Module Title: BASIC

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
Module Code: CSTGE701

Standard code: Eurocode 7

Drafted by: Emmanuel NZITUNGA

 Module Outline

LU1- PERFORM GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION

LU2- ANALYSE SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS
LU3-ANALYSE DEEP FOUNDATIONS
LU4-ANALYSE RETAINING WALLS
LU5- ANALYSE SLOPE STABILITY
 LU2- ANALYSE SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS
Learning Objectives:

Having successfully completed the Learning Unit, students should

be able to:
• Identify properly shallow foundation types according to Eurocode
• Analyse properly bearing capacity of shallow foundations
according to Eurocode
• Analyse properly settlement of shallow foundations according to
Eurocode
• Perform properly one dimensional consolidation test according to
Eurocode
 Topic: Analyze shallow foundation

The topic will cover the following learning outcomes:

• LO 2.1. Identify shallow foundation types
• LO 2.2. Analyse bearing capacity of shallow
foundations
• LO 2.3. Analyse settlement of shallow foundations
• LO 2.4. Perform one dimensional consolidation test
 LO 2.1. Identify shallow foundation types

2.1.1: INTRODUCTION
Every building consists of two basic components: The
superstructure and the substructure or foundations. The
superstructure is usually that part of the building which is above
ground, and which serves the purpose of its intended use.
The substructure or foundations is the lower portion of the
building, usually located below ground level, which transmits
the load of the super- structure to the subsoil.
A foundation is therefore that part of the structure which is in direct
contact with the ground to which the loads are transmitted.
FUNCTIONS OF FOUNDATIONS 

 Reduction of hard intensity

 Even distribution of load
 Lateral stability
 Protection against soil movement
 Safety against undermining
Essential requirements of a good foundation
When choosing the depth of a spread foundation the following shall
be considered
• reaching an adequate bearing stratum;
• the depth above which shrinkage and swelling of clay soils, due to
seasonal weather
• changes, or to trees and shrubs, may cause appreciable
movements; the depth above which frost damage may occur;
• the level of the water table in the ground and the problems, which
may occur if excavation for the foundation is required below this
level;
• possible ground movements and reductions in the strength of the
bearing stratum by seepage or climatic effects or by construction
procedures;
• the effects of excavations on nearby foundations and structures;
Type of shallow foundations

According to Terzaghi,a foundation is shallow if its depth is equal or

less than its width. From the point of view of design, shallow
foundations may be of following types:
 Strip foundation
 Spread footing
 Combined footing
 Strap footing
 Mat foundations (Raft foundations) 
 LO2.2.Analyse bearing capacity of shallow foundations

2.2.1. Ultimate limit state design

1. Overall stability
Overall stability, with or without the foundations, shall be checked
particularly in the following situations:
— near or on a natural or man-made slope;
— near an excavation or a retaining wall;
— near a river, a canal, a lake, a reservoir or the sea shore;
— near mine workings or buried structures.
 LO2.2.Analyse bearing capacity of shallow foundations

2. Bearing resistance of shallow foundation

These are methods;
2.1. General methods
The following inequality shall be satisfied for all ultimate limit states:
Vd ≤ Rd
Where:
Rd shall be calculated according to 2.4.
Vd shall include the weight of the foundation, the weight of any
backfill material and all earth pressures, either favourable or
unfavourable. Water pressures not caused by the foundation load
shall be included as actions.
 LO2.2.Analyse bearing capacity of shallow foundations

2.2. Analytical method

2.3. Semi-empirical method
2.4. Prescriptive method using presumed bearing resistance

3. Sliding resistance
Where the loading is not normal to the foundation base, foundations
shall be checked against failure by sliding on the base.
The following inequality shall be satisfied:
Hd ≤ Rd + Rp;d
Hd shall include the design values of any active earth forces imposed on
the foundation.
Rd shall be calculated according to 2.4.
 LO2.2.Analyse bearing capacity of shallow foundations

4. Loads with large eccentricities

Special precautions shall be taken where the eccentricity of loading
exceeds 1/3 of the width of a rectangular footing or 0,6 of the
radius of a circular footing.
Such precautions include:
— careful review of the design values of actions in accordance with
2.4.2;
— designing the location of the foundation edge by taking into
account the magnitude of construction tolerances.
Unless special care is taken during the works, tolerances up to 0,10
m should be considered.
 LO2.2.Analyse bearing capacity of shallow foundations

5. Structural failure due to foundation movement

Differential vertical and horizontal foundation displacements shall
be considered to ensure that they do not lead to an ultimate limit
state occurring in the supported structure.
A presumed bearing pressure may be adopted (see 2.5) provided
displacements will not cause an ultimate limit state in the
structure.
In ground that may swell, the potential differential heave shall be
assessed and the foundations and structure designed to resist or
accommodate it.
 LO2.2.Analyse bearing capacity of shallow foundations

2.2.2. Serviceability limit state design

1. General
 Account shall be taken of displacements caused by actions on the
foundation, such as those listed in 2.4.2(4).
 In assessing the magnitude of foundation displacements, account shall be
taken of comparable experience, as defined in 1.5.2.2. If necessary,
calculations of displacements shall also be carried out.
 For soft clays, settlement calculations shall always be carried out.
 For spread foundations on stiff and firm clays in Geotechnical Categories 2
and 3,
 calculations of vertical displacement (settlement) should usually be
undertaken. Methods that
 may be used to calculate settlements caused by loads on the foundation
are given in 6.6.2.
• The serviceability limit state design loads shall be used when calculating
foundation displacements for comparison with serviceability criteria.
 LO2.2.Analyse bearing capacity of shallow foundations

2.2.2. Serviceability limit state design

2 Settlement
• Calculations of settlements shall include both immediate and
delayed settlement.
• The following three components of settlement should be considered
for partially or fully saturated soils:
— s0: immediate settlement; for fully-saturated soil due to shear
deformation at constant volume, and for partially-saturated soil due to
both shear deformation and volume reduction;
— s1: settlement caused by consolidation;
— s2: settlement caused by creep.
• Commonly recognized methods for evaluating settlements should be
used.
NOTE The sample methods for evaluating settlements s0 and s1 given
in Annex F may be applied.
 Basic terms
• Foundation: The lowest part of a structure which is in contact with
soil and transmits load to it.
• Foundation soil or bed: The soil or bed to which loads are
transmitted from the base of the structure or is the upper part of
the earth mass carrying the load of the structure.
• Footing: The portion of the foundation of the structure which
transmits loads directly to the foundation soil.
• Bearing capacity: The load-bearing or carrying capacity of surface
unit of foundation soil or rock
• Gross pressure intensity (q): is the total pressure at the base of the
footing due to the weight of super-structure, self-weight of the
footing and the weight of the earth fill, if any.
• Net pressure intensity (qn): Is the excess pressure or the difference
in intensities of the gross pressure after the construction of the
structure and the original overburden pressure.
 Basic terms
• qn=q-σ=q-γDf 
Where
Df-- is the depth of footing
γ- is average unit weight of soil above the foundation base.
• Ultimate bearing capacity (qf) is the maximum gross pressure
intensity at the base of the foundation at which a foundation soil
can withstand without the occurrence of shear failure. (Bearing
capacity used without any prefix, it may be understood to be
ultimate bearing capacity. 
• Net allowable bearing capacity (q (u)net) :is the allowable load
per unit area of the foundation in excess of the existing vertical
effective stress at the level of the foundation. 
• q(u)net=qf- γDf 
 Basic terms
• Safe bearing capacity (qs) (or gross allowable bearing capacity):
Ultimate bearing capacity divided by the factor (Fs). 
qs =(qnf/ Fs) + γDf or 
qs=qf / Fs 

Exercise
The figure below is a foundation of an abutment for highway bridge
N=1120KN, soil profile is shown on the figure. Calculate the
distribution of soil self-weight stress, and additional stress below
the center of the footing (Length× width=8m ×2m) 
Exercise (cont’d)
Answer
 Stability of the foundation structure
To stabilize a foundation, the following possible foundation failures may be
taken into consideration, and some measures have to be taken into practice
to overcome the failures
The following are foundations failures and their remedial measures
1. Unequal settlement of sub-soil
Some causes of unequal settlement or differential settlement
• Non-uniform nature of sub-soil throughout the foundation
• Unequal load distribution 
• Eccentric loading 
• Weak sub- soil (such as made up of ground )
• Shrinkable and expansive soils(such as clays)
• Movement of ground water
• Up lift pressures
• Excessive vibrations due to traffic, machinery etc…
• Slow consolidation of saturated clays
• Slipping of strata on sloping sites.
The failures of foundations due to unequal settlement can be
checked by: 
• Resisting the foundation on rigid strata such as rock
• Proper design of the base of the footing, so that it can resist
cracking
• Limiting the pressure in the soil
• Avoiding eccentric loading 

2. Sub-soil moisture movement

3. Lateral pressure on the wall
4. Lateral movement of sub-soil
5. Atmospheric action
6. Weathering of sub-soil due to trees and shrubs
Ground failure modes/Types of failure in soil at ultimate load 

General shear failure

Local shear failure

Ground failure modes/Types of failure in soil at ultimate load 

Punching shear failure

 Factors affecting bearing capacity

The bearing capacity of foundations depends on several

factors:
 Subsoil stratification
 Shear strength parameters of the subsoil
 Location of the ground water table
 Environmental factors
 Building size and weight
 Depth of excavation
 Type of structure
 Nature of soil
 Nature of the foundation
 Total and Differential settlement
 Methods of determining bearing capacity 

The following methods are available for determination

of bearing capacity of foundation:
1. Analytical methods
2. Bearing capacity tables in various building codes.
3. Plate bearing tests
4. Penetration tests
5. Laboratory tests. 
 Terzaghi’s bearing capacity equation/ theory

Where: Nc, Nq, Nγ are bearing capacity factors

τγ = Passive earth pressure coefficient =tan2 (45+ᛰ/2) 
 Terzaghi’s bearing capacity equation/ theory

Terzaghi proposed the following relationships for square

and circular foundations:
qf =1.3CNc+qNq+0.4γBNγ (Square foundation)
qf=1.3CNc + qNq + 0.3 γBNγ (Circular foundation)
 
Example: Determine width of the foundation and safe
bearing capacity of the foundation base
Meyerhof’s bearing capacity equation
 Haunsen’s bearing capacity equation
Therefore Brinch Haunsen (1961) proposed the following
semi-empirical equation for the bearing capacity of a footing
as general bearing capacity equation: 
qf=CNcicScdc +qNqiqSqdq +0.5γBNγiγSγdγ 
Where Nc, Nq and Nγ are bearing capacity factors of
Haunsen; 
 Haunsen’s bearing capacity equation

Inclination factors are expressed as follows: 

iγ= [1-(0.7H)/(N + F.c cotanᛰ)]5 
iq= [1-(0.5H)/(N + F.c cotanᛰ)]5 
ic= iq-(1- iq)/(Nq-1) (when ᛰ> 0) 
ic=0.5-0.5√1 − (When ᛰ=0) 
Where N,H: Vertical and Horizontal loads acting on footing 
Fc: Surface of footing F=B*L 
Or F’=B’*L’ 
F’-effective area 
B’-effective width: B’=B-2eB 
L’-effective length L’=L-2eL 
 Haunsen’s bearing capacity equation

Shape factors: 
· Rectangle 

· Square or circle 
Haunsen’s bearing capacity equation
LO2.3. Analyze settlement of shallow foundations
 Types of structure settlements

 Uniform settlement
 Tipping settlement
 Differential settlement
 Components of Total Settlement

The total settlement of a foundation comprises three parts as

follows
where S = total settlement
Se = elastic or immediate settlement
Sc = consolidation settlement
Ss = secondary settlement
 Components of Total Settlement

Immediate settlement, Se, is that part of the total settlement, S,

which is supposed to take place during the application of loading.
The consolidation settlement is that part which is due to the
expulsion of pore water from the voids and is time-dependent
settlement. Secondary settlement normally starts with the
completion of the consolidation. It means, during the stage of this
settlement, the pore water pressure is zero and the settlement is
only due to the distortion of the soil skeleton.
Causes of foundation settlement and their Limitation

One of the foundation failures is foundation settlement,

the following are the causes :
 Plastic compression of underlying soils,
 Ground water lowering,
 Oscillation of machinery,
 Shrinkage of expansive clays
 Earth change due to surface erosion,
 Adjacent excavation
Causes of foundation settlement and their Limitation
The best solutions of limiting these foundation
settlements are:
 Good compaction
 Avoid unnecessary adjacent excavation
 Adopt underpinning once there is repair works on the
existing building Weak bearing soils
 Poor compacted soil
 Changes in moisture content
 Maturing trees & vegetation
 Soil consolidation
 Settlement computation
Data needed for immediate, consolidation and total
settlement calculation:
 Shape of the foundation, dimensions of footing and
depth of foundation (Df)
 Stresses distribution in subsoil before and after
loading
 Soil profile and soil properties.
Settlement computation
 Settlement computation

Δe=Δh/h1(1+e1)
S=Σ Δ =Σ ((e1i- e2i)/(1+ e1i).hi

Hence: S= Σ ms. Δsi and the values of ms are

given in following table:
LO2.4. Perform one dimensional consolidation test

Main purpose of consolidation test

 Pre-consolidation stress, σp
 Compression index, Cc
 Recompression index, cr
 Coefficient of consolidation, cv

Test procedure
 Assemble test equipment
 Sample preparation
 Placing the sample in the ring
 Apply Loads
 Measure Height change
 Repeat forb new load
LO2.4. Perform one dimensional consolidation test

Apply Calculations
 Calculate the height of solids (hs) of the specimen
 Determine the change in height (Δh)
 Determine the final specimen height, ht
 Determine the height of voids (hv)
 Determine the final void ratio
 Calculate the coefficient of consolidation (cv) from t90
 Determine the coefficient of consolidation (cv) from
t50
 E-log p curve ploting
 Cv – log p curve ploting
 Assignment
1. Some determined values for a continuous foundation are given below: Using
Terzaghi’s bearing capacity factors, determine the gross allowable load per unit area
that the foundation can carry. Given: γ =18.07KN/m3, C=19.15KN/m2, ф =250, Df=
0.6096m, B=0.762m, Factor of safety = 4. Assume general shear failure. (Answer: the
gross allowable load per unit area that the foundation can carry =169.9KN/m2)

2. A square foundation is shown in figure below: The footing will carry a gross load of
60,000lb.Using a factor of safety of 3, determine the size of the footing-That is, the size
of B. (still assume the case of general shear failure).
Review questions for LU 2
Thank you