Civil constructions

a lecture delivered to the 3d year students

Gh. Asachi Tehnical University of Iai
67, D. Mangeron Blvd., Iai, 700050, Romnia
tel: +40+232-278680
www.tuiasi.ro
Faculty of Civil and Building Equipment Engineering
43, D. Mangeron Blvd, Iai, 700050, Romnia
tel: +40-232-278680/1479, fax: +40-232-233368
www.ce.tuiasi.ro
Civil and Industrial Engineering
tel: +40-232-278680/1447, tel/fax: +40-232-239213
www.ce.tuiasi.ro/~cci/UTI%20website/people.htm
by
Radu-Aurel Pescaru, Lecturer
tel: +40-232-278680/1419
pescarur@ce.tuiasi.ro,
INFRASTRUCTURAL
ELEMENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
Building structure is stronger if
its links to the foundation soil are
solid and well designed (according
to the structural type and the soil
characteristics).
The structure of
buildings there are
two main parts :
an upper part
raised from the
ground level
which consist of
floors or levels
(made of walls,
columns, floor
slabs or plates)
and a roof. This
part is known as
the
superstructure;
another part
which is under the
ground. The
basement or
infrastructure or
substructure is
formed by
foundations,
basement walls or
columns and
underground floor
slabs. Usually the
piping, plumbing,
equipment and
installation
systems are also
placed in this
space.
Foundations
If we compare the building, wit a tree the foundation
and basement are equivalent to its roots
THE MAIN ELEMENTS OF INFRASTRUCTURE
Earth Museum in
Brasilia, designed by
architect O. Niemeyer
Foundations
Foundations represent
the building elements
which are in direct
contact with the soil.
They transmit all the
loads from the building
to the foundation ground.
Foundations should be designed so that
the transmitted loads are evenly
distributed and the stresses which occur
do not exceed the bearing capacity of
the soil.
Also the settlements of the soil must
be limited and uniform under the whole
building in order to avoid damage to the
superstructure.
Between the building and the foundation
ground there is a permanent and
complex interaction. So physical and
chemical phenomena occur at that level.
Physical phenomena - These are principally
mechanical interactions which consist of
stresses and settlements of the soil under the
loads of the building, which also generate
supplementary strength in building elements.
Especially the differential settlements in the
foundation ground are hazardous. Other
physical phenomena appear because of
vibrations, electrical potential, temperature
and humidity which are transmitted from
ground to building and vice versa.
Chemical phenomena -
Most commonly these
are the phenomena of
corrosion in concrete
and reinforcement made
by aggressive water
(carrying gases, mineral
substances, organic
acids, or other industrial
waste substances).
functional requirements:
In order to be efficient a foundation
must satisfy some functional
requirements:
it must be safe during the life time of the
building, to secure the development of
different activities which have to take place in
the building;
it must be designed according to the
mechanical and physical properties of
the soil and to the building weight, in
order to transmit loads evenly
distributed to the foundation ground.
The loads must be considered in their
most unfavourable combination.
the foundation must be appropriate to
the structural elements which bear on
them;
minimal and uniform settlements must
be determined under foundation foot;
foundation must resist at the
underground water aggressiveness;
there must be a good ratio between quality
and construction expense;
it should require an simple construction
technology, prefabricated if possible.
-According to the depth of
foundation
shallow
-
(spread ) or direct
foundations used when the
good soil for foundation is
near the ground surface and
the bottom of the foundation
foot is higher than 5B / B -
foundation breadth (if
B56m). In this case
foundations transmit the
load directly to good soil and
the base come in straight
contact with the excavated
surfaces;
Foundation classification
indirect or deep foundations (D
f
>5B) where near the ground
surface the soil (as fillings, clayey, mud, loosened silt a.o.) has
poor or uncertain bearing capacity. In this case the loads from
the foundation body are transmitted to the firm soil using
special elements: piers, piles, columns, caissons, etc.
- According to its shape in plane
shallow foundations are:
pad foundations (under columns) usually for frame
construction;
footing or continuous foundations (continuous strip)
under structural walls or columns in line called
foundations beam;
network of crossed foundation beams;
raft or mat foundations (a continuous plate sometimes
with foundation beams under the whole building).
- Considering the position of
underground water level associated to
the foundation base there are:
foundations on dry soil;
foundations on damp soil ( when the foundation
depth is under the water table).
- According to the material used for
foundation there are:
stabilised soil foundations;
wood foundations;
masonry foundation of natural blocks or bricks, with
or without mortar;
plain concrete or no fines (cyclopean) concrete
foundations;
reinforced concrete foundations;
prestressed concrete foundations;
mixed material foundations;
- Considering the rigidity of the
foundations:
rigid foundations where the
highest stressed cross-section
takes over just compressive
stresses, or at the most, those
tensile and shear stresses
supported by the strength of
the constructing material.
Usually made of concrete or
masonry, rigid foundations have
severely low deformations
compared to those of the
foundation soil;
flexible or elastic
foundations which can
take over (up to the
limit of the design
strength) compression
but also tensile and
shear stresses which
may emerge in their
highest stressed
cross-section. Made of
reinforced concrete,
flexible foundations
have comparable
deformations to those
of the foundation soil.
- In accordance with the
technology of fabrication :
foundations made on the site;
foundations made from precasted products.
Building basements
Basement or
underground
floor consists of
those built
spaces of the
infrastructure
(or
substructure),
whose floor is
under the
ground level of
the site.
The type and the characteristics of base walls and
structural elements depend on several factors:
building structural type and destination,
foundation conditions,
underground water level,
functional needs of the building or of the
surrounding built area etc
Sometimes the foundation ground condition can impose
deeper foundation level and the space between the
foundation level and the 0.00 floor level must be
efficiently used.
There are two main purposes for which this space can be
used:
- one is to fulfil the service or functional requirements
(for storerooms, underground car parking, shopping
centre, etc.)
- other to complete the technical requirements (rooms
for heating and ventilating equipment, electrical or
mechanical services, and washhouses)
The underground is exposed to the infiltration
of humidity through the side of the wall as well
as through the floor.
To prevent this, it is necessary to
apply an unbroken membrane or coating
of suitable impermeable materials over
the whole of the underground external
walls and floors and also is recommended
to use high-grade dense concrete to the
construction of walls and floors.
Supplementary constructive work as
lateral drainpipes at the bottom of
underground wall (to eliminate the
underground water pressure) and
protective wall bases and pavements at
the ground level to eliminate the
infiltration of pluvial water around the
building.
Considering all this the presence of
underground floor erase the cost of
the building with 5 to 6 %.
Types of basements
In the case of some buildings as workrooms and deposits with grate
dynamic loads at the ground floor, individual dwellings in rural area,
deposits, buildings placed on a soil with high underground water level it
is not economical to construct basement floors.
In the case of collective dwellings (as block of
apartments) most frequent are technical basements
that can be:
General
underground, of
1.802.00 m
high, under the
whole building,
where
installation and
pipes are placed
on different
type of
supports.
If is not possible to construct a common general basement but it is
required a space for piping, service supplier and equipment, than a
technical underground of reduced depth can be adopted. This has
a reduced high and some access spaces of normal high.
Also partial basements under a part of the building
ground floor area can be an option for the placement of
services and equipment.
If the building in not designated for dwelling even just
technical drains, sewers or galleries covered with collapsible
prefabricated concrete or metal plates can be constructed
In great
metropolis with
high density of
population, the
limit of space in
centre of city
imposes the
construction of
tall buildings,
which require
deep multi-
leveled
basements.
In great metropolis with high density of population, the
limit of space in centre of city imposes the construction of
tall buildings, which require deep multi-levelled
basements.
In this whey it is
possible to save
space and preserve
the ancient
buildings and
historical
monuments of the
city at the ground
level.
In some cases the
basement extends
under the streets level
and are used as shopping
centres, underground
parking, underground
railway stations etc.
Basement lightening and ventilation are
two requirements that must be fulfilled
especially in the case of the basements
where human activities are developed.
Basement lightening and
ventilation
If possible, it is preferable to provide direct
(natural) ventilation and lightening.
This may be achieved by one of the following constructive
solutions:
raising the 0.00 (ground) floor level to create space for
low windows placed at minimum 30 cm over the ground level.
constructing some
lightening
apertures (courts)
along the external
wall; the windows
are placed below
the pavement level
and the aperture
may be covered
with transparent
materials (glass,
plastics )
reinforced with
metallic wires.
CHOICE OF BASEMENTS AND
FOUNDATIONS
Many factors are involved in the choice of the basement
and the foundation type:
1. The nature of the foundation subsoil, its bearing
capacity, its physical, mechanical and chemical properties,
its stratification, its likely behaviour under seasonal and
ground water level changes and the possibility of ground
movement. From geological surveys and studies, we can
know the nature of subsoil.
2. The hydrological conditions of the ground (the
underground water level and its chemical characteristics,
the possibility to penetrate the foundation).
3. Climatic conditions such as frost high, quantity of
rainfalls etc.
4. Seismic characteristics of the region.
5. The degree / class of importance of the building.
6. The building structural type, the kind and amount of
structural elements (ex. walls, columns etc.), also if the
building has or not underground floor.
7. The requirements imposed by the activities developed
in the building (the damp processes, thermal regimes,
vibrations etc.)
8. The nature and properties of the foundation materials.
9. Economical reasons.
Due to the building weight action in the ground, under the
foundation foot, compression strength will be developed.
The resistance to failure offered by a soil depends on
its shear strength, failure occurring by surface slip.
The bearing capacity of soil
Shear strength is considered to be governed by
two components: (i) internal friction, the
resistance due to friction between the particles
and (ii) cohesion, resistance due to the tendency
of the particles holds together.
Coarse-grained or granular soils gain their
shear strength almost entirely from internal
friction therefore as vertical pressure
squeezes the particles closer together the
shear resistance increases. These types of soils
are called non-cohesive.
Fine-grained soils depend on cohesion only. In
this case however much they are loaded the
particles of the soil such as clay develop no
friction so that the shear resistance remains
constant and equal to the cohesion of the soil.
These are called cohesive soils.
Distribution of contact pressure The
supposition commonly made that a
uniformly loaded foundation will transmit
its load so that the soil is uniformly
stressed is generally inexact.
The way in which the load is distributed to
the soil depends on the nature of the soil
and on the rigidity or stiffness of the
foundation.
Foundation
Soil type
Cohesive Cohesionless
Approaching fully
flexible
Tendency to uniform
distribution of pressure.
Tendency to uniform
distribution of pressure.
Approaching fully rigid
Tendency to high
stresses at edges
becoming more uniform
as ultimate load is
approached.
Tendency to high
stresses at centre at
all loads.
Foundations, often, differ between perfectly rigid and
perfectly flexible type, in addition to which the soil may
combine both cohesive and frictional properties in varying
degree. The pressure will vary with the relative density
of the soil.
In design practice a simplified uniform
distribution is admitted for the pressure
distribution and a factor of safety
normally used generally covers the under-
estimation of bending moments on cohesive
soils. On cohesionless soils the estimate will
be greater than the actual bending
moments in the foundation.
Distribution of vertical pressure. -
A knowledge of the distribution of the
normal vertical stress in the soil is
necessary for the solution of
settlement problems.
The intensity of vertical pressure on
the subsoil at various depths is
determined by Boussinesq's equation.
According to this, at any point ,O,
below the surface of an elastic body,
the intensity of pressure is:
For general preliminary purposes the average unit pressure
(q) may be determined by dividing the applied load (W) by
the area of spread (assuming a load spread of 1/2 or 1/3).
For a square pad
foundation, therefore:
And for a strip foundation
with a load per unit run:
The pressure intensity decreases when the depths from
the foundation level increase. If the points of equal
stress are joined the result is a bulb of unit pressure
extending downs from the foundation base.
The ultimate state of bearing capacity
If the load on a foundation is excessively high
the bearing capacity of the soil could be
exceeded under the foundation foot, and a tear
zone will emerge. The development of this tear
determines a steep surface, the failure of the soil
and the foundation will sink into the ground.
Consequently the bearing capacity of the
building will be affected.
The intensity of loading at which failure
occurs is known as the ultimate bearing
capacity of the soil and is related to the
shear strength of the soil.
To verify the bearing capacity of soil
under a foundation foot, we must compare
the value of maximum effective pressure
(p
ef
), at he contact surface, with the
allowable pressure of the soils where the
foundation is placed:
p
ef
p
alt
Ultimate state of deformations
The vertical downward of the base of a
structure is called settlement and its
effect upon the structure depends on its
magnitude, its uniformity, the length of the
time over which it takes place, and on the
nature of the structure itself.
Settlement may be caused by:
the imposed weight of the structure on the soil;
changes in moisture content of the soil;
subsidence due to mining or similar operations;
general earth movement.
Unequal settlement at different points under
the building, producing the so called relative or
differential settlement, may set up stresses in
the structure through distortion.
To avoid this the maximum value of the
effective settlement (
ef
) must be always
under the design settlement limit (
ad
).

ef

ad
For masonry with reinforced concrete
buildings the settlements are limited to 15
cm and for wall panel or load bearing
masonry structures to 8 cm.
The depth of the foundation
The minimum distance from the ground surface to the
bottom of the foundation base is the foundation depth
(D
f
) and its value is adopted considering the following
aspects:
a) Performance requirements of building. The
technological destination of the building or the presence
of an underground floor may impose a certain foundation
depth. When the building has an underground floor, this
will determine the foundation depth, which must be at
least 40 cm under the concrete underground floor slab.
b) Presence of another foundation. If a new foundation
is placed near an existing one, it must have the same
depth, with the old one, in order to avoid the stability
perturbation.
c) The minimal frost depth (Hi). Where the water
table is high, soils such as silts, chalk, fine gritty sands
and some lean clays, may expand near the surface when
frozen. This expansion is due to crystals of ice forming
and expanding in the soil and so causing frost heave. So
it is important to know, at the site, the depth where
the seasonal frost and thaw will modify the foundation
ground properties ( bearing capacity). This depth
depends on the climatic zone of the site. In our country
Hi(60115) cm and the foundation foot must exceed
this depth in good ground at least by 1020 cm.
d) Geological-engineering characteristics of the soil,
like physical and mechanical properties, determine also
the foundation depth. The foundation foot must
penetrate more than 20 cm in firm soil in order to avoid
the heave of the surrounding soil.
e) The level of the underground water surface is
important. Generally it is better when the foundation
bottom it is higher than the water table because is
difficult to and expensive to work under water. If the
underground water level is near the ground surface,
underground buildings are not recommendable.
f) The minimum foundation depth (H) - For external
walls (or cold internal walls) it must have
He(Hi...Hi+20) cm but not less than 80...90 cm for
definitive buildings and 60...70 cm for temporary
buildings.
For internal walls in warm regions H must be around
40...50 cm. When the building has underground floor
the foundation must be 40 cm under the floor slab.
PRINCIPLES CONCERNING FOUNDATIONS
CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN
The materials used for foundations are:
plane concrete (B 25) blinding concrete (equalising
layer), C 2,8/3,5 (B 50) for the foundations in dry soils
without risk of high dampness, C6/7,5 (B 100) for
foundations under with more than two floors placed in
soils with high humidity variations.
Reinforced concrete C 8/10 (B 150) for elastic strip
foundations, foundations on cross beams, raft
foundations, wall beams, C 12/15 (B 200) for
foundations submitted to heavy or to dynamic loads.
Direct foundations
1. Strip foundations
Strip or continuous
foundations consist of a
continuous strip, under load
bearing walls and sometimes
rows of columns if the
distance between them is
not large.
The continuous strip serves
as a level base on which the
wall is built. Its width is
imposed by the necessity to
spread the load of the
foundation to an area of
subsoil capable to support
the load without undue
settlements.
Considering the materials used, this type of foundation can
be made of:
Masonry of natural stones.
Brick foundation made from masonry of high quality
bricks used essentially in aggressive acid subsoil. The
brick foundation is built in steps.
No fines concrete is obtained by inclusion of 30% of
natural stones in concrete in order to reduce the Portland
cement consumption.
Plain concrete, of class C 2,8/3,5,... C6/7,5 represents
the material widely used today for foundation as it can
readily be placed, spread and levelled in foundation
trenches.
Reinforced concrete class C6/7,5 ... C12/15 is used
generally for elastic foundation under framed structure.
1.1 Rigid strip foundations
Rigid wall footings are submitted practically to compression
stresses under the effect of structural load accumulation.
These are massive foundations (narrow and high) and they
have no bending deformations in cross sections.
Usually they are made of plain concrete or no fines
concrete and sometimes of brick and the thickness of the
strip must exceed 40 cm.
In order to be rigid, assuming that whole the cross
section works only in compression, the following condition
must be satisfied:
tg o
ef
> tg o
min
where : tg o
ef
=H/l - the tangent of effective rigid angle;
tg o
min
=1.102.00 - minimal value for rigid angle condition
(depends on the pressure under the foundation foot and
the material used in foundation).
This type of foundation is indicated where the bearing
capacity of the subsoil and the load on the foundation
require the strip to be no wider or a little wider than the
thickness of the wall. Therefore, if the loads are not too
great this foundation can be adapted because it is
cheaper to fill the trenches with plain concrete.
Continuous rigid foundation design
elements
Made of plain concrete, wall footings are the
most widely used in building practice for
individual dwelling houses, buildings with low
height, farms etc., because the loads are small
and it is usual to assume a uniform spread of
loads along walls. A calculation of the load on a
meter run (length) of wall may be taken to select
the width (B) of foundation for the whole wall.
a) Estimation of contact
pressure
The distribution of contact
pressure on the soil under
foundation foot is assumed to
be uniform or following a linear
function of distribution as the
resultant force of compression
representing the accumulation
of the structure loads is acting
centrally or eccentrically.
i) For equally developed foundation (presumed
to be submitted to centric compression):
p
ef
=(N+G
f
)/A
f
=(N+G
f
)/(100xB)sp
alt
with: p
ef
: the actual pressure;
p
alt
=(ap
pl
; m
c
p
cr;
; bp
conv
) : the design bearing capacity of
the soil.
Where the fixed weight of foundation itself ( Gf ) is
considered in the design practice as 10...15 % from the total
weight which bears on it ( N ).
Results :
alt
f
min
p
G N
B
+
=
ii) For eccentric compression (met in the case of a
foundation unequally developed around the symmetry
axis of the structural wall):
with : P - the resultant force of accumulation from all the
structural loads, e
o
- the eccentricity of the resultant force
(P) on the cross section vertical axis of symmetry
P = N+G
f
; e
o
=(Nxe)/(N+G
f
)=M/P
alt
p 1 = p
B
e 6
B 100
P
2
B
0
e
100
P 6
B 100
P
W
M
A
p
f
2 1,
s |
.
|

\
|
= =

f
According to the value of e
o
there are two situations:
1) When the force P is applied in the middle third of the strip
breadth (e
o
B/6) of the foundation only compression stresses
will emerge, all the whole section will be active and p
1
(max)
=p
alt
,
|p
2
|>0.
2) If the force P, is applied outside the middle third of the
cross section (e
o
B/6) of the foundation there will be also
tensile stresses and just a part of the foundation section area
will be active (the compressed part) with B=3C.
b) Rigidity angle condition - (on cross section):
tgo > tgo
min
= f(Rb; pn)
will give the height (H) of the foundation for a
given (B).
The values of tangent depends on the
admissible pressure under the foundation foot
and on the concrete class used for the
foundation.