1.

Strip Footing:
A strip footing is provided for a load-bearing wall. A strip footing is also provided for a
row of columns which are so closely spaced that their spread footings overlap or nearly
touch each other. In such a case, it is more economical to provide a strip footing than to
provide a number of spread footings in one line. A strip footing is also known as
continuous footing.

2. Spread or Isolated Footing:

A spread footing (or isolated or pad) footing is provided to support an individual
column. A spread footing is circular, square or rectangular slab of uniform thickness.
Sometimes, it is stepped or haunched to spread the load over a large area.

3. Combined Footing:
A combined footing supports two columns. It is used when the two columns are so close
to each other that their individual footings would overlap. A combined footing is also
provided when the property line is so close to one column that a spread footing would
be eccentrically loaded when kept entirely within the property line. By combining it with
that of an interior column, the load is evenly distributed. A combined footing may be
rectangular or trapezoidal in plan.

Distribution of Soil Pressure

1) Uniform Distribution
For convenience, the contact pressure is assumed to be uniform for all types of footings and
all types of soils if load is symmetric. The above assumption of uniform pressure distribution
will result in a slightly unsafe design for rigid footing on clays, as the maximum bending

moment at centre is underestimated. It will give a conservative design for rigid footings on sandy
(cohessionless) soils, as the maximum bending moment is overestimated. However, at the
ultimate stage just before failure, the soil behaves as an elasto-plastic material (and not an elastic
material) and the contact pressure is uniform and the assumption is justified at the ultimate stage.

2) Cohesive Soil
Cohesive soil often contains fine-grained materials consisting of silts, clays, and organic
material. These soils have significant strength when unconfined and air-dried. Most cohesive soil

is relatively impermeable and when loaded deforms similar to gelatine or rubber the undrained
state. Cohesive soils may include granular materials with bonding agents between particles such
as soluble salts or clay aggregates. Wetting of soluble agents bonding granular particles may
cause settlement in loose or high void ratio soil.

Rigid Foundation
A uniform pressure applied to a rigid foundation on cohesive soil. Relative distribution of

soil contact pressures and displacements of rigid and flexible mats or footings on cohesionless
and cohesive soils Figure 1-a, can cause the soil contact pressure to be maximum at the edge and
decrease toward the center because additional contact pressure is generated to provide stress that
shears the soil around the perimeter.

Flexible Foundation
A uniform pressure applied to a flexible foundation on cohesive soil, Figure 1-b, causes

greater settlement near the center than near the edge because the cumulative stresses are
greater near the center as a result of the pressure bulb stress distribution. Earth pressure
measurements from load cells beneath a stiffening beam supporting a large, but flexible,
ribbed mat also indicated large perimeter earth pressures resembling a saddle-shaped pressure
distribution similar to Figure 1-b.

3) Cohesionless Soil
Cohesionless soil is often composed of granular or coarse-grained materials with visually
detectable particle sizes and with little cohesion or adhesion between particles. These soils have
little or no strength when unconfined and little or no cohesion when submerged. Apparent
adhesion between particles in cohesionless soil may occur from capillary tension in pore water.
Settlement usually occurs rapidly with little long-term consolidation and secondary compression

or creep. Time rate effects may become significant in proportion to the silt content such that the
silt content may dominate consolidation characteristics.

Rigid Foundation
Uniformly loaded rigid foundations (footings of limited size or footings on cohesionless
soil) may cause less soil contact pressure near the edge than near the center, because this
soil is pushed aside at the edges due to the reduced confining pressure. This leads to lower
strength and lower modulus of elasticity in soil near the edge compared with soil near the
center. The parabolic soil contact pressure distribution may be replaced with a saddleshaped distribution, Figure 1-c, for rigid footings or mats if the soil pressure does not
approach the allowable bearing capacity.

Flexible Foundation
The distortion of a uniformly loaded flexible footing, mat, or embankment on cohesionless soil
will be concave downward, Figure 1-d, because the soil near the center is stressed under higher
confining pressure such that the modulus of elasticity of the soil is higher than near the edge.