Lecture #06

Types of Shallow Foundations

1. Spread Footings
2. Combined Footings
3. Continuous Footing
4. Mat Foundations

Shallow foundation types can be classified as to their (1) function, or their (2) shape.
Footings are characterized as being the lowest cost foundation solution, are the most widely
used, and usually require no special equipment to build.
INTRODUCTION
Foundation design is one of the required parameters in designing a structure. Part of the
foundation design is the design of footings. Footings and other foundation units transfer the
loads from the structure to the soil or rock supporting the structure. Because the soil is
generally weaker than the concrete columns and walls that must be supported, the contact area
between the soil and the footing is much larger than that of the supported member. Concrete
is the material most commonly used for footings. This is because of its compressive strength,
durability and economy.
Footings are designed to resist the full dead load delivered by the column. A footing carrying
a single column is called a spread footing, since its function is to spread the column load
laterally to the soil. This action will reduce the stress intensity to a value that the soil can
safely carry. Spread footings are sometimes called single or isolated footings. They are
square or rectangular pads which spread a column load over an area of soil that is large
enough to support the column load. The soil pressure causes footings to deflect upward
causing tension in two directions at the bottom. As a result, reinforcement is placed in both
horizontal directions at the bottom.

Spread footings with tension reinforcing may be called a two-way or one-way depending on
whether the steel used for bending runs both ways or in one direction (as for example, in
wall footings). Single footings may be of constant thickness, or stepped or tapered (sloped).
Stepped or slopped footings are most commonly used to reduce the quantity of concrete away
from the column where the bending moments are small and when the footing is not reinforced.
However, it is usually more economical to use constant-thickness reinforced footings when
labor cost are high relative to material (such as here in the US).
The pressure distribution beneath most footings is indeterminate, because of the interaction of
the footing rigidity with the soil type and the time response to stress. Because of the
complication of the distribution, a linear pressure distribution is assumed beneath spread
footings. Therefore, the resultant vertical soil reaction is collinear with the resultant downward
structural load. The few field measurements reported indicate that this assumption is adequate.
When designing the foundations, the soils bearing capacity and settlement should be taken into
consideration. The allowable soil pressure for footing design is obtained as the worst case of
bearing capacity and settlement. The bearing capacity is the load per unit area that the soil can
withstand without shear failure. In order to have stable foundations, the bearing capacity
provided by the soil cannot be exceeded by the load application from the foundation. The
settlement of the foundation is caused by soil compression (vertical squeezing together of soil
particles) and lateral yielding of the soils located under the loaded area.

The allowable soil pressure controls the plan (B x L) dimensions of a spread footing.
Structural and environmental factors locate the footing vertically in the soil. For centrally
loaded square footings, the two-way action always controls the depth. Wide-beam shear may
control the depth for rectangular footings when the L/B ratio is greater than about 1 and may
control for other L/B ratios when there are overturning or eccentric loading.
The geotechnical engineer provides the structural designer with the allowable bearing
capacity. This value will have a suitable factor of safety already applied. The safety factor
ranges from 2 to 5 for granular materials depending on its density, past failures and the
consultants caution. For cohesive materials, this value may range from 3 to 6. The smaller
values are used where consolidation settlements might occur over a long period of time.
The column applies a concentrated load upon the footing. This load is transmitted by bearing
stresses in the concrete and by stresses in the dowels bars that cross the column to footing
joint. Metal column members require a steel base plate to spread the very high metal stresses
into the small column (pedestal) contact area at the footing interface, to a value that the
footing concrete can safely carry. A pedestal is used to keep the steel columns away from a
moist (corrosive) environment. Anchor bolts are required to attach the steel base plate firmly
to the footing or the pedestal.

The design of a footing must also consider shear, and the transfer of the load from the column
or the wall into the footing.
This lecture concentrates on the design of square and rectangular spread footings. The ACI
Code is used as a guide for the design. All notations pertaining to concrete design in this
project will conform to ACI Code.
The design procedure involves different steps,

( i ) Determining the footing dimensions (B and L);

( ii ) Finding the net soil pressure everywhere beneath the footing;
( iii ) Calculating the thickness D for one-way and two-way shear;
( iv ) Designing the reinforcement in both directions (negative and positive); and
( v ) Checking the development length, required hooks, dowels, base plates, etc.

Footings can be classified according to their function or shape. The function is how a footing
serves: a spread or isolated footing (distributes the column load to an area of soil around the
column), a combined footing (combines the loads from two or more columns to the soil), a
continuous footing (one dimensional action, cantilevering out on each side of the wall), a pile
cap (transmits the column load to a series of piles which in turn, transmit the load to a stronger
soil layer at some depth below the surface), and a strap footing (transmits the loads from all the
columns to a grid of footings, thereby bridging weak spots on the surface of the soil).
N

N1

N2

Spread footing

Combined Footing

Continuous

Isolated Footings.
A spread footing transfers the load from a concrete or steel column to the soil supporting the
structure. Its main function is to spread out the intensity of the load upon the soil, because the
area of contact between the soil and the bottom of the footing is larger than the contact area
between the concrete column and the top of the footing. Consider the load N acting on the 1x
2 column versus the 5x10 rectangular footing. The N exerted on top of soil by the column is
reduced to 50 k /(1)(2) = 25 ksf, whereas at the footing it is 50 k /(5)(10) = 1 ksf.

N
L

N = 50 kips

25 ksf

1 ksf

Shapes.
As shown below, spread footings can be of uniform thickness (a straight footing) or of
different thickness (stepped or nerved footing). Stepped or nerved footings are used
without steel reinforcement, since the shear stress is reduced not through steel reinforcement,
but through the thickness of the concrete.

Spread

Stepped

Nerved

This photo shows a steel

column resting upon a steel
plate.
The steel plate is on top of a
pedestal, that keeps the metal
structure away from a moist
environment.
The pedestal sits upon a
rectangular spread footing.

Square and Rectangular Spread Footings.

Spread footing are square or rectangular, and their function is to spread a columns load over
an area of soil that is large enough to support the load. The soil pressure causes the footing to
deflect upward as shown previously, causing tension in two directions at the bottom. As a
result, reinforcement bars are placed in two directions at the bottom.
Rectangular footings may be used when there is not enough clearance for a square footing. In
this type of footing, the reinforcement bars in the short direction are placed in the three bands,
with closer bar spacing in the band under the column than in the two ends. The band under
the column has a width equal to the length of the short side of the footing, but not less than the
width of the column if that is greater, and is centered on the column. Under long narrow
columns it should not be less than the width of the column. The reinforcement in the band
shall be 2/(b+1) times the total reinforcement in the short direction, where b is the ratio of the
long side of the footing to the short side. The reinforcement within each band is distributed
evenly, as is the reinforcement in the long direction.

Analysis of Footings:
The typical loads on footings include:
- Vertical column loads N;
- Horizontal loads Hx and Hy from wind, seismic, machinery vibrations, etc.;
- Moments about the x and y axis;
- The weight of the footing itself Wf; and
- Weights of a soil backfill or floor slabs placed above the footing Ws, etc.
Y
N
HY

MX

MY
D
HX

L
B

Loads are either superstructure loads or foundation loads.

The superstructure loads are:
1.- the vertical (or normal) load N from the column or wall,
2.- the horizontal loads Hx and Hy, and
3.- the moments Mx and My.
The foundation loads are:
4.- the footings weight Wf,
5.- the weight of the soil placed above the footing (backfill) WS.
Therefore, the total load V, and moments M on the footing are: V = N + Wf + WS
Mx1 = Mx Hy D
My1 = My Hx D
Most of the horizontal loads Hx and Hy are absorbed by the friction between the soil and the
footing invert. In dimensioning a footing, and in determining the bearing pressure
distribution, the worst combination of loads is assumed to be the working load. This
includes the footing's own weight, the superposed earth (without safety factors), etc.

Sizing of a Footing.
The contact pressure qo distribution below the footing determines its dimensions, and depends
on the footing flexibility (or rigidity) and the type of soil.
It is sufficiently accurate to assume a linear contact pressure qo in isolated footings. In
continuous footings, this assumption however leads to large errors, and so the actual
pressure distribution must be found.
In the next slide we present four cases of stress distribution:
(a) For a simple vertical load N there will be a uniform average bearing pressure qo.
(b) When the vertical load N1 is at A, eccentric by e, it is equivalent to replacing N1 by N=N1
at the centerline plus a moment M = N1 e. The resultant pressure distribution is
trapezoidal.
(c) When the moment M is excessive, the trapezoidal pressure is modified to a triangular
pressure distribution.
(d) At extreme loading conditions the peak corner pressure may lead to bearing failure of the
soil.

The distribution of stress below a spread footing.

The stress at any point of the rectangular footing is given by the flexural formula,

or

where,

M x M y
N
y
q =

x
a (L * B)
I
I
y
x
6e N 6e y
N
q =
x
a (L * B)
L2 B LB2

ex =
Iy

M
N

BL 3
=
12

y
and

and

ey

M x
=
N

LB 3
Ix =
12

The effect of the Footings Size.

a < 45
a

Rigid footings

Flexible footings

45<a<60
a

a > 60
a

Massive footing

General case for Rectangular Footings:

Consider the case shown in the figure below, where the footing L B is subjected to a load N,
and moments Mx and My. The stress s at any point in the invert area of L B is,
s = N / LB My x / Iy Mx y / Ix
(1)
or
s = N /LB 6 ex N / L2B 6 ey N / LB2
(2)
The expression (2) can be further simplified to s = N / LB [1 6 ex / L 6 ey / B]

where ex = My / N and ey = Mx / N

(3)

Stress distribution below a rectangular spread footing.

x
y

s 2=
s 1=

(a) Uniform

(b) Eccentric in the x-direction

x
y
x

s 3=

(d) Eccentric in the x-direction and y-direction

(c) Eccentric in the y-direction

Using equation (2), it will be noted that the first term is s 1 in figure (a); the second term is s 2
in figure (b), the third term is s 3 in figure (c), and the general case is figure (d).
In the case of eccentric loading, the allowable bearing capacity qall is increased by some
designers by 25%, provided that the pressure at the center does not exceed qall, that is,

s max = N [ 1 + 6 ex / L + 6 ey / B ] 1.25 qall

and

s center = N / LB qall
If one of the extreme stresses becomes negative, it would imply that the footing attempts to
place the soil in tension in that area. Since this is generally assumed to be inadmissible, this
limits the use of equation (3). Therefore, the load must fall within the kern of the footing,
show in the next slide. That is, the following relation must be fulfilled,
6 ex / L + 6 ey / B 1

where ex and ey are absolute values.

The soil reaction will be dependent on the position of N, and the equilibrium condition will be
determined between the resultant of the reactive wedge and N as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 6. The shaded area is the kern of the footing.

Figure 7. Analysis of complex eccentric loading conditions. a) Pyramidal wedge (b) and (c)
Complex truncated pyramids.

A solution to these complex conditions is possible via Plock's graphical method (Plock 1963).
Alternatively, a solution can be found using the Zone method, wherein the footing is divided
into three zones:

Figure 8. Analysis of a footing using the zone method.

In case the load falls in zone I, the load is within the kern, and the compound flexural equation
applies, that is
s max = N / LB ( 1 + 6 ex / L + 6 ey / B)
The load in zone II, the eccentricities must simultaneously be ex L/4 and ey B/4.

Step 1.

The vertical load N and the

moments Mx and My are
translated into a vertical load
N=N having eccentricities ex
and ey.

My

The area is thus calculated as:

A = N / qnet .

Mx

ey

ex

Step 2.

B/6

The equivalent soil pressure below the footing is

calculated using:
qmax = (N/A) + (Mx*ey/ Ix) + (My*ex/ Iy)
qmin = (N/A) - (Mx*ey/ Ix) - (My*ex/ Iy)
This may result in several distribution
cases based on the position of N relative
to the kern.

L/6

Kern

The spreadsheet draws the load

distribution along both axes.

Kern

N
N

Load on centroid

Load within kern

R
Load at edge of kern

Load beyond kern

Pressure distribution due to the eccentricity of the loading.

From the diagram in Figure 9, the resultant R is,

R = 1/3 [1/2 (4c - 4d)] s max = N1
where

L /2 = ex + c and B /2 = ey + d

Therefore,

s max = 3/2 [N1 / (L - 2ex)(B-2ey)] 1.25 qall

The line of zero pressure can be found by,
4c = 2( L 2 ex ) and 4d = 2( B - 2ey )

Figure 9. Case when load falls in zone II.

When the load falls in zone III, the absolute value of the eccentricities must satisfy the equation
6ex/L + 6ey/B > 1 and at the same time ex < L/4 and ey < b/4.

Figure 12-10

Consider Figure 10, where m' = m(B/L).

Using Plock's charts in Figure 11, set c = ex / B, and d = ey / L, to find m, n, and K. With the
value of K, s max can be found via,

s max = K ( N1 / LB ) 1.25 qa.

Note that if c > d, then interchange their positions on the curves.

Figure 11(a). Plock's chart to obtain the parameter n from c and d.

Figure 11(b). Plock's chart to obtain the parameter K from c and d.

Stability.
The last step of analysis is to check the overall stability of the footing and the soil system.
Checks should be carried out for overturning and sliding, which is especially important for
retaining wall footings.

Strap Footings.

STRAP

SIDE VIEW
PLAN VIEW

Grade Beams and

Strap Footings:
Their purpose is to redistribute excesses
stresses, and possible
differential settlements
between adjacent spread
footings.

Wall or Continuous Footings.

SIDE VIEW
PLAN VIEW

Continuous or Wall
Footings:

A continuous footing has just been cast for a warehouse wall.

A precast reinforced wall.

Combined Footings.
1. Provides a larger footing to support two or more columns, and
2. Transfers an eccentric outer columns load to a inner footing and column.

Elevation View

Elevation View

Trapezoidal
Footing
Plan view

Strap or Cantilever
Footing
Plan view

Property line

Combined Footings.
Construction practice may dictate using only one footing for two or more columns due to:
a) closeness of column (for example around elevator shafts and escalators); and
b) due to property line constraint, which may limit the size of footings at boundary. The
eccentricity of a column placed on an edge of a footing may be compensated by tieing the
footing to the interior column.

Example #1.
Find the resultant R of all the loads from all the columns shown below, and dimensions the
footing.

For the 3-column group shown above, N = N1 + N2 + N3

and the resultant N is applied at point A, such that N2 d2 + N3(d1+d2) = Nd
and
N1c + N3(c1+c2) = Nc about point O.
Size a rectangular footing for these columns such that s = (N1 + N2 + N3) / LB + ?c D qall.

Mat Foundations.

N1

N2

N3

N4

The most typical mat foundation, albeit small, in the US is the basement slab of a northern house.

Pile Caps.

The Effect of the Distribution of the Soil Pressure.

N

Granular soil

Cohesive soil

assumed

The Interaction between the Soil and the Footing.

360 lb
ft2

300 lb
ft2
n=N
A
= = 660 + n lb
Gross soil pressure

660 lb
ft2

ft2

n=N
A
Net soil pressure

Zero Eccentricity (concentric loading).

R (R=N)

PLAN VIEW

One-Way Eccentricity.

My

My

PLAN VIEW

e< B
6

y
N

e>B/6
My

Tension

Compression

For e > B/6, qmin will be negative, which means that tension will develop. Soils generally are
incapable of carrying tension. Therefore there will be a separation between the foundation and
the soil underlying it.

Concentric Loading plus One-way Eccentricity.

e< B
6

MY
=

+
y

My
X

PLAN VIEW

Two-way Eccentricity.
Consider a situation in which a footing is subjected to a vertical load N and moments as
shown below. The moments and their equivalent loads N placed as shown in the right.

w1
N

My
w2

MX
x

My

OR

MX

My

e(y)

MX
x

e(x)

The role of Flexural Reinforcement.

A
B

Area=xy

My
A

noxy

Reinforcement for Shear.

d
2

The Shear Diagram.

Vu

d
d
2

Shallow Foundations Upon the Miami Oolitic Limestone.

Conventional shallow foundations bearing on Miami Limestone are recommended at locations
where anchored foundations are not appropriate. Generally, lower bearing elevations can be
used with these foundations than with anchored foundations, because of the reduced rock
quality and thickness requirements beneath the footing.
There are two types of conventional footings: single and combined.
Combined footings are used at locations where the distance between single footings would be
3 feet or less. Combined footings, bearing in the Miami Limestone, are recommended with
eight ksf maximum, and 6 ksf average bearing pressures. These foundations are generally used
where the Miami Limestone is moderately well cemented and has a total thickness of at least
10 feet, and is underlain by a loose to dense sand.
Single footings founded on good to average strength Miami Limestone are also recommended
with 8 ksf maximum and 6 ksf average bearing pressures. These foundations are typically
recommended where the Miami Limestone is moderately well cemented, and has a total
thickness of at least 15 feet, but does not meet all the requirements for anchored footings.

Beam Tension Failure.

The factor of safety against this failure in the Miami Limestone are determined by calculating
the tension stress in the bottom of the limestone layer using the average foundation pressure
from the maximum axial load condition for each foundation. The factor of safety is generally
found to be greater to 2.0.
Settlement and Tilt.
The settlement of foundations due to axial loading and tilt from applied moments are usually
within tolerable limits for footings.
Punching Shear.
The punching shear stresses should be calculated using the same loading conditions used for
the peak corner pressure calculations. The factor of safety should maintained as 2.0 for all
spread footing sizes and bearing levels.
Compression Failure.
Compute the factor of safety against the compression failure from comparison with the
unconfined compressive strength and the peak corner pressure. The Miami Limestone has an
in-situ crushing strength twice the unconfined compressive strength.

Full Scale Spread Footing Load Tests in Miami.

Law Engineering between January and April 1979, constructed and load tested a full-scale
footing (6 ft. by 10 ft.). The location was near the Rapid Transit System University Station
site. The results of the test provided significant importance to the performance of shallow
foundations bearing on the Miami Limestone. This Summary will briefly describe the test and
notes the conclusions drawn from it.
The top 2 feet of the footing were plywood formed while the lower 1- feet were cast against
the adjacent limestone. The bottom of the footing were placed at elevation +5.5 feet (MSL)
with a 12-inch-diameter concrete anchor extending downward 8 feet below each footing
corner.
A dial gauge placed on each footing corner allowed footing deflections to be measured to the
nearest .001 inch. Stresses applied to the shallow footing anchors were detected by strain
gages welded to a central reinforcing steel bar in each anchor.
The footing was loaded using five 400-kip capacity hydraulic jacks which reacted against ten
60 foot deep anchor rods. The hydraulic loading system allowed cyclic loading as well as
incremental dead loads to be applied to the footing. Over 900 cycles of various combinations
of cyclic axial and cyclic eccentric loads were applied.
After approximately one-half of the load cycles were applied, a narrow trench was excavated
around the sides of the footing to the bearing level of +5.5(MSL0. This trench had the effect
of removing the 1- foot-high rock/concrete interlock along the bottom perimeter of the
footing.

The results of this footing test show that the interpretations and the criteria to select and size
shallow footings are conservative. These results indicate that:
Peak corner pressures actually experienced during loading are substantially less than those
calculated using the rigid footing analysis. The reduction in peak corner pressure is caused
by A- bending of the footing, which results in a more even distribution of pressures
beneath the footing.
B-interlock between the footing concrete and the limestone along the bottom perimeter of the
footing.
C- a slight, but neglected, compression in the shallow footing anchor.
The footing settlement at the maximum load of 2,00 kips (33 ksf) was only about .030 inches.
This settlement observed after the trench was excavated around the footing, is about onetenth the settlement predicted using the results of laboratory unconfined compression tests
and elastic settlement analysis methods.
Embedding the footing in competent Miami Limestone reduced settlement by about 1/3 and
resulted in an apparent bearing area considerably larger than the footing that was actually
cast.
From the beam tension analysis, the modulus of rupture of the Miami Limestone bearing layer
was at least twice the average splitting tensile strength of rock core samples taken from
the same layer.
The effects of cyclic loading on the foundation support capacity were undetectable, using very
sensitive settlement measurement equipment.

Recommendations.
The load bearing ability for the Miami limestone depends on its continuity and ability to
spread the foundation loads over a large area. In order to preserve the continuity of the
limestone mat, it is recommended that the following restrictions regarding cutting into
the limestone adjacent to foundations be followed:
Continuous excavations for conduits or utilities should be restricted to a maximum depth
which is defined by a line which extends 5 feet horizontally from the top edge of the
footing and then projects downwards.
Trenches excavated below the top of the foundation and within 25 feet of the centerline of a
column should be back filled with lean concrete to at least the top of the original
limestone surface.
Excavations for seepage trenches should not be positioned closer than 25 feet from the
centerline of the column.
Any isolated small excavations or pits that will be positioned closer than 25 feet from the
centerline of the pier and deeper than two feet below the top of the footing may require
depth limitations depending on the size of the excavations, thickness of limestone, and
density of the underlying sands.
Continuous excavations around the perimeter of individual foundations should not be
permitted.

Conclusions.
The choice of the foundation type is selected in consultation with the geotechnical engineer.
The factors to be considered are the soil strength, the soil type, the variability of the soil over
the area and with increasing depth, and the susceptibility of the soil and the building to
deflection. A spread footing is basically a foundation type that carries a single column. Spread
footings are pads that distribute the column load to an area of soil around the column. These
distribute the load into two directions. Sometimes spread footings have pedestals, are stepped,
or are tapered to save materials. Nevertheless, the constant thickness spread footings are most
commonly used because they are more economical.
When an exterior column is so close to a property line that a spread footing cannot be used, a
combined footing is often used to support an edge column and an interior column. Combined
footing are used when it is necessary to support two columns on one footing; they transmit two
or more columns to the soil. A spread footing might be square or rectangular in shape.
Rectangular footings maybe used when there is inadequate clearance for a square footing. They
are very often used because of space limitations. Also, where an overturned moment is present,
they may be used to produce a more economical footing. The design of a rectangular footing is
similar to that of a square footing. The shear will control the depth, except that in rectangular
footing the wide-beam action will probably control if the L/B is much greater then 1 or when an
overturning moment is present.

Footing may fail in shear as wide beam or due to punching shear. One-way shear or beamaction shear involves an inclined crack extending across the entire width of the structure.
Two-way shear or punching shear involves truncated cone or pyramid-shaped surface around
the column. Generally, the punching shear capacity of a slab or footing will be considerably
less then the one-way shear capacity. Nevertheless, in design it is necessary to consider both
failure mechanisms.
For nearly any masonry project (such a single-family-residence, a footing is required to
prevent shifting caused by minimal ground movement. The footing should be cast of quality
concrete on firm ground. For masonry, the footing should be at a minimum 8 - 10 in depth
and twice as wide as the width of the wall.

References.
http://www.tagasoft.com/tcalc/index_fd.html