Foundation Engineering I

CE-325
Chapter 3: Bearing capacity of shallow
foundations

NUST Institute of Civil Engineering (NICE)

School of Civil & Env. Engineering (SCEE)

1
 Foundations in Civil Engineering 2

• Foundation is the structural element that connect a structure

to the ground.
• These elements are made of concrete, steel, wood etc.
• Foundations can be divided into two broad categories:
shallow foundations, and deep foundations.
• Shallow foundations transmit the structural loads to the near-
surface soils
• Deep foundations transmit some or all of the loads to deeper
soils.
 Foundations 3

Foundations

Shallow Deep
foundations foundations

Piles Caissons
Spread Mat
footings Anchors Auger-cast Drilled
piles shafts

A spread footing (or simply footing) is an enlargement at the

bottom of a column or bearing wall that spreads the applied
structural loads over a sufficiently large soil areas.
Spread footings 4
Mat foundations 5
 Mat foundations 6

Mat foundations are also known as raft foundations. They are always
made of reinforced concrete. Mats are considered if:
1. The structural load are so high or soil conditions so poor that spread footings
would be exceptionally large. As a general rule of thumb, if spread footing
would cover more than 50 % of the building footprint area, a mat or some type
of deep foundation will usually be more economical.

2. If the soil is very erratic and prone to excessive differential settlements

(heaves). The structural continuity and flexural strength of a mat will bridge
over these irregularities.

3. The uplift loads are larger than spread footings can accommodate. The greater
weight and continuity of a mat may provide sufficient resistance.

4. The bottom of structure is located below the GWT, so water proofing is an

important concern. Because mats are monolithic, they are much easier to
waterproof. The weight of mat also helps resist hydrostatic uplift forces from
the groundwater.
 Bearing pressure 7

• Bearing pressure is the contact force per unit area

along the bottom of the foundation.
• The bearing pressure is not necessarily distributed
evenly. Analytical studies and field measurements
indicate that actual distribution depends on several
factors, including the following:
– Eccentricity, if any, of the applied load
– Magnitude of the applied moment, if any
– Structural rigidity of the foundation
– Stress-strain properties of the soil
– Roughness of the bottom of the foundation
 Computation of bearing pressure 8

GWT
D

where
q = bearing pressure
P = vertical column load
Wf = weight of foundation, including the weight
of soil above the foundation, if any
A = base area of foundation
ud = pore water at bottom of foundation (i.e. at
a depth D below the ground surface
Bearing pressure – continuous footings 9

B = 1 m or 1 ft
 Example-1 10

The 5-ft square footing shown in figure below supports a column

load of 100 k. compute the bearing pressure. Use conc = 150 lb/ft3.

Foundation Design
Principles & Practices
2nd ed. (Coduto)
Page 156
 Example-2 11

• A 0.7-m wide continous spread footing supports a

wall load of 110 kN/m. The bottom of this footing is
at a depth of 0.50 m below the adjacent ground
surface and the soil has a unit weight of 17.5 k N/m3.
The ground water table is at depth of 10 m below the
ground surface. compute the bearing pressure. Use
conc = 23.6 k N/m3.

Foundation Design
Principles & Practices
2nd ed. (Coduto)
Page 157
 Distribution of bearing pressure 12

Flexible foundation on clay Flexible foundation on sand

Rigid foundation on clay Rigid foundation on sand

 Distribution of bearing pressure 13

Idealized distribution of bearing pressure

Real footings are close to being perfectly rigid, so the bearing
pressure distribution is not uniform. However, bearing capacity
and settlement analyses based on such a distribution would be
very complex, so it is customary to assume that the pressure
beneath concentric vertical loads is uniform across the base of
the footing, as shown above. The error introduced by this
simplification is not significant.
 Net bearing pressure 14

Net bearing pressure, q’ is the difference between the gross bearing

pressure, q, and the initial vertical effective stress, ’vo, at depth D.
In other words, q’ is a measure of the increase in vertical effective
stress at depth D.

Use of the net bearing pressure simplifies some computations,

especially those associated with settlement of spread footings.
 Floating foundation 15

Mat foundations are often placed in deep excavations, as shown

below. In addition to providing underground space, this design
decreases bearing pressure because the weight of the
foundation is substantially less than the weight of excavated soil.
In other words, the weight of structure and the foundation is
partially offset by the removal of soil from excavation. This
reduction in q significantly reduces the settlement.
 Example-3 16

The mat foundation in Fig. below is to be 50 m wide, 70 m long,

and 1.8 m thick. The sum of the column and wall loads is 805
MN. Compute the average bearing pressure, then compare it
with the initial vertical effective stress in the soil immediately
below the mat. Use conc = 23.6 kN/m3.

Foundation Design - Principles & Practices

2nd ed. (Coduto)
Page 158
 Bearing capacity of soils 17

• Ultimate bearing capacity: The value of the average contact

pressure between the foundation and the soil which will
produce shear failure in the soil.
• Safe bearing capacity: The maximum value of contact
pressure to which the soil can be subjected without risk of
shear failure. This is based solely on the strength of the soil
and is simply the ultimate bearing capacity divided by a
suitable factor of safety.
• Allowable bearing pressure: The maximum allowable net
loading intensity on the soil allowing for both shear and
settlement effects.