Lecturer No.
4
Building Construction
Engineering, CE-120
Dr. Mohammad Ashraf, Professor (UET, Peshawar)
Lecture edited by: Engr. Kamran Aziz, Lecturer,
Department of Civil Engineering,
Ghandhara Institute of Science and Technology, Peshawar
Lecturer Outlines
Foundations, Functions and Purposes
Shallow Foundations and types
Special types of shallow foundations
Laying out for shallow foundation
Excavation for shallow foundation
Temporary supports
Laying of footing concrete
Excavation for basement.
Foundations
Definition and Purpose:
Foundation is the sub-surface element of a building which
transmit load from the super-structure to the foundation soil to:
Avoid excessive settlement and
Prevent shear failure
To prevent non-uniform settlement
To prevent lateral movement of the building
Concept of Foundations
Importance:
All engineering works are built in or on the ground.
A structure essentially consists of two parts, namely the super structure
which is above the plinth level and the substructure which is below the
plinth level. Substructure is otherwise known as the foundation.
Because of the variety of soil, rock, and water conditions that are
encountered below the surface of the ground and the unique demands
that many buildings make upon the foundations, foundation design is a
highly specialized field of geotechnical engineering.
Foundations
Functions;
Following are the main functions of the foundations.
1. Distribution of loads
2. Stability against sliding & overturning
3. Minimize differential settlement
4. Provide level surface
5. Minimize distress against soil movement
Selection of Foundations
Factors;
Following are the main factors that affects the
selection of foundations to be provided to different
structures.
Type and function of the structure (building,
machinery, water tank etc.)
Intensity of loads acting on various parts of
structure.
Nature (topography) of the soil (surface
condition).
Properties of the soil, soil/rock strata.
( subsurface condition).
Ground water table (fluctuations).
Bearing capacity of the soil.
Classification of Foundations
Foundation
Shallo
Deep
w
Spread
Strip or Mat
or Combined Strap
wall foundatio
Isolated Footing Footing n
Footing
Footing
Classification of Foundations
Shallow Foundations;
Footings are structural members used to support columns and
walls and to transmit and distribute their loads to the soil in such
a way that the load bearing capacity of the soil is not exceeded.
The foundations provided immediately beneath the lowest part
of the structure, near to the ground level, are known as Shallow
Foundations.
to brIf the ratio of depth to breath eadth (D/B) of
foundations is less than or equal to 1, than
foundations are Shallow foundations.
Types of Shallow Foundations
Spread Footing;
The foundation constructed by increasing the area at the base of
the structure by means of offsets, is called spread footing.
In such foundations spread is given under the base of wall or
column by providing offsets, this spread is known as footing.
Basic types
1. Wall Footing
2. Masonry pillar footing
3. Concrete footing
Types of Shallow Foundations
Spread Footing;
1. Wall (strip) Footing
Consist of number of courses of bricks, the lowest being twice
the thickness of above.
Strip footing is a component of
shallow foundation which
distributes the weight of a load
bearing wall across the area of
the ground. It is also known as
wall footing.
Types of Shallow Foundations
Spread Footing;
2. Masonry Pillar Footing
Isolated footings are used to support the individual pillars and
columns constructed in brick or stone masonry.
In case of masonry footing, the projection of each step must be ½
brick thick and each step is made of 1 or 2 bricks put together.
They are stepped down after providing
offset of 150 mm offset of foundation
Concrete.
Types of Shallow Foundations
Spread Footing;
3- Concrete Column Footings
These are either stepped type, slate type or slope type, having
projections in the base concrete.
To support heavy loads reinforcement is also provided at the base.
Concrete can be molded to any shape
and hence a concrete footing may be
a sloping one to provide sufficient spread.
Types of Shallow Foundations
Isolated Footing;
It is square, circular or individually rectangular slab of uniform thickness,
provided under each column.
Isolated footings are used to support columns.
Types of Shallow Foundations
Combined Footing;
This type of footing is adopted when,
The space between two columns is so small that the foundation for
individual columns will overlap.
It may not be possible to place columns at the center of a spread
footing if they are at the property line, near mechanical equipment
locations, or irregularly spaced.
Columns located off-center will usually result in a non-uniform soil
pressure.
Combined footings are proportioned in such a way that the center of
gravity of the loads coincides with the center of gravity of the
foundation. Hence these footings have either a trapezoidal or a
rectangular shape.
Types of Shallow Foundations
Combined Footing;
The combined footing can be
rectangular if the column that is
eccentric with respect to a
spread footing and carries a
smaller load than the interior
columns.
A combined footing will be
trapezoid-shaped if the column
that has too limited space for a
spread footing and carries the
larger load.
Types of Shallow Foundations
Strap Foundations;
A strap footing is used to
connect an eccentrically loaded
column footing to an interior
column. The strap is used to
transmit the moment caused
from eccentricity to interior
column footing so that a uniform
soil pressure is computed
beneath both footings.
The strap serves the same
purpose as the interior portion of
a combined footing but is much
narrower to save materials.
Types of Shallow Foundations
Raft or Mat Foundations;
A mat/raft foundation is a large concrete slab used to interface
one column, or more than one column in several lines, with the
base soil.
It may cover the entire foundation area or only a portion.
A mat or raft foundation is used where 50% of the area is
covered by conventional spread footings or in soils with
extremely unpredictable characteristics.
It is common to use mat foundations for deep basements, both
to spread the column loads to a more uniform pressure
distribution and to provide floor slab for the basement.
A particular advantage for basements at or below the GWT is to
provide water barrier.
Types of Shallow Foundations
Raft or Mat Foundations;
Common types of mat foundations. (a) Flat plate (b) plate thickened
under columns (c) waffle slab (d) plate with pedestals (e) basement
walls as part of mat
Special Type Shallow Foundations
Special type shallow foundations are;
Floating foundation
Stepped foundation
Grillage foundation
Inverted arch foundation
Special Type Shallow Foundations
Floating foundation;
A floating foundation is a type of foundation constructed by
excavating the soil in such a way that the weight of structure built on
the soil is nearly equal to the total weight of the soil excavated from
the ground including the weight water in the soil before the
construction of structure. Floating foundation is also called balancing
raft and causes zero settlement to the structure.
The main principle of floating foundation is to balance the weight of
removed soil by a structure of same weight which causes zero
settlement to the structure. So, this foundation is also called as
balancing raft foundation.
Special Type Shallow Foundations
Stepped foundation;
The foundation having its bed in the form of steps of concrete is
known as stepped foundation.
Stepped foundations provide support for structures,
transferring their load to layers of soil or rock that have sufficient
bearing capacity and suitable settlement characteristics.
Special Type Shallow Foundations
Grillage foundation;
Grillage Foundation is a type of foundation often used
at the base of a column. It consists of one, two or
more tiers of steel beams superimposed on a layer of
concrete, adjacent tiers being placed at right angles
to each other.
Grillage foundations consist of a number of layers of
beams usually laid at right angles to each other and
used to disperse heavy point loads from the
superstructure to an acceptable ground bearing
pressure.
The grillage beam can be in any material, the most
usual being either steel, precast concrete or timber.
Laying out for Foundation
Preparation of Site and Foundation Plans:
As a first step site plan and layout plan shall be prepared clearly
showing:
Position of base line of the building
Center to center distance between two parallel foundations
Width of foundation
Laying out for Foundation
Laying out:
Before laying out the foundation, clear the site from
grass, shrubs trees, loose materials, etc.
Roughly level the site, if required
Then locate the baseline of the building using a string
stretched between two pegs inserted outside the building
footprint
Make a line perpendicular to the base line at one of its
ends using Pythagoras theorem or 3-4-5 principal or large
wooden square or theodolite.
Insert pegs locating center lines of all foundations.
Check the layout by comparing diagonals of a rectangular
space
Foundation lines are marked on either side of center line
using powder lime or any other material.
Sometime masonry pillars are constructed instead of
Excavation for Foundation
After setting out, excavation of foundation is made manually or
mechanically using excavator.
The excavated material should be dumped sufficiently away from
the trenches to avoid its falling into the trenches and to provide
enough space for working.
Proper protection shall be made to avoid water flowing into the
trenches from nearby drains, etc.
The excavated trenches should retain their shapes till the
foundation are filled up.
In case of loose soil and large depth of trench, sides must be
supported temporarily.
Base of the foundation trench shall be properly leveled before
starting concrete work
Temporary Supports (Shoring)
Definition and Types
Shoring is a temporary structures installed in excavation trenches to prevent
collapse of trenches during excavation and provide safety to workers.
Shoring in foundation trenches consists of poling board, struts and sheeting.
Poling boards are vertical sheets provided at a certain interval to prevent vertical
sides of trenches
Struts are horizontal elements provided across the trench
to supports poling board
Sheeting are horizontal planks provided parallel to and
directly against the sides of trenches
Depending upon type of soil, two types of shoring are
used:
Stay Bracing
Box Bracing
Temporary Supports
Stay Bracing
This method of shoring is used for:
Firm soil
Shallow depth (less than 2.0 m)
In this method poling board and struts are
used
Poling boards are usually placed at a
horizontal distance of 2.0 m to 3.0 m.
Single strut at the center of or two struts at
each pair of poling boards are used
Temporary Supports
Box Bracing
This method of shoring is used for:
Loose to moderately firm soil
Depth (more than 2.0 m but less than
4.0 m)
In this method a box is made by using
sheeting, poling boards and struts in
different arrangements.
Sheets may be provided
a) Horizontally or
b) Vertically
Laying of Footing Concrete
Before laying concrete the bed of excavated
trench is leveled, rammed and sprinkled with
water
Then 3 to 4 inch thick lean concrete (PCC
[Link]) is poured in the trench against the soil
surface
After a curing period of two to three days,
vertical formwork is provided and footing
concrete (PCC [Link] or RCC [Link]) is poured.
Care should be taken not to pour footing
concrete against soil surface
Excavation for Basement
General:
Excavation for foundation may or may not require temporary
supports depending upon:
Depth of Excavation
Type of excavated soil
Usually excavation for basement is done mechanically using
excavator
Sides of excavation trenches can not be retained by supporting them
against each other as in the trenches for foundation.
Sides of excavation trenches can be prevented by:
Stability of slopes
By using pile shoring with or without anchors
Excavation for Basement
Stability of Slope:
In this method sides of the excavation
trenches are stabilized by making them
in slope.
This method is suitable when enough
space is available around the excavation
trench.
Slope depends upon:
Types of soil
Surcharge weight on slope
Excavation for Basement
Shoring Piles:
Contiguous piles are provided at the
perimeter of the excavation trench.
Depth of shoring pile is more than the depth
of excavation trench so that the pile could
retain soil after excavation
Supports or anchor may be provided if
depth of trench is more.
