistance offered by these layers to the sinking is different in
different parts of the wells due to which tilt and shift of well my occur.
The effect of tilt and shift is to cause extra foundation pressure and this
pressure shall be considered in design.

IRC 78-2000 Provision

Translational shift
The well shall be shank Total shift

vertically without any tilt

and shifts.
Original C/L of Well
However a tilt of 1 in 80
and shift of 150 mm due Tilted C/L of Well
Shifted C/L of Well
to translation in a
direction which will cause
most severe effect shall
be considered in design
Base of Well
of 
well.
Stability of Well

Stability of well under the action of lateral loads depends on the resistance of soil
on its sides and base. For a given vertical load the deformation of load increases
with the increase in lateral loads, therefore resistances offered by the sides and
the base of well also change. The behaviour of the well at ultimate failure is
different than at the elastic state. Therefore, in the design of well foundation,
stabilitybe
should foundation
checked at elastic state and at ultimate state (Ref. IRC 45)
.

I. Check the stability of well at elastic state under working load

Assumptions
1. Soil surrounding the well and below the base is perfectly elastic.
2. Under design working load unity soil reaction increases linearly
with increasing lateral deflection
3. Coefficient of horizontal subgrade reaction increases linearly
with the depth in cohesionless soil.
4. The well is assumed to act as a rigid body subjected to
unidirectional lateral load and moment at scour level of well.
 Steps for checking stability of well at elastic
state
Step 1
Having determined the grip length of well, calculate
-Total downward load consisting of DL, LL acting on the base of well (W)
-Total lateral load applied above the scour level (H)
-Total external moment applied at the base of well due to eccentricity of LL,
tilt, shift etc (M).

Step2
Using the dimensions of well calculate the following geometrical
properties

IB – MI of base section in the plane of bending about

the axis perpendicular to the direction of lateral
force
Iv   – MI of vertical projected rectangle of well below
scour level
B – Dia. of well 
L –  Projected width of well in contact with soil offering
passive resistance
L=0.9 × B
m = Ratio of horizontal and vertical subgrade modulus at
base level

 ,
 μ - Coefficient of friction between well sides and the soil 

φ –  Angle of internal friction of

soil 

D f  –  Depth of grip of well 

Step 3
Check the point of rotation of well lies at the base by ensuring that

the
 frictional force at the base is sufficient to restrain the movement of wel
forward or backward 

 µ - coefficient of friction at base of well 

Step 4
Check that the soil on sides remain elastic by ensuring the earth
pressure below the pressure line

γ –  Unit wt. of soil (dry or submerged)

K  A  , K P –  Coefficient of active and
passive earth pressure
 Step 5
Check the pressure at the base of
well 

σ1   ,σ2   –  maximum and minimum base

pressure P –  Total horizontal reaction from
the side

 A –  Area of base section of well 

qallow - Allowable bearing capacity of soil 

If the above conditions are not satisfied, the grip length of

II. Check the stability of well at ultimate state under ultimate
load

Steps for checking stability of well at ultimate state

Step 1 Compute ultimate vertical load at base (Wu), Ultimate moment about
the point of rotation of well which is taken at 0.2 Df  from base (M u ) and
ultimate horizontal load at the scour level (Hu ) for various ultimate
load combination

Step Check maximum pressure at base with allowable bearing pressure

2
O
R

Step 3 Check ultimate moment with total ultimate moment of resistance of

well 
OR

Mb –  M.R. of base section

Q – Shape
factor 

Ms –  M.R. Due to the well sides earth pressure

M - M.R. due to side friction

Structural Design of
Well
I. Design of Well Critical section for BM and
Cap SF
Pier/Abutment

Well

Plan of Well D
Cap

Dia. of well cap (D) Diameter of well cap depends on the sizes of abutment/pier
 – and diameter of well. Diameter well cap is kept at least 150 mm
larger than well and pier/abutment in all sides to maintain
offset.
Thick. of well cap (d)
- Thickness of well cap is determined to resist BM and SF at
critical section.
Area of steel (Ast) - Area of steel bars (Ast) required for well cap are designed for the
BM found at the critical section of well cap.
II. Design of Well
Steining
1. Determine the thickness of well steining
Thickness of well steining should be such so that well is sunk by its self weight without
excessive kentledge. Thickness of steining is fixed based on the following
considerations.

d - External diameter of well (m)

 f –  Skin friction of well 
t k –  Constant, which depends on the type
of soil 
D –  Depth of well below GL or LWL
(m) γ c –  Unit wt. of concrete
t –  Thickness of well steining

Well steining
 2. Check the pressure on
well steining during
On the outside of well , the soil as well as water exert
sinking
the pressure. On the inside of well, water exerts the
Bed level pressure, which partly cancelled the outside pressure.
Water level
h’ The net pressure (p1 = KAγs h’ + KA sub
γ h - w h)causes hoop
stresses in the wellγ
steining .
Hoop compressive stress along the inner face (f1 ) and
Outside of
h
outer face of steining (f2 ) should not exceed the
well
allowable compressive stress of concrete

KAγs h’ + KA γsub h
γw h
 p1 - Net pressure on outside of
well 
r 1  , r2  Internal and external diameter of well 
-
K  A –  Coefficient of active earth pressure
 Allowable compressive
≤ γs   , γ sub –  Unit wt. of soil above water level
  stress of concrete
and submerged unit wt. of soil 

γw  Unit wt. of water

  – 
3. Check the stresses in well steining due to all possible
loads
Calculate all the vertical forces, horizontal forces and moments at the level of maximum scour.
Find the maximum bending moment due to all possible loads at the section of zero shear
and check stresses in well steining.
Section of zero shear lies at ‘ x ’ distance from the MSL and found as follows.

Scour level (MSL)

F – Factor of safety (F = 2)

 x Section of zero H – Resultant horizontal force at scour level
  shear force γb – Submerged unit wt. of soil (γb = γsoil - γw )
Mmax  – Maximum value of BM at x level
Df  M o  – BM at scour level
ka, k  –pCoefficient of active and passive earth pressure
B
B – Diameter of well
Df   – Grip of well

Bottom of well
Stresses in steining of well are found at the section of maximum
moment and checked as follows.

 f 1 shall be less or equal to the allowable bending compressive stress of

concrete
 f 2 shall be less or equal to the allowable bending tensile stress of concrete
Where,
V- Vertical loads at the level of X, i.e. at the section of zero
M max - I SF
Maximum moment at section of zero SF ( Mmax  = M 0 + 2/3Hx)
- Net moment of inertia of the well
y- section from the centroid to the outer face(I =
Distance ofI outer 
well –  I(yinne= r)outer
  radius of
A- well)cross sectional area of the well steining( A
Net
π r 2 outer - π r 2 inner )
= - Outer and inner radius of
r outer, r inner
well
4. Determine vertical and transverse reinforcement of well steining

To determine the vertical reinforcement, well is considered as column section subjected to

axial load, shear and bending moment . However the amount of vertical reinforcement
provided in steining should not be less than 0.2% of actual cross sectional area of the
steining.

The transverse reinforcement in the steining should be provided in accordance with provision
for a column but in no case should be less than 0.04% of the volume per unit length of the
III. Design of Well Curb

Well curb shall be designed for the loads

subjected
A. While sinking the well
B. While the curb rest on the bot om plug of
well

A. Design of curb while sinking the well

N N
Well
d
Cur
b
H Q  Q  H
P P
 Where,
d – Mean diameter of curb
N – Weight or steining in KN/m
θ – Angle of inclination of bevelling face of curb θ ≈ 600
μ - Coefficient of friction between soil and concrete of
curb P – Force in KN/m acting normal to bevelling face of
curb Q – Force in KN/m acting parallel to bevelling face of
curb

B. While the curb rest on the bottom plug of

well

River bed
Under the conditions when the cutting edge is not able
to move downwards , reaction can be resolved into
horizontal and vertical components. For the condition
hoop tension developed in curb is given by

Df 

d p2
b
r p1
In granular soil, the hoop tension ‘H’ is relieved by the active pressure around the
curb.

At junction of the curb and steining , a moment ‘M 0 ‘ is developed due to

the
horizontal force H caused by bevelled action i.e.

IV. Design of Bottom Plug

For circular well, thickness of the seal ‘t’ is given by the following
relation
Reinforcement of
Well Well Cap

Well
Steinin
g

Sectional Elevation
Well Curb

Sectional Plan
Reinforcement of Well
Cap
Pier

Well Cap

Bottom Top
Reinforcemen Reinforcemen
t t
Reinforcement Detailing Well
Curb